by Cynthia Eden
But some monsters didn’t need to die.
“Did you work with them? Did you kill for them?”
Jana took a breath. The right side of your mouth kicks up when you lie. “Yes.”
His eyes narrowed.
“If I stay here, they will come for me, and they’ll kill anyone in their path.” No telling how many cops they already had on their payroll. “They’re framing me, forcing me against the wall.”
“And what-you want me to bust you out of jail? Baby, that’s just—”
“A jail won’t hold me.” Simple. “I can burn my way out, and I will.” Because she wouldn’t wait on them to come and get her.
“No, you won’t.” He blew out a breath. “Not when there’s another way.”
Hope began to stir in her chest. “You’ll help me?” His jaw clenched.
“Zane?”
The interrogation room door swung open. “We’ve got a problem.” Tony marched inside, shaking his head. “Officer Harris seems to be missing from the hospital. He’s not answering his cell, and no one knows where the hell he is.”
“We have to get out,” Jana said. Didn’t he see what was happening? Another Ignitor … or a damn powerful demon … had set the fire at Night Watch. It was only a matter of time until they came for her.
A setup. The team after her must have bugged the phone lines at Night Watch. They’d known she was coming. They’d started that fire for her.
Why? So that the cops would haul her to the station? Of course, the cops on scene would pick her as suspect number one. With her history, there was no way they wouldn’t have hauled her in for questioning.
Those bastards knew that.
Zane’s fingers tapped on the tabletop. “I need to be on the streets, Tony.”
“You can be. She can’t.” He exhaled. “This case is shit. We both know the woman gets off on the fire, are you sure—”
“You don’t know what gets her off.” Zane’s voice. Cold and hard.
“You know better than to let the case get personal.” Tony stalked around the table and grabbed Zane’s arm. He hauled Zane to his feet, grabbing for the cuffs. “Let’s find a way out of these damned things and you can get on the streets. You can find Harris for me—”
He never finished his sentence. Zane’s fist plowed into Tony’s jaw, and the cop went down. Hard.
Jana jumped to her feet. ”What are you doing?” She’d thought the cop was his friend.
Zane pulled her forward as he rolled Tony onto his back. “I’m making sure we get out before the bastards after you get to us.”
He’d attacked a cop. Not a very “good” guy thing to do.
Zane glanced back at her. “They herded you to the station. They’re going to be sending someone for you. Maybe Feds, maybe someone pretending to be Feds, but they’ll have paperwork, all nice and neat, saying they can take you into custody.” He paused. “They’ll take you, and no one will see you again.”
No, he was wrong. They’d take her … and they’d use her. The price for her life would be death for others.
“Come on, we need to get the hell out of here.” He frowned down at the cop. “Sorry, Tony.”
Sorry? Sorry? “What’s going to happen to him?”
“He’ll get to deny helping us escape. He’ll have the bruise to prove he was hit. He’ll be clear….” Zane hurried away from the table, pulling her with him. “And, in a few minutes, so will we.”
His fingers curled around the doorknob.
She grabbed his shoulder. “This place will be crawling with cops! We won’t be able to just walk out, we can’t—”
“Tony sent ‘em away.”
“Why would he—”
“Look, baby, trust me on this, okay? Tony knows the deal around here. When he found out Harris was missing, he knew what was going down. Hell, why do you think he came close enough for me to hit?”
The cop had wanted them to escape? Since when did a cop want someone to break out?
“Not like it’s the first time we played this game. …” Zane inched open the door and gave a nod. “All right, we’re gonna have to move quickly. Don’t fight me. Whatever I do, just go with it, okay?”
She would have gone with just about anything right then. She nodded her head in agreement and then realized he couldn’t see the move. “Let’s get out of here.”
“On three…”
He began to softly whisper the count, and when he got to three, they ran into the hall, darting fast in a series of twists and turns. The place looked deserted, but she could hear voices, phones. She kept her head down and followed Zane, moving as quickly as she could.
Five more feet, and they were at a door with a red exit sign. Go, go. Footsteps tapped behind them.
Zane shoved open the door and yanked her across the threshold. The door shut with a clang behind them.
Jana’s head was pressed against Zane’s chest. She could hear the fierce pounding of his heart, racing so fast.
“Stay behind me,” he murmured, and then he pulled back. They eased down two flights of stairs, going deeper into the bowels of the precinct.
Minutes later, they came out in the garage. Squad cars were scattered around, waiting.
Time to steal another ride?
“Don’t even think about it,” Zane said. “The second we vanish in one of those, every cop in the area will be after us.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Someone would be raising the alarm any minute, she knew it, she knew—
“See that door? It leads to the alley. Come on, move that sweet ass, baby.”
She hauled ass.
A hard push from Zane, and the door flew open. They stumbled outside. She looked to the left, to the right, and—
“Damn, hoss, it took you long enough,” a deep voice rumbled and Jana froze. “I was starting to think I’d have to come in and haul your sorry hide out.”
Zane grunted and headed for the big, blond guy-the guy from Night Watch. The shifter who’d gone into the fire with them. The guy stood next to a green pickup truck, his arms crossed over his chest.
“It’s not as easy to slip out of a police station as it is to slip into one,” Zane said and opened the passenger side door.
Jana jumped in as the blond hurried around the truck and opened the driver’s side door. She had to ask, “How did you know we—”
“Tony called. He said you needed a ride.” The shifter fired up the engine. “Lucky for you, I was in the neighborhood.”
It’s not the first time we’ve played this game. Huh. The cop really had been helping them.
Zane crowded in on the other side and she was squeezed between the two big, masculine frames. The blond hit the gas and the truck sped forward. “Got orders from Pak to take you to a safe house. He wants you to stay there until we can get this shit straightened out.”
“How many dead, Jude?” Zane demanded.
Jana licked her lips.
“Five total,” the guy-Jude-said. “You got the rest out.”
Five people. Why had they died? To teach her a lesson? Her hands fisted and her nails bit into her palms. She’d make sure the bastards paid for this.
“They knew we were coming, Jude,” Zane said and his arm rubbed against hers. Hell, his whole body rubbed against hers. That strong thigh was pressed to her leg.
“They probably tapped the line,” Jana forced herself to say what she suspected.
Jude grunted. “Maybe. Pak’s doing a housecleaning. There’s no way that fire should have started, not with our security systems in place.”
A housecleaning?
Jude turned a hard left, and the truck drove down a long, narrow road. “Lady, if you’re such a badass, why’d you go running into the fire?”
She lifted the cuffs. “I didn’t exactly have much choice.”
Zane’s finger touched the edge of her mouth, and she realized that the right side of her lip had hitched up.
Lie.
She swallowed.
Zane edged closer to her. His breath feathered over her ear when he said, “As soon as I get you alone, you’re telling me everything. Everything.”
But he wouldn’t want to hear her secrets, and she didn’t want to tell them. Sometimes, she liked to forget who she was, and what she’d done.
“They made it personal,” he said, the words dark and deadly and a shiver slipped over her. “They came after my people, and they’re damn well going to pay.”
She turned and met his stare. Black, not green. The demon was out to play. “I tell you, and then you let me go?”
He’d broken her out of jail. That had to mean something, didn’t it?
He held her stare. His expression never changed. “Of course.”
And this time, she was the one who knew: lie.
“Where the hell are they?”
Antonio cracked open one eye at the screeching voice. He was flat on the floor, and his jaw ached like a bitch.
He’d also spent the last five minutes pretending to be out cold. Like Zane could really take me with one punch. The guy thought he had a fist of steel-not so much. Especially not since Zane had a tendency to pull his punches with friends.
Antonio let a moan break from his lips, and he made a show of pushing himself off the floor. “Wh-what…” He shook his head. “What happened?” Did he sound weak enough? Maybe.
He squinted and allowed his gaze to drift around the room. He saw the shoes first. Two-inch black heels. Long legs. His gaze rose. A woman stood in the doorway of the interrogation room. Her dark blond hair was pulled back at her nape. Her green eyes glittered-oh, yeah, a lot of rage there.
A man was behind her, tall, balding, and peering over her shoulder.
“Who are you?” Antonio asked as he rose to his feet. He shifted his jaw. Zane hadn’t pulled the punch that much. “What the-where the hell are the prisoners?”
The woman shook her head. “You expect me to believe this bull?”
He stumbled and his legs rammed into the thick table.
A badge was slapped onto the table. “FBI Special Agent Kelly Thomas.” Her red nails tapped the badge. “I’m here to pick up your prisoner, Jana Carter.” She paused a beat. “And you’d better tell me that Ms. Carter is just down the hall, getting fingerprinted.”
“I … don’t remember…. Something hit me….”
She swore and spun around, colliding with the guy. “They’re gone! Christ, we’ve got to call headquarters.”
The guy jerked out his phone and began punching numbers.
She tossed a hard glare back at Antonio. “Captain Young, you’ve made a serious mistake.” “Mistake? Lady, I was assaulted!”
Her lips curled in disgust. “You think I don’t know about you? You chose the wrong side.”
His shoulders straightened. “And what side would that be?”
She snatched back her badge. “The side with the freaks. You want to screw with them, that’s your mistake.” Screw with them?
“It’s a mistake that I’ll make sure you regret,” she promised.
He waited until the lady and her partner stormed out, then he took out his phone. Two seconds later, he’d connected to the most powerful man in Baton Rouge. “Hey, Pak. I got a name for you. Kelly Thomas.” He listened a moment and then said, “You were right, she came for the Ignitor.”
The FBI agent would realize soon enough … he never did a damn thing that he regretted. Could she say the same thing?
They were dropped off in the swamp and left at a cabin that lurked on the edge of darkness. Another cabin. Only this one looked much better than their last shelter.
“Your place?” Zane asked Jude when he climbed out of the truck. “Does Erin know about this?” Jana followed him around the front of the truck. Who was Erin? Another hunter?
“Uh …” Jude blinked slowly. “Are you asking if the assistant district attorney knows that I just aided and abetted an escape from the Baton Rouge Police Department?”
“Yeah.”
Jude tossed him a set of keys. “Sure she does. The woman knows everything I do.”
Zane’s fingers curled around the keys. “Thanks, man.”
A wide smile, one that flashed with lots of sharp, white teeth, stretched Jude’s mouth. “Now we’re even, demon.”
Until next time.
“A motorcycle is around back, with helmets. If you two need to make a quick exit … well, just watch your asses.” “Will do.”
“Lay low, Zane. At least until we figure out who we’re up against.”
Jana felt Zane’s stare shift to her. “Don’t worry. We’ll be figuring out this game very soon.”
He thought she’d tell him. He wanted all the dirty little secrets, and he deserved to know.
She just … didn’t want him to know the truth. But, really, what was a little death between two friends? Not that they were actually friends….
The other hunter drove away. Dusk was coming, falling fast, and bringing a chill to the air. They went inside and, though the place was small, Jana was happy to see a clean bed. And food. Sweet, blessed food.
And … a bathroom. With a shower. Oh, heaven.
“I want to know about Project Perseus.”
Of course he did.
“Tell me who the big players are. Tell me what the hell they want.”
She didn’t want to talk then. It had truly been a pisser of a day. Jana began to strip.
Beside her, Zane stiffened. “Ah … what are you doing?”
He was a bright demon. Surely he could figure this out. She kicked off her shoes. Shoved off her socks. Then her fingers went to the buckle on her jeans.
“Jana!”
The jeans hit the floor. She kept her panties on, for now. Jana slanted him a fast look. “In case you haven’t noticed”—but she was sure he had—“I’m covered in ash, grime, blood, and who the hell knows what else. I’m showering.” She took a nice, slow breath. “And since you’re stuck to me, you’re coming in, too.” Zane. Hot water. Naked flesh.
Things were about to get wild.
Just what she wanted. What she needed.
No past. No secrets. Just them.
“Do me a favor?” she whispered and raised her brows. The cuffs would be a problem for her, but there was a way around them. All he had to do was … “Rip my shirt off?”
Chapter 7
“What?” The word broke from Zane, more a growl than anything else.
“Can’t really shower with it. Can’t get it off over the cuffs.” She shrugged and gave him a smile that sent all of his blood rushing down south. “Rip it for me?”
He swallowed and his gaze dropped to her panties. Black panties that were little more than a scrap of silk. “We don’t … have to do that.” The fingers of his right hand uncurled. Jude, bless him, curse him, had slipped him a key. “I’ve got your ticket to freedom, baby.”
Her eyes widened and a pleased smile blossomed on her lips. Damn. She was gorgeous when she smiled.
He lifted the cuffs. He shoved the key in, and the lock snicked as the cuffs sprang open.
Then they were free. The cuffs fell to the floor.
Jana stared up at him. Her legs were curvy, smooth, and he wanted to touch them. No, he wanted to spread them and drive fierce and hard inside.
He’d been chained to the woman for over twenty-four hours, and he’d been hard for her most of that time.
Focus. There were questions that needed to be asked. Answers he had to get.
But Jana was lifting the edge of her shirt, revealing her midriff, and he wasn’t about to look away. He’d never pretended to be a saint, and he was horny as hell right then.
She tossed the shirt to the floor. Her bra matched the panties and the upper curves of her breasts thrust against the black material. The woman had great breasts. Round and firm. What color were her nipples? What would they taste like?
“You’re dirty, Zane.” He blinked. Ah …
“You might as well
shower with me.” Then she turned away, her hips rolling in a tempting sway as she headed for the bathroom. As she walked, her hands lifted and she unhooked the bra. It fell in her wake. She glanced back at him. “No drugs are controlling you this time. You know what you’re doing now. So do I.”
At the bathroom door, she ditched her panties.
His breath hissed out, and his hands fisted.
A moment later, the water roared on. His eyes squeezed shut. She’d be sliding under that water soon, the liquid dripping down her body. Covering every inch of her pale flesh.
If he went in that bathroom, he’d take her. He’d drive into her until they both came, until the need that had been riding him finally eased.
Sex wasn’t part of the plan. Sex wasn’t—
Fuck it. His eyes flew open, and he bounded across the room in two seconds. He yanked off his shirt. Kicked off his shoes and socks. Lost his jeans …
He wrenched back the shower curtain and saw her. Wet hair. Water glistening on her face. On her body.
Pink nipples. Like ripe cherries. He’d always liked cherries.
“What took you so long?” Jana whispered as she reached for him.
Her fingers were wet and warm. Her flesh so soft. He took her mouth, driving his tongue past her lips even as the water pounded down on him.
He’d wanted to fuck her from the first moment he saw her. They’d been surrounded by fire-and he’d wanted her.
Zane wasn’t used to denying himself pleasures. He’d tried to hold back with her, but it just wasn’t his way. Taking, that was him.
His fingers curved around her hips. She had a fantastic ass. An ass that had driven him crazy. But…
His tongue thrust against hers. Zane caught her gasp and he lifted her, easing her back against the tiled wall.
Her thighs parted. Smooth, pale thighs. Thighs that had hugged his hips on that motorcycle. They’d clung so well, and he’d wanted them wrapped around his waist as he thrust deep into her.
Not a safe woman to want. He knew that. But then, he wasn’t a safe guy.
His fingers slipped between her legs, and he found the hot core of her body. He eased one finger inside her. Tight. Sweet hell. She’d feel so damn good around his cock. He pushed another finger inside her, and she tensed.