He sat on the opposite end of the sofa, not nearly as close as he wanted to be. “What did you mean when you said he didn’t know what he was doing?”
Her fingers brushed the knot on her head. “He was the rapist. But he wasn’t. He did it, but he didn’t mean to.”
He looked at her, hoping his silence would encourage her to explain. She wasn’t making any sense at all.
She let out an exasperated sigh. “The man in that picture—the man who beat me up last night—he was possessed by a demon.”
“A demon?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it was the same demon that tried to possess me. The halfling that went missing from the morgue.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”
“It’s him. He’s the hotel room rapist. He’s using his brother, possessing him so he can assault women and do whatever else.”
He nodded. “And summon more demons. He was a halfling. His brother must be human. He’s using his brother’s blood to summon the fiends.” Luke’s heart pounded. It was all starting to make sense. “We’ve got him, Macey. I know where the bastard lives. We can take out him and his brother.” He wanted to hug her. To sweep her up in his arms and kiss her. He refrained.
She shook her head. “You can’t.”
“Oh, yes we can. Werewolves were born to hunt demons. We can take them both down.”
“You can’t hurt his brother. Jimmy is innocent.”
Luke scoffed. “Innocent, my ass. He’s been summoning demons. Only a pure human can do that.”
“You don’t understand. Jimmy is…special. He’s like a little boy stuck in a man’s body. His brother abuses him into submission.” She looked at him with pleading eyes. “He needs help, Luke.”
Crap. “Well, that complicates things, doesn’t it?”
She yawned. “I guess it does.”
“You’ve been up all night. You should get some rest. I’ll stay with you…I mean, I’ll stay in the living room…so you can sleep.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll sleep fine without you here. Don’t you have some demons to chase?”
“Not in the middle of the day. It’s okay. I can stay and keep you safe.”
Her nostrils flared. “I don’t need you to keep me safe. I’m going to take a nap, and then I’m going to go to work.”
“You’re recovering from an attack. You shouldn’t be going to work.”
She stood and marched toward the door. “You shouldn’t be telling me what to do. I appreciate the ride home, but now it’s time for you to leave.”
He’d done it again. The mere suggestion that she might need help always seemed to set her off. He should’ve known better by now to tread carefully around that subject. Standing, he cautiously approached her. He needed to defuse the situation before he walked out the door. He couldn’t leave her mad at him…didn’t want to leave her at all.
“I’m sorry. You’re right, I’m being overprotective. I just…I came so close to losing you. I’m afraid for it to happen again.”
He took a step closer and cupped her face in his hand. For a moment, she nuzzled into his touch, closing her eyes like she was giving in. Then she stiffened.
“You don’t h…have me anymore.” Her voice trembled as she spoke.
He dropped his hand to his side. “I know. But that doesn’t mean I won’t fight for you.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath. “When I allow myself to get close to anyone, something always happens. Life always finds a way to take away the ones I love.”
He reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, his heart hammering at her use of that word. She didn’t pull away. “Life never gives guarantees, but I can. I promise you this, Macey. I will love you with every fiber of my being for as long as I’m alive, and I will do everything in my power to stand by your side forever, no matter what life has in mind.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know. But don’t be so afraid of dying that you never learn to live.” He squeezed her hand and kissed her softly on the cheek. Her breath hitched when his lips brushed her face. Was it the supernatural energy or merely from his touch? “Please lock the door. And don’t answer it for anyone.”
She nodded and closed the door. He caught it with his hand just before it shut. He couldn’t mask the pain of his breaking heart. “Come back to me, Macey. Please.”
“I need more time. I’m sorry.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Macey gazed at the oblong crystal Roberta had given her. It weighed heavy in her hands, its uneven edges rough against her skin. You’ll know what to do when the time comes. Hopefully, Roberta was right. Releasing energy from objects had become so easy, once she learned what to do. Would trapping a ghost be as simple? Just do the same thing, in reverse. She could do that, couldn’t she? She had to. This was the weapon for stopping the demon spirit, and Macey had to wield it.
She sighed and dropped the stone into her purse before shoving it in her desk drawer. If Luke would even let her get close to the fiend. He had this crazy idea that she was a helpless damsel in distress who wouldn’t be safe without a big bad werewolf watching out for her. Never mind that she was a police detective who fought human monsters every day. What was his problem?
She slammed the drawer shut and toyed with her copper bracelet. Had her mother been a full werewolf who could shift? Or her father? Her life would certainly have been different if her parents had survived. Maybe she wouldn’t be so terrified of loving Luke if they had. Then again, she probably wouldn’t have even met him.
Her chest ached with the thoughts. Focus on one thing at a time. Right now, the most important thing was stopping the demon spirit and getting Jimmy the help he needed. Fixing her heart would have to wait.
“You okay, boss?” Bryce leaned in the doorway and took a bite of his Snickers bar. “I didn’t expect you back tonight.”
“I’m fine. Needed to get out of the house. Keep my mind busy.”
He pushed off the door and sauntered toward her desk, dropping a Hershey Special Dark bar in front of her as he sat in a chair. “I hear women like chocolate when they’re having man trouble.” He winked.
“I…” She started to push the candy away but hesitated. The sweet chocolaty scent filled her nose, making her mouth water. “What the hell.” She opened the wrapper and placed a square of chocolate on her tongue. Her eyelids closed as the bittersweet goodness melted, relaxing the tension in her shoulders. When she opened her eyes, Bryce grinned at her.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asked.
“Not really.”
“Whew.” He pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead. “Good.”
Macey rolled her eyes.
“Can we talk about your pretty sister?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“No.”
“Well, it was worth a shot. Listen, Mace, I’m pushing them real hard to find the guy that attacked you, but they’re coming up with nothing. Have you remembered any more details? Anything at all that could help our boys out?”
Her face tightened. She tried to relax into a neutral expression, but her heart rate kicked up, and her palms went slick with sweat. She looked him in the eyes, forcing herself to hold his gaze as she spoke. “I’ve told you everything I remember.”
He squinted at her, studying her. Bryce could spot a lie a mile away before it even rounded the corner. He wouldn’t buy it, but he might let it slide. “And you’re not holding anything back? Nothing else is going on? That Luke guy—”
“Luke did not hurt me, so don’t even go there.” Not physically, anyway.
“Okay. But if you ever need any help with him…”
“It’s not like that. I promise.”
“But if it ever is.”
She reached across the desk and patted his hand. “Thanks, Bryce.”
The tune of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” drifted up from Bryce’s pants. He grinned as he fished his phone out of his p
ocket. “Like my ringtone? It’s new.”
Macey laughed and leaned back in her chair. If only she could shake it off like Taylor. She trusted her partner. She hadn’t opened up to him about everything in her life, but he knew a lot. And he’d been around for five years. Maybe Luke… She didn’t have time to finish her thought.
“Got another one. Over on Esplanade. Let’s go.”
Luke brushed off his shirt and tied back his hair. His parents had arrived at the Louis Armstrong International Airport that afternoon, and his dad waited for him in the office. Dread tightened his chest. He’d hoped to have the demon infestation taken care of before his old man got home. He could imagine the disappointment his father must have felt to learn Luke hadn’t taken care of the problem.
He hadn’t seen his folks in two months, and he’d hoped their reunion would consist of a nice dinner and maybe a few souvenirs. His dad wanted to get straight to business.
He opened the door to find Marcus sitting behind the desk, a casual smile lighting his face as he stroked his wife’s hand. Luke’s mom perched on the edge of the bureau, toying with a tiny Eiffel Tower figure. She set the trinket on the desk and rushed toward Luke, wrapping her arms around him.
“Welcome home, Mom. How was your trip?”
“It was wonderful. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.”
“Hey, Dad.” Luke reached across the desk to shake his father’s hand.
“Sit down, son.” Marcus’s face was serious. “I’m concerned.”
Luke sank into the chair and gripped the smooth, wooden arm rests. The disappointment in the old man’s eyes stung. He’d failed him.
“I expected a debriefing from you first, but I wasn’t home ten minutes before your cousin knocked on my door.” Marcus folded his hands on the table and leaned forward, resting his weight on his arms. The chair creaked with his movement. Luke’s mother settled into the chair next to him and clasped her hands in her lap.
Luke cleared his throat. “I’ve got the demon situation under control. I have a plan. I—”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. I have no doubt you’ll clean up that mess before the week is through.”
He exhaled. He hadn’t failed his father. Not yet. “Then what did Stephen want, if not to tattle on my lack of progress?”
His father held his eyes with a steely gaze. “He wants to be alpha, son. Rumor has it you haven’t selected a mate. You know you can’t be alpha unless you’re mated to another werewolf.”
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “I have chosen one.”
His dad crossed his arms over his chest. “The cop? I heard she dumped you.”
Good news sure did travel fast in the wolf pack. “She just needs time. She’ll come around.”
“We don’t have time.”
His mom patted his hand. “I was ecstatic when I heard Macey was a were. I really was. But if she doesn’t want to be with you…”
He jerked his hand away. “She does. I love her, and I know she loves me. She’s scared. That’s all. Macey will come back to me.”
His old man leaned back in his chair. “And if she doesn’t? I won’t have Stephen tearing this pack apart.”
Luke shot out of the chair, knocking it over. “He won’t.” He clenched his fists by his sides and raked in a ragged breath. “I will be alpha.”
“Then you’d better choose an alternative mate. You’re running out of time. After Stephen left, three different women knocked on my door offering to be your mate. The pack doesn’t want your cousin to lead it. You have plenty of choices, son.”
He swallowed down the sour taste bubbling from his throat. Choosing anyone but Macey was unthinkable. “I’ll tell you what. If I can’t win Macey back before the deadline…you can choose one for me. Anybody you want. It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, honey.” His mom’s eyes held sadness, her voice pity. “We can’t choose a life partner for you.”
“Sure you can. If it isn’t Macey, it might as well be anyone. It won’t matter to me, because I’ll never love anyone else. I’ll do my duty. I’ll run this pack, and I’ll have offspring. But my heart will always belong to Macey.” He reached for the doorknob. “I’m going to get her back. She just has to learn to trust me.”
His mom smiled. “Then you need to learn to trust her.”
Jimmy woke up to a throbbing pain in his shoulder. His back ached from sleeping on the floor, and his hair was soaked through with sweat. “Hello?” he called out into the shack.
No one answered.
“Ross? Boy?”
Silence.
He peeled himself off the floor and gingerly touched his wound. A big white blister surrounded by an angry red welt covered the hole where Miss Macey’s bullet had hit him. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it sure did hurt.
Miss Macey had looked so frightened when he went to her house. Ross had used him to scare the nice lady, and he’d tried to kill her too. Jimmy didn’t like scaring or killing. Or being used. Hopefully Miss Macey was okay, but Ross would keep going after her until she was dead. He was sure of that. He wouldn’t use Jimmy to do it, though. Jimmy would fight back.
His stomach growled, and the memory of those hotdogs made his mouth water. Maybe he could help Miss Macey. No one had ever been so nice to him, except for Momma. He picked at the scar on his palm. Ross had killed Momma. Jimmy wouldn’t let him kill Miss Macey too.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As Macey climbed the creaky wooden steps toward the victim’s apartment, she ran her hand along the cracked brick wall. Images of the building’s history shuffled through her mind like a slide show of secrets to which only she was privy. A few weeks ago, the barrage of images would’ve overwhelmed her. Now that Roberta had helped develop her gift, she could easily grab hold of any image she chose and soak in the energy, the story, the building held.
She grinned as she watched the image of two young boys in knickers and suspenders sliding down the stairs on an old board like they were riding a sled. They hooped and hollered and crashed at the bottom, then ran back up and slid down again.
Would her own children be as rambunctious as these boys one day? Would they look like her, with small statures and pale hair? Or would they favor Luke?
She shook herself. Don’t think like that. She needed to focus on the case. One step at a time.
“You okay?” Bryce paused at the top of the stairs; Macey had stopped mid-flight.
“Yeah. Just…reading.” She continued her ascent.
Bryce raised his eyebrows. “Anything helpful?”
She shook her head and brushed past him. The victim’s apartment showed no sign of struggle. A rainbow of pillows lined the sofa, each one tilted at a perfect diagonal and carefully laid in place. The shelves held rows of neatly stacked books, and a stick of burning incense filled the room with patchouli. Strings of orange beads hung over the doorway to the balcony, and Macey stepped through to find the victim sipping juice on a lawn chair.
The woman had dark brown eyes that crinkled in the corners when she smiled. “You must be the great Detective Carpenter. I’ve heard about you.” She offered her hand, and Macey shook it.
A soft tingle buzzed up her arm, and Macey narrowed her eyes. The woman wasn’t a werewolf; the sensation felt different. But she possessed some sort of magic. A small cut marred her forehead, and a clay pot lay smashed on the floor. Here had been the struggle.
“You seem awfully calm for being the victim of an attempted sexual assault, Miss…” She flipped through her notes to find the woman’s name.
“Natasha.”
“Natasha, can you tell me what happened?”
The woman waved her hand dismissively. “It was nothing a little voodoo magic couldn’t take care of.”
“Voodoo?” Bryce tried to step onto the balcony, but he got tangled in the beads hanging in the doorway. He stumbled and spun around and finally made it out the door.
Natasha glanced at him and focused on Macey. “T
hat demon messed with the wrong priestess is all I’m saying.”
“Demon, huh?” Bryce chuckled. “Let me guess. Red eyes?”
“Yeah,” Macey said. “We’ve been getting a lot of reports of a guy wearing red contacts harassing women. It was probably him.”
Natasha glared at Macey, her gaze heavy, full of warning. “I know a demon when I see one. You should too.”
Macey stepped toward her partner and lowered her voice. “Why don’t you let me handle this. Maybe I can talk some sense into her. You know…woman to woman.”
“Gotcha, boss. I’ll be right inside.” Bryce swatted at the hanging beads and stepped through the door.
Macey pulled a chair up next to Natasha. “The demon,” she whispered. “What did it look like?”
“Oh, you believe me now, do you?” Natasha spoke loudly, leaning back and crossing her arms.
“Shh…I do, but they don’t.” She nodded toward the men in the apartment. “Did you kill it?”
Natasha laughed. “Kill it? Nah. I can send a spirit on to the next plane, but I ain’t mastered demon slaying. I sure did scare it off, though.”
“Which way did it go?”
“Took off up the street there.” She pointed. “He’s probably still hanging around. I pissed him off, so he’ll be back. You can count on that.”
“Maybe you should stay inside tonight.” Macey leaned over the balcony, scanning the shadows below. If only her werewolf blood enhanced her vision like it did her sense of smell. All she could see was darkness.
“I ain’t afraid of no demon. The neighbors heard the commotion and called you, but I done blessed this place and set up a charm. Ain’t no evil getting back in here tonight.”
“All right. Just—” Something stirred in the corner of her vision. Two blocks away, a shadow morphed into a human-like form and slinked down the street. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
Natasha leaned forward. “Mm-hmm. That’s a demon if I ever seen one. Check out them eyes.”
The fiend turned its head, and crimson eyes flashed like glowing embers. Where were the werewolves? They were supposed to be stopping these things. Macey darted into the apartment and shoved past the officers in the living room.
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