by J. R. Ward
The man rose to his feet. Butch gave him a yank.
But the suspect stepped backward, away from the station.
"Wrong way." Butch threw his anchor out, digging his heels into the pavement and pulling hard.
The suspect was inexorable. He just kept backing up, dragging Butch along with him.
"You think I won't shoot you?" Butch demanded as he reached for his gun.
And then it was all over.
Butch had never seen anyone move that fast. One second the guy had his arms behind his back; the next, the handcuffs were on the ground.
And with total economy of movement, Butch was disarmed, put in a blistering choke hold, and hauled into the shadows.
The darkness swallowed them. As Butch fought back, he realized he was in the thin alley between the station and the office building next door. It was only about five feet wide, but some sixty feet long. And it was unlit. With no windows.
When Butch was spun around and slammed into the bricks, what little breath he'd been able to steal got kicked out of his lungs in a rush. Inconceivably, he was lifted off the ground, the man holding him by the neck with only one hand.
"You should have stayed out of it, Officer," the man said in a deep, accented growl. "You should have gone along on your way and let her come to me."
Butch clawed at the iron hold. The massive hand locked around his throat was squeezing the life right out of him. He gagged, desperate for air. His vision went checkerboard, consciousness slipping out of his grasp.
He knew without a doubt that there'd be no walking away from this one. He was going to be carried out of the alley inside of a bag. Just like the man had promised.
A minute later he stopped resisting altogether, his arms dropping and hanging loose. He wanted to fight. He had the will to fight. But no longer the strength.
And as for death? He was okay with it. He was going to die in the line of duty, albeit like an idiot, because he hadn't asked for backup. Still, it was better and quicker than ending up in a hospital bed with some nasty, slow growing disease. And more honorable than shooting himself. Which was something Butch had contemplated once or twice before.
With his last lick of life, he forced his eyes to focus on the man's face. The expression staring back at him was one of total control.
The guy's done this before, Butch thought. And he's very comfortable with murder.
God, Beth.
What the hell would a man like this do to Beth?
Wrath felt the cop's body go limp. He was still alive, but barely.
The human's total lack of fear was remarkable. The cop had been pissed to get jumped, and he'd fought back admirably, but he'd never been scared. And now that the Fade was upon him, he was resigned to his death. Maybe almost relieved by it.
Damn. Wrath could imagine feeling the same way.
And it was a shame to kill someone who was able to die as a warrior would. Without fear or hesitation. Such males were few and far between, be they vampires or humans.
The cop's mouth started moving. He was trying to speak. Wrath leaned down.
"Don't… hurt… her."
Wrath found himself answering, "I'm here to save her."
"No!" A voice rang out down the alley.
Wrath turned his head. Beth was running toward them.
"Let him go!"
He loosened his grip on the cop's throat. He wasn't going to kill the guy in front of her. He needed her to trust him more than he wanted to help the cop meet his maker.
As Beth skidded to a halt, Wrath dropped his hand, and the human fell to the ground. Tortured gasping sounds and hoarse gagging rang out in the shadows.
Beth knelt over the heaving policeman, glaring upward. "You almost killed him!"
Wrath cursed, knowing he had to get the hell out of there. Other cops were bound to show up.
He looked down to the other end of the alley.
"Where do you think you're going!" Her voice was scissor-sharp with anger.
"You want me to stick around so I can get arrested again?"
"You deserve to get thrown in jail!"
With a lurch the cop tried to stand up, but his legs buckled. Still, he pushed Beth's hands away when she reached for him.
Wrath needed to find a dark corner so he could dematerialize. If nearly killing someone had shaken Beth, pulling the disappearing act in front of her would only seal the deal on freaking her out.
He turned away. Began to stride off. He didn't like the idea of leaving her, but what else could he do? If he got his ass shot and killed, who would look after her? And he couldn't let himself get thrown in jail. Those cells had steel bars, which meant when dawn came, he couldn't dematerialize to safety. Faced with those two outcomes, if a bunch of cops tried to apprehend him right now, he'd have to slaughter them all.
And then what would she think of him?
"Stop right there!" she yelled.
He kept going, and her footfalls sounded out as she came running.
"I said, stop!" She grabbed onto his arm and pulled hard.
He glared at her, frustrated by the way things had gone down. Courtesy of his song and dance with her buddy, she was terrified of him, and that was going to make taking care of her a bitch. He doubted he had time to bring her around again so she would willingly go anywhere with him. Which meant he might even have to resort to taking her against her will when her transition hit. And that wasn't going to be fun for either one of them.
As her scent drifted up into his nose, he knew she was perilously close to the change.
Maybe he needed to take her with him now.
Wrath glanced around. He couldn't very well throw her over his shoulder here, just fifteen yards from the back of the police station. Not in full view of that damned cop.
No, he was going to have to come right before dawn and abduct her. And then he'd chain her in Darius's chamber if he had to, because it was either that or she was going to die.
"Why the hell did you lie!" she yelled. "You didn't know my father."
"Yes, I did."
"Liar," she spat. "You're a killer and a liar."
"At least you got the first part right."
Her eyes widened, horror dawning on her face. "Those throwing stars… in your pockets. You murdered Mary. Didn't you?"
He frowned. "I haven't killed any women."
"So I'm right about the second part, too."
Wrath eyed the cop, who was still down for the count, but gaining ground.
Damn it, he thought. What if Beth didn't have until dawn? What if she took off and he couldn't find her?
He lowered his voice. "You've been really hungry lately, haven't you?"
She jerked back. "What?"
"Hungry, but not gaining any weight. And tired. So very tired. Your eyes have been stinging, too, especially in the daytime, right?" He leaned forward. "You're looking at raw meat and wondering what it tastes like. Your teeth, the upper ones in front, have been sore. Your joints ache, and your skin feels tight. And it's getting tighter."
She blinked, mouth falling open.
Behind her the cop lurched to his feet, wobbled, and did an ass plant back on the ground. Wrath spoke faster.
"You feel like you don't belong, don't you? Like everyone else is moving at a different, slower speed. You think you're abnormal, separate, apart. Restless. You sense that something is coming, something monumental, but you don't know what it is or how to stop it. You lie awake, afraid of your dreams, lost in familiar surroundings." He paused. "You've had little or no sex drive whatsoever, but men find you incredibly attractive. Those orgasms I gave you last night were the first ones you've ever had."
It was all the things he could remember about existing in the human world before his transition.
She stared at him. Dumbfounded.
"If you want to know what the hell's happening to you, you need to come with me now. You're about to get sick, Beth. And I'm the only one who can help you."
She too
k a step backward. Looked at the cop, who seemed to be considering the merits of lying down.
Wrath held up his hands. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. If I were going to kill you, I could have done it last night in ten different ways, right?"
Her head turned back to him, and he closed his eyes as he sensed her remembering exactly what he had done to her. Her desire was a sweet saturation in his nostrils before the scent was quickly cut off.
"You were going to kill Butch just now."
Actually, he wasn't so sure about that. A good opponent was hard to find.
"I didn't."
"You could have."
"Does it really matter? He's still breathing."
"Only because I came."
Wrath growled, playing the best card he had. "I'll take you to your father's house."
Her eyes popped and then narrowed with suspicion.
She glanced over at the cop again. Now he was back up on his feet, one hand braced against the wall, head hanging as if it were too heavy for his neck.
"My father, huh?" Her voice was dripping with disbelief. And just enough curiosity so that he knew he had her.
"We're out of time here, Beth."
There was a long silence.
The cop lifted his head and looked down the alley.
In another minute or two the guy was going to try to make another arrest. His determination was palpable.
"I'm leaving now," Wrath said. "Come with me."
Her grip tightened on her purse. "Just so we're clear, I do not trust you."
He nodded. "Why would you?"
"And those orgasms weren't my first."
"Then why were you so surprised to be having them?" he said softly.
"Hurry," she muttered, turning away from the officer. "We can get a taxi out on Trade. I didn't ask the one that got me here to wait."
* * *
Chapter Sixteen
As she sped down the alley, Beth knew she was gambling with her life. There was a serious chance she was being played. By a killer.
Except how did he know all those things she was feeling?
Before she turned the corner, she looked back at Butch. He was reaching out to her, one hand extended. She couldn't see his face for the shadows, but his desperate yearning crossed the distance between them. She hesitated, losing the rhythm of her steps.
Wrath took her arm. "Beth. Come on."
Heaven help her, she started running again.
The minute they got out to Trade, she hailed a passing cab. Thank God, it stopped on a dime. They jumped in, and Wrath gave out an address a couple blocks over from the one he'd told her on Wallace Avenue. Obviously as an evasion technique.
He must have a lot of those, she thought.
As the cab took off, she felt him look across the seat at her.
"That cop," he said. "Does he mean something to you?"
She grabbed her cell phone from her purse and dialed the front desk down at the station.
"I asked you a question." Wrath's tone was sharp.
"Go to hell." When Ricky's voice came through, she took a deep breath. "Is José there?"
It didn't take more than a minute for the other detective to be found, and he was already out the door to find Butch as she ended the call. José hadn't asked many questions, but she knew they were going to come later. And just how was she going to explain to him why she'd run off with a suspect?
That made her an accomplice for aiding and abetting, didn't it?
Beth put her phone back in her purse. Her hands were shaking, and she felt light-headed. She just couldn't catch her breath either, even though the cab was air-conditioned and blissfully cool. She cracked the window. The breeze was hot and damp as it blew through her hair.
What had she done? To her body last night. To her life right now.
What was next? Setting her apartment on fire?
She hated that Wrath had dangled the one carrot she couldn't resist in front of her. That he was obviously a criminal. That he terrified her, but she still got hot thinking about how he'd kissed her.
And she despised the fact that he knew those were her first orgasms.
"Drop us off here," Wrath told the driver ten minutes later.
Beth paid with a twenty-dollar bill, thinking they were lucky she had the cash on her. Wrath's money, that big bank roll of the stuff, was on the ground in her backyard. So it wasn't like he could cover the fare.
Was she really going home with this man?
The taxi left, and they walked down a perfectly kept sidewalk in a well-maintained, ritzy neighborhood. It was an absurd switch in scenery. From the violence in that back alley, to rolling lawns and flower beds.
She was willing to bet the people who lived in these houses had never run from the police.
She glanced back at Wrath, who was slightly behind her. He was scanning around them as if he were looking to get jumped, although how he could see anything with those black glasses on, she had no idea. She just didn't get why he wore them. Aside from compromising his vision, those flashy lenses were a serious identifying feature. If anyone clapped their eyes on him, they'd be able to describe him accurately in a heartbeat.
Not that the long black hair and the sheer size of him wouldn't have done the job well enough.
She turned her head awav. The sound of his boots hitting the concrete behind her was like fists thudding on a solid door.
"So the cop." Wrath's voice was close, deep. "Is he your lover?"
Beth almost laughed. God, he sounded jealous.
"I'm not going to answer that."
"Why?"
"Because I don't have to. I don't know you, I don't owe you."
"You got to know me pretty damn well last night," he said in a low growl. "And I got to know you very well."
Let's not go there, she thought, getting instantly wet between her legs. God, the things that man could do with his tongue.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at a well-kept Colonial. Lights glowed in various windows, making it look inviting and somehow familiar. Probably because homey-looking places were universal. And universally appealing.
She could use a week in one right about now.
"Last night was a mistake," she said.
"Didn't feel that way to me."
"Then you felt wrong. You felt all wrong."
He reached for her before she even sensed he'd moved. She was walking along and then she was in his arms. One of his hands clamped onto the base of her neck. The other pulled her hips tight against him. His erection was a thick rope on her belly.
She closed her eyes. Every inch of her skin came alive, her temperature soaring. She hated the reaction to him, but like the man, she had no control over it.
She waited for his mouth to come down on hers, except he didn't kiss her. He bent his lips to her ear instead.
"Don't trust me. Don't like me. I could give a shit. But don't you ever lie to me." He took a deep breath, as if he were drawing her into him. "I can smell the sex coming off you right now. I could take you down on this sidewalk and be up that skirt of yours in a heartbeat. And you wouldn't fight me, would you?"
No, she probably wouldn't.
Because she was an idiot. Who evidently had a death wish.
His lips brushed the side of her neck. And then his tongue licked her skin lightly. "Now, we can be civilized and wait until we get home. Or we can get down to it right here. Either way, I'm dying to come inside of you again, and you're not going to say no."
Beth gripped his shoulders through his leather jacket. She was supposed to push him away, but she didn't. She brought him closer, arching her breasts to his chest.
A sound of male desperation broke free of him, halfway between a groan of satisfaction and a dark plea.
Ha, she thought, regaining some power.
She broke their contact with grim satisfaction. "The only thing that makes this god-awful situation remotely bearable is the fact that you want me more."<
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She kicked her chin up and started walking. She could actually feel his eyes on her body as he followed, as if he were touching her with his hands.
"You're right," he said. "I would kill to have you."
Beth wheeled around, pointing a finger at him. "So that was it. You saw Butch and me kissing in the car. Didn't you?"
Wrath cocked an eyebrow at her. Smiled tightly. Didn't answer.
"Is that why you attacked him?"
"I was merely resisting arrest."
"Yeah, that's what it looked like," she muttered. "So did you? Did you see him kiss me?"
Wrath closed the space between their bodies, menace flowing out of him. "Yeah, I saw. And I hated that he was touching you. Does knowing that get you off? Do you want to nail me a good one and tell me he's a better lover than I am? It would be a lie, but it would still hurt like hell."
"Why do you care so much?" she demanded. "You and I spent one night together. Not even! It was a couple of hours."
He clamped his jaw shut. She knew his teeth were grinding by the way the hollows under his cheekbones moved. And she was glad he was wearing the sunglasses. She had a feeling his eyes would have scared the hell out of her.
When a car passed by on the street, she remembered he was a fugitive from the police, and technically so was she.
What the hell were they doing, arguing on the sidewalk… like lovers?
"Look, Wrath, I don't want to be arrested tonight." Like she'd ever thought those words would come out of her mouth? "Let's just keep going. Before someone finds us."
She turned, but he took her arm in a sure grip.
"You don't know this yet," he said grimly. "But you are mine."
For a split second, she swayed toward him.
But then she shook her head. She put her hands up to her face, trying to shut him out.
She felt marked, and the crazy thing was, she didn't really mind. Because she wanted him, too.
Which was not going to win her any prizes in the mental health department.
God, she needed to take another shot at the last couple of days. If she could only go back forty-eight hours, back to when she was sitting at her desk with Dick doing his leering-boss routine.
She'd do two things differently. She'd order a cab instead of walking home, so she never met up with Billy Riddle. And the instant she went into her apartment, she'd pack some clothes and go to a motel. So when this leather-clad, drug-lord lothario came looking for her she wouldn't have been found.