Midnights Master

by Lauren DeStefano

Page 7

 

  As it stood in the paranormal world, generally, like recognized like. He could stare right through the glamour that disguised most of his kind and find the demon beneath the skin. He knew witches felt the power surge when their kin were close. Shifters-they could smell their brethren, damn strong senses.

  But Emily Drake, a human, she could discover all their secrets in less than a few seconds' time.

  And the fact that she was sleeping with the detective, well, that meant he had pretty much immediate access to Emily's wonderfully interesting mind-and her powers.

  "Don't concern yourself with Emily," Gyth growled.

  Ah. Some real emotion from the detective. He was a possessive bastard, but most wolf shifters were. Possessive, and often psychotic.

  "Why'd you do it? Why him? Did he piss you off?"

  Niol sighed. He really didn't have time for this crap. He needed to get Holly and get her home.

  Then he had to start hunting a killer. "Don't look to me for this one. " His hands weren't clean of blood, but, this time, the crime wasn't his.

  "Then who?" Gyth grabbed the chair across from Niol. Twisted it around and straddled it. "That first night, you knew the kid, and I think you knew who killed him, too. "

  The detective was getting warmer, but still damn off track.

  "Tell me, Niol, tell me. What the hell is going on in this city? Why am I stumbling over dead demons? And why are you sniffing around Storm?"

  Because I want to sniff her. Sniff her, kiss her, take her. But that was none of the detective's business.

  "Don't look to me," Niol said again and rose. This interrogation was over. He didn't have to put up with this shit.

  "Then who?" A snarl.

  "The humans, shifter. This time, the killer's one of them. " He'd bet on it.

  A human, killing demons.

  The world just wasn't safe anymore.

  "Why'd Sam have your card?"

  Holly blinked and tried to shove the image of Sam's ravaged face out of her mind.

  But she knew she'd be seeing that image in her nightmares for months.

  Christ. Sam. "He-he was one of my sources. " No sense lying. She rubbed her eyes. Dammit, she hurt . Her body ached, her heart felt like it had been ripped out, and she wanted to get out of the cramped interrogation room with the flickering light that made her temples throb and just go back to the safety of her house.

  "What kind of information was Sam feeding you?"

  Her fingers dug into her forehead and she didn't look at Todd Brooks. The guy was human, like her, but he was also very heavily involved in the demon world.

  The guy's girlfriend was a succubus, so yeah, in Holly's book, that qualified as involved.

  "Ms. Storm?" The groan of a chair's legs as he yanked back the chair next to her and sat close, crowding her.

  She hated being crowded.

  "Just what kind of information was Sam giving you?"

  Her hand dropped and she met his stare. That deceptively warm, I'll-be-your-friend, come-on-

  trust-me brown stare. The good cop, to Colin Gyth's badass. Right. Holly almost snorted. Both cops knew the game, and they'd do anything to catch their prey.

  And now they thought she was that prey. "Sam was a demon. " She didn't glance toward the shining mirror on the right wall. She knew somebody had to be behind that glass, watching her.

  Holly just hoped it was someone who knew the score, and not some paper pusher who was gonna try to get her committed to Reed Infirmary's Psych ward in the next hour. "He was teaching me about his world. " Feeding her bits of information, one tiny crumb at a time.

  He swore, then muttered, "Couldn't you leave 'em alone? They nearly killed you before-"

  "Not they. " Her jaw was clenched and she gritted the words. " He. One man. " Not all demons were killers; she'd learned that. Just as she'd learned all humans, even those who wore badges, weren't to be trusted.

  Just seven months ago, her cheating ex-fiance had sure hammered that lesson home.

  Holly drew in a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. Todd wanted her to lose her cool.

  The guy thought she was involved in the murders, and, okay, she could even see where he was coming from. She'd been on the scene of the first crime, she'd known the guy was a demon-she'd known him . Carl had been one of her sources, just like Sam. Wouldn't take a genius to connect the lines back to her.

  But she hadn't killed them. "Sam wasn't a bad guy, okay? He was getting clean. " She sure knew how hard that had been. She'd watched her brother fight that battle, and fail. "He was harmless, he was-"

  "Butchered. "

  Holly flinched. She didn't need that visual. Really didn't. I'm so sorry, Sam. Until that last meeting, they'd always gotten along so well.

  Until that last meeting…

  Her heart didn't slow down. It sped up as realization dawned.

  Sam had been desperate to get her away from him. Because he'd known he was a target? And the hit-and-run right after she'd left him-no damn way would she buy that as a coincidence.

  "When was the last time you saw Sam Miters alive?"

  A quick swipe of her tongue over her lips. "Um, lunch. " Was that yesterday? She glanced at her watch. Nearing six A. M . "Yesterday. "

  "And did he seem…agitated to you?"

  Sweat coated her palms as she met his measuring stare. "Yeah, you could say that. "

  "What exactly did he say in that meeting?"

  Watch your pretty ass, Storm. Hell's coming to town.

  Her gaze held his.

  Sam had known. He'd known that a killer was loose on the streets. But had he realized he'd be the next victim?

  "What. Did. He. Say?" Voice harder now. More demanding. Good cop starting to disintegrate into bad. Her shoulders rolled in a shrug. Where was Niol? And why had Gyth wanted to question him? Did he think Niol was involved?

  Then she remembered what Sam had muttered when she'd asked if Niol had warned him away from her.

  "Niol's involved? Fuck, I'm out of here. "

  Oh, shit. Just what had she stumbled into?

  "Storm. "

  She blinked and realized Brooks was glaring at her. Time to answer the cop, or partially answer him, anyway. "He told me our arrangement was over. That I should lose his number. " Her wrist and arm were throbbing again. She could really use an aspirin. Nothing stronger because she never took pain pills or anything that might make her-

  "And how did you respond?" His fingers tapped out a quiet rhythm on the table.

  I asked if Niol had scared him. "He left. I got hit by a van. " A shrug that made her arm ache more. "End of story. " Not really. The real end had come when Sam got sliced to pieces.

  Not the way he should have gone. Not right-for him or Carl.

  "You've got two dead sources, Storm. " Storm. He always called her by that name. Whatever.

  She always thought of him as Brooks. Not exactly on a good, first-name basis. "Two dead, demon sources. "

  Yeah, and she knew it looked bad. "I didn't kill them. "

  His brows rose. "I never said you did. "

  Well, good. But why the hell was she in Interrogation when-

  "But your new boyfriend…" A hard exhalation of air. "Now he's another story. " His lips curved down. "You're in over your head, lady. You don't know just how dangerous your new lover is. "

  Yes, she did. "I was there that night, detective. " A reminder the guy didn't need. She knew he hadn't forgotten one instance of that horror-filled night at Paradise Found. She sure hadn't. "I saw Niol. I saw everything. " More than the detective had realized. His attention had been splintered.

  He'd been dealing with the approaching cops, trying to protect his succubus lover, and making sure the killer was down.

  But her eyes had been on Niol. She'd seen him . She knew exactly how dangerous he was.

  Niol d
idn't need to rip and claw a man to shreds. He could use a stray thought to kill.

  Level-ten demon. There wasn't a more powerful being in the Other world.

  She wasn't going to pretend Niol was some kind of good guy. A demon with a pure heart. She knew what he was.

  And wanted him anyway.

  Talk about being screwed up.

  "Niol's got quite a temper," Brooks murmured. "Maybe that temper got out of control. Maybe he didn't like other demons being near you, so he eliminated the competition. "

  Bullshit. If she and Niol were involved sexually, she doubted he would have considered a kid and a recovering drug addict to be much competition. Holly shook her head. "Niol didn't even know I was working with them. And you've got the wrong idea, Niol and I-we-"

  The door to the interrogation room opened with a squeak. Easily, softly. Niol stood in the doorway, arms hanging loosely at his sides. "It's time to leave, Holly. "

  She blinked. "Ah-"

  "What the hell?" Brooks shot to his feet. "Get out of here, asshole! I'm questioning her-"

  "Not anymore. " Niol's gaze raked over Holly. "You all right?"

  Was that a thread of concern in his voice? Holly pushed back from the table, rising on legs that should have been steadier, but-

  It had been one hell of a night. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. "

  She tried to walk around Brooks, but his hand caught her wrist. "We're not finished. "

  A growl. And one that didn't come from the shifter standing just behind Niol.

  No, it came from Niol. "You don't want to do that," he said, and the words were dark and rumbling.

  The air around her suddenly felt thicker, colder-and then Todd's hand was gone.

  Almost…wrenched away.

  The cop swore and stumbled away from her. "I'm not in the mood for your tricks, Niol!"

  "And I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit. " He crossed the cramped space and took Holly's hand. "We gave you half an hour. Answered your questions like the damn good citizens we are-now we're leaving. "

  A muscle flexed along his jaw. His voice was controlled, but Holly realized Niol was seriously pissed.

  "Yeah, he's got quite a temper," Todd said again and tossed a calculating glance her way. "You sure that you want to leave with him, Storm?"

  Niol's fingers caressed the skin over her wrist. A light, gentle touch. One he didn't even seem to be aware of making.

  Her pulse jumped under that touch, a hard spike.

  Niol turned to meet her stare.

  Such dark eyes. A perfect black.

  Was his soul like that, too? Was she making a huge mistake?

  "I didn't kill Carl or Sam. " The words were too loud, as if they were directed at the cops, but Niol's eyes were for her only. "Holly knows that. "

  "You've killed in the past," Gyth said, stalking into the room.

  Niol finally looked away from her. "Prove it. "

  "Fuck. "

  Holly saw the shark's smile on the demon's face. "Now get out of my way-and stay out of my way. "

  For a moment, Gyth's eyes seemed to brighten, taking on a wild glow, but he clenched his jaw and stepped aside.

  Niol and Holly headed for the door.

  "Screw him, but don't trust him. " The warning from Gyth had her stopping a foot away from the exit. "You're not up to playing his games. "

  The detective didn't know her very well. She gave him a hard grin, her own version of a shark's smile. "Yes, I am. " She was tired of the warnings. The bullshit. She knew what she was dealing with when it came to Niol, and she knew that he was the one she needed to help her solve this mess.

  Keeping her head up, she walked out of that too-tight room and down the halls of the station, with her demon at her side.

  "That went piss poor. " Captain Danny McNeal eased back in his seat and glared at his two best detectives. He'd watched the interrogations and knew that as far as the case was concerned, they'd just gotten jack and shit.

  "The woman would have talked," Collin said. "If the demon hadn't gotten to her-"

  "No. " Danny was certain of this. "You're not giving her enough credit. " That woman was good at keeping secrets-he'd seen it in her eyes.

  Why was she with the demon?

  A soft knock sounded at his door, and then, almost instantly, the knob turned and Nathalia Smith strode into the room.

  He tried not to look at her legs. Long, long legs. The skirt she'd worn today had been driving him crazy-ever since she'd given him that come-and-get-me smile as she pulled it on this morning, right after they'd gotten out of his shower.

  But that smile wasn't on her face now. Her plump lips, sin sexy, were turned down and her eyes had narrowed to near slits. "We've got a problem," she announced, lifting a file.

  Two problems, the way Danny saw it. Two dead bodies.

  Colin and Todd glanced toward her.

  "Some things are missing. "

  "Things?" Danny repeated softly, really not liking where this was going. Nathalia, well, Smith to the rest of the PD, took care of the stiffs. She was the best ME he'd ever met. The best-looking, too, but that was just a perk. The woman had a freaking genius-level IQ.

  She'd also been through hell recently, courtesy of a sick fuck who'd terrorized the city, but she was clawing her way back to normalcy.

  Or, what amounted to normalcy in this world.

  He took the folder from her, leafed through the pages, and knew that his blood pressure was rising even before the pounding began in his temples. "Shit. Tell me you're not sayin'-"

  "The killer did a brutal job on them-Miters doesn't have a heart anymore, and Bronx is missing a kidney. "