Touching Evil (The Leila Marx Novels Book 1)

by Amber Garr

  “Don’t be afraid of me. I would never hurt you,” he whispered.

  My annoyance briefly trumped my fear. “How do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “That thing where you know how I’m feeling. I mean, I get body language interpretations and all that, but you seem to be able to smell my fear or hear my heart.” I had a thought. “Or is it both?” Oh no, please don’t tell me he can do that.

  “Do you really want me to answer that?”

  I hesitated for only an instant. “Yes.” Somehow I justified that it would be better to know as much as I could about this brave new world I lived in.

  “An incubus has the ability to change into any corporal form he wants to. It allows us to seduce a human more effectively – if they know what type of person the victim is attracted to, the incubus can become the perfect mate.” He gauged my reaction and was obviously appeased with it thus far. “It is for this need that demons have the ability to sense what someone’s desires or fears are. It’s partly in the pheromones and partly in their physical reactions. I’ve inherited a watered-down version of this gift, but it still gives me insight into a person’s wants and needs.”

  He paused for a moment and I finally breathed again. “So you can smell my emotions? Kind of like a werewolf?” I questioned remembering King’s reactions toward me.

  He grinned and tilted his head in agreement. “Yes, I guess that would be a fair comparison.”

  “What about the eyes and teeth?” Well, I couldn’t stop now, could I?

  He moved his hand to the back of his neck and began to massage it. His dark hair shifted over his face and for some reason, that very human reaction to stress calmed me. I could almost picture him coming home after a long day at work with aching muscles and a pounding headache like the rest of us. He’d sit down to relax and I could massage that tension out of his fully defined shoulders. What? I suddenly realized where my mind had taken me, and then I remembered he probably knew exactly what I was reacting to. I’m sure I was blushing, and he only confirmed my fears when he looked over at me with a smirk. Oh my god.

  Shaking his head, he apparently decided to let that one slide. “There are times when I have to let the demon part escape. I can’t change forms, but there are certain traits not inherited from my human mother. The eyes and the teeth are part of that, although it’s something I can control and is only necessary when I’m hunting.”

  I tried to digest that for a minute. Well, maybe digest wasn’t the right word.

  “So red eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, what else is there?” I might as well hear it all tonight.

  He turned his body in the seat to better face me. “Super strength, admirable speed, persuasion tactics, resistance to some magic and the ability to do a little of my own, long life--”

  I cut him off before he could continue. “Magic? Like Leanna and Atticus?”

  “Yes, magic. But nothing like the witches and sorcerers of the world,” he replied rather arrogantly. I wanted to ask him more about that and about the fact that everyone seemed surprised he was able to break through a spell when he rescued Garrick and I. However, I was outmaneuvered by a cell phone.

  “It’s Gallus,” Conner said before answering his phone. A few short affirmatives later he hung up and started the car. “Time to go.”

  The butterflies in my stomach turned to clawed falcons as I envisioned what we were about to do. My foot bounced nervously and I chewed on my fingernails. I started to think about all of the things that could go wrong- someone calls the cops, the witch is home, somebody gets hurt. A sudden laugh jolted me from my thoughts.

  “Calm down,” he managed between snickers. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”

  “And how can you be certain?”

  “This isn’t the first time for most of us and we haven’t been caught yet,” he reassured me.

  It only takes once, I thought. We pulled out of the parking lot and drove into the development. When we got there, I saw a gated community and wondered how we would get in. Conner drove to the RESIDENTS side of the entrance and waved his hand past the scanner. Once the gate closed behind us, I had to ask.

  “So was that some of your magic back there?”

  With an air of amusement he replied, “Yeah. It was my magic bar code voodoo.” He threw something in my lap. I picked it up and held it toward the streetlights, noticing a white sticker with a bunch of lines on it.

  “Atticus got it for us,” he stated before I could ask. So much for being impressed.

  We drove past two identical streets before Conner turned. The left side of the road was lined with one of three types of concrete model homes better suited for a Florida suburb. The one story stucco houses had a metal roof, two car garage, and a paver driveway. The right side of the street was empty of homes and instead opened up into the community park. Soccer fields, tennis courts, a baseball field, and a workout circuit occupied most of the space.

  Conner drove slowly along the quiet street looking at house numbers. I guess if I expected us to pull right up to the house we were about to break into, my criminal mind would be called dysfunctional. Instead, we pulled into the recreational area’s dirt parking lot in front of the large netting that protected the cars and the homes from stray baseballs. I didn’t see any other vehicles, but as soon as we parked, a knock on my window had me jumping out of my skin.

  “Gallus!” I tried to recuperate as I opened the car door. “What is with you guys sneaking up on people all of the time?” The vampire had dressed in all black and fit the part much better than I did. Still, I couldn’t let go of Conner’s earlier teasing and pointed at Gallus. “See, Conner, all black. I know how to dress.”

  “I wouldn’t take much stake in comparing yourself to him,” he said without coming to our side of the car. His use of stake didn’t escape me, or Gallus either if the glare meant anything.

  “My, my little clairvoyant. Crime suits you.”

  Mac appeared out of nowhere. He, too, was dressed in black, but it was not like my outfit. Covered from neck to ankle, he wore an honest-to-goodness unitard. A one piece black spandex monstrosity that had me feeling much better about my choices. I couldn’t help but shake my head.

  “Nice,” I said and glanced at Conner. He seemed to be having the same reaction as me. Gallus just sighed.

  “Well, it’s been great catching up, but let’s get to work,” Mac finished. We gathered around the hood of the car and began to plan the rest of the night. He laid out a make-shift map of the area and proceeded to describe our tasks. I guess it was too late to back out now, so I did my best to focus on my new life of crime.

  Fifteen

  First up- break the spells. Well, not break them but diminish their potency. This is where Atticus and Leanna came into the plan. They had been strategically placed near the house by Gallus and were already in the process of counteracting the magic. I didn’t fully understand what they were doing exactly, but as Mac so graciously pointed out, it was not for me to worry about.

  King would be our lookout, along with Gallus. Should someone come home early, or something distract the witch and sorcerer, they’d be there to interfere. Looking around the parking lot, I realized someone was missing. “Where’s King?”

  “Around,” replied Gallus.

  Mac attempted more of an explanation. “He can’t really communicate with us well right now, so he’s keeping watch over the house.”

  I processed his words before understanding settled in. “You mean he’s a wolf right now?” A part of me still couldn’t accept he was a werewolf, and then there was that part of me that really wanted to see what he looked like. Was his form a wolf or a half-breed beast? Did he walk on two legs or four? Was he in control or a blood thirsty predator? Sensing my feelings again, Conner jumped in.

  “He’s not comfortable with us seeing him in his animal form. He’ll be around, but you won’t see him.” I shot him a look that conveyed my disapproval of him interpreting my si
lent questions. He smiled and gave a helpless shrug.

  Conner, Mac, and I would enter through the backyard patio door. This required a climb over a six foot privacy fence. Once we were inside the yard, we should be hidden from the surrounding neighbors. Leanna assumed the grimoires would be locked in a safe in the office. She’d tried to get confirmation from her coven leader, but was unable to ask too many questions without arousing suspicion. So she promised to get us into the house and at least eliminate some of the search time.

  When I asked how we were going to copy the pages we needed, Mac was the one to reply.

  “With this,” he said as he produced a tiny silver camera in his palm. It looked like it belonged in a spy movie and although small, I was more curious about how he had carried it in his outfit. “The resolution is very good even in low light levels.” His smile stretched from ear to ear. Men and their toys.

  “Cool,” I said and returned his smile. Gallus began gathering up the map, folded it into a small rectangle, and placed it in his pocket.

  “Let’s go.”

  “Yes sir!” I replied. I couldn’t help it, I was nervous. Mac and Conner laughed and this time I was the one who got the scowl from Gallus.

  We began slinking toward the house. As soon as we got to the end of the parking lot, I felt a sudden burst of wind. Startled, I covered my eyes to prevent the dirt from flying in, and when I opened them, I noticed we were down to three.

  “Where’s Gallus?”

  “Showoff,” Mac grumbled under his voice.

  “He went up ahead to get in position,” Conner said. The fatigue in his voice made me think he agreed with Mac’s sentiments.

  “He ran?”

  “He’s very fast,” Conner answered.

  Very fast indeed. One more thing about the vampire that frightened me. I was glad he was on our side tonight.

  We ran between two houses, both surrounded by privacy fences with only enough room to pass through in a single line. Mac lead and Conner followed behind me. Protecting me, I assumed. We’d stopped all verbal communication at this point, even though most residents should be enjoying after dinner television or whatever it is they do here. We only had a small window of opportunity while the house would be empty. According to Leanna, her coven leader should be out until midnight working with the apprentice witches and their spell casting. It was a regular appointment for her, so we felt confident this was as good a time as any to get inside.

  As we readied ourselves to move toward the correct fence, I saw a glimpse of a black shadow dart past a tree on the next street over. It looked like a large dog, but knowing what else was out there tonight, I was betting on a different animal. Conner tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for me to start moving forward after Mac again. I widened my eyes at him, indicating that I knew what I was supposed to do. We moved at a fast jogging pace. While keeping up with the svelte fairy in front of me, I was secretly thankful to have continued my running routine at home.

  No noise filled the night. Stifled indoor lights and little solar powered outdoor ones lit the neighborhood in an eerie yellowish glow. I knew we’d reached our fence when Mac stopped and crouched down, signaling us to do the same. The two men were neither breathing heavily nor breaking a sweat. I, on the other hand, did my best to slow my heart – four counts in, four counts out – and disguised the swipe of my sweaty forehead with a fake itch. It was because of the illegal activity, not from my cardio inability, I told myself. I also promised to kick up the running workouts a bit more.

  Mac looked down the line of houses as though waiting for a signal. Confirming my suspicions, he nodded and made some sort of hand gesture. I peered around him to see the outline of Gallus at the other end of the fence giving us the all clear sign.

  I must have leaned out a little too far into the drainage field between properties, because I suddenly felt myself falling. How do you fall without making noise, and make it look like you did it on purpose? Thankfully, I didn’t have to find out because a pair of muscular arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. Giving my heart a second to calm down, I sat there, trying not to look at either of the professionals. I simply wasn’t cut out for this.

  “Calm down, Leila and take some deep breaths,” Conner whispered into my ear. I must have been sitting on his lap because I was suddenly very aware of the heat percolating off of him. His face brushed up against my neck and his teeth tickled my earlobe. My heart sped up again with a subconscious reaction to a man’s mouth being in that particular spot on my body. I swallowed hard.

  Conner’s body shook with a laugh as he hoisted me back into my position beside the men. His didn’t let go of me and instead held on to my waist, leaned against my back, and whispered into my ear again.

  “Breathe.”

  This time, I swear he said it with more sensuality and seduction forced into that one word than any live woman could handle. My stomached fluttered and I refused to turn around to look at him. He knew exactly what response he’d inflamed in me, and I promised to reprimand him for that later.

  Mac turned around, and after a moment’s glance to decipher what was going on between us, he looked straight at Conner and pointed over the fence. Conner smiled and stood up, with his hand still touching my body. He squeezed my shoulder and I was forced to look up at him. He mouthed the word breathe again to me and grinned. I couldn’t help but return the smile with one of my own.

  Then he bent his knees, reached his hand up toward the top of the fence, and jumped. He literally jumped over the tall, wooden fence in a single leap and more gracefully than a gymnast. They told me he would go over first, leaving Mac to give me a hand, but I was still surprised at how he did it. And a little jealous too.

  Still trying to listen for his landing on the other side, I felt a nudge against my shoulder. Mac threaded his hands together so I could step in them for my boost. Without hesitation, I placed my foot in the makeshift step and used Mac’s shoulders to stand up and grab the top of the fence. Instead of allowing me to swing my legs over like I wanted, I was instantly airborne. Mac had tossed me over the fence and now I worried that a graceful landing would be impossible. Briefly remembering we were breaking into this place, I stifled my screech. I waved my arms around trying to balance my body. The ground got closer and I didn’t know if I could land on my feet.

  I hit a soft body and found myself on the ground, lying on top of Conner. Again. I tried to apologize and push myself off him, but instead got a hand across my mouth as his other arm fully enclosed me and we rolled to the side two times. Over, under. Over, under. We moved so fast that I didn’t even feel his body weight on top of mine. At the end of our second roll, we were somehow standing.

  Hand still on my mouth, I saw Mac land in the yard right where we had just been laying. My eyes widened but I was relieved to see that my flight over the fence didn’t garner any more attention. Conner let go of me and I stepped away, straightening my shirt and brushing off my pants. He and Mac exchanged a look between them, and when Mac lifted his arms to question what we were doing, I ignored him.

  Mac told us to wait while he disabled the alarm. He was at the patio door for what seemed like minutes and I began to fidget. I was actually going to break into someone’s home and commit a felony. With a half-demon and fairy partner, no less. If only my grandma could see me now.

  Conner placed a hand on my shoulder again when my fidgeting got the best of me. As soon as he did, Mac called us over and I sprinted to the patio. My senses couldn’t handle another touch from Conner. The patio was really a small concrete pad that begged for attention. The coven leader – I never did find out what her name was – had placed several large plants in decorative pots around the border. A mini-jungle of sorts. I couldn’t tell what kind of plants they were, just that I recognized some from Terez’s yard. I also caught a scent of fresh herbs, and when my back slammed into a sharp corner, I found the window planter box.

  The two men flashed me a look of despair, but I cou
ld only shrug an apology. What did they expect when they brought me along? It’s not like I’d been trained in this kind of breaking and entering stuff before.

  Mac slowly slid the door open and we tiptoed inside. A nightlight glowed from the kitchen area to provide all of the illumination we were going to get. The house had an open floor plan with a kitchen to the right and a low countertop dividing the dining and living room space. It was such a typical suburbanite home, I had a hard time envisioning a powerful witch living here. It didn’t fit my stereotype.

  A hallway leading to the other rooms in the house veered off to the left. This looked like the direction we wanted to go. Mac stopped at the second door, leaned against the frame, and stuck his head inside. After a moment he stepped into the room and we followed closely behind. It was a dedicated office space decorated with nicely matching oak furniture. A large executive desk dominated the center of the room, and bookshelves covered the remaining walls. The closet doors had been removed to house more shelves, and I was momentarily stunned at the number of books stored in this space. They appeared to be arranged by some organizational tactic, but all I could make out were really old literary books flanked by current fictional series.

  I realized I stood alone when a tiny light clicked on and my attention turned to Conner and Mac on their hands and knees under the desk. They both faced away from me, and although it was fairly dark in the room, I couldn’t help but admire the rear view of my two accomplices.

  Before my thoughts got out of control, I kneeled down beside them to see what they found. Mac was in the process of removing an area rug to expose a hidden hatch in the floor. The men exchanged a smile when the door lifted and a small floor safe was revealed.