Except this address book had over five hundred phone numbers and addresses in it thanks to how big the five main families were by now. She flipped through the pages and pages of Collinses until she landed on her guy.
She ripped out the page and tucked her gun into the holster at her hip and then ran to her car. As soon as she was on the road, she took out her phone to call Derek before she realized that she didn’t have his phone number. Oh yeah. He didn’t want her involved.
Well, tough luck. He couldn’t go off confronting a warlock without her, and she didn’t really want to freak him out so he skipped town either. At least she had the captain’s number. Captain Voss answered on the sixth ring and Sam was half surprised she didn’t get the answering machine.
“Who is this?” he asked without any type of formal greeting.
Well, if he wasn’t going to waste time with pleasantries, neither was she. “It’s Samantha Harris. I need to talk to Derek and he never gave me his number. I think I found your killer and Derek is going to want to know ASAP.”
There was a pause on the other end before Captain Voss spoke again. “You found the guy?”
Sam swerved to avoid someone cutting dangerously into traffic. “Yeah. His name is Tommy Collins. He’s a member of the families, so I want to be there when Derek approaches him.”
“Well, you might be too late. Derek and one of my other officers just left to question your guy.”
“They left? I need to find them! When did they go?”
“Maybe twenty minutes?”
Sam tried to map out how long the drive was between the precinct and Tommy’s building at this time of day. To make it worse, they probably thought that Tommy was just another tenant, but Sam knew that Collins owned the entire building. The second they walked through the doors, Tommy could do whatever he wanted without worrying about a nosy neighbor overhearing.
“Damn it, they can’t be there alone. You need to send guys there now. All of your guys!” Sam pressed on the gas as she sped through the streets. “You call him right now!” she ordered. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Without waiting for a response, she hung up. The captain didn’t need to waste time talking to her. He needed to get a hold of Derek.
Except the second she pulled up to Tommy’s building, she saw Derek’s car parked right in front. “Shit, shit, shit.” Sam parked in the no parking zone and hopped out of the car. She listened for any signs of fighting or struggle, but the only things she heard were the normal sounds of the city streets.
She cracked open the door and glanced inside. “Shit,” she said again as she walked in on the balls of her feet, trying to stay as quiet as possible. There was a body at the foot of the stairs. It was definitely a guy, but he was way too small to be Derek. Her heart pounded in her chest as she knelt over him. He was lying face down and she couldn’t tell whether he was breathing.
Half of her wanted to run straight up to Tommy’s, but she didn’t want to leave a man there to die either. Damn it, she was so unqualified for this. What did the cops on television do in these situations? Call for backup. Well, that was done already. She should feel for a pulse, right?
Her hands were just reaching for the man when he twitched. “Whoa. You’re awake.” She let out a breath and gave him a gentle pat on his back, letting him know someone was there. “Help is on the way,” she whispered. “Hang tight.”
Sam headed up the stairs. Her boots were silent on the old steps, but she didn’t worry about making noise. She wasn’t trying to sneak up on anyone.
The building was in desperate need of some updating, which was strange considering how much money the Collinses had. Granted it wasn’t the best area, but Tommy was only three people away from being head of the family. Why wouldn’t he be living like a prince?
Sure, she lived rather modestly, but she had reasons. At least the locks worked in her building. Halfway up the stairs, she heard a deep groan and recognized it immediately. Derek.
Sam ran up the rest of the stairs and saw Derek lying on his stomach, groaning in pain and reaching forward as though he were trying to crawl to the stairs.
And Tommy stood at the end of the hall, face in tight concentration as he focused all his energy on Derek. Whatever spell he was working, it was silent, which signified just how much power he was controlling.
“You’re killing cops now?” Sam stepped onto the landing for the fourth floor, stopping next to Derek but trying to keep her fear for him from showing. Tommy would never trust her if he thought she was there for Derek.
He clenched his hand into a fist and Derek immediately went limp, as though whatever was paralyzing him with pain was over.
“You need to leave, Sam.” He brought his hand back and shot a blast of power at her.
She clenched her eyes shut and braced herself for the blow, but nothing happened. She lifted one eyelid and then another as she reached in her pocket to feel the cold jade against her hand. At least Tommy wasn’t more powerful than the only form of protection she had.
Time to put her badass face back on. “The family sent me. They’re worried about you, and after this, I am too.” She glanced down at Derek and back to Tommy. “Are you trying to kill him?”
“He’s seen my face. He knows who I am. I can’t let him leave.”
That was a hard argument to fight against. Maybe she could at least stall. She covertly pulled the jade turtle necklace from her pocket as she knelt over Derek. “He looks out cold to me.” With her free hand, she lifted up a hand and dropped it. Luckily he acted limp as his hand fell to the ground. Then, as she stood, Sam twisted so Tommy wouldn’t see her drop the turtle necklace next to Derek’s hand and push the figurine into his fingers.
Derek would just get better now. She just needed to make sure Tommy didn’t see him improving. Or kill him before he had a chance.
“Let’s go inside, Tommy. We need to talk about a few things.”
She approached Tommy, studying him to make sure he didn’t make any sudden movements. But he didn’t seem scared by her presence. At least the family angle was working.
“What about him?” asked Tommy.
Sam looked Tommy straight in the eye. “Give him another blast. I’m sure if you hit him hard enough, he won’t be going anywhere soon.” She didn’t look back as Tommy raised his hand and aimed at Derek again.
As soon as she heard him scream, she moved past Tommy and into his apartment. Please let Derek be faking it. Please. The charm worked to protect her. It had to protect him too.
“You have two minutes, Sam. What are you doing here?”
Sam forced herself to focus. She was alone with a killer. Even if the cops arrived now, there was nothing they could do for her.
She looked around the apartment. It looked as though it was barely lived in. Not in a good way, like everything was neat and in its perfect place. There was hardly any furniture and the walls and floors were littered with newspapers and pictures. Pictures of women. Lots of pictures of women.
How long had Tommy been like this? How did no one in the family know yet? She turned to face Tommy. “I won’t be staying long. But you have to know that the families are concerned. People are starting to talk.”
Instead of being cowed or scared, Tommy just let out a bitter laugh. “Please. If the families gave a damn about this, they would’ve stopped me a long time ago.”
“Why do you think I’m here?”
“Sorry, Sam. I know you’re full of shit. You can barely walk straight after you went on your stupid anti-magic binge. What the hell do you think you can do?”
“Do I look like I’m going through withdrawal now?” She stood straight. The power she’d gained from the potion was mostly faded. In a day or so, the cramping would start if she didn’t do anything to feed her cravings. But at least she wasn’t a shaking nauseous mess like normal.
Tommy didn’t look convinced at all. Sam tried to remember what he’d been like before. He was younger than her, and she’d always kept
herself distant from her own family, let alone the other branches. In some ways, he still looked like the young kid she’d seen running around the yard playing. The oversized t-shirt and jeans with a few holes. Shaggy hair that hung into his eyes.
But the look in his eyes was unmistakably old and evil. The look of a warlock who had given himself into the temptation of the magic.
“Follow me, Sam.” Tommy moved past her.
She reached into her jacket to feel the butt of her handgun pressed between her tank top and her bare stomach. She could do this. Point and shoot.
“Are you coming?”
Sam jumped, taking her hand away from the gun. Some killer she was. “Yeah, I’m right here....” She trailed off as she walked into what probably used to be Tommy’s dining room. Except the industrial-sized table with a girl tied to it stopped her.
Her mouth went dry and every single nerve ending tingled with the need to do something.
“So what exactly did you come here to do, Sam? Did you think you could stop me?”
She tried to speak, but all she could do was stare wordlessly at the woman in front of her. Either through a spell or some drug, she was thankfully unconscious. Her feet and hands were tied with some twine-looking material and a thick gag covered her face below the nose.
Suddenly, Sam was right back into the trance. Those dark impressions over her. Now the one right on top of her was Tommy, a sickening grin on his face as he moved on top of Amy... on top of her.
Sam slammed back to reality as a wave of nausea hit her hard. She took a step back and held a hand over her mouth. “You need to let her go. The families won’t—”
“The families don’t care, Sam. Even if they wanted to stop me, they couldn’t. Not now. I’m one girl away from completing this, and after that, I’ll be untouchable.”
The girl was so young... so innocent. And he was going to kill her? “And she’s just an egg that needs to be cracked?” Sam took another step back.
“Those deaths are necessary, but it’s all for the greater good.”
The darkness from her trance seemed to manifest around her. The room looked the same, but now that she was aware of it, the entire room was permeated with the dark magic. The same darkness from her impression. Except the man she’d seen hadn’t been “taking one for the team” by killing those women. He’d enjoyed it. Savored it.
Tommy wasn’t doing this for the magic. That was just a happy side effect. Well, she wasn’t going to let him do it again. No more stalling. She needed to put an end to Tommy before he hurt anyone else.
Sam reached for her gun, but Tommy was suddenly in front of her and backhanded her with a ferocity that sent her falling to the ground. Her arms managed to brace her fall, but the jolt of her body weight on her elbows reverberated through her. Tommy was super fast now? Fuck. She pushed up and tried to go for her gun again, but Tommy’s foot slammed into her ribs. The air fled from her lungs and for a second she was sure she didn’t remember how to breathe.
He kicked at her shoulder, pushing her onto her back before he straddled her. Even if her head wasn’t ringing, she couldn’t reach her gun.
She couldn’t be defenseless, though. She was a witch from one of the most powerful families. All she had to do was draw on her pow—
Tommy’s hands closed around her throat and pressed down with crushing force. Sam went into full panic mode. This wasn’t just an impression anymore. Now that dark presence was actually there. Actually killing her.
She punched and slapped and clawed, but Tommy didn’t budge. In fact, his lips twisted in a cruel smile as he watched her struggle.
And a giant dark shadow flew at him. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the room as a fist hit his face and Tommy fell off her, sprawling on his back.
Sam pushed herself away as she tried to take in all the oxygen she could. Tommy held up his hand, shooting power at Derek, but it didn’t stop the huge wall of pissed-off detective. Sam smiled. The charm was working on him. Tommy’s spell didn’t work.
For a second, Derek paused. Apparently he was almost as surprised as she was. That gave Tommy just enough time to jump up and charge at Derek. Sam screamed a warning, but her throat didn’t work.
Derek ducked low as Tommy charged and rammed his shoulder into Tommy’s gut. He slammed Tommy into the wall and as he caught his breath, Derek brought his knee right in Tommy’s middle. While Tommy was still dazed, Derek knocked Tommy’s head back with his elbow; Tommy fell to the ground as Derek pulled out his cuffs and started to read Tommy his rights.
“Shit.” Sam pushed herself up, trying to get her bearings as the room spun around her.
“Sit down,” ordered Derek as he finished tightening the handcuffs.
“Where did you learn to fight like that?” Sam crossed to the window, looking down to see a police cruiser stopping in front of the building. Reinforcements. Finally.
“I’m a cop. I’ve always known how to fight like that. Why the hell do you think I was always telling you to stay out of this?”
“I—” She brought a hand to her aching head. “I don’t know.” Her throat ached every time she spoke. She didn’t realize choking was a lasting injury. Not a lesson she’d wanted to learn that day. “I’m a strange mix of attracted to you right now and in a lot of pain so I’m just really out of it.”
Derek looked at her from where he stood over Tommy. Some mix of a smile and exasperation crossed over his face, but he went back to his normal stoic self in a flash. “Did you see Reyes when you came in?”
“Injured guy at the foot of the stairs? Yeah. He’s alive. Another cruiser just came over, so an ambulance should be here soon. I can watch Tommy if you want to go down to him.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with this psycho. Reyes is a trained—”
“He’s really hurt, Derek.” Sam pulled out her good-for-nothing gun and held it at her side. “I’m ready now. Tommy knows there’s no getting out of this. He’s not going to try anything.”
Derek pushed Tommy to the ground and shoved his face into the old hardwood of the apartment. “Don’t move,” he ordered. Then, in three long strides, he crossed to Sam and brought his hands up. Sam caught her breath, half convinced he was going to kiss her. This was hardly the time....
Instead, he set his fingers ever so gently against her neck, his thumbs on her jaw, as he tilted her head back to assess the damage on her neck. Oh. Checking her injuries. That made so much more sense.
She shivered as his fingertips skimmed over where there would undoubtedly be bruises.
“I’m sorry, Sam.”
She forced herself to breathe normally. Well, as normally as possible through the pain, which she’d momentarily forgotten when he’d touched her. “Make sure your friend is okay. The girl he has needs an ambulance too. I don’t know what he used to knock her out. I’m not the top priority here. Besides, they might shoot me if I go down there. No one knows who I am.” She didn’t want to be found standing over a half-dead cop.
He tightened his lips but nodded. “I’m going downstairs and I’ll be right back with a uniform.”
Sam nodded. “Go. I’ll be fine.”
He tersely nodded and walked out, leaving Sam alone with Tommy. The second Derek was gone, Sam realized she’d made a mistake. Derek had been a... distraction. Now that it was just her and Tommy, the oppressing darkness was back. Crushing against her.
“You don’t look too good.” Tommy rolled onto his side.
“Well, you look like shit too.” Sam’s eyes bounced around the room. The papers and photos that had been on the floor earlier were now scattered into a bigger mess after Tommy had almost literally wiped the floor with her.
“There’s nothing the police can do with me.”
Why did he still have to talk? “The families will take care of you.” Derek wouldn’t be happy when Tommy “got off” of all his charges, but Sam wouldn’t keep him in the dark. Once Tommy was punished, she would make sure Derek knew.
<
br /> “You’re putting a lot of faith in the family that you shun.”
She might prefer him strangling her to his talking. “Shut up, Tommy.” The floor creaked as she shifted weight and she shivered as a bone-chilling cold seemed to set in. Every few seconds, she could swear she saw the dark cloud of magic closing in on her and would jerk to her side. Damn it, Derek. Hurry up.
“You know why I did it, Sam. If anyone would understand, it would be you.”
“I don’t understand, Tommy! I know what you did to those women. The pain you inflicted. So, no. I don’t fucking understand.”
“But you know the darkness. It calls to you, too, doesn’t it? It doesn’t do that to your sister. Your mother. It chose you, just like it chose me.”
“Shut up.”
“We have to step up and do our parts. We have a gift.”
“I will make you shut up.”
“Don’t you stand there and judge me! The only difference is that I’m not wasting away in some shithole, waiting to slowly pass. I’m taking the power while I can and I’m using it. I’m getting stronger every day, and the second the families free me, I’m going to come find you and I’ll—”
“Stop it, Tommy.” The darkness was closing in. Her sore throat felt as if it were closing up.
“Show you exactly what this feels like. The rush. The pleasure. Your family and everyone who’s supported your exile is killing you, but I can help you.”
Sam brought up her shaking hands and pointed her gun right at Tommy. “Shut up!”
“And I’ll let you get a girl of your own and I’ll show you. Once they start to scream and struggle, and I mean really struggle—the struggle that only happens when they know they’re about to die—you’ll feel better than you ever have in your life.”
“Stop it!”
“And I know you’ll feel it, Sam, because you’re just like—”
The pressure reached a boiling point and Sam couldn’t help herself. In a flash of noise and light, she unloaded her gun, bullet by bullet, into Tommy.
The Bewitching Hour Page 7