by Eve Langlais
“You mean demons can’t go in?”
“Demons. Vampires. Fairies.”
“Lycans?”
“We’re too human for it to work.” He grinned at me.
However, while still aroused, my brain was mulling over this new information, which actually made my theory even more viable.
“So, the demon knows he can’t go in the house and kill these witches.” Oops. “I mean victims. So how does he lure them? They’re obviously not going to answer the door and invite it in. The demon could skulk around, waiting for them to come out at night. Or he could create an opportunity.”
“What are you thinking?”
“All of these people owned cats or pets of some sort.”
“Familiars.”
“Whatever.” Not all of us were up to date on the latest terminology in the witching world. “If the victims were anything like my old neighbor, they wouldn’t go to bed unless Fluffy or Fido was inside, where they’re safe.”
Pete’s hand dropped from my hips and he paced before me, catching on. “The demon kills the cat—”
“Or cages it.”
“The owners come looking for it, stepping outside the house and the boundary of their protective spell. Then wham. Instant dinner.” He snapped his teeth and pretended to chew.
I recoiled. “Okay, that was gross.”
“Sorry.”
How surprising. He didn’t look repentant. “It’s one theory. But it could be wrong.”
“Easy enough to check.”
“How do you figure?”
“Find the cat and sniff it.”
“You know, I really wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s disturbing.” No one liked to think of their boyfriend sniffing an animal. Ack. How did that word boyfriend sneak in there? I’d mentally castigate myself for it later. Pete was still talking.
“We should get out to the crime scenes and check it out while it’s still daylight.”
“Hold on a second. What’s this we business? I don’t do danger, remember?”
“You’ll be perfectly safe with me.”
“I’m also perfectly safe here. I don’t need to go.”
“I won’t leave you unprotected.”
“Don’t be silly. Anthony said demons roam at night. And besides, I’m not a witch. The demon or whatever is doing these things doesn’t even know I exist. I’m perfectly safe.”
Ever challenged a testosterone-laden werewolf with an overdeveloped protective instinct? It resulted in great sex. After we finished fighting.
Stepping away from him, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not going.”
He growled, and I could practically see the hair on his body bristle. “Don’t challenge me, baby.”
“Not challenging, telling.”
“Same thing.” He invaded my personal space. “I don’t like it when you argue. Not when it’s about your safety.”
I placed a hand on his chest. “If you don’t want me to argue, then stop acting like a caveman. And don’t use my safety as an excuse. We both know it’s a flimsy one. You said it yourself. It’s daytime. The thing we’re hunting doesn’t like sunlight, doesn’t know who I am or where I live. By all accounts, I’m in no immediate danger.”
In one ear, out the other. “You’re coming with me.”
“Did you hear a word I said?”
“Yup.”
“And?”
“Wasted breath. You are coming with me.”
In a fit of girl pique—my first ever—I stamped my foot a la Brenda. “I don’t recall giving you the right to give me orders. You don’t own me.”
“But I’d like to.”
Well, that took me aback. It also gave me a cheap thrill that would have appalled most feminists. “Um, excuse me. But this isn’t the Middle Ages. Women aren’t objects anymore, you know.”
“I do know, but it doesn’t stop how I feel. I want you, Chloe. Want you as mine.” He growled the last bit.
“I thought we said no commitment.” The words emerged high-pitched and nervous.
“I never said that. You did.”
“Yes I did say it, which means you need to—”
Apparently ignore it. That or he was just tired of talking. Whatever the reason, he silenced me with a hard kiss and, despite the fact that my logical side knew he was doing this to prevent me from arguing, I didn’t stop him.
Instant passion flared between us. Flames stoked to life, flushing my body with heat and desire.
We tumbled onto my bed, where he made quick work of my clothes, and his. Never once did his lips leave mine, not even when he drove into me. I was more than ready, though, my slick pussy welcoming his urgent thrusts. Arguing with him, even over his caveman tactics—which, despite my protests, I found quite flattering—made me horny. I’d never had someone so ardently pursue me. So determined to have me. So eager to fuck me.
Which was why I kept pushing back. I still couldn’t come to terms with the why. Why did Anthony and Pete want me so much? What did they see in me that brought out the alpha in them? The gallant protector and ardent lover? Did I dare trust it? Trust them?
Dear gawd, Pete hit my sweet spot, and all thoughts swept right out of my mind except for one—need.
Perhaps I couldn’t allow myself to express how much I enjoyed his perseverance in stalking my heart. My qualms over their intentions might prevent me from succumbing wholly to their advances, but when it came to the sex, I gave in to that whole-heartedly.
Bodies fused. Hot moist breath mingled. Hearts raced as we joined together intimately. In this perfect instant, I could and did let myself go. I basked in the climactic moment, urging him on, my nails raking at his broad back, my heels digging into his spine, my pussy devouring every hard inch of him.
When it came to the fucking, we both gave it our all and yelled our pleasure for the whole condo complex to hear.
I blamed my still addled wits for how I found myself getting dressed only moments later. Somehow, between our arguing and screwing, I’d agreed to go with him to the crime scene despite my better judgment.
I made token arguments as I pulled on my underpants. He stroked a finger over my still trembling pussy, and I nodded at his feeble excuse that he needed an extra pair of eyes.
Next thing I knew, I sulked in a corner of his truck.
“Are you going to ignore me the whole way there?” he asked, placing his hand on my knee.
I shoved it off. “I didn’t want to come.”
“That wasn’t what you screamed a little while ago.”
I glared at him.
He chuckled. “Ah, ease up, baby. Don’t pout. You’re too cute when you do that, and we’re already late as it is.”
“I still don’t see why you needed to drag me along. I thought you said I wasn’t going near any of the crime scenes.”
“I hadn’t meant to, but that thing you said about the pets. I had to check it out, but I wasn’t leaving you alone.”
“Then you could have dropped me off somewhere. Somewhere public.”
“Probably.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“Because I like having you with me.”
I wouldn’t melt. Wouldn’t melt. Wouldn’t… Damn him and his seductive smiles.
We hit the male victim’s house first. Crime scene tape surrounded the property, as did a few cop cars and gawkers. Exiting Pete’s truck, I frowned, not because he laced his fingers through mine, though.
“Um, Pete. How are we supposed to look for the cat? No way are the police going to just let us waltz in there so you can have a sniff.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
As he tugged me along toward the house, someone in a suit emerged from the house. The sun caught his golden hair and brought out red highlights I’d never noted before. My heart skipped a beat as Anthony came to meet us.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped. “I tho
ught we agreed to keep her out of this for her own safety.”
“Exactly what I said. Being here is not my idea of a good time. Blame Captain Caveman.” I jerked a thumb at the lover I threw under the bus.
“Chloe had a theory about why the witches ended up outside. I wanted to check it out. Have a look around.”
“Is this true?” His blue eyes lost their frost glare as they turned to me.
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Anthony grinned. “Such humility. How unlike you.”
My lips twitched.
“So what is this theory that couldn’t be relayed by phone? A wonderful invention even us old timers have learned to master?” Anthony asked, his sarcasm directed at Pete, who let it roll off his massive back.
“Missing pets.”
I could almost see the light bulb flash as Anthony groaned. “Of course. Their familiars. What else would draw a witch from the safety of their home? I can’t believe I missed that.”
“I could be wrong.” Modesty, who knew I had any left?
“I somehow doubt that. It fits. While our canine friend here has a sniff for the missing pets, why don’t you come with me and we’ll do a walk around? Maybe something else will strike you that didn’t show up in the pictures.”
Being asked by a dude I thought super slick and smart in the courtroom for my opinion warmed me. While the world was becoming a better place for women to work, being recognized as an equal, being asked to participate, meant the world.
I pulled away and Pete let go of my fingers with reluctance while Anthony adopted a cool expression of self-satisfaction.
Still competing.
For me.
Still felt wrong, but in a good and squirmy way.
Tucking my hand into his, Anthony led me onto the property while Pete did his thing.
“Won’t the cops wonder what he’s doing?” I asked.
“Not these ones. The men you see are part of a special police branch. Some have worked with Pete, or those of his ilk, before.”
“Oh.” Well, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about bailing him out for snooping. “Any leads?”
“None, which is why I’m glad I brought you on board.”
Compliments, gotta love them. “I don’t see how knowing he uses pets as bait to lure witches helps us catch the guy.”
“Thing.”
“So you’re sure it’s,” I lowered my voice, “a demon?”
“Very. Lab reports, specials ones I might add, on the hush hush, have come back with preliminaries. Some of the tissue samples from under the nails of the first victim confirmed it.”
Eew. I tried not to shudder. “How can you be sure what it is if there’ve been no demons around in hundreds of years?”
“You seem awfully well-informed. Who told you that?”
“Who do you think?”
“The wolf, of course.” He shook his head. “In a sense, he told you the truth. According to human annals and Lycan history, there are no known demon appearances.”
“But according to vampires…”
“Keep in mind we are much longer lived. We’ve seen and heard more in our lives.”
“Meaning?” I prodded.
“Given our records are somewhat more thorough, we have access to certain info the other races don’t, such as samples of preserved demon tissue, which we used for comparison.” Anthony’s shoulders lifted and fell. “It came back positive for demonic DNA. It would seem a demon has managed to breach the planes and cause havoc on earth.”
A demon. Said without the hysteria it deserved.
A fucking demon. Probably with claws and teeth. Lots of teeth that enjoyed chewing on soft flesh.
My lips turned down. “Would it sound weird if I said I was kind of hoping for a crazy cannibal or a zombie?”
Anthony laughed. “Not weird at all. There are many who would prefer we deal with anything but a demon. They are hard to kill.”
Hard but not impossible. Good to know. Was it too late to invest in sword fighting lessons? I wanted something that could chop a head off.
Decapitation was one of the most sure ways of killing things in the horror movies.
And once again, in a span of days, my marathon scream fest watching came in handy.
“What I want to know is why anyone would ever think it’s a good idea to summon a demon if they’re so hard to keep in line.” Like seriously, what fucking idiot did that?
Anthony, of course, had a reply. “Why do people do anything? Power. Greed.”
I grimaced. “Good point. So do we have any leads on why these magic guys would call one?” Human versus demon. Pretty easy to guess who would win.
So why, in all that was fucking holy, would a human, even a witch, call one?
The idea stumped me.
“None. We’ve gone through their books. Notes. Computers. So far, nothing on demons has popped up other than the basic warnings found in all magical primers.”
‘Which is?”
“Do not summon.”
Good advice. If only the victims had heeded it. Because why else would the demon target them, unless a rival witch was taking them out.
Did witches have gangs that fought for territory? And if they did, why resort to demons when lobbing fireballs and lightning would make much cooler YouTube videos?
“Other than not summoning, what other wonderful words of advice can you give? Something along the lines of don’t feed the demon after midnight, or throw some salt to shrivel him up.” It worked for blood-sucking leeches.
Oh no, would this mean I’d have to get rid of my chip habit? But I needed my salty treats. Perhaps I could buy something to prevent vampire anaphylactic shock.
“Hiding is probably your best solution.”
Hiding? Didn’t that usually involve a shadow stopping right in front of the spot you chose? And then the door opened…
I shook my head. Maybe time to stop watching those movies.
Back to the actual crime scene. The quicker I analyzed the hell out of it, the quicker I could get home.
I did wonder, though. “If my theory about the dead witches getting caught while popping out to fetch Fluffy is right, then what happens next? You can’t exactly bring that to the cops.”
“The humans will know nothing. A warning will go out to the magical community.”
“You mean you have a bulletin board for witches?”
“Of a sort, but it encompasses more than just sorcerers. We already sent out one alert about being careful. Now we’ll update it and inform those of the magical persuasion that they are not to step foot outside after dark, not even for their pets.”
“A curfew? I doubt they’ll like that.”
Anthony’s lips thinned into a tight line. “Not my problem. If they want to live, then they’ll obey. If not…”
They’d end up possibly as the demon’s next meal.
But not me, oh hell no, I had plans with the pizza I’d make them grab me on the way home and Netflix.
With the curtains shut.
13
Searching the house of the dead witches, no furry carcasses were found hiding in the bushes or under any porches. Neither did we locate any of the pets. Whatever living creature the witches had owned had disappeared and left no trail behind.
This in and of itself was suspicious. Or so Pete claimed as we left Anthony behind to converse with the detective in charge, although before I made my escape, he managed to drag me into a private corner and kiss me senseless, making me eager for his promised, “We’ll finish this later.”
Piling into Pete’s truck, we headed back to my place, stopping along the way to grab cartons of Chinese food. Not pizza, but the leftovers would taste just as good, so I allowed it.
Settling ourselves at my kitchen counter, we discussed our findings, or lack of.
“There’s something weird about the animals missing,” Pete said in between bites of General Tao chicken.
“Not all of them are gone,” I
pointed out. “The cops said they saw your neighbor’s cat sitting on the porch when they arrived.”
“And not a single sighting since.”
“So the cat wandered off.”
Pete snorted. “You’ve obviously never owned a cat or dog.”
“Nope. My dad is allergic.” And I’d never felt a burning desire to own something furry that liked to mark its territory—until I met Pete.
I quite enjoyed petting the hair on his chest, which arrowed down to his python. I bit my lip so as to not snicker as Pete explained his reasoning.
“Animals tend to stick close to home where they know they’ll be fed.”
Shoulders rolling in a shrug, I swallowed my chow mein mix before replying. “So the demon ate the cats.” Which is what each of the trio had owned, according to the niblets left behind in the food bowls.
“Doubtful.”
I wanted to slap him upside the head. “Okay, Mr. Negativity. Since you’re having such a good time shooting down my theories, mind telling me why?”
“First off, there’s no scent trail. It’s like the kitties disappeared into thin air. Damned if I know what happened to the felines. The only thing I am sure of is that the creature we’re hunting didn’t eat the cats. And the reason I know this, before you ask, is simple. A demon who is eating human flesh is not going to ruin its palate with a cat. It would be like mixing spam with your porterhouse. It’s just not done.”
Somehow, my appetite vanished, and I pushed my carton of Chinese food away. “That is a really disturbing comparison.”
“Yet an apt one. So, again, I have to wonder, what happened to the cats?”
“Honestly. I don’t care.” I didn’t.
Maybe they’d wandered off. Maybe something else ate them. They’d been run over. Aliens beamed them up. Or a neighbor took them in. Who knew? Who cared? We’d only gone on our fieldtrip because Pete wanted to understand why those people left the safety of their homes and he forced me to go along. Now we knew, or assumed. On to the next question.
“We’re still no closer to discerning the reason they were targeted,” I pointed out as Pete continued to scarf down his portion and mine.
“It has to tie in to the fact they were all witches,” he mumbled around a mouthful. Talking while eating was a lot sexier when it was my flesh he chewed on.