Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 07]

by Consuming the Darkness (epub)

  The doc took the paper and set it perfectly in its spot in the folder. “But does the end result justify the means? If you ask me, I would advise against it.” He looked up at her with utter sincerity.

  “I’ve linked before and I’ve been fine…well, mostly. The headaches last a while and the uneasiness takes some getting used to, but if it helps us catch this guy…I have to think about at least trying.”

  “There are times,” he began, folding his hands on his desk, “when what we have to offer isn’t always for the best. And who’s to say you’d come out of it with the ability to help catch him? We both know it could put you in a coma to try and link with him. How would that help us catch him?”

  She knew all of that, still… “Like I said, it’s a thought. We’ll catch him, one way or another. Thanks, Doc.”

  “I wish I had better news for you.”

  “Maybe you will next time.” She left his office, wondering if the risks might be worth it this one time.

  ***

  Sienna could smell the intoxicating aroma all the way down the hall and she wondered who was busy cooking. The closer she got to her apartment the stronger the aroma got. Baffled, she inserted her key and found her door was unlocked. Clasping her weapon firmly in her hand, Sienna slowly opened the door. Giving it a shove, she went in ready.

  And there was Daisy, bone in mouth, staring up at her. Tail wagging.

  “Good, you’re home. I hope you’re hungry. I made lasagna.” Nathan stepped into the hallway leading from the kitchen, one eyebrow raised at her gun. “If you don’t like lasagna just say so. You don’t have to shoot me.”

  “Har har.” She disengaged her weapon. “I thought you were an intruder.”

  “Who happened to stick around and make you dinner?” Tipping her chin up, he kissed her solidly on the mouth. “Give me five seconds.”

  While Nathan rushed off to the kitchen, Sienna put her weapon away and kicked out of her shoes. Her stomach seemed to recognize the aroma as food and rumbled its need to eat. As she made her way to the living room she saw the scattering of dog toys all over the floor. “How many toys did you buy her?”

  “Enough to keep her from chewing on your shoes.” Turning her, Nathan pulled her into his arms and this time the kiss was stronger, more possessive.

  She felt herself being pushed backwards. When she bumped into the wall she came up for air. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking you to bed.”

  “What about the lasagna?”

  He undid the snap on her pants. “It’ll keep.” Tugging her shirt from her waistband, he yanked it over her head.

  “But I’m hungry.” Not that she was arguing a great deal when he continued to push her toward her bed.

  “So am I.” He kicked out of his shoes while removing his own shirt. “You look absolutely edible.”

  Going with the flow, deciding her libido came before her stomach, Sienna stepped out of her pants. “I wondered what happened to you. You never came back after taking Daisy for a pee.”

  He stripped out of his pants and shorts, tossing them carelessly aside. “I decided to bring her back here and after that I decided to cook. I like to cook when I’m frustrated.”

  She hadn’t pictured him as a man who liked to cook. That definitely surprised her. “Wait a sec…how’d you get into my apartment?”

  He gave her a shove, causing her to fall backwards onto the bed. “The landlord let me in. Told him I was a friend and you asked me to watch your dog but I forgot the keys to your place at my hotel. He was very gracious as he let me in.”

  She pursed her lips. “I’m sure. Remind me to have a talk with him. Oh…” His mouth was hot and wet as it took her breast. When his tongue slid over the tip a shiver cascaded over her body. All the worries she’d had, every little ounce of stress simply slid seamlessly from her body as he worked it over. His hands were skilled and seemed to know exactly where to touch to make her moan. His lips caressing her bare skin were soft and warm but managed to make her shiver and when he braced himself over the top of her, she looked up into his eyes and surrendered herself completely.

  She was in love and right now she didn’t give a damn that it might be wrong or stupid. She simply savored the moment.

  Feeling absolutely content, Sienna lay in Nathan’s arms. When Daisy jumped up onto the bed to join them, Sienna thought how perfect her life was right now.

  Then her stomach rumbled.

  “Lasagna…” Kissing Sienna’s head, Nathan pushed the covers aside and slipped from the bed. “Be right back.”

  He scurried from the room, giving her a nice view of his round, firm, naked ass. Sitting up, Sienna lifted Daisy onto her lap and ruffled her head. “What do you think? He’s pretty cute, huh? Damn sexy for sure and a hell of a lover. And so far, he isn’t exhibiting psychotic possessive behavior. I think I did okay this time.”

  Daisy’s reply was to curl up beside her, against her hip, and drop off to sleep.

  “You suck at girl talk, Daisy.”

  “Here we go. Piping hot lasagna, redwine, and warm bread.”

  “All served by a gorgeous, naked man. What more could a girl ask for?”

  Climbing onto the bed, tray in hand, Nathan grinned like a fool in love and Sienna’s heart melted. “We’ll have plenty of time to find out after we fill our bellies.” Setting the tray on the foot end of the bed, he handed her a glass of wine and set his on the nightstand before serving the lasagna. “Hope you like it. It’s my mother’s recipe.”

  “I love all pasta and this smells heavenly.” Daisy seemed to agree as she woke from her short nap with her nose in the air. Because she was a sucker for that sad puppy look, Sienna cut off a piece of noodle, blew on it to cool it down, then held it out to the pup. Daisy took it without any hesitation.

  “If it’s good for the dog, it can’t be all bad.”

  Sliding a forkful into her mouth, Sienna closed her eyes and sighed. “Mmmmm.”

  “I take that as approval?”

  Her head bobbed up and down as she chewed and swallowed. “I haven’t had anything this good in my mouth in a very long time.”

  “I could remedy that later,” Nathan teased with a cock of his eyebrow.

  Laughing, Sienna dug in. She realized now just how famished she was. “Your mother taught you to cook?”

  He broke off a piece of bread, dipped it in the sauce, then handed it over to the dog. “If I wanted to eat, I had to learn to cook. My mother’s belief was that women weren’t the only ones to have to cook; men should learn the craft as well.”

  “That’s good. Your mother sounds like a smart woman.”

  “She is, and she knows just how to get what she wants. I sent her a huge bouquet of roses along with a suck-up note. I hope she forgives me soon.”

  “I’m sure she will. You being her only son and all. It sounds like you have a nice family.” She dipped her own bread into the sauce but instead of sharing it with the dog, gobbled it down herself.

  Nathan remedied that by giving the puppy a large noodle. “I can’t complain. What about you? Any siblings?”

  She washed the bread down with the wine, tipping her head in approval. Not only could he cook but he knew his wines. “Nope. Just me and my dad.”

  “What about your mother?”

  She scratched her leg with her foot. “She died giving birth to me.” All she’d ever had were pictures of her mother and what her father told of her. Sienna had often wondered what it would be like to have a mother and envied those who had been blessed with one.

  “I’m sorry.” He placed a hand on her arm, just a brief show of sympathy but it meant the world to her.

  “My father told me stories about her, though it not quite the same as having her in living color. But I have to be grateful she chose to
even have me, knowing the risks.”

  “What risks?” Nathan handed the puppy another chunk of bread.

  “She’s going to get fat.” Nathan only shrugged. “My mother was human, my father is not. Tejakkan demons gestate differently than humans. Instead of the normal human nine months, Tejakkan’s pregnancy term is eleven months during which the child inside not only nurtures off of the mother but if the mother is demon as well, it feeds off of her powers to develop their own. Since my mother was human, I attempted to feed off her powers, which of course there were none, but ended up draining her of her energy and blood. My father told me that he tried to convince her to terminate the pregnancy and that they would find a surrogate but she refused. She was determined to have me and it cost her her life in the end.”

  Nathan set his empty dish aside and turned to her. “One, I can’t believe he told you he asked your mother to terminate you and two, it is not your fault she died giving you life.”

  He was so sweet and it only made her love him more. “Oh, I know it’s not my fault and I don’t blame my dad for telling me the truth. He’s been everything to me, he loves me more than I can say and he has always spoiled me. He only told me to warn me of what might happen to me should I ever become pregnant with a demon child. I’ve reassured him that it will never happen.”

  “You don’t want kids?” He took her empty dish and set it on the tray with his, then carried the tray to the dresser before rejoining her in bed.

  Sienna shrugged, stroking the puppy’s soft, white head. “It’s kind of tough to have a family in my line of work. My hours suck and I’d never know when I could be called out to a scene. That’s no way to bring up a kid.”

  “I’ve always thought the same thing.” He slid in behind her, spreading his legs as she rested her back against his chest. “That’s one of the many reasons why my mother hates what I do for a living.”

  His hands on her neck, massaging the muscles felt so good. Relaxing. “That must be hard on you. Not having her support.”

  He kissed her neck, making her moan. “She just hates how much work takes away from my social and family life.”

  “I’m sure she also worries that her only son will be hurt in the line of duty.” She reached up to touch his face as she angled her head to look up at him.

  “There’s that too. You have the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen.”

  Her body and mind went to absolute mush and just as he was about to kiss her, the telephone rang. “Damn it!”

  He reached over to the nightstand, snatching the phone and handing it off to her.

  With a heavy sigh, Sienna answered. “Lieutenant Storm.”

  “We just got a call. Two more bodies have been spotted, Lieutenant,” the receptionist informed her.

  “Location?”

  “Lexington Park.”

  Sienna sighed. “I’ll be there in five.”

  “Another one?” Nathan asked as he set the phone down.

  “Two. We have to roll.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  She’d been on plenty of brutal murder cases but seeing the young couple sitting on the park bench, arm in arm with fist-sized holes in their chests and a huge pool of blood beneath them was enough to have her biting her quivering lip. Neither looked older then seventeen. Their eyes, wide in death, stared out at her in shock. The last thing they saw was their killer.

  “He punched through the front this time and right through to the back, breaking the wood of the bench. Wounds are different than the previous ones in that the front is smoother than the back leaving me to believe the front was the point of entry”

  Sienna stood before the once lovers now eternally linked in death and listened to the doc explain the manner of death.

  “We’ve got some wood splinters in the wounds.”

  She watched as Detective Vega opened a sealed bag and held it out to the doc. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for her.

  “Are you okay?” Nathan whispered in her ear.

  Licking her lips, reminding herself to not think of the couple before her and just process the scene, Sienna nodded. “Just assessing,” she lied, then moved toward the pair, kneeling down before them. She could actually see right through to the doc standing behind them.

  Shaking her thoughts away, Sienna looked over the scene. “We have blood droplets leading away from the body going north.”

  “I’ll follow them, take samples as I go,” Detective Vega stated, as he headed off.

  “He had to have gotten them at the same time using both of his hands.”

  Sienna looked up at Nathan, nodding. “I’m thinking the same thing. If he’d taken one at a time, the other would’ve had time to move, to try to get away and there are no signs of a struggle.” It was clear he hadn’t arranged these bodies by the holes in the park bench. “So what did he do? Did he walk up to them, make small talk, then punch his way through their chests with both fists? Who found them?”

  A familiar officer stepped forward, looking more than a little green. Sienna recognized him from the first crime scene. “I did, sir.”

  “Talk to me, Office Dickie.”

  He cleared his throat. “I was making my rounds through the park. Vamps like to stalk the dark waiting for joggers or in this case, lovers.” He swallowed again as his eyes briefly flitted to the bloody pair. “I called it in as soon as I saw it.”

  She bet he did, right after he barfed up his dinner. “Did you see anyone around, see anyone walking or running away from the scene?”

  “No, sir. It was just the two of them. I even looked around but there was no one. They’re so young…”

  “Yes they are.” Sienna turned to the doc now. “How’d you get here so fast?”

  “My wife and I were having dinner with Dante and his wife when he got the call. His home’s fairly close by.” Doc Hawthorn stood up and walked around the bodies to speak to her face to face. “I put their death at under three hours. Their bodies’re still relatively warm and not stiffening up yet.”

  Sienna checked her watch, calculated the time they had been killed, and thought about what she was doing three hours ago. While she was rolling in the sheets with Nathan, two innocent lives were being snuffed out.

  Turning, Sienna glanced around the empty park. Was he here, was he watching, enjoying the aftereffects of his carnage? Closing her eyes, Sienna tried to pick him up with her mind. She’d touched his blood once, not so long ago, she hoped she still had a link to him. But when all she saw were the wide eyes of the two innocent lovers, she opened her eyes and blew out a breath in frustration.

  Then seeing the blood droplets, she knelt down and touched a finger to the blood.

  “Lieutenant, don’t—”

  The surge pushed through her, stabbing her right in the chest, right over her heart. The heat washed through her, stealing her breath and knocking her over. The last thing she heard was Nathan yelling, “She’s not breathing!”

  ***

  Nathan paced the waiting area, his nerves rattled, his patience running thin. It had been nearly twenty minutes since he’d rushed Sienna to the hospital, the doc pumping her chest to get her heart beating. He was trying to process what the doc had told him but it was so bizarre. Nathan knew Sienna wasn’t completely human, but the idea that when she’d touched the blood on the ground she’d most likely connected with one or both of the dead bodies which had stopped her heart was nearly incomprehensible to him.

  When Dante rushed into the waiting room, eyes wide, wanting to know how Sienna was doing, Nathan had nothing new to tell him.

  “So what happened to her? All Officer Dickie said was that she collapsed and she wasn’t breathing.”

  Nathan scratched the stubble on his face, wishing desperately that someone would come out to tell him how she was doing. “I’m b
affled by it, but I’ll do my best. Sienna touched her finger to one of the blood droplets on the ground and fell backward, convulsing. When I knelt down to her, she’d stopped breathing. Doc says she connected with the deceased bodies and it stopped her heart.”

  “Shit,” Dante gasped, wiping a hand across his mouth. “She’ll be fine, man. She’s in good hands.”

  Nathan wished he could be as optimistic, but Sienna hadn’t been breathing and her heart had stopped. Sure, Doc Hawthorn had gotten it pumping again, albeit irregularly, while he’d rushed to the hospital, still… What was taking so long?

  “Listen, I know one of the nurses here. I’ll see if she’s on duty and maybe she’ll get some answers for us.”

  “That’d be great.” But just as Dante headed for the door, Doc Hawthorn came in. Nathan pounced. “Well? How is she? Tell me she’s alive, Doc.” His chest felt so tight Nathan worried it might crack.

  “She’s alive and she’s stable. Actually, she’s complaining about being kept in the bed and demanding to be released.”

  “Where is she?” He had to see her. Now!

  “Room 2134. Down the hall and to your left.”

  Without another word, Nathan hurried from the room. The people he passed in the hall were a blur to him as he rushed to Sienna. Pushing her door open, he found her standing up and struggling to put her pants on. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Getting dressed.”

  He caught her when she stumbled and set her down on the bed. “You’re supposed to be in bed.”

  “I hate hospitals.”

  He took her pants from her and it was a testament to her lack of energy when she couldn’t wrestle them out of his hands. “Who doesn’t? But you still need to stay here.”

  “Screw that. I’m fine.” Grabbing her shirt lying on her bed, which Nathan deduced she’d pulled from the storage locker across from her bed, she began untying her hospital gown.

  “You are not fine. Your heart stopped beating, you stopped breathing, and look at you…” He yanked the shirt out of her hands and received a growl. “You don’t even have the strength to dress yourself. Stop being so stubborn and lie down.”