He crossed to the register and paid for their meal, then was engaged in conversation by their waiter. The two of them were quickly surrounded, and the manager herded the chattering group into another room.
Leaving the table while your lunch companion was still eating was rude. It wasn’t his fault—he’d only gone to pay, she reminded herself. The waiter had somehow discovered they were related. They must be catching up. But … Eric didn’t look Indian. She’d just finished eating when Eric returned.
“Planning a family reunion?” she asked.
“Something like that.” He extended a hand. “Ready to go back to my place?” He waggled his eyebrows in outrageous suggestion.
• • •
On the drive over, she changed her look again. It was thrilling to watch her transform. It took some concentration to refrain from touching her arm as her tone darkened. Now she had dark-chocolate skin and a very revealing white sundress. The contrast was appealing. The fact that it was still her made it tantalizing.
He opened the door to his hotel room for her, and when he closed it, she slid the privacy lock closed.
“So … ” He raked his eyes over her ebony body. “Are you a natural brunette?”
“Why doesn’t this freak you out?” She seemed irritated at his easy acceptance. Of course, that made it more fun to bother her. “What’s your deal?”
He pulled two bottled waters from the mini fridge, passed her one, and took a sip of his own. “You first.”
She squared her shoulders. “I’m a member of the sisterhood.”
He shrugged. “I’m a member of Marroni’s Gym.”
They stared at each other for a while. He could see very clearly she was fighting the urge to smack him. He let the corner of his mouth rise a bit. “Okay, what is the sisterhood?”
“It is a group of women. Their main goal is to rid the world of men’s evil.”
“I take it you don’t mean mankind’s evil.” He sipped his water and sat on the edge of the bed.
She shook her head.
“And how do they do the ridding?”
“By removing their souls and thereby their lives.”
His small smile was gone now. He’d heard about them before. Back home, a drug dealer had run into the precinct naked and raving about sisters who wanted to eat his soul, but Eric hadn’t believed they existed. But then he existed, so why shouldn’t they? “You’re a succubus.”
This time, it was she who shrugged. “I never thought of myself like that. I suppose I am. I wasn’t born this way.”
He nodded and closed the cap on this water bottle. “I was reborn last year.” It was still hard to admit it. Even having beaten the curse, and with all the good that it had allowed him to do, he still felt … Was it shame? He forced out the words. “As a werewolf.”
Ashley stepped back.
“No need to fear. The curse is beatable. I mean, I’m still a werewolf, but it doesn’t control me.” Eric’s shoulders sagged. “Physically, at least,” he whispered. The conversation wasn’t going well. He hadn’t planned on sharing that with her, and now she was afraid. He took a deep breath and focused on the positive. She hadn’t run yet.
“Yeah, but it’s … ” Her eyes darted about as she searched for the right word. “Contagious.”
“I don’t bite.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “I’ve never talked about this with a non-werewolf before.” Her doubt resonated from her as she maintained her distance. “No, really, the one that made me was a serial killer. He used me as bait to get to my partner. She killed him. Then she and her husband helped me beat the curse, kept me from killing during my first full moon, but … ”
It hurt for him to admit what he had become. He was strong, though, strong enough to keep going. Strong enough not to turn the hurt onto someone else.
• • •
She had hurt like that so many years ago. Then Tarma came and helped her out of the abyss. If only she could do that for Eric now. Every part of her wanted to try. No matter what he felt about what he’d become, he wasn’t the monster he thought he was.
She’d never known a werewolf before, but she supposed if succubae could exist, so could werewolves. Now she knew how he knew her when she shifted. She must smell the same. The small spark of delight at figuring out the puzzle dimmed with his pain.
She reached for him and took his hand. Then she scooted closer. She could already sense his wariness of her next move. Sliding still closer, she leaned into his neck and inhaled the combination of shampoo, cologne, and man. She sighed.
His trembling fingers traced their way up her thigh, and she shivered in anticipation.
His breathing deepened and then stopped.
She leaned back. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his lips pressed together into a thin line. Why did he stop himself? He wasn’t repulsed by her … or was he? “What is it?”
She pulled away further, but his hand caught hers before she could leave his side completely. “I can’t be cavalier about this. There was a time—” He shook his head. His eyes pleaded with her to understand. “Even once for me now means forever. I … we need to be sure.”
“Sure of us?” She chuckled softly. “I’m not even sure of me anymore. A week ago I would have separated your soul from your body without a moment of hesitation. I was always taught that if I hesitated—heck, if any woman hesitates—to see if a man is more than he seems, I put the world in danger.
“But I let you in. Because of Nichole, I hesitated with you and not only are you more than you seemed, you’re doing something to me.” She squeezed his fingers. “But you need to know, I am sure of you. I can see your soul, even if you can’t. You are not a monster.
“I was married when I was barely a woman; the sisterhood saved me shortly after. I lived with them for four decades.”
His eyebrows rose as he did the math.
“Eric, I haven’t even attempted to love someone for forty years. I don’t know that I’ve ever made love. If you must wait, I can do that.” She winked. “When you reach my age you get good at waiting.”
That got a chuckle from him. She could see his pain ease.
Together, they lay back on the bed, fingers entwined. He cleared his throat. “You are a succubus.” When she nodded, he continued, “You were training the other woman, Nichole. Why?”
“I was going to be a part of the inner circle.” She’d been so proud; now the thought sent a wave of disgust through her.
He grunted. “A promotion. You must have been good at your job.”
“Yes.”
“What does that entail? You wouldn’t get a raise?”
“I didn’t know at first. After I pledged to train Nichole, I was taken for a ceremony to take in the spirit. I wonder now if that meant something more. It’s possible they are trying to make me into a demon.”
“Sounds like fun.” He stiffened a little, but he didn’t release her hand.
“I might have gone along with it, until I met Nichole.” It felt important for her to admit it to him.
“Oh.” His thumb stroked hers.
“She had some crazy idea that men could be redeemed.”
“Absolutely insane.” Not a hint of sarcasm tinted his words.
“It was. But the other night—the night you and I first spoke, in fact—she stopped me short of ripping a man’s soul out completely. I was so close. But she saved him. When I tracked him down later his wife said he was a new man. He seemed like it. He seemed fulfilled. It’s like I gave him a second chance at making the right choice.”
“That sounds great. What’s the problem?” He nudged her foot with his toe.
“I think the Mother, our leader, already knew about the ability to give second chances. I don’t think she cares. Nichole told them about her ideas, and they asked me to take care of her.”
“They asked you to kill her. Your own student.”
“Yes. They told me to do it quick so it wouldn’t bother me so much. Now I’ve helped he
r escape, and they’ll know that I know their secret. They’ll be after me next. All they would have to do is extract her soul to learn everything that’s happened. Then they would know about me. About us. We haven’t gone too far for you, but we’ve already crossed the point of no return for me.”
She withdrew her hand from his and propped herself up on one elbow to face him. “You want to know how I keep finding you? Our souls have begun to mingle. You carry pieces of me in you.” She placed a finger on his chest. “I couldn’t release the pieces of you if I tried, and for a while, I did try. I can see the bits of me are happy here.” She tapped him again. “I wouldn’t want to move them now if I could. If the sisterhood finds out any of this they will destroy us both.”
She rested her forehead against his solid chest, exhausted. Emotionally drained. She wanted to be with this man every waking moment of the day. But if anyone found out, the two of them would be eradicated. Their souls fed to demons only the Mother knew.
Love had made her miserable, just as the sisterhood had promised it would.
• • •
Screams pierced the darkness. Deep throaty shrieks and heavy flapping wings of a demon on the attack echoed in stark contrast to the high-pitched wails of a woman in pain. The musky scent of scales swept away by the breeze.
“Ashley. Help me.” Nichole gasped before the creature dove again, talons outstretched.
• • •
“Nichole.” Ashley woke from where she’d been snuggled against Eric. They’d fallen asleep clothed. She got out of bed and checked her pocket for her keys.
He’d opened his eyes when she sat up in bed; now he was standing too. “What’s wrong?”
“I think they found her.” She found her keys. “I have to go to the center.”
“You’re not going alone.” He slipped on a holster and gun, then his leather jacket on top of that.
They raced to the parking garage. At one in the morning, the party scene in Vegas was starting to get really hot. The press of cars on the Strip made Ashley wish jumping out and running could get her there faster.
Finally, traffic started to move. Once they were clear of the Strip, Eric asked, “How do you know she’s in trouble?”
“She called out to me.”
“Succubae are telepathic?”
“We’re connected. You wouldn’t understand.” She raced through a yellow light.
“Careful, a speeding ticket will only slow us down.”
She decelerated a little. Almost there. They flew around a corner and nearly into a limo with six women sticking their heads out of the moon roof. The sound of Nichole’s screams seemed to echo in her ears. Ashley skidded into the parking lot sideways, finally coming to a stop so close to the side of the center’s van she had to crawl out of Eric’s door.
There was no sound besides their labored breathing.
“Where is she?” Ashley demanded.
There was no bellow of demons or flapping of wings. Only traffic in the distance.
She ran to the center’s front doors and then around the side of the building to look into their field area. “Where is she?”
Eric had drawn his weapon when he got out of the car. But as they stood in the quiet parking lot, no evidence of any activity around the building, he put it away. “Ashley, there’s no one here.”
She stood staring at the building. “There has to be.”
“The only people are inside. Asleep.” He crossed to her and wrapped his arms around her. “Could it have just been a nightmare?”
“No.” She looked around again. “It was so real.”
“We can come back in the morning to talk to her if you want.”
“Yeah.” She nodded slowly, sorting through the images in her dream. What had she seen? Nichole, broken and bleeding. Collapsed on asphalt. It was a parking lot. Dark asphalt and bright yellow lines. Ashley looked at her feet as Eric led her to the car. The lot was faded to a light gray even in the dim light. The lines of the spaces were pale white.
“It wasn’t this parking lot.” Ashley jerked her shoulder away from Eric. “Either Nichole wasn’t attacked here—”
“Then where would she be?”
“Right, or—”
A flap of wings overhead revealed the answer. “It was a trap,” Eric finished, drawing his gun again.
Doors slammed. Nichole called from the door of the center. “Ashley!”
“It still is,” Eric yelled as he grabbed her arm and propelled her toward the front doors. A deep musk descended, covering them like a blanket. The deep sound of flapping wings circled overhead, out of sight, but every beat an ominous rhythm. With Eric at her right, Ashley positioned Nichole behind them. They stepped backward to try to force the confused woman back into the building.
“Why are you here? What is that?” Nichole shouted over the demon’s screams.
“Tarma,” Ashley answered. As one landed and folded its enormous wings, another circled overhead and then swooped. Two. There was no way they could fight off two. “And Lena.”
Demons. Their skin covered in scales, dark and slick, glistened like ebony in the distant streetlights. After Tarma landed, she clacked her jaws; it sounded like cracking bone.
When the second landed, both creatures shifted into human forms. “Sisters, we need to talk.” Tarma reached out her hands.
“You’ve left us. Without word. We were worried,” Lena said as they both stepped forward.
“Aw.” Nichole started toward them. “We’re fine, really.”
“No.” Ashley tried to push the infuriatingly innocent woman behind her again. “They want to kill you. Go inside.”
The women kept coming. They were barely three yards away. “The Mother wishes only to know you are cared for,” Tarma said.
Lena finished, “As she does with all of her children. You are her child, Nichole. You always will be. We care for you.”
“We accepted you.”
“We love you.”
Two yards away. Both women reached out now. “There is no need to be frightened.”
Nichole ducked under Ashley’s arm and reached for the women. Ashley cried, “No!”
In a blink, demons stood in the women’s places.
Eric roared. And in an instant, he shifted into what could only be called a giant wolf. He attacked Lena with claws and teeth. His gun was forgotten. Ashley wanted to stop him; his fur was so fragile compared to their scales.
Eric slammed his body into Tarma, sending her flying. Then he landed for an instant before leaping at Lena. Claws found their way under her scales and ripped as he wrenched, taking great gobs of flesh with them.
Lena landed a bite on his shoulder, but before she could bear down he raked his claws across an exposed eye and she roared in pain.
Half watching Eric’s battle, Ashley wished she could help him. But she had to get Nichole to safety first. “Inside!” Ashley yelled, grabbing Nichole and pulling the innocent behind her once more.
When Ashley spun to face Tarma she found nothing.
“Ashley.” The gurgled word came from behind her. Ashley spun, but it was too late.
Tarma had circled her and ripped out Nichole’s throat.
Ashley screamed. Fury shook her body, and claws erupted from her own fingers. She leapt upon the back of the demon and tore at the leathery wings with every ounce of strength. The creature burst into the air and shook Ashley loose. She landed on top of Eric’s gun. As fast as she could she aimed and fired, over and over, into the sky after the retreating demon.
She didn’t realize the magazine had gone empty until Eric’s calm hand covered hers and took the weapon from her. Deaf from the reports of the gun, she saw his lips move but couldn’t hear what he said. She followed the motion of his hand and saw Lena, now in human form and torn to pieces.
She looked closer at him. He was covered in Lena’s blood. He needed to get off the street. Behind her, Nichole gurgled again. Eric’s predicament forgotten for a moment she kn
elt beside her former protégé, her friend, and wept. “I’m so sorry.” She cradled the petite woman’s body. “Oh, Nichole, I’m so sorry.”
Nichole offered a faint smile before she slipped away.
• • •
Eric gave her a moment to grieve. But just that. The shots had alerted others who’d called the police. “Darling, we have to leave.”
Sirens were getting closer. She wasn’t budging. Eric did the only thing he could and called Aaron.
He gave him the address of the double homicide they’d attempted to interrupt and told him cars were already on the way. Luckily, Aaron hadn’t yet gone home for the day and called dispatch, told them he was en route, and that there was an undercover already on the scene.
With the bottled water and napkins Ashley had in the car he cleaned his face the best he could and rinsed his mouth with water. A quick examination of Lena confirmed she wouldn’t become some mutant werewolf-demon hybrid, if that was even possible. She had not survived his attack.
Ashley was still bent over her friend’s fallen body when the police, and soon Aaron, arrived on the scene. Eric told and retold the lie he’d made up on the fly. She had been giving him a tour of the area when he saw the two women being attacked by a dark figure. They attempted to subdue the attacker, who got away. Ashley had tried to save her friend, and he tried to save the other one. “She seemed to be losing blood from every artery. It got all over me.”
EMTs changed him into scrubs, and the police bagged his clothes. The wounds he’d sustained from the fight had already healed before he changed. His blood wouldn’t register as human anyway, so they would toss it out as cross-contamination.
After Eric had changed, Aaron pulled him aside. “What’s happening here, man? This is the place you investigated today, for the homicide. I read Max’s report.”
“Nothing to do with our investigation.”
“I still think I should know.” Aaron glanced around.
“Not here. We’ll talk, off the record, in the morning.”
“You’ve got four hours until morning, slick.”
“Feds will be on the scene by then.”
Redeeming the Night Page 11