by Karen Lynch
Someone rapped sharply on the office door before it flew open and Beth rushed in, her face flushed. I was on my feet in an instant.
“He didn’t get them all,” she cried, waving a piece of paper.
“Get what?” I asked.
Beth could barely contain her excitement. “The girls. Last night, he took five girls, but he went after six. One got away.”
Nikolas stood. “How do you know that?”
She held up the paper. “A student at UCLA was attacked walking to her sorority house last night. She tasered the guy and managed to get away.”
Beth’s smile grew. “She told campus police her attacker had a flame tattoo on his wrist.”
I looked at Nikolas. “If the Lilin wants her, he’ll come back for her like he did for Mei Lin.”
“Yes.”
Tristan cleared his throat. “I’ll let you get to it then.”
Beth’s startled eyes darted to the phone on the desk and then back to me. “I’m so sorry. I barged in here without thinking.”
“You had a good reason,” Tristan said. I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Beth, I don’t believe you’ve met Tristan.”
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head mutely. Then, as if realizing he couldn’t see her, she blurted, “No.”
She was adorably flustered. I didn’t think it was in my best interest to laugh, so I hid my smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Beth,” Tristan said warmly. “Hopefully, next time we’ll meet in person.”
“I’d like that,” she managed to say.
Tristan said goodbye, and Beth relaxed when it was just the three of us. She didn’t say much as Nikolas and I discussed the best way to handle the UCLA attack.
“We’ll need to put someone on her in case he goes after her again,” I said.
Nikolas nodded. “I’ll set up twenty-four hour protection. And one of us should talk to her.”
“Beth and I will go see her.”
Beth’s head swiveled in my direction. “We will?”
“It’s your lead. I figured you’d want to be involved.”
Her smile lit up the room. “I do.”
I waved a hand at the door. “Alright. Let’s go.”
Beth
“I was at the library with my study group until nine, and I went straight home from there. I walk that route all the time, and nothing’s ever happened before. I still can’t believe it.”
I studied the slender brunette girl sitting next to me in the living room of her sorority house. Paige Collins was remarkably composed for someone who had been attacked less than a day ago. Except for the bruise on her cheek, you’d never know she’d just been through a horrible ordeal.
“Tell us about the attack,” Chris urged lightly, ignoring the group of girls whispering and ogling him from the kitchen. It had been like that since we’d arrived ten minutes ago, passing ourselves off as the police.
I brushed off my flash of annoyance at the girls and returned my attention to Paige.
“I was only a few hundred yards from the house when he grabbed me from behind. He was so quiet for a big guy, and I didn’t even hear him coming. He wrapped an arm around my throat before I could scream.”
Paige shuddered and went on.
“My father made me promise to always carry my Taser when I walk alone. Thank God I had it in my hand. That guy was so strong I had to shock him three times before he let go of me. I think he must have been on drugs or steroids.
“As soon as I got away, I screamed and ran to the house. The guys in the house across the street came out to see what was going on, and the man ran away. They called the campus police for me, but the man was long gone.”
“Did you see his face?” I asked her.
“No. All I saw was his arm. As soon as I broke free, I ran.”
Chris leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “You told the campus police you saw a tattoo on the man’s wrist. Can you describe it for us?”
“It looked like flames. I think there were words too, but everything happened so fast I didn’t read them. I’m sorry.”
I smiled to reassure her. “You got away, and that’s all that matters.”
“Have you noticed anyone hanging around campus lately who seemed out of place?” Chris asked.
Paige blanched. “You think he’s been following me around campus?”
“For all we know, this was a random attack, but we have to cover all our bases. It’s just procedure.”
“Oh.” She visibly relaxed and thought for a moment. “I did see a man in the dining hall yesterday who looked wrong, if that makes sense.”
Chris met my gaze before he asked, “Wrong, how?”
“He was sitting at a table alone, not eating or reading. Just sitting there. I was eating lunch with my friend Jenny, and she noticed him, too. It was just kind of odd, you know?”
Chris nodded. “Can you describe him?”
“He was good-looking with short, dark hair, and I could tell he was tall, even though he was sitting. He looked to be around twenty. If it wasn’t for the strange way he just sat there, I’d say he was like every other student.”
Paige looked from Chris to me. “Does that help?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
“Good.” She let out a breath. “I wish I could tell you more. It all happened so fast.”
“You’re doing great.”
Chris gave her an encouraging smile, and I heard a chorus of sighs from his new fan club. Good grief. He should come with a warning label.
Looking directly at the smile may cause swooning and temporary loss of intelligence.
“Thanks,” Paige replied, looking at ease for the first time since we’d started questioning her. “You’re a lot easier to talk to than the other officers who were here earlier.”
“We have a little more experience in this area,” I said.
Her eyes widened at my words.
“You must have joined the police force fresh out of school because you don’t look any older than me.”
And that was our cue to wrap this up.
“We get that a lot.” I shot Chris a meaningful look.
He stood, prompting a flurry of murmurs in the kitchen. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, and followed him and Paige out of the living room.
“We’ll keep an eye on things here for the next few days,” Chris told Paige as she walked us to the door.
We didn’t tell her she’d have around-the-clock protection until the Lilin threat had passed. That would only raise more questions and stir up her fear. She’d been through enough, and aside from leaving Los Angeles, there was nothing she could do to stop the Lilin from coming after her again.
“Thank you,” she said. “I feel better knowing you guys are here.”
Chris opened the door, and one of the girls called, “Come back anytime.”
I must have made a face because his lips twitched as he held the door for me. His expression told me he was used to this reception from females, and he was enjoying my reaction to it.
We said our goodbyes to Paige and left. Chris followed me down the walkway to the SUV, waiting until we were inside before he chuckled softly.
I looked at him as I buckled my seat belt. “What?”
“I saw the looks you were shooting those girls,” he said with a smirk.
“What looks?”
“You glared at them every time they moved.”
“They were annoying. Don’t they have anything better to do than to stand around and gawk at people?”
Chris cocked his head smugly. “Jealous?”
I scoffed. “You are so full of yourself.”
“I have good reason to be. The most beautiful girl in the world doesn’t like other women looking at me.”
A laugh burst from me, and I looked out the passenger window so he couldn’t see the effect his words had on me.
“Admit it. You think I’m hot.”
I slanted a
look at him. “Every woman thinks you’re hot. That’s nothing new.”
“I don’t care about every woman,” he said in a low voice that sent a delicious shiver through me. “I only care what you think.”
“I think you should drive.”
“Not until you admit you were a wee bit jealous in there.”
He was right, but no way was I telling him that. He was already too cocky for his own good.
“No.”
“Okay. I can wait,” he said, laying his head against the headrest.
Silence filled the SUV, and after several minutes passed, I knew he wasn’t going to move until I gave him what he wanted. Stubborn ass.
I crossed my arms and scowled at him. “Fine. I think you’re hot.”
“And you were jealous.”
“Don’t push it.”
Chris grinned and started the vehicle. “Was that so hard?”
“Yes,” I muttered.
He pulled away from the curb.
“Then we’ll have to work on that.”
Chapter 18
Beth
“WHAT DO YOU have for us, David?” Chris said to the phone sitting in the middle of the small conference table where he and I sat with Nikolas, Sara, Seamus, and Niall.
David’s voice spilled from the phone’s speaker. “Kelvan and I have been searching the demon archives since you sent us that picture of the Lilin’s mark. The archive is endless, and it’s like a needle in a haystack, but we think we might have gotten a hit on it.”
The air in the control room seemed to crackle with excitement as everyone leaned forward in their chairs.
“You found him?” Nikolas asked.
“Not exactly. We came up with a name, but no photo to go with it. Problem is, it’s from sixty years ago.”
I looked at Nikolas, who sat directly across from me. “Why is that a problem?”
“Demons who live a long time change their identity every generation or two to avoid suspicion,” he explained. “The Lilin might have changed his several times in the last sixty years.”
“Is there any way to know what he changed his name to?” I asked, looking from Nikolas to Chris, who sat next to me.
Chris answered. “Possibly, but he won’t leave an easy trail to follow. Lilin are extremely private.”
He looked at the phone again. “How reliable is this information, David?”
“Kelvan said it came from the Incubi lineage records. Think of it as the who’s who of Incubi. They like to keep track of their family tree, and the Lilin are their royalty. Every Incubus wants to be related to one.”
I was starting to think demons were great allies to have. I’d been dubious when I heard that Sara had demon friends, including Kelvan who worked with us now. But there was no way we’d have access to demon archives without inside help. I hadn’t even known there were demon archives until recently.
“What do the records say about the Lilin with that mark?” Nikolas asked.
“His name was Charles Prescott, and his last known whereabouts was London. We cross-referenced that with some old Scotland Yard records and discovered there were a bunch of unsolved missing person cases around the same time. Young women.”
Chris tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the glossy tabletop. “The timeline matches up with our Lilin. They breed every thirty years, so sixty years ago he would have been in his fertile cycle.”
My stomach roiled with revulsion like it did every time someone mentioned the Lilin’s breeding habits. How many girls and young women had this one demon killed in his long life to build his family? How many more innocent lives would he take if we didn’t stop him?
Chris’s warm hand covered mine on the arm of my chair. He gave my hand a light squeeze as if he sensed my discomfort.
Since we’d gone to the sorority house two days ago, our relationship had changed, in a good way. It felt like one of the barriers between us had fallen, and we were building new bridges. Chris didn’t try to talk about us, but he was always touching me in a nonsexual way. I think it was his way of giving us the physical contact we both craved from each other. I didn’t push him away because I needed it as much as he did.
“Does Kelvan think he can find out the next identity of Charles Prescott?” Chris asked, still holding my hand.
David chuckled. “He’s already working on it, and he said to tell you he’s a genius, not a miracle worker.”
“Tell him I have complete faith in him,” Sara said. “Never mind. I’ll call him and tell him myself.”
“I’d better get back to work,” David said, and I could hear him already tapping on his keyboard. “I’m still looking at real estate in the Los Angeles area while Kelvan does his thing.”
“Good work,” Chris told him. “We appreciate all you’ve done.”
“Are you kidding? I get to work with the Mohiri’s top nerds, and I get paid for it. I’m having so much fun I almost feel guilty. Almost.”
“Okay. We’ll check in with you tomorrow,” Nikolas said.
The call ended, and Niall was the first to speak. “Do you think they can track him down?”
Sara nodded confidently. “If anyone can, it’s Kelvan and David. They found Madeline when she was hiding behind Orias’s glamours.”
“Can they find him before we run out of time?” I asked her.
Her face grew serious. “I don’t know.”
Chris looked around the table. “He hasn’t come after Paige Collins again, which means he still doesn’t have all the girls he wants.”
“Unless he’s given up on her and decided to go with what he’s got,” Seamus said.
“A Lilin doesn’t give up,” Nikolas replied, with a conviction that sent a shiver through me.
Chris stood. “Then we’d better make sure he doesn’t get what he wants. Who’s watching Paige now?”
“Mason and Brock,” I told him. “Mason texted a little while ago. He said it looks like they’re throwing a party at the sorority house tonight.”
“If the Lilin is watching her, he might go after her tonight,” Nikolas said, and Chris nodded unhappily.
I didn’t have to ask what Chris was thinking. He and I were on protective detail tonight for the first time, and he didn’t want me there if the Lilin was planning another attack. I waited for him to say someone else would go with him.
Chris looked at the twins. “Beth and I are going to need backup tonight. You guys feel like going to a party?”
Seamus snickered. “Sorority girls and beer. Do you even need to ask?”
“Does this mean I can partner with Beth?” asked Niall, who sat on my other side.
Chris’s scowl was almost comical. “No.”
Niall shrugged. “You can’t blame a lad for trying.”
Seamus leaned back with his hands behind his head. “How are we doing this? We all going into the house, or do you want us outside?”
“Paige and her sorority sisters think Beth and I are police officers, so we’ll have to stay outside,” Chris said. “We’ll watch the front of the house, and you two can watch the back.”
“Sounds good.” Niall leaned sideways toward me. “If you get bored with his company, you know where to find me.”
I smiled and shifted uncomfortably in my chair. There was nothing inappropriate in Niall’s behavior, but lately I felt uneasy when other males got too close to me.
Chris made a sound that was suspiciously like a growl, and Niall leaned away from me. I was seeing these little displays of aggression from him more often in the last few days. I didn’t show it outwardly, but part of me liked the possessive gleam in his eyes, because I’d started to feel the same way toward him. I was just better at hiding it.
I stood, drawing Chris’s attention to me.
“If I’m going to be sitting in a car all night, I need to get a good workout in first. Do you have time to spar with me?”
His whole demeanor changed, and a smile curved his lips. “I always have time for you.”
>
“Great. Give me five minutes to change.”
I headed for the door, calling over my shoulder. “Today, you’re going down.”
Chris laughed. “I’m counting on it.”
* * *
“Where are we going?” I asked Chris as he turned onto a street in the opposite direction of the university campus.
“Getting some food. Neither of us had dinner, and you can’t do a stakeout on an empty stomach.”
We pulled up to a fifties-style diner, and Chris shut off the engine. When I started to open my door he said, “I’ll get it.”
“Thanks.”
I watched him go inside and stand at the counter. It took me several minutes to realize I was staring at him, a new habit of mine. Not that anyone could blame me. Chris was hot with a hard, powerful body and eyes I could happily drown in.
And he was mine.
I don’t know when I’d stopped denying it, but I knew with every fiber of my being that Chris and I belonged together. Did we have stuff to work out? Yes. Was a part of me still afraid of getting hurt? Yes.
Did I love him?
More than my own life.
It was a little terrifying to know that one person owned my heart so completely, especially the man who had hurt me deeply in the past. Maybe that was why I wasn’t ready to say those three words to him. But we were getting closer to that moment with every minute I was with him.
The driver’s door opened, shaking me from my thoughts. Chris handed me a large takeout bag and bottles of water before he got in.
I hefted the heavy bag and laughed.
“Are we feeding Seamus and Niall, too?”
“I have to keep my partner fed. And those two can fend for themselves.”
“You’ve been friends with them a long time, haven’t you?”
Chris smiled fondly. “A little over seventy years. When they were twenty-five, they came to Westhorne for a visit and stayed. They’re good guys. Some of my worst hangovers are thanks to them.”
Somehow, that didn’t surprise me.