Midnight Sins

Chapter 13

“I’m really getting sick of this damn police station,” Cara growled as Todd pulled her across the bull pen and toward his desk, a desk that was overflowing with paperwork.

“Tough.” He raised a hand and waved one of the uniforms over to them. “Mark, I need you to watch her.”

Watch her? What the hell was she now? Some kind of dog? Cara set her back teeth.

Mark gave a firm nod.

Todd pushed her toward his chair. “Stay here.”

The man was going to piss her off in about five seconds.

“Detective?” Mark frowned up at him. Probably because he didn’t know if she was a suspect or some poor victim who needed protection.

She was neither, damn it.

“I’ve got to find the captain.” Todd pointed to Cara. “Keep an eye on her. Do not let her leave.”

She gritted, “Todd, this is absolutely unnecessary—” The guy had been in some kind of freak mode ever since they’d left Paradise Found.

“It’s damn well necessary. Consider yourself in protective custody, baby.” He kissed her. Hard. Fast. “Until I can determine what the hell is going on, I’m going to make certain you’re safe.”

And that was why she was currently surrounded by cops. She grabbed his hand. “I can take care of myself.” He sure didn’t seem to be understanding the whole demon part of the equation.

She was a powerful supernatural creature. Not a level-ten, but still strong enough to kick most folks’ asses. The guy had to stop judging her by the surface skin.

“You don’t know what we’re dealing with here.” His voice was pitched low, too low for the young cop to catch. “I don’t know what we’re dealing with, and until we know just who we’re up against, you’re going to be under police protection.”

Hell.

“Now, I’m going to find Colin and the captain, and see if they know more about our Jane Doe.” A hard stare. “Stay here and stay out of trouble.”

His gaze shot to the uniformed cop. “Don’t let her out of your sight, Mark.”

“Sir.”

“And…try not to smell her.” Said with a frown.

Mark blinked. “Uh, sir?”

Another hard kiss. Then he pulled away from her and marched across the room.

And left her with the junior policeman for protection.

Cara sighed and closed her eyes.

Then she started trying to figure out who hated her enough to kill.

One name came instantly to mind. Lance Danvers.

But that bastard was dead. Had been for the last seven years.

She’d seen the body. Touched the cold flesh.

Yeah, he was dead.

After all, she’d been the one to arrange his meeting with the devil.

“We got an ID on the victim,” Colin said, pushing a file toward Todd. “Susan Dobbs. Her prints were in the system.”

“That was fast. I mean, it’s been what? Five, six hours since the body was found?”

“This case has the highest priority,” McNeal said. “I expect everything to go fast.”

Duly noted. Todd flipped over the manila folder. Glanced at the black-and-white photo of the woman in her mug shot. “What’d she do?”

“Ms. Dobbs liked to cut men up with knives,” McNeal said, leaning back in his chair with a groan of leather. “Started when she was a kid. Made a habit of the killings for the next fifteen years.”

Killing with a knife. Sure as hell fit for the Monroe murder. But for the others…“She’s human, isn’t she?”

“Emily thinks so,” Colin told him.

Todd’s brows snapped together. “Run that by me again.”

McNeal cleared his throat. “The doctor, she’s good at sensing these things.”

Right.

“If Em says the vic’s not Other, she isn’t.” Colin sounded absolutely definite.

Okay, well, that meant…“Susan wouldn’t have been able to kill the other men.”

“Not by herself,” his partner said.

It was the conclusion they all had no choice but to reach. Todd turned his stare onto the captain. “It’s a setup, sir. I don’t know who is doing it, and I don’t know why, but my gut tells me Cara is deliberately being tied to these crimes.”

The captain grunted. “You think the killer was using the blonde to throw suspicion on Cara?”

“She’s a dead ringer for her.”

“That could just be coincidence,” Colin pointed out.

Todd snorted. Bullshit.

“The woman could’ve been a lure, though,” Colin continued, tapping his chin. “Em said that vamps use them all the time.”

“What?”

Colin stopped his tapping. “A lure. Something nice and flashy to catch the attention of the humans so that they never see the monsters coming until it’s too late.”

“A succubus shouldn’t need a lure.” The wheels in Todd’s head were turning, fast. A succubus was a lure. So why use Susan? Why bring her in unless…Todd shook his head. “What do we know about Susan Dobb’s personal relationships?”

Colin reached into his pocket and flipped out his notebook. “Her mom’s in jail, her father was never on the scene, and—”

“No, her sexual relationships. Has anyone checked—”

He closed the notebook. “Bryant did.”

Bryant was the newest detective in the department. A quiet guy who’d transferred up from Miami just a few months back.

“Susan liked men—a lot of them.” His brows lifted. “What? Do you want him to get you specifics?”

Todd slanted him a hard look. “Cara said Michael House was straight. That he would have only gone to the hotel with a woman.” A woman who looked a lot like his ex? “Fuck. A succubus shouldn’t need a lure,” he repeated as excitement pumped through him. He might just be figuring this shit out. “A woman wouldn’t need to use Susan, but a man—he sure as hell would.”

Colin whistled. “Susan could’ve brought in the men, tied ’em up with the promise of some wild sex.”

McNeal’s fingers flattened on his desk. “And instead just made them helpless and got them ready for the kill.”

“Yes.” One damn good supposition. “Maybe she tied the guys up because if they’d seen who was really waiting for them, they never would have been into the game.”

“He could have waited in the closet…” Colin’s eyes were thoughtful. “Or in one of those small-ass bathrooms.” He spoke the last softly, as if to himself.

Hell, yeah, that was exactly what Todd was thinking. “It could have happened,” he said. Maybe it had happened just that way.

“An incubus?” McNeal asked.

“It would explain the print.” Because that was the mark of a sex demon—succubus or incubus. “If the guy wanted to drain the humans, he would have needed to get their sexual energy pumped up—he would have used Susan for that.” The woman had been a looker, just like his Cara.

“So Susie gets the men tied up, gets them horny,” Colin murmured, “then our incubus comes in. He gives them a touch and kills the poor bastards.”

“As he takes their power and lives—yes!” It made sense. Every bit of it made sense. “This guy, whoever he is, I think he chose Susan Dobbs because she looked like Cara. He dumped Cara’s purse at the third crime scene so we’d pick her up, and he’s been choosing men that are all linked to her.”

“Except for Monroe.” Colin straightened. “We can’t find any link to him and Cara—”

The pieces fell into place. “Because that guy was Susan’s kill, hers alone. Think about it.” He paused a moment, then lifted his fingers as he counted off the reasons, saying, “She stabbed him. She’s got a long history with knives, we all know that. She left the room a wreck, left evidence behind—”

“The scene was nothing like the others,” McNeal agreed grimly.

“Because the killer was different.” Todd knew it with every cell in his body. “She killed him. I bet if we dig, we’ll find a connection between her and Monroe, something personal.” The woman had snapped—killed in an undeniable fit of rage. There had been so many knife wounds in the guy’s chest…

“Shit. So what, we had some damn team killing together—” McNeal began.

“Until Susan broke the rules.” He thought about the cold, quick death Susan had received. “Then she had to be punished.” But just who had punished her? The lady had tried to lead him to Niol, but the demon appeared to be clean.

Though appearances could sure as hell be deceiving. He was learning more about the truth of that old saying every day.

“If Monroe wasn’t a planned kill—”

“Then our guy probably got real pissed at Susan.” Because she’d broken his control. Destroyed the layout of his nice, neat little game. “So pissed that the lady wound up with a broken neck.”

“But if we’re dealing with an incubus, why didn’t he just drain her?” Colin shook his head. “He could have gotten her energy and—”

“She fought him.” Todd could still see the blood staining the walls of the phone booth. “Maybe he intended to use the touch on her, but Susan had her knife, and once she started stabbing, he snapped her neck.”

McNeal sighed. “Damn it, I’m tired of this shit in my city. What ever happened to keeping a low profile? Why does this asshole want to stir things up?”

“Why is he going after Cara?” Todd fired back.

Colin rolled his shoulders, a ripple of movement. “Gotta be personal.”

Yeah, that was what he figured, and what scared him.

“Niol was clean?”

He nodded curtly at the captain’s question. “Doubt I’d ever say that, but there weren’t any wounds.”

Colin lifted a brow. “And the guy’s not a sex demon.”

“Incubus,” he corrected, almost automatically. “Just what the hell is that guy?”

“Someone who could fry this town if he wanted,” McNeal said, voice rough. “A level-ten who likes to play on the dark side.”

Niol was definitely cold enough to kill, but he wasn’t an incubus. And there’d been no knife wounds on his body.

So, as much as he wanted to put the demon away, he wasn’t looking like the killer.

Which meant the bastard was still out there, somewhere. “We’ve been looking at this all wrong.” They’d thought the woman was the primary, but Susan Dobbs had just been a pawn.

The real serial was still out there.

“I’m keeping Cara in protective custody until we catch the bastard.” Probably should have asked permission from the captain first, but screw that, his woman was in danger, and he would be keeping her safe.

Colin cleared his throat. “Ah, how does she feel about that?”

“Doesn’t matter.” His stare was on the captain. “I think she’s in danger.” Those instincts of his were screaming at him. Cara would have said his sensitivity was charging up — hell, whatever it was, he knew that the lady was in danger.

And he was going to keep her safe.

The captain gave him an almost imperceptible nod. “Do we need to take her to a safe house?”

He walked over to the captain’s door. Peeked through the blinds. Cara was still sitting in his chair. Mark was stationed at her side. “Yeah, I think so.” He’d like to keep her at his place, but he knew someone could have already staked out his home.

No, better to take her someplace secret.

Even if she raged at him, and he was certain she would.

He reached for the knob. “I’d better go break the news to the lady—”

“Hey, Brooks!”

He glanced back at Colin’s call, opening the door just a few inches. The rumble of voices from the bull pen drifted in to him. “What?”

“Before I came in here, I called the phone company, pulled a few strings.” One brow lifted. “The last call Susan Dobbs made wasn’t to your place.”

Now that got his attention. “What? No, she called—”

“I know—I know—but the call to your place wasn’t the last one she made.” Colin stood, stepped toward him. “I got the number and guess who answered on the second ring?”

“Who?” Not Niol, it couldn’t be—

“The newswoman. Holly Storm.”

What?

“I sent a squad car after her. Ms. Storm should be here any minute for a little interrogation.”

“Good.” He was curious as all hell to learn just why Susan had contacted the reporter. Had she been offering Storm a tell-all interview? A scoop on the killer that the cops were trying so hard to keep under wraps?

Damn. Just how much did the reporter know? And how deep was she involved in this mess?

“She could—”

The silence hit him then. The absolute and complete silence from the bull pen.

The rumble of voices had quieted now. He saw Colin stiffen, and Todd turned back toward the door, peering through the crack he’d made.

Then he heard words that chilled his soul. “Put the gun down and we can talk.”

What the fuck? He pulled the door open another two inches. Caught sight of a kid with long, greasy hair. As Todd watched, the kid turned in wide circles, a gun clutched in his trembling hands.

No, not a kid. The guy looked like he was in his early twenties. Too old to be pulling something stupid like this.

“What is it?” The captain’s voice. McNeal had sidled across the room. He peered over Todd’s shoulder and hissed out a breath. “I’m going to fucking nail some bastard to the wall for this!”

Because someone had left an unsecured weapon out in the open and now they were all in serious shit.

Then the punk with the gun made the mistake of lunging forward and grabbing Cara.

Todd’s hand went to his holster as he ran out of the room.

Well, damn if her day didn’t just suck.

She’d been watching the rumpled human male with half an eye, her mind on the murders, when the guy suddenly lunged for the desk on the far left.

He’d come up with a gun and every cop in the area had frozen.

Now he had a too-tight grip on her arm. The scent of fear and unwashed skin flooded her nostrils.

The barrel of the gun came dangerously close to her face.

No, not a damn good day.

“Stay back or I’ll fucking kill her!”

The arm he’d looped around her neck tightened.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Todd. He was advancing on the man, on them, eyes narrowed, face hard with rage. He had his gun out.

Cara realized if she didn’t do something, fast, her day was about to go from bad to sheer hell.

Because she sure wasn’t just going to stand there, be strangled, threatened, and then watch her cop get hurt.

Not when she could so easily stop the jerk who held her.

Todd might not like the methods she was about to use, but there wasn’t much of an option.

Besides, perhaps it was time for him to see that she truly wasn’t the helpless damsel that he thought she was.

“I goin’ out of here, and I’m takin’ this bitch with me!” The guy snarled, spittle flying from his mouth.

Her hands lifted, yanked on the arm and freed her throat. “No,” she told him softly, “you’re not.” Breathing deeply, she dropped her control and let her pheromones fill the air.

The guy was so close to her that he got a direct hit. He spun her around to face him, eyes wide, mouth open.

She smiled at him. Pitched her voice low and poured on the compulsion as she said, “Kiss me.”

The gun hit the floor with a clatter as he locked his lips on hers.

The air pulsed with his sexual energy. It was an energy much darker than Todd’s. And weaker. So much weaker.

But energy was energy—and the little bastard had threatened her.

So she’d take a bit of his power for herself.

Asshole.

Her hand rose. Touched his chest, and, with her kiss and touch, she pulled the man’s lust and power right out of him.

The sweet rush heated her blood. Oh, but it had been so long since she’d just let herself go. Just let herself take and take and take.

His body trembled against hers. A strangled moan bubbled in his throat and the heart that thumped beneath her hand began to slow.

Then to skip beats.

She pulled her mouth from his. Watched his bleary green eyes drift closed.

And then man fell backward, landing on the floor with a thud.

Cara inhaled deeply and caught the power still floating in the air. A faint shine lit her skin.

Sweet, sweet power.

Her head turned. She saw the stares then. The slack expressions on many of the male officers’ faces. Her gaze darted past them, caught sight of—

Smith. The ME stood near the elevator, hands fisted, mouth open, and eyes wide with horror.

Just great.

And a few feet away from Smith stood—

Another woman. A redhead. She waited between two cops, just a little past Smith. She stared right back at Cara. Not with the horror that Smith had, but with a kind of stark curiosity on her face.

As she focused on the woman’s face, the flare of her hunger and rage began to fade, and reality slowly raised its head.

Hell.

But there was no going back now.

“What the fuck were you doing?” The roar came from Todd as he grabbed the gun, then secured the weapon. He caught her arms, pulling her close to him. “Cara?”

She blinked. Forced herself to meet his dark stare. Anger. No, fury. Jealousy.

Fear?

She could see it all. Swirling in those eyes.

She could feel the emotions beating at her.

“This is who I am.” Gyth was on the floor next to the still man, checking for a pulse. “I told you, I can take care of myself.” And punish those who threatened her.

Or those she cared for in this world.

“He’s alive,” Gyth said, jaw tight.

“Of course, he is!” She snapped. Did they think she had no control? “I wasn’t trying to kill him.” Jeez. If she had wanted the idiot dead, the guy would have been at hell’s gate. “I was just trying to stop him from hurting anyone.”

“Pull it back.” Todd’s whisper was laced with steel.

“I don’t—”

“The scent…” He swallowed. “Pull it back before I have to start beating sense into this pack.”

“I—it’s not that easy. It’ll take some time—”

“Then I’m getting you the hell out of here, baby.” He grabbed her wrist, yanked her through the crowd, and took her down a long, winding corridor.

Glancing back over her shoulder, the last person she saw was Gyth. He watched her with the sharp eyes of a shifter.

One predator, measuring another.

He pushed Cara into the old interrogation room, the one that hadn’t been used for anything but storage during the last six months. The door slammed closed behind them, then he pounced.

His hands locked around her upper arms as he held her against the mirrored glass on the left wall. “What the hell were you doing?” God, but the woman was beautiful. Skin seeming to fucking glow. Eyes sparkling. Mouth wet and red—

From another man’s mouth.

He growled, and, not giving her time to answer, he crushed his mouth to hers. Took her lips. Drove his tongue deep inside in an act of possession.

No one else. No one.

She moaned, the sound making his fully erect cock twitch with hunger.

His hands tightened on her arms, fingers digging into her flesh.

The woman was making him crazy.

His mouth lifted as he dragged in a desperate gulp of air. God, but her scent was everywhere. Driving him wild.

Pushing him to the absolute edge of his control. Not that he’d ever had much to begin with, not with her.

“Why?” A stark demand ripped from him. She hadn’t been forced to confront the perp. To use her powers. Damn it, why—

“I’m not weak. Not human.” She licked her lips, her tongue snaking out in a quick move. “I am…what you saw. You have to un-understand that.” Her voice was shook just a bit. Husky.

God but he wanted her naked.

The pheromones? Her magic?

Or just the woman?

“I know what you are.” No question in his mind.

“I’ve walked this earth a long time.” Her eyes faded to black. “Seen things, done things, that most wouldn’t accept.”

This was important, he realized. This moment. “I’m not most people.”

Her lips began to curl, but then the smile that would have been vanished almost instantly. “You kissed me. Knowing what I can do, after you saw—you kissed me.”

He kissed her again. Hard. Thrust his tongue past those perfect white teeth and savored the warmth of her mouth.

Not enough.

His hands dropped to her hips. She was wearing a dress. A slinky, sexy-as-hell black dress that fit her body like a second skin and skirted the top of her knees.

His mouth moved to her neck. He licked. Sucked. Bit. Whispered, “Hell, yeah, I still kissed you. You’re mine.” Time for them to both realize that fact.

“But you don’t know the real me, not—”

Her words had him pulling back, glaring down at her. “I know everything that matters. I know the demon. I know the woman. I fucking want them both.”

He grabbed the fabric of her dress, hiked it up to her waist. “And you want me.”

A nod.

“Don’t do it again, Cara. Don’t take another when I’m near—”

Her black eyes widened. “I would never take another while I’m with you. Never. Back there, that was a succubus fighting. That is our way. We fight, we kill, with just a kiss.”

Scary shit.

“I wanted you to see me,” she whispered the words as his hands caressed the warm flesh of her hips. “Not the woman you think I am, but what I’m like inside. What I can do.” She sucked in a sharp breath. “What I’ve done.”

“You are exactly who I think you are.” He was still furious as hell, but the rage was channeling fast into a white-hot need, a need that had been stirred in the bull pen, but ignited to a flash point once he’d gotten her alone and tasted her again.

“I’m not weak. Not some simple prey.” She whispered the words again.

He stared into her eyes. Ancient eyes. Mysterious. “No,” he agreed, “you sure as hell aren’t.”

“I can be dangerous—I don’t want to hurt you—”

Was the woman trying to warn him off? Because it was far too late for that. “You won’t.” He eased down in front of her, bending to his knees.

“Todd? What—”

“God, but I need you, Cara, I need you.”

She touched his cheek, her fingers moving in a featherlight caress. “It really doesn’t matter to you, does it?”

He turned his hand. Pressed a hot kiss against her palm. “Demon, woman, both are mine.” He stared up at her. “Just don’t ever even think about making me prey.”

“I never would.” Her lips curved again and her stare softened as she gazed down at him.

“Good.” They would have a hell of a lot more to hash out later. But that would all come, later.

Now, he wanted her. They were alone, and his cock felt like it was going to burst.

He hiked up her skirt a little more, found the small silk of her panties. He pressed a kiss to the crotch of the underwear, putting his lips close to her covered sex and enjoying the soft feel of woman and silk against his mouth.

But he knew he wanted more.

They wouldn’t have long. Someone would look for them eventually. Track him down. Demand explanations.

Fuck that.

He caught the edge of her panties with his teeth. Tugged until the seam broke. Heard the delicious sound of her laughter.

Damn, but the woman had made him into a walking hard-on.

She spread her legs for him, needing no urging. He touched her sex. Found her creamy and ready. Just the way he wanted her. Edging closer, he curled his fingers around the firm cheeks of her ass. Her hips rocked forward, and his mouth claimed the hot core of her body.

His tongue slid over her clit and a shudder rocked her. So good.

Yet it could be even better.

One hand slid down the curve of her ass, and his fingers curled between her legs. Found her tight opening. Todd pushed his index finger inside her.

Licked.

Another finger. Thrust harder.

A lick.

Then a slow suck on her tight point of need.

Her sex clenched around him.

Oh, hell, yes.

“Todd!”

A demand. Her fingers were buried in his hair. She pulled the strands once. Hard.

Growling, he lifted his head, tasting her, wanting more, and—

The lust on her face drove the breath from his lungs. The raw need.

The same need he felt.

He was up in a instant, hands flying to the buckle of his belt. Their fingers met, fought, and somehow they managed to get the top of his pants undone and his cock out.

He couldn’t wait to be balls-deep in her.

Todd grabbed Cara, spun her around, and lifted her onto the old table in the middle of the room. The table groaned beneath her, the faded wood protesting, but right then, Todd didn’t give a shit.

If they’d ended up on the ground, he wouldn’t have cared. As long as he’d was inside her…

Her legs were open, the pink folds of her sex glistening and tempting him. He caught his cock in one hand. Lodged it against that creamy slit.

“Now, love,” she whispered.

He thrust as deep as he could go.

Their eyes met.

He withdrew.

Thrust.

Again. Again. Again.

He covered her mouth to muffle her moans.

To muffle his own.

His thrusts shoved the table across the floor. Cara held on to him, her fingers digging into his arms, her nails scoring his flesh.

He felt her come, that same, wild, mad fury of passion that was hers, his. That joining that he didn’t understand, but longed for with every breath.

Then he was coming, his semen pumping deep into her as he stiffened and fought to hold on to his sanity.

Her hand moved, drifted to his heart.

The pleasure seemed to double. Burning through him, to her, back to him.

The room swirled around him in a flash of colors. His body quivered, his breath panted out.

When the orgasm ended, he lifted his lips, pressed a kiss to her cheek. Tasted tears.

Cara stared up at him, and her skin was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her with that magic light spilling from her—from the inside, out.

Energy pumped through his veins. The power she’d given to him.

Given, not taken.

The salt of her tears seemed to burn his mouth. “Cara?” He’d known only pleasure, and he’d thought she had, too.

Her lips parted. Then the hand still over his heart pushed against him. Pushed him away.

No. He didn’t want to retreat from her. Not yet.

But she was pushing him, and time had run out. The passion had barely been sated, but he’d have her again.

Soon.

He eased away from her, hating the loss of the tight clasp of her body, but he’d already taken enough risks. Losing his control at the station—there were too many eyes in this place.

Both human, and as jerk-ass Niol had so recently pointed out, Other.

“Th-there’s something I have to tell you.” She stood, and the dress fell right back over her flesh.

Damn it.

He righted his clothes with a jerk. “I’m not apologizing for that.”

Her eyes narrowed for a second, then widened with understanding. “Good.”

He blinked.

She stepped away from him. “I-I should have told you this sooner.”

The sound of footsteps echoed in the hall.

Time was definitely almost up.

He caught sight of her panties on the floor. Scooped them up. Enjoyed the feel of the cool silk against his fingers. “We need to think of a cover story. All those cops saw what you did and—”

She waved a hand dismissively. “Most won’t remember.”

“What?”

“The human men won’t. The demons, well, they won’t care.”

“And the women?”

Frustration flashed across her face. “Tell them I hit the guy when we kissed.”

The footsteps were louder now. Closer.

“Tell them whatever you want! It doesn’t matter!” Her hands fisted. “But you have to know, there’s something I should have told you before.”

Now the woman wanted to make some kind of confession? And he’d always heard men were the ones with the piss-poor timing. “Look, we need to—”

“I-I did something once. Crossed the line—that weak line between right and wrong.”

“What?”

Her eyes shifted back to blue as she stared at him. “I—ah, damn, this is hard.” Her shoulders straightened. “But you deserve to know.”

Oh, Jesus, what was the woman about to reveal? And why were his guts twisting into knots?

Because what she’s about to say is going to be bad, real bad.

It didn’t take psychic powers to figure that one out.

“Cara…”

A door slammed. Sounded like it was just a few feet away. Someone had to be in the small hallway now, heading straight for them. “This can wait, when we’re someplace secure—”

“No! You have to hear this.” She grabbed his arm. “Todd, I-I’ve used my powers before, deliberately to hurt—”

“Cara…”

“To try to kill.”

The door to the interrogation room flew open. Todd turned to see Gyth standing in the doorway, and one look at those glittering eyes was all it took for Todd to know that his partner had just heard his lover’s confession.

Shit.