Eternal Flame

Her heart slammed into her ribs. “She wasn’t—”

“The cops are pinning the other arsons on her.” His words cut through her soft whisper. “Beth was spotted at the scenes of the other fires. She’s the one who’s going down for them, not you.”

She shook her head and tried real hard to suck in air. “But she wasn’t—”

“Pak has some Other friends in Louisiana. When Catalina and I told them that Beth was an Ignitor-we saw her eyes and that fire-they put the pieces together. You’re clear, Jana. You don’t have to run from the cops anymore.”

Perseus wasn’t after her. The cops-were they really going to let her go?

“You should have told me about her sooner,” he said, an edge creeping into his voice.

Enough. She needed to see his eyes when she talked to him. Jana jumped from the bed and hurried toward the far wall. She flipped the switch and light flooded into the room. “There was nothing to tell!” she snapped. “Beth was an average-level psychic until that night. But she—” Ah, hell, this was the part she’d dreaded. “She took something from me.” My fire.

He hadn’t bothered dressing. His arms were at his sides, his cock still up, and he just … waited.

“She had someone else with her. A new Perseus recruit.” She could still see the woman coming toward her. “After you left, Beth offered me a deal.”

The faint lines near his eyes deepened. “What kind of deal?”

Her breath blew out on a hard sigh. This was the part she’d dreaded. “She offered me a chance at a normal life. All I had to do was leave you behind and take it.”

You’ll lose the fire, but get your life back. Leave the demon. Walk away and the life you always wanted can be yours.

Beth had sounded so tempting. So very tempting.

When the lights in the upstairs room flashed on, Kelly froze. Then she saw the shadows. Two shadows. But Zane had gone in alone.

“Jana.” Her whisper. She smiled. Talk about an easy mark. Now, she just had to get her girl, without that demon interfering.

Luckily, she knew the perfect way to take out a demon. Every demon she’d ever met had the same weakness, regardless of their power level.

She’d done her homework on Zane. Since that bastard had stopped her from taking Jana, she’d had the Bureau dig into his past. She knew all about his family. His father.

Like father, like son.

Yes, she knew the demon’s weakness, and if she played her game just right, she’d use that weakness to her advantage.

And maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t even have to get her hands dirty on this one. She could let the demon do the dirty work for her.

He could kill Jana Carter.

No, before she was finished, he would kill Jana.

Chapter 14

“Did you take the deal?” His voice was expressionless.

Jana shook her head. “I wasn’t going to leave you there. I’d already seen what they did to paranormals.” Seen, and never been able to forget. “But Beth wasn’t the type to take no for an answer.”

The pealing of a bell echoed through the house. Jana’s eyes widened. His doorbell? Someone was downstairs?

Zane didn’t look away from her. “What happened?”

“She-the other psychic came at me. She was human. I-I didn’t want to hurt her—”

The doorbell rang again. “Zane …” she whispered, glancing toward the door, “What if …?”

“Whoever it is can go the fuck away.”

A furious pounding carried through the house. Their guest was slamming a fist into the door. “The wolf shifter, Marcus, I told him I was coming to you.” They hadn’t spoken much during their drive because, hell, what was there to say? They’d both just wanted to get away from that swamp, as fast as they could.

He knew she’d been the one sent to kill him. He also knew she hadn’t carried through with her orders. Then they’d both become prisoners.

Until that night…

Freedom.

“So you did go with him.” An edge sharpened in Zane’s words.

She nodded and crept toward the door. “He was the one I told you about. The one Perseus wanted me to kill.” The pounding stopped.

“Zane, what if it’s him or—” Or any of the other assholes who could be after her?

His gaze hardened. “Stay here.” Sounded like a great plan to her.

He yanked on his jeans and hurried out of the bedroom. His footsteps thudded down the stairs. Her breath caught. Zane could probably handle anyone down there, but—

“What the hell are you doing here, Tony?” Zane demanded, and his voice carried easily to her.

Shit. The cop. Jana scrambled for her clothes. She pulled on her jeans-no time to search for the underwear-and shoved her arms into her shirt as she tugged it over her head.

Tony. He didn’t know she was here. Zane would cover for her, it would be fine. She’d be able to leave after—

“Jana!” Zane’s booming voice exploded up the stairs.

Horror filled her. No, no, he wouldn’t just sell her out like that. Not after-after what? The sex? Like a man couldn’t turn his back on a woman just because they’d screwed.

Jana rocked back on her heels. What if it had been a trap? What if Tony had been watching the whole time, and Zane was just going to turn her over to him?

“Jana…” Softer.

Zane stood in the doorway now. She hadn’t even heard him approach. Tony loomed behind him.

Her shoulders straightened. So be it. “Let me get my shoes, Captain, and I’ll come with you.” She’d survived being locked up once before. She’d survive again. Right?

Damn cages.

Her gaze darted to Zane. What the hell had she really thought would happen? Good guys don’t fall for the bad girls. Zane was firmly aligned on the side of the “good” guys. She knew that. Why had she even tried to pretend? Why had she come back to him?

Because he got to me. He’d slid right past the surface and worked his way under her skin. He was her weakness now, one that she’d have to watch.

Jana shoved her feet into her shoes.

“How long have you been here?” Tony asked quietly.

She turned to face him and deliberately kept her hands loose at her sides. “Since yesterday.” Zane’s stare bored into her.

“What happened to the wolf shifter who was in that swamp?” the cop asked.

Jana shrugged. “We split up once we got to Baton Rouge.” Why did it matter?

“So you … were with him.”

Was this an interrogation? “Yeah. Yeah, I just said I was.”

“Did he try to hurt you?” The question was Zane’s.

Jana blinked. “Ah … no.” Okay, and now her stomach was knotting.

“I need to talk to that wolf,” Tony said.

Good luck with that. She bit the words back.

“Jana …” Zane stepped closer to her. “There’s been a killing.”

Her stomach twisted again. “In this city”-she kept her voice low and calm—“there are often killings.”

“Not like this.” Tony shook his head. “Not when a woman’s throat is cut from ear to ear, and I find freaking dog hairs all over the scene.”

Hell, now the questions about Marcus made sense. “No, he’s not—”

“Lindsey Meadows, a college student, was killed right outside of her dorm room. Several hundred kids were in that dorm, and no one heard a damn thing.” Tony’s voice vibrated with tension. “She was last seen having dinner with a blond male.”

“Sound familiar?” Zane asked.

She licked her lips. “I-I don’t … he didn’t kill those girls in New Orleans.”

“Maybe not. But I need to find that wolf,” Tony told her, “and I need to find him now.”

Tony wasn’t after her. The knowledge finally sank in. He wasn’t there to haul her to jail. He was after the shifter because he thought Marcus was a killer.

She remembered pain-filled blue eyes. Hands that trembled. “He didn’t attack those girls. He wasn’t the killer.” No matter what the news stories had implied, Marcus hadn’t been guilty.

“Maybe he wasn’t a killer before,” Tony said, “but I need to see for myself what he is now. If Perseus had him all these months, if they’ve been screwing with his head, there’s no telling what he is.”

Her fault. She hadn’t realized that Perseus had him-or that vamp who’d taken his bite out of her. But she should have known. When she’d escaped the other lab, there had been paranormals there, too. They’d gotten out when she escaped. Her fire had let them all run free.

But, of course, Perseus had another facility. Another backup plan.

Was there another pit still out there? If they’d had one backup location before, wouldn’t they have another now?

Zane turned away from her. “I want to see the crime scene.”

Tony frowned. “My men have—”

“I can find things they might have overlooked.”

Demon senses.

“Let me at that scene. Let me see what I can find before you start this hunt.”

Because Zane had seen Marcus and the marks on his body. Trapped. Tortured. She swallowed.

Tony nodded, his face grim.

“What…” She took a deep breath. “What about me?” Usually a cop would have tried to cuff her by now. But Tony …

He shook his head. “Didn’t Zane tell you? You’re clear.” His voice was bland. “The arsonist who started the fires in New Orleans was killed in that blaze at the Perseus headquarters.”

That deep breath burned in her lungs.

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re clear, Ms. Carter.”

Zane had been telling the truth. He’d done it. He’d gotten her life back.

“But I need that shifter.”

Her life was back, but what about the wolf’s?

She strode forward and grabbed Zane’s hand. “I’m coming with you.”

He stared down at her and a frown pulled his brows together. “You don’t need to—”

“Maybe it’s time I started doing something for somebody other than myself.” The words came out too fast. She lifted her chin. “Marcus was hurting so much when I first found him. He didn’t ask for any of this.”

Zane’s gaze held hers. “We never do.”

No, they didn’t. But fate just came calling. When she called, you had to answer, even if you’d rather slam down the phone.

“Let’s get Jude and Erin out there,” he told the cop. “If a wolf killed at that scene, they’ll know.”

“Ahead of you, Zane. I already gave ‘em a call,” Tony said.

Zane brushed his fingers over her cheek. “Stay with me, every second. The PD has cleared you, but the FBI…”

No, she knew she’d still be high on their extermination list. They’d want their pound of flesh, and so would all the paranormals out there she’d pissed off before. Once they found out about her new weakness, hell, it’d be like sharks who’d sensed blood in the water. They’d come at her in a feeding frenzy.

“Pak’s working on them,” he continued. “But Special Agent Thomas has you in her sights, and she’s not going to back down easily. For her, it’s personal.”

Jana blinked. “Personal? I’ve never done anything to that woman.”

Zane and Tony shared a long look.

“What? What am I missing?” she demanded.

“It’s personal for her,” Zane said slowly. “Because one of the men who died in that fire in New Orleans was her stepbrother. Brent Martin. The scientist who—”

You’ll be awake when I do this and, trust me, it’ll hurt like a bitch.

“I remember him.” Another guy who’d gotten off on giving pain.

“She’s not gonna back down.” Zane’s gaze was steady. “You have to watch your ass with her.”

Now, more than ever. Because if-when-Agent Thomas came gunning for her, Jana wouldn’t have the flames to aid her. Not anymore.

Good thing she still had the gun she’d stolen from the Perseus agents. A girl could never be too careful.

Personal. Hell. But these days, weren’t all the hunts personal? Always personal and always deadly.

It was dark outside, the sky pitch black-no moon, no stars. The kind of night that Jana normally loved because it gave perfect cover.

Tonight that covering darkness had a tingle of shivery awareness skating down her spine.

They were outside a college dorm room, in the alley that ran just behind the building. The flickering, fluorescent lights trickled a pale glow onto the scene. Tony was ahead of them and already bending under the yellow line of police tape. She could just make out the bloodstains on the ground. Jana’s lips pressed together. Jeez, couldn’t someone have cleaned that up?

“So you think we’ve got a wolf hunting again?” The voice was feminine, soft, and tinged with a hint of the South. She hadn’t heard the woman approach. Careful now, Jana slipped deeper into the shadows and watched her. Tall, slim, elegant, the lady seemed perfectly poised in the alley.

The woman’s small nostrils flared as she drew in the scents. If she hadn’t been watching her so closely, Jana would have missed that telling movement. Shifter. Because no human would be making the effort to inhale in an alley.

Jude was behind her, and his hand pressed against the small of her back. His nostrils widened as his gaze swept the alley. She knew he-both of them-would be able to see a whole lot more than she could.