Eternal Flame (Night Watch #3)(65)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“Jana’s been here, hasn’t she?” the bastard asked.

But she wasn’t there now. Marcus heard nothing from the house. Jana. He needed her, but she was gone. Hell.

The ass**le looked up at the house. “Been in bed with her demon?” Laughter. “Who would have thought… he was supposed to kill her, not screw her.”

Marcus’s claws should have been out. They should have been out and his teeth should be razor sharp. But he wasn’t changing. Because that little bitch had touched him.

You’ll be normal, Marcus. Isn’t that what you want? To be normal? To have a life? No more pain, no more monster. Just a man.

She’d let the girl touch him…. Then …

More laughter and the stalker’s hand lifted. Claws had burst from the jerk’s fingertips. My claws.

They’d taken too much from him in that prison. Not his life, but his beast.

A shifter who couldn’t shift. How was he supposed to survive?

“I thought about letting you live.” The wooden porch creaked. Nowhere to run, not with that devil in front of him. “I thought about it. …”

Those claws were up and so close.

A snarl lifted Marcus’s lips. “I never thought about letting you live.” No, he’d planned to go after this guy, as soon as his strength was back. He’d felt the beast trying to return. The transfer wasn’t permanent, he was sure of it. Once the wolf had been strong again, he’d planned to hunt.

But he’d already been prey.

A ghost of a smile appeared on his stalker’s lips. “Guess one of us is dying tonight.”

Marcus’s head pounded. His heart raced. He lunged forward with his fist raised. The beast inside was screaming, but trapped, trapped—

Claws slashed across Marcus’s throat. The pain was hell-fire hot, and the blood splashed down his shirt as he tried to breathe, tried to gasp, tried to say … Rita.

He fell to his knees.

“Two down …” The whisper filled his ears. The last f**king words he heard were … “Three to go.” Rita. He could see her now, could see—

The shifter and the ADA searched the scene. Their eyes- and their noses-probably didn’t miss a thing. But, well, there wasn’t anything to miss.

“You found dog hairs on the body?” Jana asked. “Just the body, nowhere else?” Odd. Those wolves sure were hairy beasts.

But if they weren’t dealing with a wolf … “Just the body,” Tony agreed.

Setup. Didn’t the guy see it? Marcus wasn’t the one they wanted for this. No way would a wolf’s fur—so not dog hair-have been left in one spot.

“There’s nothing here. Take me to the body,” Erin said flatly.

Tony nodded. “Let’s go. You and Jude can follow me in.” But Erin hesitated beside Jana. “You don’t really look like a killer.”

Jana smiled at her. “I know. That’s why I was so good at my job.” Was, shit. She needed to be more careful.

Erin’s gaze dropped to her throat. “What got ahold of you?”

Oh, yeah, that. “A vamp.”

“Did you burn him? I mean, that’s what you do.” “I didn’t burn him.”

The lady waited. Her dark hair blended with the night.

“She shot him,” Zane said.

“And you didn’t rip him apart?” Erin shook her head. “Zane, I’m surprised at your restraint.”

Tony hurried to his car. “Come on, we need to get to the station. If this killer’s hunting, we don’t have time to waste.”

Erin inclined her head. “You’re right, you know,” she told

Jana.

About what?

“Not all wolves are psychotic.” Her teeth flashed in a white grin. Hmmm … those teeth looked a little too sharp. “And surviving hell is easy for us.”

Then she was gone. The ADA disappeared into the night with Jude and Tony.

“Come on,” Zane said. “We need to go to the station and—”

Okay. A woman had to draw the line somewhere. “I’m not going to the cop house.” Willingly step into the PD? Hell, no. She sucked in a deep gulp of night air. “She was a wolf? A wolf? Jeez, thanks for the head’s up.”

They walked out of the alley. A few college kids were milling around. Two guys. One girl with long, braided hair.

“She’s wolf.” A small hesitation. “And she’s human. Erin’s a hybrid.”

Hybrid. She turned toward him, stopping under a street light. At least this one wasn’t flickering. “A hybrid. Like you.” He nodded.

Jana licked her lips. “Back at Perseus, everything you told them … was it true?”

“Yes.” His eyes darkened.

The night air grew colder. Another girl came out of the dorm, her shoulders hunched, her hair down. She was moving fast, and her blond hair flew behind her. After what had happened there, Jana didn’t blame the girl. She’d be running fast, too. Don’t want to be caught out alone.

“My dad was a sick, sadistic bastard,” Zane said. “One who just happened to be a demon.”

Okay. Not exactly a sweet walk down memory lane. She inched closer to him and felt the warmth of his body seep into hers. “My stepfather was a perverted freak who got off on hurting people, and he happened to be human.” She forced a shrug. “Guess you just can’t ever tell about folks, hmmm?”

His gaze bored into hers. Black now, she could see that. “You don’t care that I’m a demon, do you?”

Um, no. Hadn’t she proven that by all the wild, hot sex she’d had with him?

“Have you ever been afraid of me?” he asked her.

Sometimes. Because he made her feel too much. But she didn’t say that. Instead, she asked him, “You been afraid of me?”

She expected him to grin. Expected some smart-ass answer. His lips tightened. “Yes.”

So not the answer she’d wanted to hear.

His hold on her tightened. “You scare me … because you make me weak.”

“I don’t—”

“You push me to the edge. With you, I’m always afraid I’ll go over.”

“And if you do?” So what?

He shook his head. “Come on.” The others had already left. Gone to the PD.

He opened the passenger door for her. Jana climbed in. Her legs slid over the leather. Zane stared down at her, then leaned forward. “You trust me.” He seemed surprised.