Midnight Sins (Midnight #2)(78)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“No…” Cara. “His scent…”

Oh, hell. The guy was about to make Holly a willing hostage. One that might do just about anything for her captor.

No, he wasn’t about to do it— he’d done it. As Todd watched, helpless, her struggles stopped. She blinked and stood docilely in Cameron’s grasp.

“So damn easy,” he repeated.

“Yeah, they are,” Niol agreed, voice taunting. “That’s why your bastard brother was so quick to die.”

“You were the one I should have hunted,” Cameron yelled. “You. I should have known Cara wouldn’t have the guts to kill him!”

“Oh, I’ve got the guts to kill.” A promise was in Cara’s voice. “Now let the woman go and stand on your own to face us!”

“You really think you can take me down?” A sneer twisted his mouth. “A low-level succubus and a human?”

“Hell, yeah, we can.” No doubt in Todd’s mind. His gun was still trained on his target. Ready for a head shot.

“I’m about to kill you in the next ten seconds,” Niol said, voice like a breeze. “So what they can do, it doesn’t really matter.”

For the first time, Todd saw a flicker of fear in the incubus’ eyes. “You move on me, I’ll kill the human.”

“You’re not killing her!” Todd yelled.

But Niol just said, “Either way, you’re dying tonight.”

Shit. If Niol started using his powers, he was going to have a dead reporter headlining the stories on the news for the next two weeks, and the Other world really would be out in the open for all to see.

He turned his head toward Cara. He needed her help, and they’d have to move fast, before Niol attacked.

A distraction.

Her eyes met his. Black as the other demon’s, but shining with trust. Her head moved in the slightest of inclinations.

She stared at the reporter, then dropped her voice low as she said, “Fight him. You don’t want his touch. You don’t like his smell.

He’s evil, and you want to fight. Fight.”

Magic flowed in Cara’s voice. Power. Would her suggestion work on Holly? Hell, Todd didn’t know—and from the way Komak was responding, it didn’t really matter. The bastard was breaking, crumbling apart. Rage flashed in his eyes as—

“Shut up, you bitch! Just shut the hell up—”

“Now!” Todd growled. Komak’s focus was divided, just like he’d wanted.

The perfect time to strike.

“Burn, you bastard!” Cara screamed at Cameron, just as she conjured one of her sweet balls of fire and threw it at the incubus.

As the fire spun toward him, Cameron cursed and lifted one of his hands as he struggled to send his own power at the swirling light.

And Holly Storm sprang to life then. She snarled, screamed, and twisted like a hellcat.

Her body fell to the ground when she broke his hold.

Todd was ready. As the flame disappeared into a wisp of smoke, he aimed and fired.

The blast rocked the alley, making nearby car alarms scream in the night.

The bullet thudded into Cameron’s head and the demon stumbled back. But he didn’t go down. “Fucking human, you’ll have to do better than—”

Todd fired again. And again. Now aiming dead center for the guy’s chest. Would he still live? Didn’t know—Cara had said there was only one way to kill an incubus, and this wasn’t it—but he was just trying to do his level damn best to take the bastard down.

The clip emptied and the soft snick of the pull on the empty chamber froze Todd’s fingers. He stared at the demon—the still-standing demon—heart pounding, blood churning in his body and—

Cameron fell to the ground, landing on his back as a pool of blood began to spread under his body. Todd reached for the extra magazine he made a habit of carrying. Reloaded the weapon. Cara started forward. He snagged her wrist. “Wait, baby.” Her body trembled and he didn’t know if it was fear or anger or some twisted mix of the two that caused her reaction, but he wanted to get Komak first—just in case the bastard had any more surprises waiting for them.

The reporter pushed herself up. She stared at the incubus with wide eyes.

“He’s not dead,” Cara said. “Down, but not dead.”

Good enough for the time being. “You okay?” He asked her. She was pale, and still so beautiful that she stole his breath.

Even in hell.

“I-I didn’t know it was him. I swear, Todd, I—”

“I know.” Soft. If he didn’t have a homicidal demon about ten feet away, he would have taken her into his arms and just held her until that fear and pain vanished from her face.

But holding her—that would have to wait for later.

“Niol’s the one who figured it out, he knew that Cameron had a brother, just didn’t know his name until I told him how—”

The incubus’ body moved, just a bit. Twitched.

Damn it, the bastard better not be getting ready to rise like one of those B-movie horror freaks.

And why the hell hadn’t the backup boys arrived? Two cops were somewhere in Paradise Found—hadn’t they heard the gunshots?

“It’s going to take more than you’ve got to kill him.” Niol slipped forward, moving like some kind of cat as his feet made no sound on the cement. “An incubus—”

So much for the bullets, but then, he’d known that. “Can only die in the middle of one of those weird-ass power drains, yeah, I know.”

Niol paused. “Cara just tells you everything, doesn’t she?”

No, not yet.

After all, she hadn’t told Todd how she felt about him yet.

Another twitch of the demon’s body. Todd stalked forward, stopping only when he stood directly over the body.

Cara marched at his side.

Niol took up a position near the demon’s head.

Holly stood, rather unsteadily, just a few steps away.

And as they watched, Cameron’s eyes opened. Blood trickled from his mouth as he smiled—then lunged upward.

Todd fired six more shots. Two into his forehead and four into his heart.

The demon went down once more.

Holly choked out a cry of disbelief.

Todd spared her the briefest glance. “Yeah, and this is what you thought the city was ready to see.” He shook his head in disgust.

“Still think that, Ms. Storm?”

“N-no, I—”

“Detective Brooks!”