Eternal Flame (24 page)

He drove fast. His eyes stayed locked on the road, and not on her anymore.

“Don’t go to the police station,” she told him and kept her fingers against him. “Take us back to your place.” Because she wasn’t afraid of him-or the hell he promised.

The car raced forward. Faster, faster, into the dark.

Fury coiled tight in Zane’s belly. Jana didn’t understand. She didn’t see him, not the real man. If she knew what hid under his skin, if they all knew …

They’d fucking run
.

But she sat beside him, and she kept
touching
him. The woman should be pulling away. He’d tried to warn her while there was still time.

Because time was running out for Jana Carter. He’d realized that when he’d found her in his bedroom. She wasn’t just a fast screw. Someone to hold in the dark. A body to give him pleasure. No, she’d started to mean more.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure when the change had happened, but she mattered to him. Mattered more than anything or anyone else. And that was very dangerous.

No one got too close to him. He didn’t let himself care. He even kept the other Night Watch hunters at a distance. Because when he cared too much, if he let someone slip past his guard …

Dangerous
.

But already, the demon wanted her. Jana had a darkness inside of her that the demon in Zane liked. She knew the horrors in the world. Wasn’t afraid of them. Wasn’t afraid of
him
.

When she should have been.

He risked a glance at her from the corner of his eye. Fucking beautiful. Deceptively delicate. And …
Mine
.

Maybe time had already run out for her.

He spun the car into his horseshoe drive and eased up on the gas. She’d called his place “home.” Did she even realize that? Did it matter to her? It sure as shit mattered to him.

His headlights flashed across the front of the house … and illuminated the body on the porch.

What the fuck?

Zane slammed on the brakes.

“Zane?”

Jana hadn’t seen the man. He killed the lights. “Stay here,” he growled, already jerking free of his seat belt and shoving open the car door.

“Wait!” The buckle clicked as she unhooked her belt. “What’s happening, I—”

“
Stay. Here.”
He wasn’t about to risk her. Not until he found out what was happening.

The blood hit him. The thick, coppery scent hung in the air. Strong and fresh.

Hell.

His gaze raked the yard. He didn’t see anyone else, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t there, watching him.

Zane crept up the front steps, his eyes on the body. Worn boots, old, faded jeans, a too big, bloody blue shirt. When he saw the vic’s face, the breath expelled from Zane’s lungs in a rush.

He
knew
that face. Knew that dirty blond hair and those pale, haggard features. He’d seen the man just days before- when the wolf shifter had fled the fire.

Now, Marcus Malone lay on Zane’s porch, his right arm stretched toward the door, like he was trying to get help. The poor bastard’s throat had been ripped wide open.
Ear to ear
.

Zane’s eyes closed. This kid hadn’t been the killer.

Victim
.

The car door groaned behind him. “Zane?”

He didn’t want her to see this. She’d tried to save the wolf.

“What’s happening?”

His enhanced vision showed him every detail of the scene. No defensive wounds on the shifter’s body. And … his clothes weren’t torn. The poor bastard hadn’t even been given a chance to shift. The killer had come on him too quickly.

And how the hell did someone sneak up on a wolf shifter?

His head snapped up.
The same way a killer can-will- sneak up on a demon
. When you were dealing with super-naturals, all bets were off.

His gaze flew back to his vehicle. Jana stood half in, half out of the car.

He jumped off the porch and rushed to her side. “We’ve got a big damn problem.” He pushed her inside and slammed the door. His eyes searched the night.
Can’t see anyone. Can’t hear anyone
.

But Marcus hadn’t gotten much warning, either.

He hurried back to the driver’s side. He’d have to call Pak and Tony. A cleanup crew was needed ASAP. They had to get the body out of there before dawn, before any neighbors could see what had happened. And Night Watch had to figure out-fucking fast-what they were dealing with here.

Perseus? Was the group still active?
How?
The agents were locked up, courtesy of Chief Daniels. Their leader was dead.

“Zane…”

He spun out of the drive.

“Zane, tell me what’s happening.”

He didn’t want to. This world was full of things he didn’t want to do. “Marcus isn’t our killer.”

She exhaled. “Well, I’ve been telling you—”

“He’s dead.” He yanked out his phone and called Pak even as his eyes snapped to the rearview mirror. No one followed them. Not yet.

“Wh-what?”

“His body was on my porch. The poor bastard’s throat had been ripped out.” Someone had just killed a wolf shifter like it was fucking
nothing
. Wolf shifters were hard bastards to kill.

No time for defensive wounds. No time to attack
. There’d been no blood under Marcus’s nails. No torn clothing. Just like the other scene.

Who the hell had killed the guy and why?

The only links he had to Marcus were Jana and … Perseus.

T
he morgue was cold and quiet, just like the fucking grave that it was. Antonio shifted his right foot and wondered how in the hell the ADA could just stand there peering at the gaping wound that
had
been the vic’s throat. And Erin was
close
. Right down at the throat, staring with narrowed eyes. The scent alone should have been enough to choke her but—

“These aren’t wolf claw marks. They’re close, but they’re … off. Just a little different.”

Antonio’s brows snapped up. “Ah, you sure?”

Her gaze met his. “I know wolf claw marks when I see them.”

“So do I,” Jude added, his voice rumbling. “And I know a shifter’s scent when I smell it-there’s not a drop of shifter odor on her.” He shook his head. “The girl wasn’t killed by a wolf.”

Then
what
had attacked her?

Jude’s phone rang. He hurriedly pulled it out of his pocket and turned away from them. “Donovan.” Silence.

“What the fuck? Are you serious?” Jude threw a glance back at them. “Yeah, well, we’d already figured it wasn’t him.”

Antonio knew the call wasn’t bringing good news.

“We’re still at the morgue. No, man, I don’t know what the hell got ahold of her. The marks are
like
a wolf shifter’s but … no, Erin and I both say they don’t match.” A brief pause. “Yeah, the scent’s wrong.” His eyes narrowed as he listened and paced. “Where are you? Do I need to come—”

He broke off. Erin edged closer to Jude. Her hand lifted to rub against his back. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll wait for you,” he said into the phone. “Hurry in.”

Jude ended the call and huffed out a hard breath. His gaze met Antonio’s. “I’ve got one guy you can mark off your suspect list.”

His gut twisted.

“Marcus Malone didn’t kill that girl.” “You sure?”

“Zane is.” A long sigh. “Because the bastard who murdered the co-ed killed Marcus. Zane just found the wolf shifter’s body. Malone’s throat was clawed open. The poor bastard bled out on Zane’s porch.”

Well, damn. Just like Lindsey Meadows. Antonio’s gaze lingered on her pale form. Someone was hunting in his city. Not being quiet about it either. Fast, brutal kills.

“They’re linked.” Obviously. He just didn’t know how. A wolf shifter … a college kid …
why? What had made those two into targets?

The door to the morgue opened with a squeak. His head turned, and his hand went to his holster.
Too much damn stress lately
. But at this time of night, no one else should be there—

And he sure as shit shouldn’t be seeing Catalina.

But the witch stood in the doorway. Her eyes, wide and green, met his. Her white-blond hair tumbled down her shoulders, and her lips, normally dark red, but now light pink, were pressed into a tight line.

“Catalina?” Jude called, his voice gruff. “What are you doing here?”

“They’re hunting me,” she whispered as she came slowly into the room, her feet shuffling over the floor. “I could feel the darkness coming. I-I scryed. I had to see what was going to happen.”

Scryed
. A cold wind seemed to blow against Antonio’s neck. He didn’t like it when Catalina pulled out her dark mirror and tried to glimpse the future. As far as he was concerned, peering into that mirror was just asking for trouble.

And the last time she’d gone looking to see what the future held, she’d seen death for her friends.

Luckily, she’d been wrong about that vision. Well, kind of wrong.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Jude admonished. “You’re already weak from the two binding marks. Your powers aren’t strong enough—”

“No.” She shook her head. “They’re not. They’re not strong enough for me to see who is coming after me, but they
were
strong enough to show that if I don’t do something, I’ll be burning.”

Shit. What was the surefire way to destroy a witch? The fire. The old bastards during the Burning Times had been right about that move. Bind a witch, burn her, and you get her powers.

Catalina straightened her shoulders. “Someone is coming after the survivors.”

Oh, he wasn’t going to like where this was going. Antonio hurried to Catalina’s side. The skin under her eyes looked bruised. Hell,
she
looked bruised. Too pale. Too fragile. He almost reached for her, but he stopped and clenched his hands into fists. “Where’s the vamp?” The last thing he needed was that vampire popping up in the morgue.

“He’s …” She swallowed. “Feeding.”

Right.

Jude growled.

Catalina’s eyes flashed. “He’s not killing anyone! He’s just drinking—”

“The way the bastard drank from Jana?” Yeah, he’d gotten all the details from Zane.

Catalina flinched. “He’s being hunted, too. He has to be at full strength.”

Survivors
. Antonio rubbed the back of his neck. The knots were building beneath the skin. “Let’s start at the beginning, and let’s go real slow.” Erin and Jude closed in.

“First up, how the hell did you know we were down here?”

A ghost of a smile lifted her pale lips. “Pak told me.”

Figured. Pak knew just about everything, and he’d certainly be keeping tabs on his hunter.

Antonio huffed out a breath. “Look, Catalina, I’ve got a dead co-ed and—”

“Lindsey Meadows.”

Right. The media didn’t know the victim’s identity yet, but Catalina did.

She told him, “If you check your records, you’ll see that Lindsey’s half-sister disappeared about six months ago. Lindsey filed a missing person’s report, but then she came back and said she’d talked to Laura, that everything was fine.”

He’d already checked the records. He knew this. Tony also knew- “I’m guessing the sister isn’t fine.”

Catalina tensed. Her eyes widened an instant before the door pushed open again. Zane loomed in the doorway, and his little Ignitor was right at his side.

“I don’t know if the sister is fine,” Catalina said. “She knows.” There was some anger there. Fear.

It made sense that a witch would fear the Ignitor. Any smart person
would
fear her. Catalina had always struck him as the smart type.

Everyone turned to look at Zane and Jana-and they waited.

Kelly Thomas edged onto Zane’s porch, her gun drawn. She’d kept her eyes on the demon and tailed him back to his place-and she’d seen the way the guy high-tailed out of there.
Like the devil was chasing him
.

She could smell the blood, so she knew—

Kelly sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the body. The poor guy-his throat had been sliced right open, a sick smile that stretched far too wide.

The stench clogged her nose, and she stumbled off the porch. Wrenching out her phone, she dialed her contact with a press of her fingers. “Start a search for Zane Wynter and Jana Carter. What? No, I don’t care what Miller said. They just killed someone.
Killed him
. Send some agents and the cops out to 133 Louis Avenue.”

Her fault
. Her fault that poor kid was dead. She should have struck faster.

But there’d be more innocent blood lost. She was putting an end to this hell.

Time to eliminate the Ignitor and the demon that Jana had brought to her side.

Okay, having everyone stare at her was … weird. Not like she was super comfortable being down there with the dead bodies, anyway.

The cop eyed Jana with a narrowed gaze. Seriously suspicious eyes.
What else was new?

“Where’s Laura?” Catalina asked.

Jana blinked. “Who?”

“Laura.” The witch repeated. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know any Laura.” Jeez. Didn’t they realize what was happening? Zane had called and told them about Marcus. They should have been—

“She’s about five-foot-seven, and she’s got long, straight brown hair. She wears glasses that are so thick-too thick. And her nose is crooked,” Catalina spoke with her eyes still locked on Jana, “like it’s been broken before, and she’s got a small black mole near the corner of her chin.”

The description had Jana’s heart racing.

Catalina said, “Tell us where she is.”

Jana took a deep breath. Then one more.

Zane’s arm brushed her side. “What the hell are you talking about, Cat? Look, the shifter is dead. He was sliced open on my doorstep. Pak is sending a cleanup crew over, but we’ve got a damn serious problem on our hands.”

“Yes,” the cop said. “You do.”

Jana realized her palms were starting to sweat.

“The survivors are being eliminated. One by one.” Okay, that witch’s voice was just eerie. So blank. So … dead.

It took a minute for the words to sink in.
Survivors
. Oh, shit. “You mean Marcus—”

“Someone’s not happy that the supernaturals got out of Perseus alive,” Catalina said. “I scryed. I saw …
I’m going to die.”
The witch sprang forward in a sudden burst of motion and grabbed Jana’s shirt, yanking her forward.
“Where the hell is Laura?”

“Catalina!” Zane lunged for the witch.

Yeah, she didn’t need his help. The day she let a witch get the best of her in a fight…
That day ain’t comin'
. The other woman was just embarrassing her now. Jana slammed her forehead into Catalina’s. The witch howled and those nails- more like claws-stopped digging into Jana’s shirt as Catalina stumbled back.

Jana fisted her right hand and got ready to punch the chick.

Zane’s fingers curled around her fist. “Easy.” His black stare glittered at her.

“I’m not the one who went crazy.” And it stung, dammit,
hurt,
that he was telling her to back off. Crazy witch woman was the one who needed to be controlled.

We have a friend of yours
.

Oh, right, but he cared about the witch. While she … hell,
what
was she to him? Did she matter?

Zane turned his head and focused on Catalina. “What the hell are you doing?”

Jana pulled her hand away from his.

Tears trickled down Catalina’s cheeks. Oh, great, tears. Now Zane would probably crumble because the witch was pretty and crying and—

“
Why the hell did you attack her?”
Zane demanded.

“Because she was the last person to see Laura alive! I know she was!”

Okay. Catalina was right about that. Now all the eyes were back on Jana. She cleared her throat.

“Why is this Laura important?” Zane asked.

Catalina pointed toward the body on the gurney. A body Jana had been trying to ignore. “She’s important because her sister is the one who had her throat torn out last night. Laura is psychic. She was working with Perseus. I saw her there. She was—”

“She was there the night the flames went wild.” Jana tried to keep her voice emotionless. She licked her lips and met Zane’s stare. “She didn’t… survive the fire.” Flat words. Quiet.

But she’d never forget the sight of Laura dying. A touch … the woman had touched her, stolen her fire, then transferred it to Beth.
All with a touch
.

But Laura hadn’t understood the flames. The fire had been too much for her, and by the time she’d tried to give the power to Beth …

The fire had consumed Laura. She’d burned, from the inside out, even as Beth screamed and ordered that Laura touch her and transfer the power.

Before she’d died, Laura had managed to transfer some of that power. And even that bit had proven too much for Beth in the end.

Catalina’s shoulders sagged. “Lindsey must have known about Perseus.”

“That’s why she canceled the missing person’s search.” Tony slowly shook his head.

Missing person’s search?

“She knew where her sister was,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Laura must’ve called her. She must’ve—”

“She told her sister too much about Perseus.” Catalina’s voice held a hint of sadness. “So much that someone thought Lindsey had to die.”

Now there were two dead in the city: Lindsey and Marcus.

Erin cleared her throat. “Um, sorry if I seem dense here, but I thought you guys had taken down Perseus? Isn’t the group dead?”

Catalina shook her head. “Someone is still alive. Someone with a lot of power.”

Someone who wasn’t afraid to kill.

“We’re all on the list. Everyone who was there while the place burned.” Catalina’s eyes darted to Tony, Jude, then Zane.

“Fuck the list,” Jude said instantly.

Catalina looked at Jana. “Bet you’re at the top of the list, Ignitor.”

Jana forced a reckless smile. “Bring it.”

“Still so brave?” Catalina asked, narrowing her eyes. “Even after what happened to you?”

Oh, shit, she
knew
. Jana kept her chin up. “What do you want me to do? Run away into the shadows? Hide while someone else dies?” Who did the witch think she was talking to? “I’m not going anywhere. If some asshole is out there hunting survivors, I’ll be ready to face him.” With or without her power.

“No, you won’t be,” Catalina said, drawing back. “Not when death has you in his sights.”

“Thanks for that happy little update.” Didn’t sound like a fuzzy Christmas card, but when had life
ever
been a fuzzy Christmas card?

“You scryed.” Zane stepped back from the witch and came closer to Jana.
Finally
. “What did you see?”

“I saw me getting torched.” Her gaze came back to Jana. “Some people like to watch those flames burn.”

Okay, now she was pushing too far. “I’ve never burned a witch.
Never
killed someone who didn’t deserve my fire. You think I killed for shits and giggles, is that it?” She closed the distance between her and the witch. “My stepfather was a perverted freak. Those demons and vampires-they tortured and
murdered
humans. They came after me, so I stopped them. I didn’t—”

“It’s okay, baby.” Zane was there, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against the warm, strong lines of his chest. “You don’t have to explain a damn thing to them.”

Her gaze flew around the room. Jude stared unblinkingly back at her. Erin … there was understanding in her gaze. Tony scowled. The witch-ah, screw her.

“What else did you see, Catalina?” Zane demanded.