Skin Deep (10 page)

The synthesizer hid the caller’s true voice. They responded to none of Ryder’s questions, saying only that there were two dead and giving the location.

“Hurry, hurry … the human cops just might beat you there.” There was a short pause before the voice added, “More
innocent humans
will die if I don’t find who I’m looking for.” The way the voice sneered the words really made Cain want to punch something.

He’d been around the block when it came to dealing with asshole Immortals, especially Weres. Every new generation brought on pissed off, overly stimulated, horny, mangy fuckers who had nothing better to do than stir shit up. The new
Bitten
would be out of control, unable to reign themselves in from murdering and raping innocents, while the new generation of
Born
would be sitting upon their thrones of purity, looking down their noses, yet doing the same thing behind closed doors. The whole race was sickening, if he wanted to be honest. He wished he could bring himself to care more about it. Everyone was fucked up in this world. And right now he wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of it.

His mind was far too overloaded with all the shit going on with Kiera, not to mention that this was a threat against the human race. So now, not only did they have a major situation on their hands, they were also going to have to bring it to the attention of the king.
Joy.
Having multiple open murders by Weres was not a good thing for their kind, who strove for secrecy amongst the humans. More members of the force would have to be sent out if they didn’t nip this in the bud, and soon.

The drive didn’t take long, only about fifteen minutes, before they pulled into a run-down trailer park one county over. Cain didn’t have to get out of the car to know they were in deep shit. The lights of the Hummer illuminated the gory scene in the front yard of one of the trailer homes.

“Well, he’s definitely a Were.” Ryder’s words were monotone, dead, as they got out and surveyed the scene.

“No shit, Sherlock. What tipped you off? The fact that their guts were ripped out? Or that someone ate them?”

“Smells like a Were, too.” Blaise lifted his head in the air, inhaling deeply. “Can’t tell which breed.”

Ryder’s chilling black stare met Cain’s before returning to the murder scene. And man, was it a scene. The bodies were destroyed, shredded like the female Sparrc and he had dealt with less than a week ago. Blood was everywhere, splattered on the outside of the yellow double-wide. The sickly scent of human flesh and blood clawed at his senses. He’d never been one for dining on humans.

It was a miracle that human authorities weren’t already on location. Blaise hovered over the bodies, photographing the gruesome scene.

“I’m gonna hit the perimeter to see if anything’s going on around back,” Sparrc called over his shoulder as he waded through the weeds of the overgrown yard.

“What the hell?” The clicking of Blaise’s camera stopped as he knelt over one of the corpses.

“What is it?” Cain walked past a headless torso to crouch next to Blaise.

“There’s something in her mouth.”

“What do you mean? Like she was chowing down in the midst of getting the shit ripped out of her?” Cain snorted at the idea.

Blaise threw him a shut-the-hell-up look before handing his camera over and pulling rubber gloves from his pocket and snapping them on.

“You know she can’t bite you or anything. She’s clearly dead as a damn doornail.”

“Procedure, kitty cat. Something we do in the twenty-first century, not that you’d know much about that.” Blaise dipped his fingers into the open mouth of the young female. Judging from her face, Cain would put her in her early twenties. Pretty, maybe, if it was still attached to her body. “Huh.”

“Well, what the hell is it?”

“It’s a piece of chocolate.” Blaise’s words were filled with confusion. “An
intact
piece of chocolate.”

“So, you’re telling me this chick—”

A strangled cry from behind killed the smartass remark in Cain’s throat and had him spinning on the spot.

“Ryder, man, what’s up?”

His sergeant was squatting next to one of the bodies. He appeared to be hyperventilating, his head buried in his hands. Cain, with Blaise right behind him, rushed over, a sick feeling creeping into his gut.

“For real, man, what’s the deal? You’ve seen shit like this before and you never wigged out.” Cain heard Blaise’s words, but much like Ryder, he didn’t process them. He noticed the mark on one of the severed arms. Etched deep in the flesh of a thick forearm was a symbol, one he’d seen many years ago.

“What the f—”

“Amari.” Ryder whispered the word, but Cain heard it clear as day. The scripted letter A was circled with a slim, elegant line that made it look like a work of art. A masterpiece carved into the flesh of a dead body.

“Everything’s clear out back—hey, what’s wrong?” Sparrc approached, concern in his voice. Ryder looked up at Sparrc’s return and Cain physically recoiled at the expression on the man’s face. Misery was etched into every feature, fear swam in his eyes. Ryder’s hardened never-changing exterior now bore the weight of a tragedy Cain had never known.

Within a matter of moments, all their problems had gone from pretty damn bad to fucking shit.

“So, is that a yes?”

Kiera tried hard to focus on the top of Luke’s head as she trimmed his hair—even though he didn’t need it—wanting to look anywhere but into his eyes. The last couple of days had been hell for her. She was overwhelmed by her reaction to Cain, her rejection of him, the fact that he hadn’t tried to contact her, and the persistence of Luke, who hadn’t left her alone since. The only plus had been her body. For the first time ever, Kiera had walked around her apartment naked, looking at herself in the mirror, seeing her body as the woman she had always wanted to be. As the woman Cain had asked on a date.

Her stomach swam laps and her heart fluttered every time she thought of him, which was pretty much all the time. Her crocheting had taken on a different sense, too. She would never forget the look in his eyes while he complimented her shawl.
“The color looks beautiful on you. Like it’s meant to be on your body.”
Her blood ran hot every time she thought about those words dripping from his perfect lips. She agreed with him wholeheartedly. His eyes, with all their stormy green, were meant to be on her flesh. And each time he looked at her only made her want more.

She still hadn’t finished the slippers. They sat long forgotten in her hope chest. Her new project she had begun wasn’t a complicated stitch. It was rather simple once she got the hang of it. She created the piece while her heart thudded with longing for Cain and his slim-waisted, broad-shouldered bod. It wasn’t until she finished that she realized what she’d done. She’d made something … for Cain. The gray sweater-vest was just his size, and she could see it fitting on him perfectly over a long-sleeve black button-up shirt.

“Kiera?”

She looked up, meeting Luke’s quizzical brown eyes in the mirror. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Is that a yes? You’ll go out with me again on Friday?”

“All right.” She knew her words lacked excitement. In fact, they were void of any real emotion besides that of bitter acceptance. Luke smiled warmly at her, but she could see in his eyes he knew she wasn’t enthused. He didn’t withdraw his invitation, though. He paid for his haircut, leaving another large tip, and promised to pick her up at her loft apartment at eight on Friday night. As she stared at his retreating profile, she noticed his jeans didn’t fit him quite right and his baby-blue shirt was too tight. Not to mention it wasn’t a flattering color on him to begin with.

“Is something wrong?” Maryline’s chipper voice filled her ears. Kiera glanced over to where the woman stood blow-drying a customer’s hair. Her gray gaze was probing, but kind. Kiera looked down. She was clinging to the black cape that had been on Luke while she cut his hair. Her nails dug into the slick fabric. Her teeth were clenched.

When had she become this person? A woman who lusts after the wrong man and treats the right one like crap?

Always.

That’s right. She had always been the girl who chose Mr. Wrong. Luke was a good person, who seemed to really like her. Cain was a rude, overly-cocky asshole, who cheated on his girlfriend with Lord knew how many women. Yet here she was, picking poor Luke apart.

“No, I’m fine.” Kiera tried to hide her emotions from everyone, including herself. Maryline didn’t comment any further, at least not until after closing time when the shop was clear of customers.

“Now, tell me what’s going on. I’d have to be blind not to know something’s wrong.” Maryline sat down in Kiera’s chair. Her glittery shirt and bedazzled pants made her look like the diamond she was. Kiera swept up the hair from her last customer.

Darla flipped the sign on the window to
Closed
. “Maryline, leave Kiera alone. I think we have interfered enough in her personal affairs, don’t you?”

“Oh posh, Darla. I’m worried about her.” She tucked a stray piece of her long brown hair behind one ear. “Now speak up. C’mon.”

Darla gave Maryline a frustrated look before glancing apologetically at Kiera.

Kiera didn’t want to talk about what was going on in her head. It all seemed like too much. In a way it was comical, because all she’d ever wanted was to be thin, but now that she was, she found herself overwhelmed with the outcome and her sudden emotions toward Cain.

“Really, it’s—” Kiera found herself stopping in mid-sentence. She had been about to do what she’d always done—push them away, brush them off. Deal with her problems alone like always, but she found that she needed to tell someone. Maybe saying it out loud would make her feel better.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was telling them the whole story, from her first meeting with Cain at Lucky Zipper—leaving out the more intimate details. Both Maryline and Darla were attentive, listening, often sharing looks she didn’t understand. When she finished, Darla, whose anger had clearly spiked during the story, was the first to speak.

“Stay away from Cain. He’s bad news. And if he does anything to hurt you, I’ll skin him.” Kiera’s heart sank at Darla’s words, mostly because she knew they were right.

“Yes, you should definitely go for Luke. He’s such a nice guy. And he seems to really like you.” Maryline smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. They were filled with a worry that Kiera wasn’t used to seeing there.

“Maybe.”

“I’m serious, Kiera. Stay away from Cain.” Darla spoke with venom, making Kiera’s jaw drop to the floor. She acted like she knew him personally, but that couldn’t be. Could it? Then again, they did frequent the same bar. What did Darla know that she didn’t?
Am I just being paranoid?

Kiera began to ask, “What—”

Darla’s cell phone rang, playing the song
It’s Raining Men
, a joke Kiera always found humorous.

Regardless, Kiera never got the chance to ask. The two women left before Darla even finished her phone call, with Darla signaling they had to go because they were late. Maryline made up some excuse as she grabbed her bag, though Kiera didn’t miss the sympathetic glance she shot her way before practically running from the shop.
Strange
.

It was after their hasty departure that Kiera remembered why she didn’t tell people about her personal life or her feelings. More times than not, they found a way to make her feel worse than she already did.

The rest of the week dragged in an agonizing slowness that Kiera hated. Her time at home seemed lonelier than ever before, which made no sense at all. She had what she wanted, but now when she would pass by her full-length mirror and stare at her body, all she felt was a sudden resentment for what this body had caused.
Heartbreak.
Long gone were the moments of staring at herself in naked awe. She recognized it now. She had fallen into some sort of twisted infatuation for Cain and was wallowing in a sadness that was profound and disconcerting.

Work didn’t get much better. Darla and Maryline continued to act weird around her, having whispered conversations that would end when she came into the room and pretending like the conversation about Cain never happened. This only made things worse. They were her only friends, the only people she had in this world, and now they were pushing her away as well. The only conversations they had that were normal were in discussion of her upcoming date with Luke.

Everything in her demanded that she cancel … but she didn’t.

Kiera sat in the front of Luke’s Jeep on the ride home from their date. He had taken her to an Italian restaurant and then to the local botanical gardens. The walk in the crisp night was decidedly romantic—only Kiera wasn’t affected by it at all. That is, unless boredom could be called an emotion.

Luke had been pleasant all night, telling her jokes and regaling her with stories of his past while gently prodding her about her own life. She’d tried her best to be compliant and act interested in the things he had to share, but she feared that—again—she was doing a terrible job.

Her thoughts continuously strayed to Cain and the way pain had flickered across his face when she’d rejected his request for a date. His blond bangs had hung over his eyes, but since she was shorter and he was looking down, she hadn’t missed the look, even though it had been fleeting.

“. . . promotion was the best thing that happened to me. I manage more than thirty men, now. Being a manager is a tough job, but I love it and …” Luke’s voice cut into her thoughts.
What does Cain do for a living?

She didn’t know. Never in any of their heated encounters had his place of work come up … and now she couldn’t help but wonder. He was so handsome and rugged, yet he had that young surfer-boy look about him. She didn’t have any inkling of how old he was, either. He could be younger than her.
Younger than me!
Being twenty-two wasn’t old at all, but she’d never dated a younger guy before. She almost laughed at herself.
Yeah, because you have so much dating experience.

She didn’t know anything about the man she lusted for. Even now, sitting in the presence of a smart, handsome man, her thoughts were in turmoil over another guy—one whose age, occupation, and last name were unknown to her.

“Just drop me off at the shop.” The words were out of her mouth, speaking over him, before she could consider how rude she was being. She met his dark brown gaze and couldn’t help but feel bad at the look of disappointment that marred his features.

“You’re sure? I don’t mind taking you home. It isn’t much farther.”

She shook her head adamantly, a plan forming in her mind. “No, I enjoy the walk.”

“I can walk with you.”

“No.” Could he not take a hint?

“Wow. Okay.” Luke gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Don’t be mad at me.”

He cut his eyes at her. “Kay.” The look was downright hateful, like he was really pissed off. Shit, if he was mad at her, then he probably wouldn’t go along with her plan.

“I actually have some stuff to do in the salon before I head home. It’s not that I don’t want to hang out with you. Okay?” She patted his leg. He nodded and stared down at her hand. She quickly removed it.

Less than two minutes later he pulled up to the salon. She waited for him to open her door before putting her plan into motion. “Thanks for taking me out tonight. I had a wonderful time.” The words rolled off her tongue like sugar. Luke’s expression faltered for a moment before a grin spread across his face.

“I’m glad.”

“We should definitely do it again sometime
soon.
” She let the last word drip from her mouth with a suggestive murmur.

“Yes.” Luke’s gaze heated as he closed the distance between them, locking onto her lips. She parted hers, welcoming his kiss.