Soul Seducer (12 page)

“But Brent. I have that fundraising dinner Judge Smithson is hosting. I’ll be finished in time to make it to the recital, but not to get Sadie ready and to the auditorium.”

“I can help,” Audra interjected. “I’ll get her ready and take her to the recital. You two can just come when you’re done.”

“Thanks, Audra,” Riley said. “But it’s her father’s responsibility. He promised.” She lifted her chin and glared at him.

“Bullshit. You know how important my job is. I’m up for a promotion, and if I blow off this dinner, there’s no way I’ll get it.” He loosened his tie and ran his hands through his hair. “Dammit.”

“Watch how you talk in front of Sadie,” Riley admonished.

“Jesus. She watches horror movies and dresses like demented monsters. I don’t think swearing is exactly going to damage her.”

Sadie’s head tilted back as she looked from her mother to her father. Her bottom lip quivered. “Stop fighting. Aunt Audra can take me.”

“Yes. I’ll take her, and I’ll record it in case you two don’t make it for the whole thing,” Audra said.

Brent glared down at Sadie. “She’s not your aunt. She’s your mother’s friend. That’s it.” He whirled on Audra. “She’s our daughter, okay? We don’t need you always stepping in and taking over. Riley is going to take her. If you want a kid to dote on, get your own.”

Audra recoiled in surprise. Brent could be an ass, but he’d never talked to her that way before.

“Brent!” Riley shouted. “Stop it. Audra doesn’t deserve that.”

“Well, it’s true.” Apparently not finished, he turned back to Audra. “Here’s a little piece of advice. Next time, go for a guy who isn’t, I don’t know, gay? Then maybe you could have a kid of your own and leave ours for us to raise.”

Riley covered Sadie’s ears and in a sharp whisper, bit out, “Asshole. Half the time, I don’t know what we’d do without Audra. You apologize right now.”

“No,” Audra said. Inside, she was seething, but she wouldn’t cause a scene in front of Sadie. “He’s right. I shouldn’t butt in. I mean, I crossed a line by offering to help you guys.”

She smiled with feigned sweetness at Brent. His expression went from irritation to embarrassment. Apparently, he hadn’t missed the sarcasm.

“Is Daddy mad at Aunt Audra?” Sadie asked, pulling Riley’s hands from her ears.

Brent sighed and closed his eyes. “No, honey. Daddy’s cranky. It’s not Aunt Audra’s fault.” He looked at Audra, lifting his brows. “That was uncalled for. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, really,” she said.

Unfortunately, there was some truth in Brent’s statement. Yes, she wanted a child of her own. But, at thirty years old, with not even a boyfriend, and still carrying a torch for her ex-husband, the prospects were dwindling.

~*~

Without knocking, Dimitri walked through the front door of the house Gaylen had commandeered.

When he was only a few steps inside, Gaylen strolled into the foyer. “So, I see you’ve found me. How did you manage that?”

“Word gets around.”

“Of course. Just as I found you. No secrets in the reaper world.” He turned and lifted a hand, motioning for Dimitri to follow. “Come. See my humble abode. I won’t be the ungracious host you were.”

Dimitri followed him into a room the size of a concert hall, with expensive but tasteless antique furnishing. The windows were covered in velvet green draperies, making the room dark, other than the glow from a brass lamp.

Dimitri squinted, moving over to an end table that held a marble statuette of the goddess Aphrodite.

“This looks familiar.” He lifted it and turned it over. Engraved on the bottom was a scrawled ‘S’ with a diagonal line across it.

“It should look familiar. It belonged to you.”

Dimitri’s brows rose, and he turned to face Gaylen. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“You don’t remember it?”

Dimitri set it back down. “No. Not at all. I recognize the Sarantos@ crest, but not the figurine.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. You had so much. One little bauble would go unnoticed. Strange, isn’t it? A family heirloom surviving all these years. Ending up in the possession of an elderly recluse in Boon Springs, Oklahoma. Now belonging to me. The irony. Who’d have thought a poor servant boy could come so far?”

“Speaking of elderly recluse.” Dimitri glanced around, looking for signs a human lived in the house. “I don’t suppose the home owner is still alive and healthy.”

Gaylen shook his head and moved over to stand in front of the fireplace. “No. No, he’s not. But, in my defense, he wasn’t
healthy
when I met him. Alive, yes. Healthy, no.”

“So you killed him for his house.”

Gaylen’s shoulders lifted in a laconic shrug. “I’ve killed for less. You know how much I enjoy indulging my hobby.”

“I do. That’s why I’m here. You took Audra’s patient.”

“Is that a question?”

“Think of it more as a warning. Stay away from her and her patients.”

“Exactly what are you going to do if I don’t?”

Dimitri shot across the room until he was nose to nose with Gaylen. Emphasizing the warning with his eyes, he said, “I’ll make you wish you’d chosen hell over being a reaper.”

Gaylen gave a mock shudder. “When you go all macho like that it gives me goose bumps.”

Dimitri grabbed him by the shirt and slammed his head against the mantel. A loud cracking sound gave him a rush of satisfaction. Gaylen grunted, and his eyes glazed.

“I might not be able to kill you,” Dimitri bit out. “But I can hurt you so bad, you’ll wish you could die.”

Gaylen shoved him away, the sudden movement catching Dimitri off-guard. He stumbled back, and Gaylen pounced on top of him. Dimitri’s breath whooshed out as he landed on the hardwood floor.

Gaylen slammed his fist into Dimitri’s face once, then twice, then a third time. Pain exploded in his jaw. His eyes watered, and his vision blurred. Before Gaylen could land another blow, he landed one of his own, striking out blindly, but making contact.

Gaylen howled, and the punches ceased. Twisting abruptly, Dimitri threw Gaylen off him then leapt to his feet.

As Gaylen struggled to rise, Dimitri dove into him, knocking him against the wall. While he was still dazed, Dimitri gripped a handful of his shirt collar and pulled him upright, balling his fist and upper cutting his chin over and over. Gaylen’s head knocked into the wall with each blow.

Lifting his arms to shield his face, Gaylen panted, “I give. Enough already.”

Dimitri elbowed him in the gut, and he doubled over. Bending until he was level with Gaylen’s stooped posture, Dimitri spoke into his ear. “Don’t ever try me again. You won’t catch me unaware a second time. I’ll crush you.”

Gaylen nodded, gasping as he struggled to draw air into his lungs. When he recovered enough to breathe, he straightened and looked at Dimitri with a glare of something that went beyond hatred and a desire for revenge, some simmering rage that festered like an infected wound. If Dimitri weren’t the stronger of the two, Gaylen would beat the holy shit out of him. The expression on his face said he resented like hell that he couldn’t.

Still gasping, Gaylen said, “You can’t blame me. For the Audra thing, that is.”

“Can’t blame you?”

“I’m trying to get her attention.” Gaylen’s breath was returning to normal, and he tugged at his shirt, smoothing it, then ran his fingers along his eyebrow where a knot was already forming. “You pack quite a punch.”

In moments, his pain would be gone, as would Dimitri’s. He didn’t let on, but his jaw and spine hurt like a son of a bitch. “Getting her attention? By killing her patient?”

Gaylen shrugged and the cocky belligerence was back. “You flirt your way, I’ll flirt mine. Come on, man. I just want to taste her breath. You understand. You want it too.”

Moving in on Gaylen again, Dimitri said, “Last time you tasted a human’s breath it didn’t turn out so well, did it? Not for the girl and almost not for you.”

Gaylen scowled, apparently not liking the reminder of his near demise. Fifty years ago, he’d turned human to taste a woman’s breath. He’d kept taking and taking until she lay dead at his feet. Before he was able to turn reaper again, her husband came home and found him standing over his wife’s body. The man shot Gaylen, and he’d nearly died. Unfortunately, he turned back to reaper form before he did. If he’d died while in human form, he’d have been dead forever, and Dimitri wouldn’t have to worry about him.

“That’s ancient history,” Gaylen said. “I think I have an idea that will take care of both our problems.”

“I’m not interested in your ideas.”

“Hear me out, okay?” Gaylen held up his hands and backed away. “But give me some room, would you? I know you were my mentor. We share a special bond, but I can only take so much intimacy.”

“That bond was broken the second you went rogue, asshole.”

“Ah, yes. That sort of thing tends to drive a wedge even between the best of friends.” Gaylen walked over to stand behind the bar. “Would you like a drink? You’re a scotch man, right?”

“I don’t want anything from you, except for you to leave Audra and her patients alone.”

“Right. Which brings me back to my idea. How about if I promise you to not only leave Audra’s patients alone, but to stop reaping anyone who’s not ready?”

Dimitri’s brows drew together, but he didn’t speak.

“I see I have your attention.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Audra.”

“Audra? Are you out of your mind?”

“Hear me out.” Gaylen tilted a decanter and poured a golden-hued liquor into his glass. “You let me have Audra. Let me taste her breath. If you do, I swear, I will never reap another soul that’s not FDA-approved.”

Dimitri shook his head in disbelief. “For one, I would never trust you to keep your word. For two, there’s no way I’d sacrifice Audra to you. You’re out of your fucking mind.”

“I swear I’m sincere. I will go in front of Samuel. Revoke my reaping abilities. He can fit me with copper shackles.”

Dimitri’s brows rose. Copper was debilitating to a reaper. Since the eyes were the window to the soul and in ancient times, coins were used to prevent the soul from leaking out through the eyes—or being reaped—copper more or less contained a reaper, acting as an immobilizer for whatever length of time it was applied.

“You really want her that badly?” Dimitri said.

The skin on Gaylen’s face tightened, and his eyes lit with frenzied hunger. “I do. Desperately. But you know I can’t have her without turning human. And that, I would never do again. Not unless you were bound where you couldn’t kill me. You could bind yourself in copper and let me turn human just long enough to taste her breath. If you’re worried I’d kill her, I swear to you I wouldn’t.”

“You can’t possibly think I’ll even consider your diabolical nonsense.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Come on, it’s a no-brainer for you. You’d get your wish, and I would no longer be such a thorn in your side.” He waited a beat, then said, “I tell you what, I’ll even let you have a taste of her. Come on, it’ll be just like what Adam did in order to have Eve. Giving in to temptation for a beautiful woman.”

Dimitri snorted. “Yeah, and you see how that turned out.”

Gaylen lifted his glass in a mock salute. “Adam tells me it was worth it.”

In spite of himself, Dimitri grinned. “Fuck you. You never met Adam.”

Gaylen chuckled. “So, you do have a sense of humor somewhere amidst all that tiresome angst. You know, if you weren’t such a tedious perfectionist, we might have been friends.”

“If you weren’t a psychotic asshole, I might not have to kill you.”

Gaylen shrugged. “Who kills who still remains to be seen.”

“Yes, I suppose it does. Since you’re willing to become human, let’s go right now. You and me. Man to man.”

Gaylen stared at him for a moment, as if considering, then shook his head. “Another time, perhaps. For now, we have a proposal to discuss.”

“Copper shackles? You’re really serious.”

“I want Audra worse than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life...or death.” He rattled the ice in his now empty glass and set it down on top of the bar. “Of course, I know you feel the same. Now is the test of whether you’re really a selfless hero. What will it be, Dimitri? Will you risk sacrificing the woman you love to save the lives of countless others?”

Chapter 10

After Riley, Sadie, and Brent left, Audra wandered aimlessly around her house for a while, then plopped down on the couch. She turned on the television and found an MLB playoff game. The National league, Reds against Cardinals, in the fifth game of a tied series. Damn. How could she forget about the playoffs? Right now, the Reds were up two-nothing over the Cardinals. She’d only missed a couple of innings. She still had time to enjoy plenty of the game. But then again, the Reds still had time to get their butts kicked.

Two innings later, the doorbell rang, and she groaned in frustration. The Sullivans had provided all the company she could handle for one evening. She didn’t particularly want to see anyone else.

When she recognized Shane through the peephole, she amended that a tad. Shane was the one person she didn’t minded seeing at all.

She opened the door and smiled. “Hello, Shane. Come in.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry to drop by like this.” His handsome face was set in bleak lines, and her heart squeezed with fear.

“Is something wrong?”

Her first thought was that something had happened to Brent, Riley, and Sadie. Had they been in an accident?

“No, well, there’s always something wrong when you’re in my line of work.” He gave her a weary grin. “I’m sure you know the feeling.”

“I do. So, tell me, what’s up? No one’s hurt are they?”

Shane shook his head. “Mind if I sit down?”

“Sure. Sorry.” She led him into the living room. Picking up the remote, she muted the television, and she and Shane settled on opposite ends of the couch. “What’s going on?”

He pursed his lips and blew out a breath. “There have been a couple of murders in the past few weeks.”

Her eyebrows rose. “In Boon Springs?”

“No. One in Tulsa and another in Broken Arrow.” His mouth compressed, and he shook his head. “Both young girls. Teenage runaways. Looks like the same guy. Law enforcement in both towns contacted me. They wanted to check to see if we had any similar crimes.”

“They think it’s a serial killer?”

“It appears that way.” He frowned. “I want you to be extra careful. Even though the MO is nothing like what happened to you, and the killings took place several miles away, it concerns me. We haven’t caught the guys who hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Yeah. Sure. Everything’s fine.”

“Nothing else has happened? Nothing unusual at all that made you even a little afraid?”

“No. Nothing.”

He scrutinized her as if she were a clue he had to decipher. “You would tell me if it did, right?”

“Of course.” Except for the reapers, that is. After all, who would believe her if she told them? Shane would think she was crazy.

“I mean, not so I can protect you, but so I can up my solve ratio. I’m Super Cop, you know. Can’t have an unsolved on my record.”

“So,” she said skeptically. “If you don’t solve this, it will be the only unsolved on your record?”

“Not by a long shot.” He smiled. “But, I like to keep the image, you know?”

She smiled back. “I get you. I’ll do my best to stop being a victim of unsolved crimes. For the sake of your career.”

“I appreciate that.”

A few seconds of awkward silence followed, then Shane stood. “Well, guess I’d better go. Didn’t mean to interrupt your evening.” He pointed to the TV. “You’re a baseball fan?”

“I am. You don’t remember that from high school?”

“Not really. I guess I was thinking of other things.” He waggled his eyebrows, and she laughed.

“You want to stay and watch?” she asked. “I could make us tea or coffee.”

“Coffee sounds great. You sure?”

Her spirits lifted. “Absolutely.”

“Need some help?”

“I got it. You stay and keep me posted on the score.”

Audra went into the kitchen and brewed two cups of Keurig coffee. When she returned, she handed Shane a mug and settled on the couch beside him.

“You like the Reds?” she asked.

“I do. Became a fan after I moved out there. Since Oklahoma doesn’t have a major league team, I was always a Rangers fan. Thought I was supposed to be, since they were the closest team.”

“I’ve always liked the Reds. Love their legacy with the whole Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Big Red Machine era,” Audra said. “Now,
that
was baseball.”

“You weren’t even born back then.”

“I know. But Jaxon’s dad and I watched baseball together and he told me all about it. We watched old highlights. Felt like I was there. Jaxon didn’t take to baseball, so I was sort of Hank’s substitute son.”

Shane grinned. “The whole not liking sports thing should have clued you in before you married him.”

Her gaze flew to his face. “You know?”

“That Jaxon’s gay? Most people do, in spite of his efforts to be discreet. You knew before you married him, right?”

She nodded. “I did know, but I thought I could give him a chance at the life he thought he wanted. The life his parents wanted him to have. I’m sorry I hurt you in the process.”

He blew out a breath and frowned. “It was a long time ago. Don’t worry about it.”

Although they were speaking about their failed relationship, the expression on his face said he was thinking about something more troubling.

She peered closely at him. “There’s something more, isn’t there? You look like you’re carrying the weight of the world. Is it the murders?”

“Those and that I can’t get a lead on the men who hurt you. They’re still out there. I don’t like it.”

“You know what? They haven’t hurt anyone else. You were right before. Probably just drifters who are long gone. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“Maybe,” he said quietly.

A shadow of pain came into his eyes, and she put her hand on his. “Besides, it looks like you’re already beating yourself up over something else.” His gaze shifted away from her, and he didn’t speak. “I see a lot of pain in you. I heard something happened in Cincinnati that made you come back here. Almost made you stop being a cop.”

He shrugged. “Cops deal with a lot of bad situations.”

“In other words, you don’t want to talk about it.”

He looked down to where her hand still rested on his. “More like, you don’t want to hear about it. Trust me on that one.”

“I do. I want to help if I can.”

“Thanks, but there’s nothing you can do.” He took a drink of the coffee, surreptitiously unseating her touch. “You like me, right?”

“I like you very much.”

“Then it’s best we don’t talk about it. Wouldn’t want your opinion of me to change.”

~*~

The following evening after work, Audra stopped by Sally’s Sundries for coffee. She had coffee at home, but today had been long and grueling. She needed a quick pick-me-up.

After securing a large caramel latte, she headed out the door. A cool breeze blew over her, and she paused to take a sip of the warm, sweet brew. She closed her eyes, savoring that first taste. There was almost nothing that a shot of caffeine and sugar couldn’t fix.

“Audra, what a coincidence,” a voice said from behind her.

Gaylen.

She choked on the hot liquid, scorching her mouth. She tensed and slowly turned to face him. “What the hell do you want?”

“Hey, now. That’s no way to greet a new friend.”

“Friend.
Right
. I’ve had about all I can take of reapers lately. If I run into one more…” She shook her head vehemently. “Just go away and leave me alone.”

“Have you met another reaper? Is some other fella trying to move in on mine and Dimitri’s girl? Or, are you just referring to him and me? Because, if you’re already tired of having us around, you’re in for some unpleasant times.”

“I met another reaper. They’re apparently roaming around, willy-nilly, invading my life whether I like it or not.”

His brows arched. “Who is it? Anyone I know?”

“I have no idea if you know her or not. Listen, just tell me what you want and get the hell away from me.”

She glanced around. A few people occupied the downtown sidewalks, but none of them seemed to have noticed the crazy lady talking to herself.

“So, it was a female?” Gaylen asked. “What’s her name? I must know her. The reaper community is pretty tight.”

Jesus. He acted like they’d just discovered they’d been members of the same fraternity.

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She didn’t know why, but she was reluctant to tell him Cassie’s name. Not that he could do anything to her, could he? And not that Audra should care. The girl was a reaper. And she was dead. Audra’s concern lay with those still living.

“Why did you kill my patient?”

“I beg your pardon?” He cocked his head.

“You killed Mr. Neufeld.”

“Mr. Neufeld…ah, you mean the perverted, smelly old dirtbag crybaby? Uh, yes. I killed that one.” He didn’t even bother to look abashed.

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry he’s dead. You despised him.”

“That’s not the point, and it doesn’t make it right. He was an innocent man.
My
patient. I was responsible for his care, and you took him, on some kind of whim, for some kind of sick thrill. Don’t pretend you did me a favor. I guess now it’s pretty clear your smarmy civility was all an act. You’re evil.”

He shrugged. “Sorry, Audra. Taking souls is what I do.”

“It’s not your job to take them before their time.”

“Ah, I see Dimitri’s been schooling you. No, it’s not my
job
to take them before their time.” His full lips spread into a dazzling, teeth-baring smile. “That part I just like.”

She shuddered as icicles formed in her blood, and the flesh on her arms tingled in fear. She backed up a few steps and turned away, but he moved with supernatural quickness and was in front of her once more, only this time closer. A wave of air wafted over her, but unlike Dimitri’s that set her pulses racing with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension, Gaylen’s was a smothering, tepid blast.

He dipped his head and stared at her. In his golden eyes, there lurked an unmistakable spark of twisted pleasure. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled. His heart-stopping good looks, his Nordic-godlike angelic features masked a depraved monster.

“Please just stop,” she whispered. “Just go away and leave me and my patients alone.”

He slowly shook his head. “That, I can’t do. Even for the lovely Audra. Meeting you...connecting with you, has given me a whole new purpose.”

“The purpose of destroying people’s lives? What is it that you want?” She huffed out a sigh, and he stared at her mouth. His expression tightened, and he lowered his lids.

“Beautiful,” he nearly moaned.

She frowned and stepped back. “What’s wrong with you? What do you want from me?”

“The same thing all reapers want. The sweet taste of human breath.”

“What?” She didn’t like the odd twist this conversation had taken. “Human breath? Why?”

“How can I explain?” He looked heavenward and sighed blissfully before turning his gaze back to her. “It’s like the best food you’ve ever tasted, the best high you’ve ever had, the most amazing orgasm you’ve ever experienced, all rolled into one.” He winked. “Come on, can you blame me?”

“And you think you’ll get to taste my breath by killing people?”

He spread his hands out in a ‘you got me’ gesture. “I didn’t say my plan was perfect.”

“All reapers want it?” She had an image of Cassie and others converging on her, jonesing for a dose of her breath. God. What a nightmare.

“Of course. Didn’t Dimitri tell you? He wants it too.”

“Dimitri said he’s trying to stop you. That’s all he wants. To follow the rules and do his job.”

“He’s just trying to make a good impression. Doesn’t want you to see the real him.”

“Ha! Seems like an epidemic with reapers.”

“No. I’m here. I’m showing you the real me.” He spoke softly, but menace was woven into every word. “I took that man, and I’ll take more until I get what I want.”

She swallowed back fear and forced bravado into her voice. “Well, what I want is for you to tell me what the hell I can do to get rid of you. All of you.”

He glanced around at the people still milling about. “Right now, it’s a little too congested for a private chat. We’ll talk soon. I’ll explain what I need from you then.”

“And after that, I can be rid of you two?”
And Cassie
, she added silently, feeling a smidgen of guilt at the thought.

He laughed. “It’s not quite that simple, but things will be better all around if you do what I say. I offered your boyfriend, Dimitri, a chance to strike a deal, and he refused. You don’t want to make the same mistake.”