McNeal’s expression never wavered. “I’m an overworked cop who hadn’t thought he’d have to be dealing with this crap again so soon.”
Not the answer he wanted. That lick of heat powered his blood, the burst of excitement he got when he came close to breaking a case. Or now, breaking his captain. “You aren’t human.” He wouldn’t have really questioned the captain’s humanity before. But that had been before…before he’d watched Colin change. Before he’d kissed a demon and touched a paradise he hadn’t known existed.
“Oh, I’m human. Just with a little something…extra.” A quick glance toward the locked door. “Screw it. If you want to play in the Other world, I’ll put my cards out for you.”
“Captain?” The surprise in Colin’s voice was real.
“He knows, Gyth. No sense denying anything now. Besides, the way this town is overrun with Other gone bad, you’re goin’ to need his backup on these damn monster cases—even wolves can’t go it alone.”
“But will he back me up?” The question was directed at McNeal, but Colin’s gaze was on Todd.
So he answered. “I always have, haven’t I?”
“That was before.” His eyes were guarded.
“Yeah, well, the fact that your ass gets furry doesn’t really change things for me.” A pause. “I’ll still watch your back, just like I expect you to watch mine.”
A hard nod.
“And no more secrets. I’m sick of ’em.”
“Brooks…” Now the captain looked worried. “There aren’t many humans who understand about the paranormals. You can’t just go around talking to anyone—”
What the hell? Did he have “idiot” stamped on his forehead? “I’m learning the rules of this game. It’s gonna take me some time,”
and a whole lot of adjusting, “but I’m learning. And I’ve already figured out most folks are like I used to be. They don’t have God’s first clue what’s happening—and I think most of ’em would like to keep living in the dark.”
“Glad you understand that.”
“Um.” He cocked a brow. “So what are you, captain? A demon? Do your eyes do that cool black trick?”
“Vamps can do that, too,” Colin told him. “Not the whole eye, though, not like a demon’s. A vamp’s eyes change when he goes into hunting mode.”
Good point to know.
“I’m a charmer,” McNeal said.
“What?”
“A charmer.” His lips thinned. “It means I can talk to certain…animals.”
“Uh, just what kind of animals?”
The captain smiled his shark smile once again. “Come with me for a walk sometime, Detective, and I’ll be happy to show you.”
Yeah, he’d put that on his to-do list. Right after he caught a killer. “Rain check, Captain.” He pointed to the file that had been tossed onto the desk. “So what about our killer? What are we dealing with here?”
Colin rubbed his fingers over the bridge of his nose. “Emily had a few ideas on that one.”
Emily? So she was in on this, too?
McNeal must have guessed his thoughts, because he said, “Dr. Drake isn’t exactly who you thought she was, Brooks. She’s human, but gifted.”
“Psychic,” Colin supplied.
Todd tensed.
“Her gift only works with paranormals, so Dr. Drake’s patients are generally…”
Supernaturals. Other. The captain didn’t have to finish his sentence. “I get the picture.”
“Good.” McNeal frowned at Colin. “So just who—what are we facing?”
A hesitation that lasted nearly a minute, then…“According to Em, the most likely suspect is a demon. Based on the body’s appearance and the crime scene, she thinks we might be dealing with a succubus.”
Succubus. The name was familiar to Todd. He’d heard about a succubus before, and the male version, the incubus. He’d read about them back in college in one of his medieval studies classes that he’d taken, hoping for an easy A, but managing to drag out a low B.
A succubus was a kind of…sex demon.
Cara’s image flashed in front of his eyes and an icy spear of awareness pressed right into his heart.
Oh, shit. No way, she couldn’t be a—
“Succubus.” McNeal whistled soundlessly. “Met one of ’em once. About ten years ago. Sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He coughed.
“Well, almost ever seen.”
Cara was damn well the sexiest thing he’d ever seen, but that still didn’t mean—
“I’ve been doing research on succubi,” Colin said, eyes hard and intent on Todd. “Talked with Em some more, hit the local occult shops right before I came in.” A brief smile. “Those places are always open—works for the clientele, you know.”
Todd made a mental note to hit the same shops. A bit of research reading was definitely in order.
“From what I’ve learned, the succubi tend to be extremely territorial. It’s rare to find more than a couple in the same city.”
“And do we know of a succubus in Atlanta?” McNeal asked.
Colin looked at Todd. Too much knowledge was in his stare.
No.
“I said, do we know of a succubus in Atlanta?” The captain repeated, voice rising.
The spear drove deeper into his heart and the pain stole his breath for a moment when Colin said, “Yeah, we do. Her name’s Cara Maloan, and she was our original suspect in the killings.”
Todd’s face burned fiery hot, then shot to icy cold as pinpricks flew over his skin. A sex demon.
“Then get her ass in here, now. ” McNeal’s thin lips tightened. “But be careful. I’ve heard stories. A succubus can steal a man’s mind. Drive him crazy with lust…and kill him as he begs for her touch.”
The captain’s warning came too late for Todd.
A steady rage began to burn inside him. “Cara’s not the killer,” he snarled.
“Fuck.” Grim understanding was in the one word. “Brooks—what the hell have you done to my case?”
He met that gray stare without so much as a blink. “Cara isn’t a killer. Her alibis checked out—”
“And if those alibis were given by humans, she could’ve planted the damn suggestions! Shit, Brooks, she’s a demon, you can’t trust her—”
He wanted to. “I saw her reaction to the news of House’s death. The woman hurt. She’s not a killer.” His gut told him that.
“That’s your dick talking,” McNeal snapped.
Todd stepped forward, body tense.
McNeal glared right back at him. “Gyth…” He never took his eyes off Todd. “Bring her in.”
He felt, rather than saw, his partner’s hesitation. “Her story checked out, Captain—and the alibis—they were given by demons and a witch, not humans.”
“Like demons and witches don’t lie.” McNeal shook his head. “I want Ms. Firon here to-damn-day. ”
Todd realized that his hands were clenched into fists. “You’re wasting time.”
“Gyth—get out of here.” McNeal barked the order, then glared at Todd a full minute before saying, “Brooks, you’d better start talking—fast—and let me know why I should keep you on this case. If Cara’s guilty—”
“She’s not.” Gut, psychic edge, whatever the hell it was—every instinct he possessed screamed her innocence.
The woman had lied to him, though. A sex demon. Shit. She should have told him—
“You’d damn well better prove she’s not involved in these killings—convince me, or your lover is going to find her ass in jail.”
She was back in the station again. Back in the same dingy interrogation room. Sitting at the same scarred table and sitting in the same chair that tilted slightly to the right.
And Cara was pissed.
“Why isn’t Detective Todd Brooks in here?” She demanded, glaring at the stony visage of his partner.
Gyth shrugged. “Because I’ve got questions for you.”
Screw his questions—and screw him. “Does he know what you’ve done? That you dragged me out of my house—”
“Politely escorted—”
“Handcuffed me—”
“For your own protection—”
“Cut my hair—”
“You agreed to that sample—”
“And put me back in this shitty room—”
He cleared his throat. “Interrogation rooms aren’t supposed to be pretty.”
Her nails tapped against the table top. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression we’d already done this dance before. My alibis checked out, remember? I even got a nice apology from your partner.”
“You left out a few facts when you were here before.” He pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table. Flipped it around.
Straddled it as he sat down.
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Well, like the fact that you’re a demon. You didn’t mention that little tidbit the first time around.”
He’d told her secret. “Todd…discussed that with you?” It hurt. In the heart that others had said she didn’t have. To think that Todd had run straight from her bed to the station so that he could tell his buddies what a freak of nature she was—
Cara straightened her shoulders. “I want to see him.”
“Don’t think that’s the best idea,” he murmured.
Like she gave half a rat’s ass what he thought. Her nails scraped over the old wood. “Look, shifter—”
His jaw tensed. “How do you—”
“I want to see Todd. If I don’t see him, I’m done talking. Done being the good citizen and putting up with all this bullshit.” She’d call Niol, and he’d make the cops sorry they’d even thought to question her. “You don’t want to mess with me. I’ve got friends—
you can’t even imagine how strong they are. Not even in your darkest dreams.”
He leaned forward. “You threatening me?”
Cara shrugged. She was done talking. Unless she got to see Todd.
“He’s been watching you.” Gyth pointed his index finger toward the mirror. “Listening to you.”
Not a newsflash. She could feel his stare. He’d been in and out of the other room since she’d been dumped in interrogation. But she didn’t want to admit her knowledge to the cop, so she’d asked her questions—
And gotten more damn enraged by the moment.
Todd should have his ass in there. What game was he playing now? What—
“If he wanted to talk to you, he’d be here—”
The door shoved open before Gyth could finish his sentence. Banged back against the wall with a thud. Todd stood in the doorway, face flushed, eyes glinting.
He looked furious. Body tight. Hands clenched.
Just the way she felt. “Been telling stories, have you, Todd?” She asked softly, tilting her chin back just the slightest bit. Seeing him again stirred an ache inside her. The hunger hadn’t abated. The need was still there, even though he’d turned on her.
She could be such an idiot sometimes.
“I didn’t have to tell him. Gyth already knew.” He slammed the door shut with his heel, then stalked toward her.
Ah. Her gaze darted back to the other cop. Shifter nose.
“And how’d you know about me?” Gyth asked.
A shrug. Not like it was confidential information or anything. “When you smelled my pheromones, you stepped back. Demons, humans, vamps—they all come closer.”
A growl sounded. It didn’t come from the shifter, but from Todd. “So you’ve got a lot of…experience luring men, do you?”
She didn’t like his tone. Not. One. Bit.
“But you’re a sex demon, right? So screwing men, draining them, even killing them for sensual power—that’s just right up your alley, isn’t it?”
What the hell was happening? Was this some really nightmarish game of bad cop, bad cop? What had happened to her tender lover?
He’d left when he found out what I truly am.
The air in the room thickened around her. “I don’t like the term ‘sex demon.’” Her head cocked to the right. “I find it offensive.”
As offensive as she found the rest of his words. She’d made love with him the night before. She hadn’t just been screwing around.
Her fingers flattened against the table. Deep groves indented the surface, courtesy of her nails. Her gaze held Todd’s. “And I am not, not, going to apologize for being what I am.” She’d been born a demon. Unchangeable fact. She was a demon, one that, after she hit adulthood, needed a certain powerful energy to continue living. Not her fault. Just the hand of fate.
“You’re not going to apologize for killing?” Gyth asked. “Damn ballsy of you.”
Now she had to be careful. “And just who is it that you think I killed? I’ve already told you that I had nothing to do with Michael’s death, or the others you mentioned and—”
“But you didn’t tell us that Simon Battle liked to come to Paradise Found and listen to you sing.” Todd was at the edge of the table.
Hands fisted. Brows low over his eyes, and jaw clenched tight.