Eternal Flame

Chapter 8

Jana fell back, and Zane lunged for her, catching her just before she hit the ground. Her eyes were open, stunned, and the red was already bleeding out from her gaze.

She shuddered in his arms, and her eyelids began to close. The heat began to lessen behind him as the flames died.

“Fuck!” The world seemed to explode around him. Or maybe he exploded. The beast he’d tried to keep in check roared-a loud, enraged cry of fury that burst from Zane’s lips. A cry that was her name.

The scene shifted around him as the colors faded away until everything was gray. No black and white. No good or evil. Just pain and fury.

“Zane … don’t-don’t let her …” The barest whisper of Jana’s voice. So soft. “Take … m-me.”

“She’s not dead, demon,” the woman’s voice rang out as she stepped closer. “Just drugged.”

His hold on Jana tightened. He rose, cradling her in his arms. Her head fell back against his shoulder.

The blonde gave him a steely smile. “If you don’t want the same shot, put her down and step away.” Her gun aimed at him.

Zane got ready to blast the bitch.

Then Tony stepped to her side. “He’s not a threat.” His eyes were on Zane, but the words were directed at the woman.

“He’s Zane Wynter, the man known to have been keeping close company with Ms. Carter for the last few days. And he’s a person of interest in the Night Watch fire.” She paused, her eyes narrowing. “He’s also the man who escaped from your custody, so excuse me if I don’t believe a damn word you say, Captain.” Her gun was still pointed at Zane.

“He’s a hunter with Night Watch! He’s not a criminal!” Tony argued.

Screw this. Zane lunged down the steps with Jana tight in his arms. Hold on, baby. Where the hell was Jude? They needed to get out of there. There were more sirens, and that meant more cops would be coming any second.

But would those cops be backup for Tony or for the blonde?

“I told you to put her down!” the woman yelled and her gun jerked. “I said—”

Tony snatched the gun from her hand. “You’re not shooting at him.”

“And you’re going to get your ass thrown off the police force!” She shoved past him. “Put her down!” She yanked a wallet out of her pocket and held it up in the air. “I’m with the FBI. I’m Special Agent Kelly Thomas.”

Big fucking deal.

“I’ve got a sniper on you right now,” she continued, voice flat. “The same sniper that took down your shifter friend.”

Now that made him freeze. He turned his stare on her and met her pale, glittering green eyes.

“Jana Carter is a killer,” she told him. “You don’t want to fight for her.”

More SUVs and cop cars swarmed the scene.

“Lady,” Tony snapped, “you don’t know what you’re dealing with here. Let them go.”

“I know exactly what I’m dealing with.” The wind tossed her hair. “I’m staring at a demon and an Ignitor.”

Zane dropped his glamour. “No, Special Agent …” Jana barely seemed to be breathing in his arms. “You’re staring at one very pissed demon.” Where was the sniper? Was the claim about him bullshit?

She marched closer. Tony followed her, keeping his hold on the gun he’d taken from her. Her smile was brittle. “Jana Carter’s on the extermination list.”

Zane stiffened. He’d heard about the list. Heard rumors for years that the FBI was monitoring the most dangerous of the paranormals and putting them on their extermination list. But … Jana?

“Do you know how many people she’s killed?” the special agent asked.

Jana didn’t look like a killer then. She looked weak and pale. Vulnerable.

“Give her to me,” Kelly said. “And you can walk away. I’ll clear up the situation with Night Watch. Clear you with my supervisors, and you can go back to doing your job-a job that’s just like mine.” She exhaled and her gaze dropped to Jana. Her stare hardened as she said, “Tracking and killing the monsters out there.”

Zane’s gaze drifted to Tony. Other cops were there now, standing back, but with their weapons up. If there was a sniper waiting, would he shoot to kill? Or was the plan to drug him, like they’d already drugged Jana?

Kelly raised her hand and motioned with her fingers. Two men hurried forward. “Take her,” she told them. “Load her into the SUV and make sure she’s secured.”

Tony stared back at Zane. Waited.

“Give her to us,” Kelly said, “and you’re clear. You know what she’s done. You hunted her because of it. Now you’ve done your job. You can get your bounty, get the cops off your back, and walk away.”

She made it all sound nice and easy. But … “You’ll kill her.” He caught sight of Jude’s truck.

Her lips thinned. “She’s on the list.”

“Fuck your list.” He’d made his choice. “You’re not getting her.” Zane let his power out. For the first time since he was sixteen years old, he willingly let the demon part of his nature take control.

A blast of power launched, rolling like a wave, and every human around him hit the ground. They fell, bodies sagging, immediately unconscious as they slammed into the earth.

He hurried past the bodies. He rushed to Jude’s truck. The shifter was there, but slumped over the steering wheel. Those bastards had shot him. Hell. Zane shoved Jude over and climbed inside, carefully placing Jana on the seat between him and Jude. His fingers brushed over her cheek, then his hand clenched into a fist.

His gaze swept the area, lingering a moment on the special agent. He lifted his hand and twisted the key. Then he slammed his foot down on the gas and roared out of the lot.

And no one moved to follow him. They couldn’t-he’d knocked them all out.

“Holy shit.” She lowered her binoculars, very glad that she’d decided to hang back once she’d heard the sirens. “Did you see that?”

Her partner, tall and quiet, grunted. “He knocked them out.” He didn’t sound impressed.

He should. “That demon just knocked out twenty humans at once.” Twenty. Hot damn. “We’ve got us at least a level eight.” She’d never captured a level eight. Five had been her highest demon bag.

“I thought we were killing him?”

She yanked out her phone. “The plan’s just changed.” Oh, it had changed all right. She had a level eight-or higher- demon in her lap, and she knew the guy’s weakness. Too perfect.

Why, that demon would be even more useful than the Ignitor. Not that the bitch was proving to be particularly useful but …

But she was some fine bait.

“I want that demon.” She spoke into the phone, knowing other eyes were out there, watching the demon race away with her prey. “Follow him. Hunt him down.”

Zane Wynter was a hunter, just like she was. He hunted monsters, too. But the difference between them … he was a monster. She was just a human who had to clean up the mess the beasts made. She’d been cleaning up their messes for years. So tired of cleaning up their shit.

“If we can, take them both.” Because her Ignitor was so useful, and she did prefer to work with humans. “If the woman starts the flames again”-because she knew a taunt when she saw one—“shoot her-shoot to kill.” Sometimes, you had to cut your losses. “He’ll be more valuable to us.” The things she could get that demon to do….

He already hunted his own kind. She knew the stories about him. So what she had in mind for him wouldn’t be too different.

Killing demons. Killing vamps. Killing shifters. Killing all the sick paranormals who made the world into a nightmare.

At first, Project Perseus had tried fighting them with human weapons. Guns. Bombs. Then they’d stepped up the game-and started using chameleons. Humans with enhanced genetics, the chameleons were perfect at sneaking up on the paranormals. They could drop their heart rates, slow their breathing, and ambush even shifters. The chameleons had taken out so many monsters. So many …

But the real way to win the battle might just be by using one of the Other’s own. A demon half-breed to deal death.

She smiled as she gazed through the binoculars. Perfect.

Carefully, she stepped over the sniper’s still body. He was human, which was unfortunate, because she’d had to kill him. But, really, if he’d taken the shot, she wouldn’t have learned anything.

Now, she knew everything she needed to know. New prey. Prey with a weakness.

“What the hell?” Jude came awake in a rush, jerking upright with his claws out and up-just the way Zane expected him to wake.

Zane grunted and kept the gas pedal pinned to the floor. “Wanna tell me how you got taken out?” Jude exhaled hard, and his head wrenched toward Zane. “Taken out?” The words were a little raspy. They wouldn’t be that way for long. Shifters, especially rare, white tiger shifters like Jude, were fast healers. That healing ability was why the tiger had only been out ten minutes.

“I found you unconscious in the truck.” Jana lay slumped between them. No telling how long she’d be out. “Way to watch my back, tiger.”

“Fuck.” From the corner of his eye, Zane saw Jude run a shaking hand through his hair. Then his hand dropped to his neck. “Drugged.”

Yeah. And if the sniper had been out there, why hadn’t he taken a shot at Zane? His psychic blast wouldn’t have been strong enough to carry more than a block. The sniper could have taken him.

“Who did it?” Jude demanded, and he finally seemed to see Jana. “Aw, hell, her, too?”

Zane’s jaw clenched. After a moment, he said, “She was shot right in front of me.” He hadn’t expected the special agent to take that shot. If her gun had been loaded with real bullets …

Darkness rose around him and the truck began to tremble.

“Zane?”

“A woman claiming to be from the FBI was there.” He forced his hands to ease their too-tight grip on the steering wheel. He sucked in a couple of deep, slow breaths. Control. Jana was going to be all right. “A Special Agent Kelly Thomas. She said Jana was on their extermination list.”

Jude froze. Yeah, they all knew about the list. They’d even been hired a few times to make sure the exterminations were carried out for particularly dangerous paranormals.

But … Jana.

Zane yanked the wheel to the left. “She wanted me to just hand Jana over, knowing they were gonna kill her. Agent Thomas wanted …” He braked hard and turned to meet Jude’s bright stare. “I’m not turning Jana over to the Bureau.”

Jude whistled. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“When is it standard procedure for the FBI to drug hunters? Huh? When? They drugged you, Jude. Attacked first, and didn’t plan to ask questions later.”

The tiger shifter’s lips tightened. “I’m pissed as hell about that—” And his fangs were still out. Those claws still ready. “But Jana—”

“If the agent wanted Jana dead, she could have killed her.” While I just stood there. Fucking stood there. “But she drugged her. She didn’t shoot to kill.” Because the agent wanted Jana for something. To use her? Aim and fire-everyone knew that was the way to use an Ignitor.

His gaze returned to Jana. She still barely appeared to be breathing. Her face was so pale, and dark smudges lined her eyes. “I’m not turning her over,” he said again. “She didn’t burn Night Watch. And before anyone plans her extermination, I want to know exactly what happened with those humans in New Orleans.” He wanted to know everything. Every detail of her life. How had she become a killer?

How had he?

“You’re lettin’ this get personal,” Jude warned.

Yeah, he was. “Get out of the truck, Jude.”

The shifter blinked. “It’s my truck.”

Zane brushed back the dark hair that had fallen over Jana’s cheek. “I need the wheels because I’ve got to get cover and figure out what’s going on.” His eyes once again met Jude’s. “The FBI is gonna be looking for me now, too. I don’t want them to come after you.”

“Screw them.” Said instantly. “The day I’m worried about some jerk-offs in suits …”

“What about Erin?”

At the mention of his lover’s name, Jude blinked. “What about her?” A distinct edge had entered his voice.

“She’s the ADA. How would she feel about you being on the run?”

“Erin trusts me.” Absolute certainty.

“But she doesn’t need to get pulled into this.” He still wasn’t even entirely sure what this was. “And neither do you.” Zane sighed. “This is gonna get bad, real bad.”

“All the more reason you need me.” Jude’s smile showed off his sharp teeth. “I know how to do bad.”

“So do I.” The shifter didn’t really know just how powerful he was. He’d worked hard to keep Jude and the others in the dark. Sometimes, you didn’t want the whole world to fear you-and sometimes, you did. “I need you to work with Tony. Find out if that special agent is legit. Use Pak’s contacts at the Bureau, and then call me.” He still had the replacement phone Jude had given him.

The shifter measured him with a long, hard look. “Is she worth being hunted?”

He’d never been hunted. Always predator. Never prey.

“Don’t blow your life for a good fuck.”

“Get out of the truck, Jude.” There was no more time to waste, and he really didn’t want to punch out his friend.

Growling, Jude got out of the truck. “Don’t trust her, you hear me? She’s dangerous. The woman could fry you—”

He laughed at that. “No, she couldn’t.” He was probably the only one she couldn’t burn. She could let her fire rage, and it wouldn’t so much as blister his skin.

Jude slammed the door. “Watch my truck, okay? Watch—”

Zane left him, racing the truck forward and speeding down the road. After he found a place to lay low, he needed to make Jana tell him the truth.

Don’t trust her. Maybe though, just maybe, he could make her trust him. If he did, then he could get to Project Perseus- and give the assholes some serious payback.

But she’d have to trust him first. Have to think that she could rely on him for everything. Anything.

One killer, trusting another. Right. Fate would laugh her ass off at that one.

When she opened her eyes, Jana became aware of two things. One … she was in a bed. A strange, lumpy bed that smelled of stale cigarettes. Two … she wasn’t alone.

Since the last thing she remembered was standing in front of Dusk and getting shot-that bitch was so gonna pay for that-Jana didn’t move immediately. She kept her breathing nice and easy, even though her heart galloped in her chest. Slowly, she let the charge build within her body. Her gaze stayed on the peeling ceiling above her, on those faint brown water lines.

If the Bureau had taken her in for extermination, they’d find out that she wasn’t that easy to kill, and if they didn’t want to kill her …

I’m not going to be their pit bull. She was sick of being a weapon to the world.

The energy built inside her. More, more. The blast would come hot and strong and—

“Turn it off.”

The words were clipped, cold, but the voice—familiar. Zane. She rolled onto her side and blinked in shock. He’d been beside her at Dusk. Standing right there when the agent fired. “They got you, too.” But why? Zane was a hunter, not—

“They didn’t get me.” His chest was bare, and his dark hair was mussed, as if he’d been running his fingers through the mane.

Her breath caught. “I don’t …”

“Did you know you were on the extermination list?”

No sense lying. “Well, Night Watch was after me, so I figured the FBI was, too. Hell, I figured the FBI was probably the one who was paying your fees.” So why was she there?

“I don’t want to hear any lies,” he told her.

But she was good at lying.

“Why were you in Dusk?”

Jana blinked. Okay, she hadn’t been expecting that question. “Why were you there?” Convenient, too convenient, and- Jana jerked up, sending the covers sliding off her body.

“You followed me.” Understanding was bitter as her memory flooded totally back.

He didn’t move. “Did you really think the sex would distract me so much that you could just walk away?”

She took the slap and realized that Zane had taken off her shirt and her pants. “Where are my clothes?”

“Is that a technique you use a lot?” Icy words. “You seduce your way out of trouble?”

Jana swallowed. “I didn’t have sex with you as part of some master scheme.” She jumped from the bed and started searching the motel room. The obviously cheap motel room. She’d spent her share of nights in plenty of rooms just like this one.

“Then why did you?” Nearly a growl as some heat broke through the ice.

She found her pants and turned back to face him. “Because I wanted you.” For once, she’d just taken what she wanted. She’d known it wouldn’t last. “I knew we didn’t have any future.” Future-what was that? “I wanted you, wanted pleasure-so I took both.”

His green eyes glittered. “How many men have heard that line?”

She threw her pants at him.

The guy moved then-fast. He lunged across the room. His hands locked around her upper arms, and he yanked her close. “I didn’t turn you over, Jana. The FBI wanted you. They just wanted me to walk away, but I didn’t turn you over. “

She stared up at him. “Why?”

“Because I’m a fucking idiot.” His breath expelled in a rush. “Because when that woman fired on you, I was ready to rip her apart.” His head lowered toward hers. “Because when you fell, I lost control.”

A demon losing control? Never a good—

“Because once wasn’t enough for me.”

Her heart slammed into her ribs.

“I want you, I want the pleasure, and I’m damn well not done with you yet.”

Not done with her? Yeah, that was classy. That was- “You want me,” Zane said. Yeah, she’d just said as much. “I’m fucking on fire for you.” Jana knew a few things about fire.

“If this isn’t what you want, then say no, and say it fast.” His hold gentled. Stroked instead of captured. “But I’ve spent the last five hours watching you, worrying that you wouldn’t wake up—”

“I-I’m fine.” It wasn’t the first time she’d had that particular drug of choice fired on her. Humans woke up with no ill effects. Shifters had a bitch of a headache and demons—don’t want to go there.

“You’re not getting away from me,” he said, “not until I know what’s happening.”

Right then … “I don’t want to go anywhere.” And when she wanted to leave, she would. The demon wouldn’t stop her. No one would stop her.

He kissed her. She expected a hard kiss, a blaze of passion and anger and fire.

Instead, she got … gentleness.

Jana tensed and her hands lifted. Her nails dug into his arms. No, no, that wasn’t—

His lips caressed hers. Softly. So soft, and his tongue whispered into her mouth.

She used her hold and tried to pull him closer. She didn’t want soft. She didn’t want slow. She wanted—

Zane’s head lifted. He stared down at her, his eyes darkening. “It’s not gonna be fast this time.” The words sounded like a threat. He picked her up and held her easily in his arms. Control. He had it in spades at that moment. She could feel his strength, reined in, all around her.

Zane carried her back to the bed and lowered her onto the mattress. His hands skated down her body and caught the edge of her panties. “Not fast…” he rasped again, and slid her panties down her legs.

His fingers were rough, with calluses on his hands, but his touch was easy as he stroked her skin.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispered.

Her breath caught.

“I think we need to pick up where we left off.” His jaw tightened. “Before you ran out on me.”

Hit. “You don’t want the problems I have to knock at your door.” His hands were movng up the inside of her thighs and talking was a bit hard right then. “You don’t … ah, I’m just a bounty, remember?”

“I don’t fuck my bounties.”

But he was about to fuck her.

“You stopped being a bounty the minute the cuffs hit the floor.” He eased her thighs apart and opened her wide to his gaze.

“What am I?” Because she needed to know. Not a freak, not a weapon, not—

“The woman I want.” His fingers touched the folds of her sex. “And right now, you’re mine.”

He was hers. Right then, hers.

Zane shifted his body, and his breath blew over her exposed sex, sending a shiver through her. “Let’s see just how hot you burn,” he said.

Zane put his mouth on her.

Jana nearly jerked off the bed. “Zane!”

His lips feathered over her sex. Then she felt the wet lick of his tongue, a slow swipe right over the center of her need.

Her heels dug into the bed and her hands grabbed onto his shoulders. Not to push him away-oh, no-to jerk him closer.

His fingers brushed against her, then one long finger pushed inside her straining core. In, out, that finger plunged in maddeningly gentle thrusts. Not enough. And his mouth kept caressing, that tongue stroking, and Zane tried to drive her out of her mind.

Her nails bit into him.

“Easy, baby. I’m going to enjoy you.” No, he was going to make her crazy. His finger pulled out of her. Her body tensed. No, she wanted—

His tongue pushed into her sex just as his thumb pressed against her clit. Jana’s breath choked out and her body went bow tight.

He growled against her, the vibration shaking through her sensitive flesh and that tongue-the demon knew how to use his tongue.

She arched her hips against him. Wanting more, needing …

His mouth left her. “Open your eyes, Jana.”

Her eyelashes flew open, and she found his black stare trained on her. The lamp on the nightstand threw weak light on the bed.

“You’re not coming, not yet.”

Oh, but she’d been close. She wet her lips. “This some kind of … torture?”

“No. Pleasure. Only pleasure.” His gaze was heavy lidded. “You said you wanted pleasure, remember?”

She’d also said she wanted him. “Take off your jeans.” She wanted them flesh to flesh.

He yanked his wallet out of a back pocket.

What—

And he pulled out a condom.

He’d planned his seduction. Why did that make her hesitate? So he’d known they’d sleep together again. Big deal, right? She’d wanted to sleep with him.

“Doubting, baby?” His fingers went to the buckle of his jeans.

She shook her head, refusing to admit the doubt, even to herself. Her fingers slid between them, and she took the condom from him. “My turn.” Because she didn’t like that fine edge of control he held.

Jana wanted to see the control shatter. No, she wanted him to shatter right before her eyes.

He unzipped his jeans with a slow hiss of sound. She reached for his cock and found it thick, hard, and swollen with need. She stroked him once with her left hand, a long, slow pump from root to tip. Because she could play the game slowly, too.

She stared into his eyes. So dark, her demon’s eyes. But fire could burn in the dark. She’d seen it happen plenty of times. “Do I get a taste?” she asked.

A muscle flexed along his jaw and he eased away, sliding back onto the bed. She rose, following him, and stretched her body so that when he lay back, she was over him, right over that cock that reached for her.

His flesh was warm beneath her hand, heated with his need and lust. When she touched the tip of his erection, a drop of moisture appeared. My taste. Jana leaned forward and licked that drop, tasting the wild blend of man and sex. Her tongue licked over the head of his cock, then slid just under that broad tip.

His hips jerked, just a bit.

Control.

The demon had it tonight.

She opened her mouth. Jana let her breath blow on his flesh, then she took his cock inside, parting her lips around him. She sucked his flesh, moving her head in an easy rhythm, but then going faster, taking more as his taste filled her mouth. Wanting more, wanting—

“Not yet,” he rasped and she found herself on her back again, with him over her. Jana blinked, not even remembering how she’d moved. Her hands were on either side of her head, and her legs were spread open. He rolled the condom over his cock and pushed his shaft against her.

His fingers eased beneath her back, and he unsnapped her bra. When the material fell away, he took her left breast into his mouth. Sucking. Licking. Letting her feel the light score of his teeth.

She twisted beneath him as the ache between her thighs made her shudder. This wasn’t her style. Fast, hard, she needed—

His cock slipped inside her. One inch. Two. Her sex clamped around him.

“You’re so slick. …” His head lifted. “And fucking tight.” Another inch.

“Everything,” she whispered, demanded. “I want—”

He drove balls-deep into her. Jana came at once, a hot blast of pleasure that fired through every cell in her body. She arched beneath him as a moan broke from her lips. Zane started to thrust, fast and deep-thank you, finally!-and the orgasm spiraled longer, wilder, hotter.

His cock stretched her, filled her sex to bursting, and the deep thrusts slid his shaft right over her clit.

Aftershocks of pleasure hummed through her body. Her eyes were open, on Zane, locked on the darkness of his stare. Brutal lines of lust etched his face, but he kept his hold easy, and he kept driving into her with those long, hard thrusts.

The second orgasm rocked through her.

“Fuck!” His control broke. He slammed into her, plunging again and again, and the scent of sex filled the air.

He froze, then a long shudder worked his body. The darkness of his eyes heated, and Zane called her name.

Jana wrapped her arms around him, held him tight, and realized she’d never felt better.

Never felt better … and never been in more danger. Because if the demon holding her so tenderly, kissing her shoulder so sweetly-if he found out about all the things she’d done in New Orleans, he’d be the one handing her over to the FBI and putting her up for extermination.

Dawn was coming. Jana lay in bed, her demon’s arms around her, and watched the trickling rays of light break through the blinds. She hadn’t slept after the sex. Neither had Zane. Guess he’d learned from his mistake before.

They’d lain in bed. He’d held her. It had felt … nice.

Weak. You’re letting yourself get weak with him.

She cleared her throat and forced herself to speak. “So what’s the plan?” She glanced at him and found his gaze already on her. “You’re not going on the run with me.” “You’re not running.”

Her breath expelled. “Well, since I’m not planning on dying, I don’t see a lot of choices here.” Not like she could just stay there and wait for the FBI to come and pick her up. Not ready to die, thank you.

His fingers feathered down her arm. “There are always choices.”

Easy for him to say. He hadn’t spent five years locked up in hell. She’d gotten out at eighteen, but then she’d just traded one prison for another.

“I need to know …” His eyes narrowed. “I need to know about the people you’ve killed.”

“Why?” She tugged away from him and rose from the bed.

“Because you’re not the cold-blooded killer you pretend to be.”

Her lips pressed together. Not that he could see the tremble anyway. She had her back to him. “Wow, aren’t you the sweet-talker.”

“Tell me about the first fire.”

Screams. Pain. Flames that burned so fast. “They say you never forget your first,” she murmured. She’d tried, but had never forgotten the sound of Greg’s screams … or the smell of his burning flesh.

“I’ve heard there’s no control with an Ignitor’s first fire.”

She jerked on her panties and heaved up her jeans. “You’ve heard right.” A bitter laugh slipped from her lips. “I didn’t even know what was happening.” Jana hooked her bra and tugged on her shirt. “I was so scared. My skin felt like it was on fire.” Her hand dropped to her stomach and pressed hard. “My gut was churning. I thought I’d explode.”

And she had.

No, he had.

Jana turned back to face Zane. She lifted her chin. He had sat up in bed, and the covers pooled around his waist. “I thought I was normal. Just like everybody else, and then the fire came.” She shook her head, remembering the taste of fear. It tasted a lot like ash.

“An Ignitor’s power hits at puberty.”

The man sounded so damn clinical, but he was right. She nodded.

“And it’s usually spurred on by an extreme emotional upset,” he said quietly.

Give the guy a freaking cookie. So he’d done his homework on Ignitors.

I killed the last Ignitor who crossed my path.

He climbed out of bed. Naked, strong. He grabbed his pair of jeans and pulled them on, then he stalked toward her. “Were you upset, Jana? When that first fire broke free, were you angry?”

Her back teeth clenched. “Yes,” she gritted out. She’d been angry and so scared. Because her mother had been gone. She’d been in that house, just her and—

“Your stepfather died in that fire.”

She didn’t speak.

“Did you want him to die or did the fire get out of control? It would have been so easy to burn out of control….”

Jana laughed. Zane didn’t get it. Was he really trying to give her a way out? “I wanted the bastard to die. I stared at him, and I thought, over and over, that I wanted him to die.” She swallowed. “And then flames raced across his skin and he started screaming for me to help him.” Bitch, fucking help me! Help me!

Zane stared down at her, and his gaze seemed too intense.

“I wasn’t going to let him touch me.” Her voice sounded hollow. “I wasn’t going to let him punch me again, and I told him—” She cleared her throat. “I told him if he tried to hit me once more, I’d kill him.” So many bruises. So many broken bones. Her mother had always been there with excuses when anyone asked what happened. She fell down the stairs. Jana’s a clumsy girl. You’d think a thirteen-year-old would know how to ride a bike better, wouldn’t you?

Her fingers brushed across her jaw. It had been wired shut for weeks after the fire. “I warned him,” she said. “It was his fault,” she’d told herself this over and over, “that he didn’t listen.”

Zane’s lips parted. “Jana …”

Her hand flew up and hung in the air between them. “Don’t.” Anger fired the word. But he shook his head. “I can’t—”

“I don’t need your pity.” She knew pity when she heard it. “I’m not some damaged kid who needs you to hold her and make everything better.” Not anymore, dammit.

“I know that.”

“Greg Burgess deserved what he got.” Because if she hadn’t killed him, he would have killed her, and she knew it. “I didn’t expect the fire, and afterwards, hell, no one believed me. They thought I’d set everything up … staged the scene and lured him to his death.” Bastards. The DA had said her jaw had been broken from the force of the blast. He’d said she was too close when she ignited the accelerants and that she’d been thrown across the room.

What accelerants? She’d burned Greg with her power.

But Greg, the bastard, had always kept plenty of booze around. And they’d been in the garage when the fire started. With the oil and gas and …

You’re lying, girl. You set the fire. You burned that man alive. The DA’s voice was so clear in her mind, even after all these years. Did he beg you for help?

Yes, he had.

“You were protecting yourself.” Zane’s voice was a low rumble and she glanced back at him. His hands were clenched into powerful fists, and the faint lines near his eyes looked deeper than before.

“I was,” she said, and it was true. Greg’s ghost didn’t haunt her anymore. Jana took a long, deep breath, and then she let her lips curl. Because she wasn’t a victim, and Zane needed to see that. She wasn’t some damsel he needed to rescue.

She could rescue herself. In the fairy tales, she wasn’t the trapped princess. She was the fire-breathing dragon, and she’d burn anyone who got in her way. She had.

“I killed to protect myself then.” True. “But I’m not a scared girl anymore.”

Zane’s head tilted a bit to the right as he studied her. “So the others you’ve killed? Were you protecting yourself then?”

The rush of anger broke through her control. Did she need to give him a whole damn life story? Did she have to justify every move? “You want to compare kills? Your hands have blood on them, too, Zane!”

“I never claimed they didn’t.”

“You might be one of the good guys, but you’ve crossed the line for duty, I know you—” His laughter stopped her cold.

Jana blinked. “Am I missing a joke?” The guy had a real piss-poor sense of humor. Good in bed, lousy humor-noted.

The laughter faded, but his lips maintained that slight twist of amusement. “Ah, Jana…” He shook his head. “I have to know … What in the hell ever made you think I was one of the good guys?”