Midnight Sins

Chapter 14

“Not another word, baby, not without a lawyer.” Todd’s face was rock hard. His voice grim.

“No, you need to hear this.” Screw his partner. Todd deserved to know about her. All about her. When he’d touched her earlier, kissed her, it had been so much more than just sex.

Perhaps it had been from the beginning.

No more secrets, no more lies.

She was telling him everything. Her eyes slit as she frowned up at the shifter. “When I’m done, if you want to lock me up, that’s fine.” She’d be out in less than ten minutes once she got a guard under her spell, but he could sure try tossing her butt in jail, if that made the big, bad cop feel better.

Gyth gave a slow nod.

She caught Todd’s hands. Because she needed to touch him again. Because holding him made talking about the past easier. “I-I had a sister once. A twin.”

A dark look passed between the cops.

“We were close. Always close. But so different.” The memory of Nina made her lips curve. “She was dark where I was light. Wild when I was careful. And she knew me. The hidden parts of me that even I didn’t fully understand.”

Not identical, but they’d been a perfect match. Nina with her long, straight dark hair and her golden skin. The smile that had always lit her face and the eyes that had shined, with and without glamour.

“It’s hard to kill my kind.” Her fingers tightened around his. “Damn hard because I’m a demon, and even harder because I’m a succubus.” Not the run-of-the-mill demon blood. So few knew that dark secret.

But he’d known.

“Nina started seeing a human. She fell for him.” A pause. “I thought he cared for her.”

Todd swore, obviously knowing where her story was headed. Hell, of course. Not to a sweet, happily-ever-after ending.

Demons didn’t usually get those.

The shifter remained silent, watching her carefully.

“I felt it when she died,” she whispered. “It was like pain stabbed straight through my soul, and in my mind, I heard her scream.” She could still hear it. Because in that last moment, her sister had cried out for her, helplessly, and Cara hadn’t been able to do a damn thing to save her.

She swallowed back the grief that wanted to choke her. Years had passed, but the wound was still fresh to her. “Her human killed her. The one she trusted, loved.”

Todd flinched.

And it was the shifter who asked, “How?”

It wasn’t a question she would normally answer, but these were far from normal circumstances. One of her kind was out there, killing, and the cops, well, they needed to know how to take the demon down.

“We heal fast,” she said, nodding her head toward Gyth. “Much like you do, I imagine.”

He said nothing.

“Gunshots, knife wounds—they’ll hurt us, but those weapons alone won’t kill a succubus or an incubus.” There was really only one moment when her kind became vulnerable. Her lips twisted as her gaze darted back to Todd. “I told you before, succubi believe that true power rests in the heart, not the mind.” Her power certainly did.

He gave a grim nod of his head.

She lifted her hand, touched his chest and felt the strong beat of his heart beneath her palm. “In that one moment when we take from others,” or give to them, but she wasn’t going to mention her ability to give power, not in front of that dangerous shifter, “we are at our most vulnerable.”

“Cara…”

“When I touch your heart,” her voice dropped, “That is the time, the only time, when I’m vulnerable.” When the power began to stir. That first moment, as the air thickened and magic fired her blood. Her hand never moved from his chest and her eyes held his. “In that instant, a human’s weapons—guns, knives—they can kill my kind. A bullet in the heart. A knife. In that one moment, you can destroy a succubus or an incubus, forever.”

As her voice trailed away, silence filled the room. Thick, heavy. Far too tense.

Her hand dropped from his chest and Cara stepped back.

“If Susan was working with someone…”

Cara stilled.

Todd’s gaze met Gyth’s. “A man—an incubus…if they were fighting and she was using her knife on him—” Todd broke off, shaking his head. “Shit. She had to be hitting close to his upper chest. You saw the spray—”

Gyth whistled softly. “You’re right. Damn it. She attacked him, got too close, and he couldn’t risk draining her. He had to kill her fast, to save his own life.”

“Uh, th-that seems likely,” Cara agreed quietly, her mind whirling. They thought an incubus had been working with the murdered woman?

She’d been the lure.

Her lips parted. Of course! A temptation to pull in the men. It made sense. They hadn’t been bound for kinky fun, they’d been tied so they wouldn’t fight when the incubus appeared.

No wonder she hadn’t felt the draw of another succubus in the city—there wasn’t another one around!

The killer was an incubus…

Oh, hell.

Cara took a deep breath. The men were still talking about the woman—Susan—and her death. “If she was working with an incubus, she might have known how to kill him, or maybe—maybe she just got lucky.”

Either way, she’d wound up dead and her killer had gotten away.

Todd and Gyth glanced toward her in surprise. Okay, so “lucky” hadn’t been the best word choice. She licked her lips then said, “Look, just remember what I’ve said, okay?. My kind—we aren’t vulnerable often, so if you have the chance to strike at the killer, well, you’d better take it.”

There. She’d done it. Given a human and a shifter the most prized secret of her kind. A secret they’d need in order to survive.

Todd’s fingers reached out and snagged her hand. Held tight. “What happened to the man who killed your sister, Cara?”

Ah, now this was the part she’d dreaded from the beginning. Todd had just started to look at her as a woman, and now he’d see the killer lurking inside of her pretty shell.

But perhaps it was time. She’d carried this secret for too long. Seven years.

“I went to him in his dreams.”

Todd’s expression didn’t alter. Those brown eyes of his were steady on her.

“I made him weak. Made him want.” It had been so easy. And she’d been so furious. He’d never met her, didn’t know that she and Nina had a bond beyond death.

Her sister had wanted vengeance.

Cara had given it to her.

“Did you know…” It was hard to say the words when he was so close, touching her. “That some can become addicted to the touch of a succubus?” Like a drug addict, needing a fix. If the magic was strong enough, the human was helpless.

She’d made Lance helpless. He’d come to her, eyes desperate, hands sweating. He’d tracked her to her home, screaming at her. Wanting her.

And she’d been ready for him. “I lured him to me.” So easy. “When he found me, I touched him.” She’d nearly drained the bastard dry. His skin had paled. His body had trembled. Tears rained from his eyes.

The rush of power from his body had been so strong. And so dark. Tainted. Twisted.

Lance had been evil. A monster beneath the flesh of a man.

He’d realized what was happening to him—too late.

His heart had lurched beneath her hand. So close to death. To the hell he deserved.

She’d held him there, suspended between the world of the living and the wisps of the eternal, and asked, “Why?”

He’d known what she meant. Knowledge had been in his eyes. He’d smiled at her. “B-be…cause the f-fucking…b-bitch wouldn’t…give…m-me…p-power…” Then, he’d managed to gather his strength—she still wasn’t sure how the asshole had done that—and he’d jerked a knife out of his back pocket. One of those stupid, small, Swiss Army knives that men always carried, and he’d plunged the blade right into her chest.

He’d missed her heart, but the attack had thrown her off guard and the bastard had gotten away.

For a time.

“Did you kill him?” It was Gyth who asked the question.

“Don’t—” Todd snapped, shaking his head. “You don’t have to say—”

She tugged her hand from his. “He got away from me.” True. She’d regretted that, hated her failure for years.

“So the bastard’s still out there?” Todd asked, mouth hard. “Tell me his damn name and I’ll—”

“He’s dead now.” And that should really have made things easier for her. “The next day, his body was found in his apartment. Lance killed himself.” That was the story that had been in the papers, anyway.

More silence. The thick, uncomfortable kind that made her want to squirm.

“Is that the whole story?” Gyth asked. She slanted him a look, saw the suspicion in his eyes.

No, it wasn’t the whole story, but she’d told all of her part. She’d confessed to the Monster Doctor about her attack on Lance before.

And if Lance hadn’t pulled that knife—

Well, she wouldn’t have regretted his death. Did that make her evil? She really didn’t know.

I’m a killer. Yeah, that’s what she’d told the Monster Doctor. Because even though she hadn’t been the one to take the last breath from Lance’s miserable body and soul, she’d still been responsible for his death.

“Check the Miami papers . They ran the stories on him for a few days.” She’d been living in Miami back then. The Other always liked the big cities. So easy to blend in with the throngs of people. “The article said that Lance Danvers slit his wrists and bled to death.” Too messy for her taste.

But not for the demon who’d killed Lance.

Suicide. Not damn likely. Not for a man like him.

“Why did you tell me this?” Todd asked.

“Because I wanted you to know there’s a point for humans and paranormals. We can all be pushed too far, and we can all become monsters.” Because she’d truly been a monster that long-ago night. One without pity. Remorse. She would have killed him, and she would have loved every minute of his death.

Her chin lifted as she faced them. She’d just admitted to two cops that she’d attempted murder. “What are you going to do now?” Cara asked, voice soft.

Todd brought his mouth down on hers, hungrily taking her lips. Her hands wrapped around his arms, held on with all her strength.

Behind him, Gyth coughed.

Todd’s dark head rose. “I’m going to thank God that bastard didn’t kill you.”

She pressed her lips together. Caught his taste. “And what about what I did?”

Todd turned slowly to face Gyth. “She didn’t do anything.” A challenge. Cara could feel the tension pumping through his body. “Isn’t that right, Gyth?”

The shifter’s gaze met hers. Held. Finally, he said, “No crime that I see.” A pause. “And I would have done the same.”

His head inclined toward her slightly.

One predator to another.

The breath she’d been holding expelled in a sharp rush.

“You should have told me sooner,” Todd muttered, bending so that his words whispered into her ear.

Yes, she should have, but the guy had already been dealing with the fact that she was a demon. She hadn’t wanted him to completely freak on her.

But Todd wasn’t showing any signs of freaking. Or running. Or, well, hell, the guy was actually holding pretty tightly to her.

A stab of hope shot through her heart. Maybe, just maybe, Todd would be different.

More footsteps sounded in the hallway. Hard. Determined steps. The shifter tilted his head to the right, said, “McNeal,” about five seconds before the police captain shoved open the door and stalked inside.

He pointed his finger at Cara. “You.”

Her brows lifted. She’d seen the captain a few times, but never actually spoken with the guy.

“You just put on one hell of a show in my precinct, demon.”

Not human. Not completely, anyway. The understanding dawned instantly. As she’d told Todd, the human males would have all forgotten.

Hmm. So just what was the tough captain? She took a step away from Todd, more than ready to defend herself. “What I did,” she said, voice fierce, “was save lives and fix the screw-up one of your officers caused!”

A grunt. Then his hands flew up. “Don’t come any closer!” She saw his nostrils twitch. “I’m taken.”

“Since when?” The words were a bare thread of sound as they slipped past Gyth’s lips.

“So is she,” Todd said.

Gunmetal eyes widened. “Ah, you poor bastard.” McNeal sighed. “Don’t you know demons can’t be trusted?”

Now the guy was pissing her off. The air began to thicken around her.

“She can be.” Her lover’s voice sounded absolutely confident.

The captain’s eyes weighed him. Her. “You willing to risk your life on that assumption?”

“Yes.” No hesitation.

“Then bring your demon into my office. It’s time to clear the air and catch this damn killer before I have another stiff on my hands.”

McNeal’s office was too quiet. The old phrase as silent as a tomb whispered through Cara’s mind as she waited in the cramped quarters.

Cara stood near the captain’s obviously fake plant, arms crossed over her chest. Todd was beside her. Gyth leaned against the edge of McNeal’s desk. And McNeal, well, he was sitting behind his desk, glowering at the ME.

After what had to be at least five minutes, Smith finally cleared her throat and shifted a bit in the rather uncomfortable-looking leather chair she occupied. “Are you, um, sure I can talk about the case in front of her?”

Her. The ME hadn’t made eye contact with Cara the entire time they’d been trapped in the silence of the office.

“This is off the record, Smith.”

The ME opened her mouth to protest.

“Off the record.” McNeal ran a hand over his face. Exhaled hard enough to shake the room, then said, “We need her help, okay? She’s got to know the facts of the case because she’s the only damn one who can really tell us what the killer is like.”

Because I’m just like the killer.

Smith’s back was ramrod straight. Her shoulders far too stiff.

McNeal stabbed his finger toward Gyth. “All right—let’s start with the knife. Forensics said—”

“No prints were on the knife,” Gyth finished. “But the hair we found belonged to Susan Dobbs.”

Todd glanced at her. “You sure you didn’t know the woman?”

He’d shown her Susan’s picture, and yeah, the woman looked freakily like her, but—“I don’t know her.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t know Walters, either,” Gyth pointed out, “and that guy had been going to Paradise for the last month to watch you.”

She saw Todd stiffen. “I think we need to take a step back here.” He motioned toward the captain. “Susan Dobbs was human. How’d she hook up with a demon?”

“Demons are everywhere,” McNeal said. “Shouldn’t have been too hard—”

“It would have been a hell of a lot easier for her if she’d been inside Demon Central.”

Gyth began to nod, obviously understanding where Todd was going.

“Niol’s place is a meeting point for the Other, and Cara told me once that some humans like to play in Paradise.”

McNeal’s head cocked to the right. “And you think Susan was the playing kind?”

The woman had been the killing kind, so, yeah, Cara thought she was definitely the type of human who would have enjoyed playing with the Other.

“Niol will know.” Todd gave a quick nod. “No one gets in that place without his knowledge.”

“And you think the guy will be in the mood to cooperate with the cops?” Gyth asked, looking damn doubtful.

“He’ll cooperate,” Cara said, voice clear. He would do it, for her.

“Who is this…Nee-ole?” Smith asked slowly, pronouncing the demon’s name with care.

McNeal’s fingers splayed over the desk. “You really don’t want to know about him.”

“Yes, I do.” The ME’s voice hardened. “I’m in this game now, and I want to know everything.”

“Niol is the most powerful demon I know,” Cara said, and Smith’s head jerked toward her. Her eyes were wide, stark.

“And he’s a serious ass,” Gyth added.

Smith didn’t glance back at him. Her gaze stayed on Cara. “Is he evil?”

Hard question. “I’ve never known him to hurt an innocent.” The not-so-innocent, well, that was a different story.

“Niol knows every damn thing that happens in this town,” McNeal rumbled. “With the humans and with the supernaturals.”

“He can tell us if there are any incubi hunting on the streets.” Gyth’s features were tense with predatory anticipation. “He was the one who originally tipped me off about the Night Butcher.”

Cara bit her lip. She knew of a few incubi in the area. One of the guys—well, she’d known him for years, and the thought of him killing—of any of them killing—no, she just couldn’t see it.

But she couldn’t lie to Todd about the men. Not with so much at stake. “You really think the killer is an incubus, don’t you?”

Todd turned to face her. His eyes were cop sharp. “I do. A succubus wouldn’t have needed a lure—not with the scent you can put out—and sure as hell not if all succubi are as sexy as you.”

No two succubi looked alike—not even twins. Her kind came in all shapes and sizes, but they were all created with one purpose—to seduce.

A succubus would never need another woman to act as bait to capture the attention of human men.

If there was a chance that the killer was an incubus—and from where she was sitting, it looked like there was one bigass chance Todd was right about that—then she had to tell him what she knew. Protecting the private lives of demons would have to come second to saving the humans and finding out who was setting her up.

She held Todd’s stare and quietly told him, “I can give you the names of three incubi right now.” The men might all be proved innocent—they were good men, two in high positions in the city—but she had to tell Todd their names.

Yet even after she told them, Cara knew that the cops would follow up with Niol and find out if any other incubi were hunting sexual prey.

Niol always knew exactly who was hunting in the city. That was the reason she’d gone to him after leaving Todd’s bed. She’d asked him if there was another succubus on the streets.

He’d told her, simply, “No.”

She believed him. Because while he might make a habit of lying to others, he’d never lied to her.

Cara realized that all eyes were on her now. She licked her lips. “I only know three, but there could be more.”

Gyth stood up, fast.

Todd swore. “You could have mentioned their names sooner.”

“I just learned that you were looking for an incubus and not a succubus less than half an hour ago!” Jeez, she had been the suspect, and she hadn’t thought that a man was involved.

Until now.

“Trey Barker.” She said his name clearly.

Smith’s mouth dropped. “The newsman from Channel Twelve?”

“No wonder my mom likes to watch him so much,” McNeal mumbled.

“Jody Rain.”

Todd’s eyes widened. “The assistant district attorney?”

A nod. There was a reason why the guy was so well liked by the women on his juries.

“And you’ve met the third demon.”

Todd shook his head.

“Cameron Komak, the bartender at Paradise Found.”

“I knew that asshole was too pretty.”

Too pretty. A fairly normal description for an incubus.

“Gyth, start checking these bastards,” McNeal ordered. “Track ’em down, get ’em in here, and find out everything you can about their lives for the last two months.”

Todd stepped forward. “Captain, I told you I wasn’t going to be shut out—”

“Brooks, get your ass over to Paradise Found and make Niol tell you everything he knows about the sex demons in this town.”

A wide grin split Todd’s mouth. “My pleasure, sir.”

But she knew Todd would be in for one hell of a fight, because no one made Niol do anything he didn’t want to do. “I’ll go with you,” she offered, because she knew the demon didn’t exactly have a soft spot for her lover.

But he did for her.

“Good idea.” McNeal looked so satisfied that she realized that had been his plan from the beginning.

“Captain…” Todd’s face flushed with anger. “She’s supposed to be in protective custody. I can handle Niol on my own—”

“But she can handle him one hell of a lot better.” One finger jabbed at Todd. “You saw her, Brooks, the woman doesn’t need protecting, but any fool who gets in her path just might.”

Hmm…maybe the captain wasn’t so bad.

His fist pounded against the desk. “Now, let’s get this shit wrapped up before any more dead bodies pile up in our Crypt.”

Smith was the last to exit his office. She waited for the cops and the succubus to leave, then she hesitated at the door.

McNeal sat in his chair, and she could feel the heat of his stare on her back. Her fingers tightened around the door knob—and she closed the door.

“Smith?” A thread of worry was in that rough voice.

She turned slowly and rested her back against the blinds on the door, not caring that they bent and snapped behind her. “You should have told me…”

He rose from his chair.

“From the beginning. Right after the first kiss.” The kiss they’d shared here, in his office.

God, they’d had sex on his desk.

The memories were all around her in this room.

She hated coming to meetings in his office.

And once she left, well, she couldn’t wait to get back inside the room again.

She still wanted him.

Damn it, a part of her still loved the asshole. A part she’d tried so hard to kill.

“I didn’t want you to leave me.” Stark.

“Why not?” He’d just left her in the end.

A muscle flexed along the hard line of his jaw. Her fingers balled into fists. She’d touched that jaw so many times. Felt the rasp of stubble on her palm.

On her entire body.

“Because…you mattered too much to me.”

She held his glittering stare and saw raw honesty reflected in his eyes. “But you walked away.”

Now he walked toward her. “You don’t know how hard it is to keep secrets from the rest of the world. To live every day, hiding who you really are, and praying that no one else finds out your secrets—because if someone does find out, the wrong someone, well, then your life will go straight to hell.”

She understood that. If the truth got out, God, she couldn’t even imagine what life would be like in the world if all the humans realized what was really happening around them.

Yeah, she understood, but understanding didn’t mean she forgave. “You didn’t have to walk. You could have told me the truth.”

“And have you look at me the way you do at Gyth? Or Cara? Or, hell, I guess the way you’re staring at me now?”

That stopped her cold. Gyth was a shifter, she knew that, but the man had saved her ass. He wasn’t evil.

And as for the succubus, well, Smith didn’t know that woman, but she didn’t seem like she was a monster. She just seemed…normal.

Like any woman. Like…Jesus, she seems just like me.

Smith had even found herself admiring the woman’s shoes.

“I’m not evil, Nathalia.” He was close to her now. So close she could smell the crisp scent of his aftershave.

She’d given him that aftershave.

Her knees began to tremble.

“The bastard who took you—yeah, he was fucked up. As dark inside as they come, but you know, you know, we’ve dealt with human killers who were just as twisted.”

She nodded. She’d worked on too many cases to deny the truth of his words. They hadn’t all been Other. She knew that.

“We’re not all bad, baby, understand that—”

“I do.” Her nails dug into her palms. She understood, but it was just so hard. She woke up most nights, a scream choking her. She’d nearly died in that damn place and when she’d met the killer’s stare, she’d known what hell looked like.

She saw Dan’s throat work as he swallowed. His hand lifted then, as if he were going to touch her, but then he hesitated.

Pain danced over his face.

And she hurt.

He stepped back. Dropped his hand. “If there isn’t anything else, Dr. Smith, I need to get back to work and—”

“There’s something else.” Her voice shook. Just like her knees.

He lifted a brow.

“I wouldn’t have walked away from you.” Her chin came up. “I mean, shit, Dan, I didn’t care about the fact that you’re white—did you really think I’d give a damn that you could go all Dr. Doolittle on me?”

His mouth dropped open.

Satisfied with that response and not really trusting herself to say more, Smith managed to turn around and open the door. Then she walked out, head held high, and didn’t look back.

Her mama had taught her long ago how a lady made an exit.

Her mama just hadn’t warned her that she had real wolves to worry about in the world, wolves who often wore the flesh of men.

The guards weren’t at the door of Paradise Found, and the sight of the empty entranceway had Todd tensing.

Cara stilled beside him. “Todd? What’s wrong?”

Everything. Cara shouldn’t have even been with him then. She should have been in a safe house, protected by several guards—and he should have been casing the place alone. “When we go inside, stay behind me, okay? Just—”

Her bow lips turned down. “Why…” she drew the word out with obvious impatience, “do you have such trouble with the concept of me being a demon?” She pointed to her chest. “Look, nearly immortal me.” She tapped him, a bit harder than he thought was really necessary, right in the middle of his chest. “And weak, human you.”

He reached for his holster. He might be mortal, but he was armed. Todd wasn’t forgetting for a moment that a potentially murderous incubus might be inside.

And then there was Niol…

His fingers curled around the gun. “Me—human, but ready to shoot. And don’t forget,” he offered her a brief smile, “I’m the one with the badge.” Okay, yeah, he knew the woman was strong.

But she was his and he wanted to protect her.

Todd pressed a hard kiss to her lips.

Then playtime was over and he stalked toward the door. Cara followed on his heels, her seductive scent wrapping around him.

He pushed on the door. Open. No way was this Niol’s usual operation.

The cop in him hesitated, but then Todd realized his internal alarm—that system that had never failed him before—it wasn’t making a single noise.

What a fucking bad time for his instincts to fail him.

Shoving open the door, he went in with his gun up and his pulse steady.