Hot Demon in the City (Latter Day Demons Book 1)

by Suttle, Connie

  He didn't. Instead, he pushed me through the door and shut it softly behind me. I felt abandoned as his footsteps faded down the hall.

  * * *

  Kordevik

  A much younger High Demon wouldn't—couldn't—have controlled his Thifilathi.

  I barely did it. With her neck exposed and my hands on it, the animal part of me almost manifested. Lexsi would have been scarred for life if I'd allowed it to happen, physically and emotionally.

  Placing claiming marks while the recipient was awake was horribly painful. Besides, Lexsi believed me to be human. When she recovered, she'd likely never want to see me again if I'd let my Thifilathi loose.

  Fuck.

  What was I going to do? She was probably wondering why I hadn't kissed her yet.

  Double fuck.

  Not only were we drowning in a mystery we couldn't solve, our relationship might disintegrate because I couldn't behave like a normal human suitor.

  Yes, I wanted to march back to her room, get in bed with her and do what any normal male would do—make love to the woman of his dreams. Perhaps six months ago, I'd have been so pissed I'd have placed my claiming marks and let things fall out as they would.

  That was before I knew her.

  Before I loved her.

  Fuck.

  Chapter 13

  Lexsi

  "Hannah looks like she's been rode hard and put up wet," Farin snickered as I poured coffee in the breakroom. It was nearly noon and I was having a fourth cup to make up for a mostly sleepless night.

  "She's here?"

  "I saw her walking toward her office just now."

  "Your equine reference has not been lost upon me," I held up my free hand.

  Farin giggled. She was in a good mood—as she should be. Tibby had shown up after dinner the night before and slept in Farin's room.

  I couldn't help comparing her experience with mine, which left me frustrated, unfulfilled and sleeping alone.

  Yes, it would be my first time, but I wanted it with Kory and nobody else. At least Farin wasn't obsessing over the people who'd planted a bomb at her apartment. Davis and Thomas were doing a good job on that front.

  "What's the latest on those murders?" Farin asked as Gerald Castleman, the station's chief meteorologist and her boss, walked in.

  "The FBI and local police haven't given us any new information," I replied. "All we have is what we had last night. I've even contacted someone I know at a Texas station—they're in the same boat, with very little to report."

  "Storms in the Austin area tonight," Gerald said while pouring coffee. "Rain may wash away evidence."

  "I'm worried that there wasn't much evidence last night—or today," I said. "Nice to see you in early, Gerald," I saluted him with my coffee cup. Farin grinned behind Gerald's back as I walked out the door.

  * * *

  Kordevik

  "No, we're having lunch, during which we will break it off," Anita hissed as she took my arm. I'd gone to her office to pick her up for our impromptu lunch date; she'd called me midmorning to inform me that we were going out.

  "So, it makes you look better and me worse at the same time?" I whispered. Yes, I did my best to hold back my anger. After fighting my Thifilathi the night before, this really wasn't a good time for Anita to get me riled up again.

  "Hey, I was helping you out," she snapped. "But after Hannah's stunt, this has to end. I didn't sign up to be the subject of nasty gossip. You're on your own, now, with that witch."

  "Where do you want to have lunch?" I spoke in a normal voice.

  "Oh, pizza sounds good."

  "Pizza it is."

  * * *

  "Here," Anita handed the engagement ring back to me. We sat in a small pizza place six blocks from the Rome Building, waiting for our order. "I can't tell you how awkward it felt wearing that, when all you can do is watch Lexsi," she added.

  "Thanks for helping me—or at least trying to help me." My words were sincere as I pocketed the ring with a nod. "I'll try to get the money back from the jewelry store."

  "Yeah. I'd suggest offering it to Lexsi, but she deserves her own ring, not one worn for a while by someone else."

  "You think she'd take anything from me?" I snorted.

  "She might," Anita shrugged.

  "There are things that have to happen first," I said. "One of those things is getting a certain vampire and werewolf off my back."

  "There's that," she agreed. "I'm surprised you haven't seen more of them, to be honest."

  "I think they're scared witless and hoping some other fool will look at the reward offered and try to take me off guard."

  "Why would they be scared witless?" she asked, sucking on her straw. I watched strawberry lemonade move through the plastic tube for a moment before I realized what I'd done.

  "Hmmph. I don't have to answer that," I said.

  "I think you ought to tell Lexsi there's more to you than meets the eye. Just like there's more to her."

  "You think that will solve anything?" I tossed out a hand. "You don't even have half the story and you're trying to give me advice."

  "I know enough," Anita snapped at me. "I sure as hell hope you're bulletproof in every way, too, because you're probably going to need it."

  "I can take care of myself." Rising from my chair, I slammed it beneath the small table and stalked out of the restaurant.

  A bullet tore a hole in the sleeve of my favorite jacket before I could skip away.

  * * *

  Lexsi

  "He wasn't in the Jeep when it exploded," Anita attempted to calm me down. She'd shown up at the station five minutes after I got the report of a car bomb near a pizza restaurant. Cell phone images sent by people near the site identified Kory's Jeep perfectly, right down to the tag, which survived the bomb.

  "Then where is he?" I shouted.

  "Shhh," Anita jerked her head toward the hallway. Heads were poking out of doorways to see what was going on.

  "I'm here," Kory stalked in, looking as if he were prepared to wrestle a bear.

  "What happened?" Anita fingered the hole in Kory's jacket. He jerked his arm away.

  "Somebody tried to shoot me, that's what," he muttered angrily. "Then they blew up my Jeep."

  "Oh, no," I whispered. "They tried to kill you twice?"

  "As you can see, they were unsuccessful both times," Kory said. His words were calm and measured. I watched his eyes, though—a fire burned in their depths. He was so angry he could probably kill with his bare hands.

  "Have you uh, talked to the police?" I asked. Kory in this mood frightened me. Things had taken a dangerous turn and I wasn't sure how to react.

  "I called our new friends," he growled. "They're on the way to pick me up."

  "Are they taking you home?" I asked.

  "No. I'm taking a few days off. They said they have a safe place for me to stay."

  "But," I began.

  "Let it be, onion," he said and turned to walk away.

  * * *

  Kordevik

  I intended to hunt the bastards down who tried to kill me, but I needed help from Davis and Thomas. They were already hunting Granger; I wanted their leads. They'd already promised to keep eyes on Lexsi; I didn't want to place her in further danger because I was staying at her place.

  That's why I'd asked if they had a place for me to stay. They'd already checked my condo—it was wired, too. Someone was watching it discreetly, just as they were Farin's.

  I stood under the awning at the station's entrance, waiting for the two werewolf agents to arrive. They'd already described their vehicle, so I wouldn't be convinced to climb into the wrong one.

  "Want a ride?" Davis' passenger-side window rolled down, revealing his face.

  "Yeah." I lifted the gym bag of clothing I'd gathered from my bedroom at Lexsi's and strode toward the vehicle.

  The back seat of the SUV was roomy, comfortable and had a new-car scent to it. Stowing my bag on the floor on the opposite side
, I shut the door and nodded at Thomas in the rearview mirror.

  He pulled away from the curb.

  Yes, I felt horrible, walking away from Lexsi like that. I'd done it for a multitude of reasons. Not least of those was that our relationship had progressed faster than I'd expected. It was past time for a first kiss, which I couldn't deliver until she understood the consequences.

  In the eyes of our race, it meant we were married. The wedding she'd skipped out on had been a mere formality—for those other races in attendance. Once my Thifilathi claimed her, she'd be marked—and mine—for life.

  Strange, how getting to know her in the real sense shifted my views on the subject. I wanted—needed—her consent before I placed my claiming marks.

  She didn't need to know that I intended to fry vampires and werewolves; whoever was responsible for the attempts on my life, as well as Anita's, Rick's, Farin's and Mason's.

  Lexsi, no doubt, was included in that list somewhere, merely by association.

  "Mason says you have unusual talents, although he wouldn't elaborate," Davis turned in his seat to look at me. "He says you're extremely dangerous, actually."

  "I intend to be extremely dangerous all over the ones who tried to kill me." An outward breath of smoke accompanied that statement. Davis' eyes widened in surprise.

  * * *

  Lexsi

  Not only had Kory disappeared with the werewolf agents, Hannah, somehow, had managed to get Fiona Hall fired. Yes, she was a drain on the company, and everybody knew she was having an affair with an executive in the downtown office, but Hannah had done it in the most spiteful way possible.

  It was why she'd forced Kory to drive her downtown the day before; to convince the CEO (by sleeping with him), to have Fiona officially transferred to the LA station while the executive involved only received a warning on his personnel record. Fiona was fired via e-mail by the LA station's General Manager before she could pack a bag.

  Fiona had zero prospects of finding another job as a result; Hannah had effectively destroyed the woman. Fiona wept while clearing out her desk; Hannah asked (loudly) whether someone could shut off the noise.

  Grateful that nobody saw the plume of smoke that escaped my nostrils, I sent information to Hannah for her six o'clock broadcast. Fiona's fate would have been mine, too, if Hannah had her way.

  I didn't think her obsession had anything to do with the jealousy and nastiness, either—in my opinion, that was all her and nobody else.

  "The word is displacement," Farin handed me the battered dictionary from her cubicle.

  "Paper?" I held it up.

  "Are you pointing out the obvious, or attempting to shame me for destroying trees? I've had that dictionary since I was in grade school. Mom bought it for me."

  "All right," I lowered the book and set it on my desk. "Why are you asking me to look up displacement?"

  "It'll be the defense mechanism one," she said and turned to walk away.

  I went still. Hannah still wanted to fire me, and she'd probably attempted to fire Kory because he'd disappeared on her. Someone had to tell her that Kory was taking a leave of absence after his breakup with Anita; it was the excuse he'd given, anyway.

  Hannah wanted him to be her exclusive driver from now on. He'd put a stop to that, albeit inadvertently. Her joy at getting Fiona fired was drowned by her subsequent anger at Kory.

  Why did the Romes want such a spiteful bitch working for them? It made no sense—nobody in the industry liked her or considered her talented, let alone a normal human being. I only had to listen to gossip to know what everybody thought of her.

  No matter how bad it gets, things can always be worse, Gran says. That's why I didn't send mindspeech, begging Aunt Bree to allow me to crawl away from the cesspit that contained Hannah Tilton and the Romes.

  I knew I was more upset than usual with my job, because Kory had abandoned me. He'd become my sounding board and my solace—more so than Anita, even, and she was willing to go to war for me.

  Kory abandoned me.

  Yes, I knew most romances among humans didn't work out.

  It was still a blow. Panic threatened—I shoved it down.

  To keep from crying in my cubicle, I continued my search for the ten missing men from the California bus. At least one from the Texas bus had shown up. None from the California bus had been found, even with dogs and planes searching the area.

  I made calls to the sheriff's office, local law enforcement and anyone else I could think of to contact, just to see if anything new was available.

  I kept at it, too, until word came that an employee at the Coroner's Office had disappeared, along with some of the evidence collected from Gentry Mullins' body.

  I'd bet my salary the missing items included a metal wristband.

  * * *

  Kordevik

  "We asked for that evidence, dammit," Davis half-shouted into his phone. "Your office dicked us around about it, too. Now you're telling me it's gone—along with an employee? Look, I don't care that it looks like a kidnapping. Find both. Now."

  Several seconds went by while Davis listened and fumed. "Look, I know you screwed around with Hannah Tilton, so she could pull that information from you. Did you tell anybody else?"

  More seconds ticked by. "You'd better be right, and you better be there when some of my agents arrive. Clear your calendar, because you'll be answering questions all night. We'll also be questioning Ms. Tilton, so the truth would be your best plan of action. Yes, I do want to see all the photographs."

  I wanted to see the photographs, too, and wondered if Davis would allow it. After all, I could have some insights that he wouldn't, since he'd been confined to Earth all his life.

  * * *

  I saw the photographs. Like Davis and Thomas, there was nothing to be made of the plain, silver wristband. It fitted over the wrist like a cuff, with the traditional opening at the back.

  "Without the actual piece, these are meaningless," I handed the photos back to Davis.

  "I know." He breathed a sigh and shook his head. We were in the evidence section of the coroner's office, where Thomas' wolf was sniffing about, attempting to detect the scent of the kidnapper. So many other scents were likely present, so the effort was futile.

  "Useless," Thomas was back to human and grabbing his clothing from a nearby chair. "I'd have to go through every employee and separate their scents, when I have nothing from the kidnapper to compare with the others."

  "What about security cameras?" I asked.

  "Detectives have already looked at those," Davis sighed. "Images get fuzzy right after the kidnap victim walked into evidence, and when it clears, he and the wristband are missing."

  "I don't think you'll understand this," I began, "but one of the first things wizards and warlocks learn is how to interfere with electronics."

  "Wizards and warlocks?" Thomas stopped in the middle of pulling on his pants.

  "Trust me—they exist," I said. "Just not naturally on this world. So, unless there's been some serious evolving, if this is a warlock's work, then he isn't local."

  "You're serious about this, aren't you?" Davis studied me for a moment.

  "As serious as the proverbial heart attack," I shrugged.

  "So, you've met some of these people?"

  "Yes, just not here. On this planet."

  "What the hell are you saying, man?" Thomas zipped his fly and frowned at me.

  "That there are more things in heaven and Earth, man," I replied. "These would be not from Earth, though."

  "If that's what it is," Davis pointed out.

  "It would explain a lot," I countered.

  "We need to talk to our boss, then," Davis said. "We'll drop you off at the house in Petaluma, then check in with her."

  "I'm going to Petaluma?"

  "It's a safe house. You'll be fine."

  "Not worried about that," I said. "I wanted to be closer to San Rafael."

  "It's only twenty miles or so," Thomas said.
"Close enough."

  "Hmmph." The thought of being even twenty miles away from Lexsi disturbed me. I wanted to be closer than that. Just far enough away to draw Granger and his flunkies in my direction and keep them away from her.

  "It'll have to do; it's the closest one, unless you want to get a place in the city."

  "No, thanks," I said. "Petaluma will be fine."

  "We'll get a vehicle for you, too, just in case," Davis offered.

  "You mean you'll let me out? Voluntarily?"

  "I assume you can protect yourself," Davis' words conveyed sarcasm. "I also assume you're attempting to protect Ms. Silver and the others at the San Rafael house."

  "You assume correctly," I allowed a curl of smoke to escape my nostrils.

  "That's new," Thomas observed.

  "There's more where that came from, I assure you."

  "I don't suppose you know anything about why Granger's Nob Hill mansion burned down, do you?" Davis asked.

  "I have nothing to say on the subject," I replied. "Can we go to Petaluma, now? I have some thinking to do."

  * * *

  Lexsi

  I told Anita I'd get myself home after she sent mindspeech offering to pick me up. At least Hannah spent most of the afternoon in her office with the door shut after getting a frigid reception from everybody at the station.

  I'd sent her research on all the topics requested, and included some she hadn't requested. She planned to do a follow-up on the recent spate of bombings, but didn't have new information and wasn't really interested in uncovering any.

  I no longer cared; Kory's departure had left me in limbo; keeping my mind occupied with work had served to distract me for a while, but when it came time to go home, I was at a loss. I felt as if I'd been left adrift on the ocean in a small boat with no oars.

  That's why I skipped straight to my bedroom at home, curled up on the bed and hugged a pillow to me. I'd been abandoned, and it hurt.

  A lot.

  That's when it hit me. I'd never gone to check out the bars I'd researched in Oakland. That would certainly distract me. Scrambling off the bed, I grabbed my cell phone and scrolled through my notes to find addresses.

  After checking area maps on the laptop, I skipped to the first bar on the list.