The Sin Eater (A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation Book 5)

by Jennifer Harlow

  All the mischief drains from his face when he catches sight of something behind me. His mouth sets into a straight line, forming a slight scowl. My own eyes narrow at him as he sits up straight and folds his arms on the table. My spidey sense tingles. Trouble.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” a man asks behind me.

  I spin around and find two men, one Chinese and the other Latino, striding over to our table. If the fact they both aren’t male model gorgeous each with cheekbones that could cut glass isn’t a dead giveaway they’re vampires then the exposed fangs on the Chinese man would be. Connor’s expression remains neutral as the men step past me without so much as a glance so all I can see are their profiles and backs. I’d be offended by the snub, but I’m too nervous to care. I’ve developed a sixth sense in identifying when trouble’s in the air. It’s all but wafting like cartoon stink lines from these men.

  “Waiting for my companion to finish her steak,” Connor says. “Service here is abysmal.”

  “What…are you doing here?” the Chinese vamp asks again, each word harder than the last.

  “I believe I responded to your query already. The answer has not changed.”

  Crap. The Chinese man’s hand clenches into a fist. “You know you are not allowed in our territory, McInnis.”

  “It-it was my fault,” I chime in. Both men finally look at me, the anger not dissipating one iota. “I-I insisted we see Swan Lake and was hungry afterwords.”

  “Fairest, it is alright,” Connor says with a smile. “This need not concern you.” Connor rises from our table, still maintaining a smile directed at the vamps. “We should continue this conversation outside, no? No need to disturb the other patrons.”

  “Fine,” the Latino says with a thick Hispanic accent.

  “Connor?” I ask.

  He steps toward me and leans down to kiss me on the lips. “All is well, fairest. I shall return shortly.”

  He kisses me again, a long, lingering, probing kiss that stirs the lust again and for a millisecond I forget the surly jerks ruining my date until he breaks away. After a quick smile, Connor leads the men toward the door.

  Crap.

  Okay, what do I do? Connor obviously doesn’t want me involved. He probably knows best. I…yeah, that’s not going to happen. I turn around to keep an eye on the trio through the sole window. Our new friends grimace and glare at my calm date. Whatever Connor’s saying they’re having none of it. Connor continues speaking, now with a slight smile, hands gesturing as he tries to make his point, but the vamps both put their body weight on their left sides and lean in closer to him. Crap. Fighter’s stance. Connor doesn’t seem to notice or care, he simply continues talking and smiling as if they were having a conversation at a Farmer’s Market about jam or something. He is a lawyer. Maybe—

  The Latino cold cocks Connor, sending my date tumbling to the pavement. Oh, hell no. I snatch my purse off the floor and sprint toward the door without a second thought, my blood already racing as if Richard Petty were behind the wheel. By the time I set foot outside into the narrow alley, the Chinese vamp lifts a bleeding Connor by the collar. “You motherfu—”

  “Get your hands off him,” I order.

  The man doesn’t obey, he just stares at me, fangs exposed. “Get out of here, lady.”

  “I am fine, Beatrice. Please return inside,” Connor says before spitting blood on the side of his attacker’s face. The shocked vamp’s gaze whips back to Connor, and at the same time he punches my date in the stomach. Connor doubles over with a groan.

  “Stop!” I say, taking a step toward them.

  “Go back inside,” the Chinese vamp orders.

  “Not without him,” I say.

  “Lady, we’re not fucking around. Get insi—”

  Taking a page from his attacker’s book, Connor punches the distracted vamp in the gut. The man’s stunned for a moment, folding in on himself too, but his friend isn’t. The Latino vamp bashes Connor’s face again, dazing him for enough time so the Chinese vamp to regains his own senses. He punches Connor in the stomach again as the Latino vamp cocks his fist back for another round. That bastard doesn’t get the chance.

  I haven’t used my psychokinesis for anything but switching on the lights and the television in three months, but picking up the Latino vampire and flinging him a hundred meters down the alley proves as easy as the light trick. The other vamp momentarily stops his assault on Connor when his friend flies backwards for no apparent reason. Connor uses the confusion to get upright. By the time the Chinese vamp’s returning his attention back to Connor, my date’s own fist is on its way toward his assailant’s face. It connects and it’s the other man’s turn to splat on the pavement. I’m about to send him flying too, but suddenly there’s a vice tight grip around my arms and torso. Arms. Attached to…

  Training is a brilliant concept. My instructors at The Building and sparing with the other F.R.E.A.K.S. drilled me on this very scenario. My body reacts on its own. I whip my head backwards toward the man’s nose, and my high heeled foot stomps down on his foot. Both head and foot connect with their targets. The head butt hurts my own but not enough I can’t perform the third attack. The vamp releases his grip on me and the millisecond I can, I smash my elbow into his solar plexus as hard as I can. I spin around to find the Latino stumbling back, bleeding from his lip and clutching his stomach. I lift him off the ground and just hold him there mid-air. I can sense him struggling against my invisible grip, but I’ve trained myself against that too. He’s not going anywhere.

  My gaze pivots back toward Connor and the Chinese vamp. Connor’s pinned against the wall by the vamp’s forearm, crushing his larynx. Bad boy. I grab him with my mind too. He levitates up up and away from Connor.

  “Enough!” I roar. I glance back and forth at both men. “This is over!”

  “Fuck yo—”

  I squeeze the Latino’s chest tighter to stop his words. “This is over,” I say, drawing out every word. “I can hold you both all night and let you burn in the sun if I have to.” I peer at the snarling Chinese vamp. “Or I can release you, you let us go on our merry way, and we all forget this misunderstanding ever happened. I vote for option two, no?”

  The vamps glance at one another and both begrudgingly nod yes. Good enough. I drop both men. Hard. They both collapse in heaps, giving me a chance to hustle over to the smiling Connor. Not even a split lip and bruised cheek can stop his damn smirk. Without a beat, he grabs my hand and begins hustling me down the ally, hunched over and holding his stomach with his other arm. I keep glancing back at the vamps. They don’t follow. They just watch our retreat. Thank God.

  My blood, my brain, my breath, my emotions still race as we climb back into our waiting limo. “Please drive. Now. Drive,” Connor orders the driver the moment I shut the door. As the engine springs to life, Connor rolls up the partition. I need a second to regain some composure. My limbs, hell my every cell is tense. I fucking love it. I’d forgotten the thrill, the high that comes from intense situations. It’s horrible and brilliant at the same time. I—

  “Are you alright?” Connor asks, bringing me a step closer to reality.

  “What?” I stare at his battered face. Split lip and a little blood on his chin. Slightly swollen and bruised cheek. He’s already healing but still. “Am I okay?” I reach across and run my finger over his lip. “Are you?”

  He cups my face in his hand with a smile. “I am fine.” He gazes into my eyes, sending another shiver of pure lust to my already overtaxed cells. “I am…I…” His thumb traces my already plump, tender lips. My breath catches and that’s all we need.

  Fuck it.

  As if reading my mind, Connor grabs the back of my head and pulls my lips to his, devouring me. Matching my madness, my passion for him with each stroke of our lips. He tastes of blood but somehow that just heightens the experience. Our tongues fight for supremacy in my mouth as his fingers dig into my back and neck as hard as his lips assail mine. That’s
the only fight left in me. I don’t put up an iota of resistance as he lowers me onto the bench seat. As his hands slide up my skirt to literally rip off my tights and undergarments, exposing me to the cool air and further tantalizing my hot sex with this new extreme. As he quickly undoes his own pants. At this moment there is only one thing I want in this whole universe. When he thrusts inside me with the force of a hurricane, as his thick manhood parts me, stretches me, fills me with pure pleasure and a tinge of pain, I finally get something I want. First time for everything.

  With that fist assault, I close my eyes and cry out in pleasure and clutch onto him. He’s not as big as Will and is colder, but it’s still wonderful. It doesn’t matter who he is. All that matters is what he’s making me feel. Full. Sexy. Wild. Brilliant. I wrap my legs around this thrusting hips to draw him in deeper. I don’t want gentleness. No lovemaking. I want him to fuck me. Fuck the tension, the agony, the fear away. “Harder,” I pant. “Harder.” I dig my nails into his naked buttock to drive the point home. Connor complies, gliding inside me faster and harder if possible. “Fuck me. Just fuck me. Fuck me…” My own hips meet him stroke for stroke. Good. So good. The delicious tension, the pleasure inside rises a notch with each collision. “Fuck me. Fuck me.” Oh, God, I’m coming…I’m coming…

  When the climax hits not even a minute after we began, I hold onto him as I spasm around his still erect penis. He continues thrusting, even as I hear glass shatter near us. Both shatterings clear my head and as he thrusts again and again I realize what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with.

  Oh, fuck me.

  “Wh-what was that?” I ask, eyes still closed, shoving his shoulder to get his attention. “Connor?”

  I open my eyes, and his violet orbs search my face. I can’t look at him. I gaze over at the mess on the other side of the car. The bottle of champagne and glasses have all broke into shards all over the car and floor. Thank God. I begin to sit up, and Connor takes the hint. He climbs off me, out of me, back onto his own seat. Away from me. “Sorry. That was me.” I quickly pull back on my undergarments. “My power. When I…” Thank God, they’re back on. It’s over. “It happens. Sorry. I-I didn’t mean to ruin the…”

  “It is perfectly fine,” he says, reluctantly dressing himself as well. “Just fine.”

  Yeah. Fine. Fucked up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional. That’s what this is. What I am.

  Just fine. I think. I hope.

  Chapter Five

  Pandora’s Box

  A person can justify any of their actions. Hitler and Stalin exterminated millions to make their countries stronger. Serial killers murder and rape because they’ve had such crappy lives it’s only fair others make them feel better. I slept with a vampire because he’s magnetic, charming, and because we’d just lived through a violent, intense situation. If I had a dollar for every time I’d had the urge to jump Will or Oliver’s bones after a fight, I’d be Elon Musk wealthy. What’s the most life affirming act after facing death? Sex. I shouldn’t feel guilty or ashamed. It’s not as if I didn’t want to. Or still want to if I’m being honest. I wanted to even before the fight. We’re both single adults. The sex was good. Then why the hell do I feel guilty? Maybe guilt is just my default emotion now. All other circuits are broken.

  The ride home was an awkward nightmare. We barely exchanged five words. In the helicopter I pretended to sleep, which thanks to the adrenaline withdrawal soon became a reality. When we landed, he woke me, escorted me to the awaiting car, and faded into the night as I drove away. That was two nights ago without a word since. Not a bouquet of flowers, not a phone call or email. A huge part of me is relieved. He finally got what he wanted from me and is moving onto his next conquest. I’ve had a one night stand like a normal twenty-something. Better, there’s no worry about pregnancy or STDs. Lucky me.

  But another part can’t help but be a little pissed. All that work, all that money he spent wooing me, we sleep together once, and that’s it? Was it so bad he’s decided I’m not worth the trouble anymore? I should have offered to finish him with my mouth or hand at the very least. He got me off, and I should have returned the favor. I was just so shocked at myself, at the situation, that I’d just had an almost stranger literally inside me, sexual decorum didn’t enter my mind. This crap just hurts my head, so I’ve gone back to old habits spending a whole day at the movies and another playing video games. April doesn’t call either, and Nana gives me wide berth. I seem to repel everyone now. Except George. No, he’s left two more messages I’ve ignored.

  I almost found the strength to call him yesterday. Had the phone in my hand even. I just couldn’t punch in the numbers. Two words, that’s all I need to utter. “I quit.” End of chapter. I can return to teaching. If I can’t find a job in San Diego, I’ll apply all over the country. Some school in America must need a teacher. Let the fates decide where I should rebuild. Make new friends. Maybe try to find a man with a pulse or who doesn’t turn into a wolf. Forget the past year as best as possible. Then what the hell is stopping me?

  I pause my game to stare at my cell phone. Go. Do it. What am I waiting for? Do it. Just—

  My phone begins vibrating, damn near making me shriek in surprise. Jesus. I chuckle to myself. Two nights ago I took on a vampire duo in high heels and tonight the phone makes me jump. I don’t really want to talk to anyone but check the display anyway.

  Big fucking mistake. One more to add to the ten million.

  My stomach physically clenches. Oh God. Oh, my God. Nope. No. I literally flee the bedroom as if he can physically yank me through the phone to him. I retreat into the bathroom, sitting on the toilet, even shutting the door for extra protection against that phone. Why is he calling me? Why now? It’s been months. He—Connor. Oh God, he knows about Connor. How? Did April blab? Does he know I…no he can’t know about that. What does he want? What do I do?

  It takes me a two full minutes to pull myself together enough to leave my hiding spot and walk the ten feet back to my room. He left a voice mail. I don’t want to know. I do but I don’t. I don’t want to hear his voice again, but I have been craving that sound since I left Kansas. My phone’s become Pandora’s Box. I don’t think a damn good thing can come from listening to his message, but I punch in my code anyway. Here come the horrors.

  “Hello. Beatrice,” Oliver says haltingly as if nervous.

  I was right. Two words and the first horror’s been released. He called me Beatrice. He only does that when he’s angry or we’re in mortal peril. The name sounds wrong coming from him. Unnatural. Obscene. As if I’m a stranger to him now. So much a stranger there are several seconds of uncomfortable silence. We’ve never experienced that much either. Will and I made it into an art form but never Oliver and me. Another stab to the heart.

  “I, uh, um, merely…my friend Antonia contacted me tonight. She…she had questions as to why you aided in the assault of one of her closest advisers and his husband the other evening with Connor McInnis.”

  Crap. Crap, crap, crap…

  “I…had no answer for her, but I believe I did manage to convince her if you did resort to violence, it was because you were provoked. That you harbor no animosity toward her, and have only a…casual acquaintance with the Lord of San Diego. I think she believed me.” He pauses again. “This is serious, Trixie. These are two of the most ruthless, powerful vampires on the planet and they loathe one another to almost unreasonable levels. Do not insert yourself in any way, shape, or form with either of them, and especially not between them. Please.” There’s another voice over the phone, I think Chandler’s. “I, uh, I must go now. We are on a case. I, Trixie, please…please take care of yourself. Please.”

  The call ends.

  Yep. Freaking Pandora’s Box.

  Okay, this is bad. Last time I inadvertently got involved in vamp politics I was a hair’s breadth from a massacre and becoming Connor’s concubine. Freaking Connor. This is all his fault. Again. Now I have a total stranger gunning for me
just because I defended my date and myself. This is my punishment for attempting casual sex. Most women have a one night stand and the only consequences are the walk of shame. Not me. Never me. Now I have to call him and find out if I need to stock up on silver bullets and stakes.

  He picks up on the forth ring. “Connor McInnis,” he says, all business.

  “Uh, hi, it’s, uh…Bea Alexander.”

  “Hello,” he says, voice neutral. Not happy to hear from me nor nervous.

  “Hi,” I say before drawing a blank. I don’t know what to say next.

  “I have been meaning to phone you. Thank you for saving me a call. I apologize. It has been a madhouse here the past few nights.”

  I can’t tell if he’s lying or not. Guess it only matters to my ego. “I can imagine.”

  “You truly cannot, fairest,” he chuckles. “Are you…well?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me. Apparently Lady Antonia called Oliver after what happened in the restaurant. He sounded concerned for me.”

  Connor’s silent for a few seconds. “Shite. I was hoping to keep you out of this.” He’s quiet again. “Uh…can you come to the club? Now? Tonight?”

  “I don’t have a car. Nana’s at dinner with her friend.”

  “You do not have a car? Then I shall send my driver post haste.”

  “How worried should I be, Connor?”

  “The truth? I have no idea, and that worries me. I shall see you soon. Good-bye.”

  He hangs up. Crap. Crap, shit, fuck, crap, fuck. How is this happening again? How am I in danger just because I went to dinner with a guy? Maybe April’s right. Maybe it’s me. I attract this bullshit and am not strong enough to ignore or push it away. It’s so freaking unfair. I just wanted to go on a date!