by Nova Archer
Yet, Caine’s blood didn’t boil at the sight of her. In fact, his pulse had not jumped at all. It was not the reaction he was expecting when faced with this vampiress. A woman he had dreamed of one day meeting.
He suspected the young human woman sidling up to him at the studio window was the reason for his odd non-reaction. She had her hands over her ears, and tears streaming down her face.
Lucas, the security guard, waved at Nadja through the glass.
Eyes glinting like wet emeralds, she put her hand to her neck and made a cutting motion. Instantly the orchestra accompaniment switched off. The echo of her clear, poignant voice reverberated around them, nearly making Caine cringe. The high note was like an ice pick in his brain.
Strange. He never heard that kind of sound before in her music. Was that what Eve felt listening to the songs, a sort of sweetly piercing pain? Had he been deaf to it all this time?
Nadja moved through the room, opened the door and swept into the studio. Caine couldn’t describe it in any other way. It seemed that her feet didn’t even touch the ground. Was she floating? A vampire had to possess a lot of power to perform that kind of feat. Even Mistress Ankara didn’t hold that kind of power, and she was close to one thousand years old.
Smiling, she extended her hand to Caine. “Caine Valorian, how lovely to finally meet you.”
He took her long elegant hand in his, surprise lifting his brow. “I wasn’t aware that we knew each other, Ms. Devanshi.”
“Reputation only, I’m afraid.”
He withdrew his hand and had the urge to rub it against his leg. Tingles of something not quite pleasant radiated over his skin. She was throwing off a lot of energy, and he wanted to know why.
“I didn’t realize I had a reputation.”
She laughed, the sound almost brittle, like icicles falling. “Oh, don’t be modest, Caine. All powerful vampires have reputations to uphold. You’re no different.” Her gaze swept over the other people in the room, then landed on Eve and stayed there. Smiling, she titled her head as if in study of something fascinating. “And you bring a human. How interesting. Is she a gift?”
Caine could sense Eve mentally backing away. She didn’t physically move, but she was shrinking inward from Nadja. He wondered how much power she could feel coming from the chanteuse, and how much longer she could handle it.
“We’re investigating the death of Jamie Duncan,” he said.
Her severely plucked brow lifted. “Jamie’s dead? I wondered why he never showed up for work today.”
“He worked for you?”
“Well, yes, I do own the studio.”
“Do the members of Crimson Strain record here?”
“They do. Are my boys in trouble?”
Eve sniffed. “Your boys? Are you their mother?”
Caine could feel the temperature in the room drastically lower the minute Eve’s words were out of her mouth. He should’ve warned her about a vampire’s temper. If he had known they would be talking to Nadja Devanshi about the murders, he would’ve left Eve at the lab. He didn’t know for sure, but he gauged her age at close to two thousand years old. This lithe creature held more power in her pinky than most of the vampires in Necropolis banded together.
“You could say that.” Nadja smiled. “I discovered them and helped them make their first CD. They’re lovely boys.”
Taking a step forward, Eve snarled, “One of your lovely boys-,”
Caine set his hand on Eve’s shoulder and stopped her from advancing. “The boys are in jail pending charges. They had a little road trip into San Antonio. Xavier is up on assault and we also believe that he may be linked to another murder.”
Nadja dismissed his words and continued to glare at Eve. “Your human is a tad unruly, Caine. You should keep her on a tighter leash.”
“Tighter leash?” Eve clenched her hands into fists.
Caine grabbed her arm and kept her from speaking. “I apologize, Nadja. She is not used to the rules and regulations in our city. I’ll explain them to her.”
Smiling, Nadja waved her hand in dismissal. “You do that, Caine.”
“My colleague, Detective Calder, can continue with some more questions, if that’s all right?”
“Certainly. I have nothing to hide.”
Still holding Eve by the arm, Caine marched out of the recording studio, through the antechamber and out the door into the night air.
Spinning her around, he set Eve up against the wall and leaned into her, his eyes glowing. “What are you doing?”
“She insulted me.”
“I warned you about vampire politics. I told you not to open your mouth no matter what. You could’ve jeopardized the case with your antics.”
“My antics?” Eve growled. “That woman is-,”
“That woman is nearly two thousand years old and has more power than the entire U.S. Army. With a single thought, she could’ve had you on your knees begging her for whatever she wanted you to.”
Sighing, Eve lowered her chin. “I’m sorry.”
Caine swiveled around and looked up at the night sky. “No I’m sorry. I was kidding myself thinking that you could handle this.” He turned on his heel and looked down at her. “This is my fault, okay? I’m going to have Ren take you back to the lab, or to your hotel, or whichever.”
She pushed off the wall, and met his gaze. “You can’t do that. The baron said I was to be active in this case.”
“I don’t care what he said. You’re in danger on this case. I won’t jeopardize you any longer.” He hated having to do this to her. He knew how much she wanted to be active in this case. It tore him inside to see the dejected and hurt look on her face. However, she didn’t understand how incredibly close she came to being injured, severely injured.
Caine could feel the anger building inside Nadja. It was like acid against his skin. And if he could feel such pain from her thoughts, he could only imagine the agony Eve would’ve endured if Nadja had released that energy onto her. She wouldn’t have survived the assault.
Eve had no clue what he had saved her from. To know would only drive her insane with fear. He’d keep it to himself and hope she got angry enough with him that she stayed away. Far, far away from this part of the case.
“You can’t push me out when we’re so close to the truth, Caine. I think I earned the right to be here. It’s not fair.”
“I don’t care about fair right now. All I care about is solving this case. And it can’t be done when I’m constantly worrying about you.” He didn’t mean for it to come out like it did. He didn’t want it to sound like she was being punished. But in the end, she was being punished because of his inadequacies of being able to keep her safe.
The sparkle in her eyes faded. Replacing it was a pain he never wanted to see there. Pain he never wanted to put there. But he had.
It was foolish to think that she could handle being in the frontlines on this case. He supposed he had allowed it to happen because of his own selfish need to be with her, to be around her. His unchecked hunger to consume her, his predatory instincts to protect her, had almost put this case in jeopardy. Something he had never done before.
Maybe it was for the best. If she were furious with him, then she would be more careful. She would reinforce her guard and maintain a distance. He could keep her safe the farther away from the case she got.
Gathering his anger and fear, he pushed away from her, and dropped his hands to his sides. When what he really wanted to do was gather her in his arms and soothe the hurt, the pain that he had just inflicted on her. But he couldn’t. This was something they both had to endure so Eve would stay safe.
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze. “You know you come across as someone that’s all about justice, and righting the wrongs of society. But all you care about is how your case is run, how your case is handled, how it will look for your team when it’s solved.” She took a bold step forward, her eyes sparking with fury. “You don’t care about Lillian Crawford.
You don’t care about the pain and suffering she must have felt when she bled out in that dirty hotel room, alone and unable to defend herself from monsters she thought only existed in nightmares.” Hair fell over her forehead, and she swiped at it furiously. “Everything I’ve read about your race is true. You’re all cold-hearted, selfish, and egotistical. The only reason you’re a crime scene investigator is because you like the power of it.” She shook her head, and turned so her back was all he saw. “I was so wrong about you.”
His heart shattered as her words sunk in. Emotional pain he hadn’t felt in years ripped through him like a jagged knife, shredding his soul into ribbons. Swallowing, he let out a breath and clenched his hands into tight fists.
He wanted nothing more than to convince her she was wrong about him. Wrong about his motives, wrong about his feelings. However, he knew to do so, would be futile. She wouldn’t believe him. He had proved everything she had said with his actions.
He could do nothing but accept her words and bite back his urge to prove her otherwise. To prove he was a good man despite his vampire traits. It was better this way. Although his heart told him otherwise, his mind knew it to be true.
Taking the SUV keys from his pocket, Caine pressed the unlocking mechanism. The vehicle beeped and the doors unlocked. He walked to the back door, and opened it for her.
“I’ll get Ren and he can take your wherever you want to go.”
Without a word, Eve brushed past him and jumped into the vehicle. He shut the door and pressed the locking button. Through the tinted window, he could see her head hanging, and her ragged intake of breath. She looked like she was on the verge of crying. And there was nothing he could do about it.
Feeling impotent and unworthy, he turned on his heel, went back into the studio to get Ren and to try to continue with the case. If nothing else, he could get them one-step closer to solving it, and be that one-step closer to getting Eve out of the city and safe in her own world.
In time, she would forget about him. Move on with her life, solve other cases, and experience other lovers.
Although deep down inside, he hoped she would suffer in emotional purgatory as long as he knew he would.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The odor of her ire combined with her terror was like ambrosia to his senses. A heady mixture that nearly had his eyes rolling back in his head.
From his perch in the shadows of the alley across the street, he had been witness to Caine’s and the woman’s argument. Eve that was her name. An appropriate one, he thought considering what he had devised for her.
He thought it fate that she was brought to Necropolis. Instead of having to hunt in the human city for the perfect human woman, the perfect one had already volunteered to come, all on her own. What a brave specimen.
And the time was coming for his plan to be executed. A little sooner than he had wanted, but circumstances seemed to be changing.
Caine and his team were proving to be more astute than he had previously deduced. He hated underestimating people, but it was possible he had with this vampire. He seemed to be working against his own nature to solve this case. This was both disconcerting but interesting.
He wasn’t worried though. No one, not even the notorious Caine Valorian, could stop him. He’d been planning and devising this for far too long, to be stopped now. Nothing but his own death could halt the future. Even then, he knew another would pick up his cause and continue.
This event was bigger than all of the players put together. Bigger than anything, anyone had ever witnessed. And he was going to be right at the center of it.
As was she.
Watching as Caine slammed the door and wandered back into the recording studio, his hands itched to have her, to touch her. It was not time yet, but he wanted her now. Licking his lips, the thought of what he could do with her before the right time, made his blood roar and his cock twitch. Thinking about the delicious torments he could perform on her, had his hands shaking and his heart pumping.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to possess her now.
Before he could step out into the street, the door to the studio opened, and the lycan cop walked out. Rage surged over him, as he watched Detective Calder open the SUV door, collect Eve, put her in his car, start the vehicle and drive away.
Leaning against the wall, his breath coming in hard, raspy pants, he closed his eyes and focused on the future. He would have his way soon. A few more days and he would be able to fulfill all his dark fantasies about the woman.
And while he was cutting off piece by piece of her exquisite form, his fate would be fulfilled and he would become the most powerful being ever to walk the earth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Anger fueled her movements as Eve flipped through the evidence logs, tossing crime scene photos and reports onto the rectangular tabletop in the analysis room. The employee list from Shadowwood Studios, courtesy of Detective Calder before he left the studio, was what she’d been staring at for the past half hour.
Ever since she directed Ren to drive her back to the lab, she’d been holed up in the room going over all the evidence they had. If Caine was going to keep her out of the field, she would solve the damn case right here in the lab. He couldn’t stop her from thinking.
She was holding onto her anger, allowing it to dictate her actions, because the alternative was too damn painful. Caine had hurt her with his words. He had cut to her core and flayed her to the bone. After the closeness she was starting to feel from him, his betrayal hurt even more. She had misjudged him, misjudged the feelings she thought he had for her, and that had cost her more than she wanted to admit.
Therefore, instead of wallowing in her pain, she wrapped her anger around her like a shield. She was guarded now, steel-fortified, and no one, especially Caine Valorian, and was going to get behind her defenses again.
Flipping to another crime scene photo, Eve wondered if Caine was still at Shadowwood Studios talking with his special friend Nadja. She hated to admit it, but jealousy also fueled her anger and hurt. She’d seen the way Caine looked at the singer.
Certainly, she was gorgeous and elegant, and had a voice like an angel, but Eve had redeeming qualities too. She wasn’t as spit and polished as Nadja, but she was pretty when she wanted. Hadn’t Caine looked at her with desire during that evening in her hotel room?
Maybe she should’ve made a move on him. Let him know that she was interested. Because she had a sneaky suspicion, she wasn’t going to get another chance to be with him again. And however career crushing it would be, she yearned for it like a love-sick puppy.
Lyra popped her head in the door, startling Eve from her reverie. “Where’s Caine?”
“Talking with his girlfriend,” Eve grumbled under her breath.
“Did you just say he was talking to his girlfriend?” Lyra asked as she stepped into the room, a lopsided grin on her petite face.
Eve smirked. “No.”
“Okay, do you know where he really is?”
“I’m right here.” They both jumped when Caine seemed to materialize in the doorway. “What’s up?”
“I got a name from my contact down in the Sticks. Someone that’s been asking a lot of questions about demonology and summoning. A vampire.”
Eve leaned forward in her chair and at the exact moment that Caine spoke she asked, “What’s the name?”
Caine glanced down at her, and she thought she saw a twitch at his lips. Her treacherous heart jumped at the possibility of it turning into a smile.
“Melvin Howard. Around six feet tall, short cropped blond hair, blue eyes.”
“Are you sure?” Caine asked.
Something in Eve’s mind flashed back. She knew that name from somewhere. Glancing down at the table, she spied the employee list for Shadowwood.
“Mel Howard is a paramedic out of Silent Hill,” Caine said. “I know the guy.”
“He’s also an employee of Shadowwood.” Eve handed Caine the paper.
<
br /> As Caine read over the list, Eve’s adrenaline shot through her body. This was it, she could feel it. They had their killer.
“Could this be our guy?” Lyra asked. “Maybe it’s a coincidence.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences. That would explain one of the reasons he was at The Red Express.”
Eve perked up. “Oh my God, he was there that night we—,” She could feel her cheeks blush even as the first word was out of her mouth. Coughing into her hand, she tried to disguise it as something other than embarrassment. “—picked up Xavier.”
“Yes he was and conveniently missed treating Xavier in the back of Mahina’s car.”
“It would explain the Heparin in Lillian’s system,” Eve offered the thrill of the catch thrumming through her body. She was on the edge of her seat.
“It sure would.” He lifted his gaze and met hers. A zing of energy bolted through the space between them. He was as pumped as she was about finally catching a break and solving the case. It wasn’t airtight yet, but Eve had a feeling it was damn close.
She wondered if Caine experienced this kind of connection with all his crime scene team members. Deep in her heart, she hoped not. She hoped that this, whatever it was, was just between the two of them. It would be something she could take home with her when she left. Something she could remember about him and their almost relationship.
“I’ll call Mahina. Tell her we’re picking him up.” Caine flipped open his phone and dialed.
“I’m going to find Jace and tell him to meet us in the garage. I don’t think anyone wants to miss it when we catch this guy.”
Lyra flashed Eve a grin, then marched out of the analysis room, leaving her and Caine alone. After finishing his call to Mahina, he slid the phone into his pants pocket, and turned to look down at her.
Suddenly nervous, Eve shuffled the crime scene photos and reports into a nice neat pile on the table. In the midst of possibly finding their killer, she’d forgotten that she was furious with Caine. Now other emotions, stronger, more intense feelings were surfacing and she didn’t know what to do with them.
