She ran after him, leaning over the stair rail. “Dante!” she yelled down softly.
“What?” He looked up to see her leaning over the railing, her dark hair a halo around her face, highlighting her mischievous grin, and felt relief and something else he didn’t dare put a name to.
“I’m no princess.”
Dante grinned up at her. “Ribbit.”
She laughed, running back into her apartment and slamming the door behind her.
Chapter Ten
Beth woke up the next morning wondering if last night had been a mistake of epic proportions. Kissing Dante had turned out to be more than she’d bargained for. She couldn’t believe how much she’d wanted to drag him into her bedroom and ride him like a rodeo pony.
“Yee-haw.”
She snorted out a laugh as she stood and padded into her bathroom. Jeez. She was getting all soft, letting the guy get to her. She had a case to work on and a bad guy to catch. She could worry about her relationship with Dante once the bad guy was behind bars.
When she turned on the light she found herself staring in total disbelief at the huge love bite on her neck.
Or, she could just kill him as soon as she saw him.
That worked for her.
There was no hiding the thing with makeup. She tried every trick in the book to make it not show, and nothing worked. She finally pulled on one of her turtlenecks. It was the only way to hide the damn thing.
Just as she finished dressing a knock came on the door. Beth cursed and opened it.
Dante stood there, a bag of donuts in one hand and two cups of coffee in a holder in the other. “Good morning.” His gaze drifted over her, lingering on the spot where he’d bitten her the night before.
If the man looked any smugger she was going to knock his ass out and...
No. She’d steal the coffee first. No sense wasting it on the hard concrete floors outside her apartment. Then she’d knock his ass out. “One of those had better be for me, or you can get the hell out of here.”
Without a word, he set the donuts down on the battered coffee table and handed her a cup of liquid bliss.
She flopped boneless into one of her old, tattered chairs and stretched her legs out. “Mmm.”
He seated himself on the sofa across from her and opened the bag. “Jelly or plain?”
“Plain.” She lifted the lid off her coffee and dipped the plain donut into it, watching as he shrugged out of his jacket. He’d chosen dark blue again, this time a pull-over sweater, matched with dark gray pants. He looked good, and she had a hard time taking her eyes off of him.
“Before we begin today, there’s something I need to know.” He leaned back in his chair, trying far too hard to look relaxed, but his tense shoulders gave him away.
“What?”
“Is there anything in this world I can say that would get you off this case and safely at Gabriel’s?” His gaze was solemn.
She checked her initial response. She dearly wanted to drink the coffee, no matter how much he deserved to wear it. Shem or no Shem, she had a job to do. “Nope.”
He sighed roughly. “I thought not, but decided to check anyway.” He took a bite of his donut. “Okay. I want you to promise me something.”
She looked at him suspiciously. He was taking her answer far too easily. “And that would be?”
There wasn’t a hint of softness in his gaze. “You and I stick together.”
“I thought that was the plan.”
“Elizabeth.”
She shrugged and sipped her coffee, waiting to see what he’d say or do next. She just bet he was going to try to get her to have security, or have off-duty cops hanging around her apartment all the time. Hell, he might even get his Neph brothers to help out.
She was debating whether or not to fight him on that. She could take care of herself, but the thought of Dante being worried enough that he had to try one last time to remove her from the case sent more warmth through her than coffee ever could.
“I don’t like the fact that someone tried to run you down yesterday. I’m wondering if you know something or saw something that might have triggered a response from the killer.”
“That had occurred to me.” Beth took another sip of coffee. “The only thing we did, really, was talk to that accountant and Romanov. And I don’t see Romanov as the type to run anyone down.”
Dante made a rude noise. “If he thought she’d gotten too close to something he didn’t want her to see, he’d run over his own mother.”
“Dante—”
He held up his hand. “I know the man. You don’t. And I don’t trust him further than I can throw him.”
“Yet several of my friends, and at least one of yours, does. Shouldn’t you give him the benefit of the doubt?”
“If you knew him the way I do you wouldn’t ask that.”
Elizabeth decided to play one of her hunches. “He’s one of you, isn’t he?”
He nodded. “He’s the only kind of Neph that feeds off others.”
She sipped her coffee and waited. From his expression, Dante was just dying to tell her how mad, bad and dangerous Piotr Romanov was.
She was right. “Piotr’s a Cambion. He feeds off the sexual energy of his partners or those he’s near who happen to be...” His face was bright red.
Her brows rose. “Fucking?” He scowled. “So he’s some kind of energy vampire.”
“It’s more than that. If he kills as he feeds, even accidentally, he becomes Shem, an Incubus. He’ll kill every time he feeds, becoming more and more powerful the more people he drains. There is always a chance a Cambion will turn against us.”
“So if he wasn’t a Cambion, you’d trust him?”
“No. I think he’s related to the leader of the Shem. They have the same eyes and the same last name.” Dante scowled. “Add in that he’s a Cambion and you’ve got a recipe for Shem stew.”
That explained at least some of the attitude. He couldn’t trust Piotr to keep his instincts in check. “Does this happen to every Cambion?” If so, Beth needed to get Andi away from him, preferably sooner rather than later.
He sighed roughly. “Not...exactly.”
“Dante.” He was hiding something.
“A Cambion who finds his One, the soul born just to feed him, doesn’t turn.”
She blinked. “Are you kidding me? Like a romance heroine, fated mate kind of crap?”
He rolled his eyes as she started to laugh. “Elizabeth. This is serious.”
“Oh, Sam is gonna love this.”
“No.” Dante’s growl killed her laughter. “You can’t tell anyone about us. Not Sam, not Andi, no one. Not only could you endanger us, but you’d make them a target for the Shem who want to hide just as much as we do. And the Shem won’t think twice about taking their lives in order to protect themselves.”
“So Abby and I are the only ones who know the Neph exist.” It made sense, even if she didn’t like it. Abby didn’t have any more information than she did about outsiders being aware of the existence of the Shem and the Neph, and Beth hadn’t been entirely comfortable bringing it up with Seth around. Seth would just smile at her and tell her that it was someone else’s job to give her the information she wanted.
The man drove Beth crazy, but he worshipped the ground Abby walked on. For that, he got a lot of brownie points.
Dante’s relief was obvious. “Yes. There will be others, wives, lovers, who know, but the circle of humans that know will be small. It has to be that way, for our safety and theirs.”
She latched on to the one thing he’d said that she wasn’t. “I’m none of those things.”
“Yet.”
He held her gaze until her cheeks flushed. He was right. They would be lovers, but not no
w, not today.
Today they had a case to crack. “We need to get back to work.” Pulling out her notebook, she ignored his knowing smile.
Dante flipped his own notebook open. “I double-checked Cranston. He doesn’t have a driver’s license. He takes the bus everywhere.”
She sighed. “We know it wasn’t Kensington or Blessing, because both of them were together. We saw them get into a completely different car and drive away.”
“And the driver of the dark truck was alone.” He sipped his coffee thoughtfully.
“So, who does that leave?” Beth stared at him over the rim of her cup.
“Oates. Grahame. Messinger.” He ticked down a mental list. She didn’t like the look on his face. “Blake.”
She blinked. “Jonathan Blake? Why would he try to kill me?”
“Maybe because you were the first to uncover rumors that Jennifer had been sleeping around on him. That kind of thing can drive a man insane, maybe even make him want to cover it up. It would ruin the image of the perfect family he thought he had and tarnish his wife’s memory. Have you reported anything to him yet?”
She shook her head slowly. “Not yet. I wasn’t sure how much to present to him at first. Just the fact that she was more than likely having an affair is going to devastate him.”
“Yeah, I know how he feels,” he replied tightly.
“What?”
He grimaced. “My ex-wife cheated on me.” The grimace turned into a wry grin. “With a private detective.”
“Sorry.” She patted his knee. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Oh, my God. She wished she had a camera. That wary look on his face, like he was in bloody water surrounded by hungry sharks, was priceless. “Why?”
She almost laughed. She hadn’t seen such reluctance since the first time she asked Sammie to go to the gym. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s just, whenever I have a failed relationship I like to talk about it.”
Dante rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah. Let’s break out the double chocolate ice cream. You get the facial cream, I’ll get the hot cocoa. We can boot up The Odd Couple and totally bond over what pricks women are.” He looked almost constipated, his features scrunching up in pain. “Are we done now? I think we’re done. Please say we’re done?”
She laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair. “Why don’t you want to talk about it?” She shot him a mock-glare that had him shuddering in horror. “Is there something you’re hiding?”
“Nope.” He grinned weakly, looking hunted. “I like football. Do you like football? My favorite team is the Ravens.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Dante, I just want to know about your feelings.”
“No, not the feelings!” he shrieked, sounding remarkably like a little girl for such a big guy. “The feelings! It burns us, my precious!”
By the time she was done laughing she had to wipe tears from her eyes. “Okay, all jokes aside, I really am sorry things didn’t work out for you.”
He shrugged. “Don’t be, because I’m not. Once I got over the hurt and wounded pride, I realized that Lillian and I were never supposed to be together. She wanted things I couldn’t give her, and vice versa. I’m just glad I never told her the truth about me.” He smiled slowly, his expression turning almost sly.
Uh-oh. That look did not bode well for Beth. “What?”
“When you make a commitment, you stick to it, don’t you?”
“Come hell or high water.” No way he’s getting me off this case. A strange smile flitted across his face, making her very uneasy. “You’re up to something.”
“Me?”
Pfft. Like she was buying that innocent look. She just shook her head and finished her coffee and donut, standing up to throw away the mess before grabbing her jacket. “I’m not leaving the case, Dante. Give it up.”
He stood as soon as she did and followed her out the door. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Stubborn man. “Damn it, Dante. Give it a rest.”
He caressed her arm with a gentle touch and she froze. She looked at him, and what she saw in his face had her trembling in response. When he eased aside the neck of her sweater and saw the bite on her neck she shivered, and not from the cold. He caressed the mark gently. The feel of his skin against hers was intoxicating, even in so light a caress. “You will stay safe, you hear me?”
She nodded, her jaw tight with the conflicting emotions racing through her. On the one hand, his protectiveness made her want to melt. On the other, he’d just staked his claim to her, something she’d never thought of allowing any man to do.
But with Dante, it felt natural. Right. She leaned in to the touch, ignoring the small purr that left his lips.
If the possessive way he curled his arm around her waist was anything to go by, it was far too late to protest. And in all honesty, she didn’t want to.
“Let’s go, tesoro.” He headed down the stairs, half dragging her along with him. Halfway to the parking lot, her cell phone rang, the number as familiar as her own. “Yo.”
“I got a lead on some of the cash. Can we talk?” Sam sounded almost as excited as she had been the day before.
Beth stopped walking, forcing Dante to pull up short. “Now may not be a good time.”
“Now may be the best time. I’ve put a tracer on the cash, and you’re not going to believe where it is. You’ve got to come over.”
Beth pulled the cell phone away from her ear and sighed. Sam had hung up without another word, and now she was stuck with trying to figure out how to ditch Dante without making him wary.
She decided to try the direct approach. “Dante?”
He turned to face her, his key in the lock of the driver’s side door of the Eclipse he must have rented that morning. The ugly beige sedan was hopefully history. The thing screamed “cop.” Who drove their cop car off-duty? “Yes?”
“You know that informant who gave me the information about Romanov’s funds?” He nodded warily. She must not have guarded her expression as well as she’d hoped. “The informant needs to speak with me.”
“Oh.” He grinned. “Get in. I’ll drive.”
She stood outside the car, not touching the handle. “The informant won’t talk to police. I’m sorry. I have to go alone.”
“No, you don’t. Either I drive and wait in the car or you don’t go. Period.”
“You’re driving me crazy.”
“You think I’m being overprotective? You almost got killed last night. I’m not letting you out of my sight even if I have to break out the handcuffs.” He released her abruptly, opening the door of the Eclipse. “Get. In.”
She stared up at him, aware she wasn’t getting out of this easily. He just stood there, immovable as a mountain, and about as thick. “Dante, if she sees you with me she won’t talk.”
He actually laughed. “Sam can talk to you while I wait in the car.”
She blinked. “What makes you think we’re going to see Sam?”
“Apparently I have Stupid tattooed on my forehead this morning.” He took her purse and put it on the passenger-side seat. “Look, I don’t know if I want to know how she got that data, so I’ll wait in the car like a good little boy and play Angry Birds or something. Just promise to share what you find out.”
“I would think a cop would have a problem with getting information from an outside source like this.”
“A cop would, yes. But Mrs. Blake was killed by a Shem, which means I’m acting in my capacity as a warrior of the Nephilim. In hunting one of them, I’ll take all the help I can get.”
“Good.” Beth crossed her arms over her chest. “Because you’ve got mine, whether you like it or not.”
“I don’t, but I’ll take it. For now.”
“You are a royal pain in my ass, do
you know that?” But that didn’t stop her from sliding into the seat, strangely relieved. If anything got past Dante to her, it would be because he was unconscious or dead.
“Not yet, but I’m always hopeful.” He shut the door on her protest, laughing when he saw her glaring at him.
They drove in silence, pulling up outside of Sam’s ranch-style house with not another word spoken. Beth got out of the car and started up the cement walkway to the house. Glancing back, she saw Dante’s head lowered over his cell phone, the cutest little frown of frustration on his face. He looked all settled in for the duration of her visit. She smiled and shook her head at the picture he made.
He looked like a cop on a stake-out. Sam was going to be tickled pink.
But Sam barely glanced out the door before dragging her inside. “You’re not going to believe what I’ve found.” Sam was practically bouncing as she led Beth into her office.
Sam had every commercially produced computer-related gadget known to man. Her wireless network would put NASA’s to shame. Her smartphone was linked to the network and could access any file Sam needed from wherever she was in the house. She had speakers hooked up for music, and a digital drawing pad for doodling and anything else she felt like using it for. She had two top of the line laptops, one travel sized, one with a graphics card that would make a professional animator drool with envy.
If it was computer related, Sam owned it.
The room showed the quirky personality of its owner off to a tee. The dark wine-colored walls were covered in reproduction posters of nineteen-forties ads. The floor lamp and chair in the corner were so dark and gothic she expected to see Piotr Romanov sitting there, reading and sipping brandy. The desk where Sam did most of her work was huge, taking up most of the room, yet she’d managed to tidily bundle all of the hardware’s wires into wire holders designed to hide them from view. The room was neat as a pin, all Sam’s files in two dark-stained filing cabinets. If Sam needed something, she could lay her hand on it within moments.
Sam sat at her desk and typed a few commands. A file came up immediately, and Beth leaned over Sam’s shoulder to read it.
The Fire Within Page 13
