by Elle James
Sirens wailed, echoing in the night, growing closer.
“What do you mean?” I hesitated, then brushed the hair for her face. “What others?”
“Women. Help them.” Her eyes closed and she passed out.
I stood and walked over to where Blaise held the demon pinned to the wall. “What women?” I demanded.
The creep laughed.
My fists clenched. “If you’re holding women captive, we’ll find them.”
He laughed again.
A surge of anger roared through me. I counted ten in my head, only it made me even angrier that this demon had information I needed and he refused to give it to me. The anger intensified, building. A gust of heated air lifted the stray tendrils of hair from my neck and wafted across my face.
“Tell me where you keep the women.” My voice boomed, echoing off the brick walls.
The demon’s eyes narrowed.
I touched a hand to my chest where the amulet nestled inside my bra. For a second, I could see a large room divided by curtains. Inside each room a woman lay on a pallet on the floor. The image appeared so vivid I could feel the pain, sadness and hopelessness of each woman’s thoughts. “You’ve got those women drugged.” I grabbed the front of his shirt and planted my nose to his. Where are they, damn it?”
“You have no idea what you have or how to use it.” He spoke in a low, steely tone that sent shivers coursing down my spine.
“You’re stalling.” I shoved him away. “We’ll see what the Tribunal has to say when we find them. Trafficking people for sex is illegal, immoral and just wrong now matter what kind of creature they are. I wish I’d killed you while I had the chance.”
“Killing him out of anger would only make you as bad as he is.” Blaise shook his head. “The Tribunal will punish him.”
Nicolae growled like a cornered dog. “You have something that belongs to me. I will get it back. When I do, I’ll kill you.”
Chapter Three
A chill slithered across my skin, raising gooseflesh. I forced a laugh. “Seems you’re not in a position to do much of anything.”
He didn’t respond, just stared at me, his gaze like daggers.
I turned away. I didn’t want him to know that his threat had made me more afraid than even the zombie attack during my first case.
Before long, the deserted street filled with ambulances, police cars and the transport vehicles specially designed to haul paranorms to the containment cell in the basement of the warehouse where the Paranormal Tribunal held council to decide the fate of rogue paranorms.
The containment team loaded Nicolae into the wagon and left the scene.
Blaise dragged Jimmy from the trunk of our vehicle and set him on his feet. His face was bruised and blood dripped from his nose.
“You don’t have anything on me.”
“What do you call drug trafficking?” Blaise shook his head. “I saw you pay Lenny Baecowski for a bag of cocaine.” He pulled the bag from his back pocket and dangled it from his fingers. “I don’t think this is powdered sugar.”
Detective Thomas slipped the plastic bag into a brown evidence bag.
EMT personnel loaded the female werewolf onto a gurney. I walked alongside her until they reached the ambulance.
Her eyes fluttered open and her fingers squeezed mine. “Promise me you’ll find them.”
“I’ll do my best.” I tried to pry my hand loose. “Do you know where he kept you? Where he has the other women?”
She shook her head, her eyelids closing.
“We need to get her to the hospital.” The EMT pushed past me and shoved the gurney and patient into the waiting ambulance, closed the door and left.
I returned to where Blaise and Detective Thomas were grilling Jimmy about the other women Nicolae held hostage.
“Look, we’ll cut a deal with you,” Detective Thomas was saying. “Tell us where your buddy Mario found his cousin and we’ll let you off.”
“You don’t understand. Nicolae will kill me if I tell you anything, just like he killed Mario.”
“That’s right.” Blaise crossed his arms over his chest. “You were still in the trunk when they hauled Nicolae off to jail.”
“You think you can hold him?’ Jimmy snorted. “I’ve seen Nic get out of even tighter spots.” The young punk’s lips curled into a snarl. “And I’ve seen Nic rip people apart for crossing him. If he’s got it in for you, there’s nowhere safe to hide.”
I laid a hand on Blaise’s arm. “You’re wasting time. I think I know where they are.”
Jimmy was cuffed, shoved into the backseat of a squad car and whisked away for his day in front of the Tribunal.
“Come on, we need to get there before someone decides to move the women.” I turned toward our vehicle.
Detective Thomas grabbed my arm. “How do you know where they are?”
I shrugged. “I just do. I figure they couldn’t be far from where Jimmy met Mario in the alley.”
“We have about eight men who can provide back up.” Detective Thomas nodded. “Lead the way.”
I climbed into the driver’s seat.
Blaise settled into the passenger seat, unusually quiet and particularly interested in staring at me while I maneuvered through the streets.
“Keep your eyes peeled for Nicolae’s men as we get closer.” I pulled into an alley a couple blocks short of the area I figured we’d find Nicolae’s stash.
The detective and the others turned down nearby streets and parked illegally, then climbing out, weapons ready.
I tucked my Glock into my shoulder holster underneath my torn leather jacket and stepped out onto the street.
The area had more traffic. A neon sign glowed pink over the entrance to a gentlemen’s club, advertising naked strippers. Men entered, drunk and sober, and a few prostitutes lingered on the street corners, leaning into cars that came to a stop at the curb.
Lovely. How was I supposed to get inside a gentlemen’s club?
Backtracking, I ducked behind a building and briefed the Detective Thomas. “They’re somewhere inside that club. The basement, I think.”
Detective Thomas pointed at me. “You need to stay back.”
“Sir, I can find them.”
“You’ll never sneak through the front door of that club. Not a female dressed like you are.”
“Then I’ll get in through the back.” I hooked a thumb at Blaise. “I’ll take tall, dark and demon with me for backup.”
Detective Thomas frowned. “He’ll have plenty of men guarding the entrances.”
“Fine, I’ll take two of the others with us.” I planted fists on my hips. “I can do this. And for some reason, I can see just where I need to go.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You provide a distraction. We’ll get in and find the girls.”
Detective Thomas glanced at his watch. “Give us five minutes, then head in through the back.”
I smiled. “You got it.” When I turned, a hand on my arm pulled me back.
Detective Thomas stared into my eyes. “We don’t need any dead heroes on our team.”
I saluted. “Trust me. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”
The lieutenant let go, muttering, “That’s what they all say.”
Behind the building, we found two doors. I positioned two men at the first. Blaise and I would enter the second. The images of the women and their anguish grew stronger insid
e my head. “They’re in there. I can feel them.”
Blaise glanced at me, his eyes narrowed. “How?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t get them out of my head.” I grabbed the door handle and tested it. Locked. “We need to get inside.”
“Two more minutes by the detective’s clock.” Blaise pulled me into his arms. “You can wait two more minutes.” His lips nuzzled my neck, his hands tugging me to lean my back against his chest.
For a brief moment I let him hold me, counting the seconds until I could storm into the complex and find those poor souls.
His fingers slid down over my hips, warming my skin through the denim of my jeans.
The closer his hands moved toward the apex of my things, the hotter my blood burned. Adrenaline and sex. Nothing made me hornier. I groaned. “I should have sent you to the front. You’re too much of a distraction.”
“That’s the idea.” His hands stilled. “Five minutes are up.”
An explosion erupted on the other side of the building.
“That’s our cue.” I jerked my Glock from my shoulder holster, grasped the handle of the doorknob and twisted hard, all my concentration centering on the locking mechanism.
The lock broke and the door swung inward.
Two brawny men, werewolves by the smell of them, were halfway down the hall headed toward the front of the building when the door crashed open.
They spun and drew guns.
I dove inside and to the right, somersaulted and sprang to my feet, aiming at the chest of the guy closest to me.
He pulled the trigger, the shot blasting a loud report in the narrow hallway. The bullet skimmed past my ear and splintered the wooden doorframe behind me. I squeezed off a round, hitting the werewolf in the side of his head as he dove for the floor.
Blaise charged at the other man, blocking my shot.
“No!” Fear blew through me and I leaped to my feet, my free hand rising. “Get out of the way!” I yelled.
Blaise’s body jerked to the side as if an invisible hand pushed him that way, leaving my lane of fire open.
I discharged my weapon, hitting the werewolf square in the chest, not once but twice.
Had Blaise not fallen to the side, he’d have been killed or seriously injured.
Blaise lurched to his feet. “How did you–”
A strong sense of urgency pushed me forward. “No time to explain. They’re moving the women.” I raced to the end of the hallway to a staircase. Holding on to the railing, I ran down two flights before I stopped at a door and tried to open it. It wouldn’t budge.
“They’re in there. We have to get to them.” I leaned my ear to the door.
Muffled screams and men yelling echoed in the images in my head.
“They’re getting away.” Fear, anger and desperation blasted up from somewhere deep inside. I gripped the door handle and a surge of energy ripped through my body and out through my fingertips. I flew backward, slamming into Blaise’s chest.
The door hung open, the lock charred black and the metal doorjamb bent.
Blaise set me on my feet and I took off, charging into the chaos of a dark and hopeless place, where women had been drugged and forced into prostitution.
Werewolf men dragged women out of the makeshift rooms, hurrying them toward another staircase.
“Stop!” I yelled. “Police!” I aimed my weapon at the werewolf closest to me.
He spun, his eyes wide. When his gaze found me in the dim lighting, his face relaxed into a sneer. “You’re a cop?” He laughed, his eyes narrowing. “Guess you’ll have to shoot me.” He flung a woman over his shoulder.
If I pulled the trigger, I might hit his captive. I was a good shot, but I wasn’t willing to risk an innocent’s life to prove it.
“We didn’t come alone. There are more cops where you’re headed.”
Blaise stepped up beside me. “This place will be surrounded. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave the women alone.”
The werewolf’s sneer deepened into a growl. “So now demons are playing both sides of the law?” He snorted. “You can have her.” He flung the woman to the ground and dropped to all fours, morphing into a wolf before my eyes.
Hair sprouted from his hands and face and he ripped his shirt from his body as his shoulders broadened. The animal pointed his snout in the air and howled, then he leaped at me.
Out of instinct, I flung out my arm to block the attack.
Before I touched him, his body jerked sideways and slammed into a wall with enough force I heard the snap of bones breaking.
The werewolf slid to the ground and lay still.
The rest of the male werewolves laid down the women they carried and edged toward the stairwell.
“Stay where you are.” The air crackled with an electrical charge, like threads of lightning shooting through the huge room. The tiny hairs on my arms stood at attention and my blood sizzled in my veins.
Each werewolf froze in position.
Detective Thomas and the other PIT crew members converged on the warehouse basement. Additional backup had arrived and before long at least twenty uniforms appeared along with a dozen emergency medical technicians.
Once the women had been loaded into ambulances and taken to the hospital, I could barely stand. All the energy completely drained from my body. When I stumbled, Blaise reached out and steadied me.
“I think we need to get you home.” Blaise guided me toward Detective Thomas. “Are we through here?” he asked the Lieutenant.
Detective Thomas nodded, his lips twisting into a grin. “Good work. I sent you out to track a drug dealer and you bagged a prostitution ring. The city will be a safer place, thanks to you.”
“Just doing my job, sir.” I dragged in a deep breath and let it out. “If it’s all the same to you, I could use some rest.”
“You earned it. We can debrief later this afternoon, after you’ve had time to catch some zs.” Thomas patted my back. “Thanks, Detective Danske.”
“My pleasure.” I leaned into Blaise as we exited the back door.
Blaise hailed a cab.
“What about the car?”
“I’ll send someone over to collect it. We need to get you home.”
When the cab slid up to the curb, I fell onto the backseat and lay still all the way back to my building, incapable of moving. The thought of climbing the stairs to my apartment made me cringe. Bless the demon, he carried me up the flights of stairs.
Inside my apartment, I fished my phone from my pocket, stripped my jacket, my holster, boots and jeans and dropped onto my bed, face-first, wearing nothing but panties and a bra. “What’s wrong with me?” I moaned. “I’m exhausted.” I turned my head and stared across at the gorgeous demon, too tired to work up an orgasm.
Blaise stood in the doorway, his arms folded. “You had a rough night. Don’t worry, I’m leaving. I’ll see you this afternoon at the precinct.”
“Good. I didn’t want you to stay anyway.”
Before the demon made it to the door, the phone on my nightstand buzzed.
With every ounce of strength I had left, I lifted the phone and punched the talk button. “Danske.”
“You have something of mine, and I want it back.” The voice sent shivers across my skin and a knot of fear into my belly. The line clicked off.
My gaze shot to Blaise who’d returned to my bedroom on the first ring.
“Nicolae?” he a
sked.
I nodded, one hand rising to the amulet I’d hung around my neck, as I hit the speed-dial button for Detective Thomas.
“Danske. Good. I was just about to call.”
“Nicolae got away, didn’t he?” I knew the answer before I asked.
“Yeah. A couple of large SUVs pinned the wagon and forced it into a wall. The drivers were killed and the demon got away.” The detective sounded tired. “Is Michaels still with you?”
I glanced at Blaise. “Yes, he’s here.”
“Let me talk to him.”
I handed the cell phone to Blaise.
He grabbed it and pressed it to his ear. “Michaels here.”
All I could hear was the steady drone of a voice. I couldn’t make out enough of the conversation to know what the detective was telling him.
“Will do.” Blaise clicked the off button and handed the phone back to me.
“What did he say?”
Blaise shrugged out of his jacket and flung it across a chair. “I’m to stay.”
“Why?” I sat up, my energy returning enough for me to lodge a protest. “I can take care of myself.”
“Nicolae left a message that he was after you.”
“So?”
“He used the blood of one of the transport officers to write it on a wall.”
My heart sank into my stomach. “Bastard.”
“Worse still, the man was alive while he did it.”
A chill slithered across my skin, raising the hairs on my arms. “Why me?”
“I think it has to do with the amulet.” Blaise reached out to touch the stone and flinched when he did, drawing back his hand. “Is it not burning you?”
“It’s warm against my skin, but it’s not burning me.”
“Must be magical.”
“The woman in the alley told me to grab it. That it was important to him.”
Blaise’s jaw tightened. “Important enough for him to kill to get it back.”
Despite the tremors shaking my body, I protested. “You can’t stay.”
“I have orders from your boss to camp out here until they can locate and incarcerate Nicolae.” He sat on the edge of the bed, a smile curving his lips. “We can make use of our time together, if you like.”
