by Elle James
“What do you want to do?” Blaise asked.
Tension knotted the muscles in my gut. It was as if I teetered on the edge of a great discovery, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
“Katya!” Blaise grabbed my shoulders. “We have to go.”
“You’re right. We can’t stay here if they’re bringing explosives. We could be trapped in here for days, if not forever.”
“I have another way out.” Blaise closed the metal door and waved toward the bedroom.
“We don’t have time to play around, Blaise. We have to get out before the wolves get in.”
“Then hurry. We don’t have much time.”
Blaise led the way through his bedroom into a small study lined with bookcases. He poked through the books, running his index finger across the spines until he reached a small red, leather-bound book. When he tipped the book out of the shelf, the ground vibrated and the shelf became a doorway, opening onto a steel ladder, leading upward into a dark hole.
I gulped, swallowing fear at the darkness of the passage. “You’re kidding, right?”
“It’s not lit, but it will take us up to the surface.”
Pounding on the metal door made me jump and I moved toward the ladder. “Will it close behind us so they won’t be able to find us?”
“It’ll close, but they might sniff us out. The sooner we reach the top, the better. It’s a long way up. Get started.”
“What about the stranger?”
“The wolves aren’t after him. He’ll be okay.”
The closeness of the escape portal gripped me as soon as I crawled up inside the chute, my fingers searching for the rungs of the ladder. Once I had a grip, I pulled myself upward, my back skimming against the dank walls.
“Are you sure we can get out at the top? It doesn’t come out in a parking garage where I car is parked over it, does it?”
“We’ll come out in an alley. Don’t worry. I checked two days ago. Nothing blocked it then.”
“Two days? It could be blocked now. If we get to the top and can’t get out, we’ll be trapped.”
“We’re trapped if we try to go back the way we came. The wolves are too close and move faster on foot than we can. If they have to climb a ladder, it will take them as long, if not longer than it takes us. They will have to shift to human form to do it. No go.” He smacked my bottom.
“Okay, okay, you don’t have to be so pushy.”
“Yes, I do,” he muttered, pulling the bookshelf door closed behind him.
Pounding sounded on the metal door at the other end of his spacious apartment.
I shot upward like a scalded cat, pulling myself up the ladder hand over hand, one rung at a time, my feet taking each in stride.
Below me, Blaise followed.
Darkness surrounded us. All I could do was keep moving, try to block out the fact that I was encased in what amounted to a long, narrow tube. Should it be blocked at either end, I could be trapped and die inside it.
“You’re not going to die and we won’t be trapped. Just keep moving.” Blaise’s voice urged me on.
My thighs and arms burned with the effort. Since it was dark outside on the streets of Manhattan, I couldn’t expect to see light shining down from the top, giving me a feeling of endlessness that almost scared me more than the werewolves or even Nicolae.
When I thought my legs and arms could take no more, I dragged myself up one more rung and banged my head on a heavy metal plate. “Ouch!” The sudden pain made me lose my grip and I fell back a step.
If not for Blaise being directly below me, I’d have plummeted to the bottom.
He grabbed me, bracing his back against the wall, his arms securing me in his embrace, one hand gripping the ladder. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Oh, by the way. We’re at the top.”
His chuckle warmed the cool air. “I gathered that.”
“Thanks for breaking my fall.” His nearness revived my senses, spurring my insides to life.
“Later, sweetheart.” He kissed me and shoved us both up the rungs until he could lift the manhole cover and fling it to the side.
“Show off,” I mumbled, scrambling over the edge to drop to my hands on the pavement.
We were in a dark alley, where, I didn’t know. But by the sounds of car horns honking and traffic on the street at the end of the alley, we had to be in Manhattan. The noise never died down as if Taxi drivers considered it their duty to keep up the din.
I rolled onto my back and let the blood return to my arms and legs and the pain recede.
“We can’t stay long.” Blaise rose like he’d just gotten out of bed, not a long climb up a narrow tube.
“I know.” I groaned and sat up. “Where to?”
“The precinct.”
“Sounds as good as we’ll get. Maybe they can come up with a way to catch Nicolae. I’m fresh out of ideas.”
“You’re going to give me the amulet and leave it up to me and Detective Thomas to get our man.”
“Like hell.”
“He’s too dangerous.”
“You forget. This is my job. You can’t go all protective on me. I’m in this position for a reason.”
“I won’t let him hurt you.”
Having seen what could happen when a werewolf attacked a demon and having gone up against Nicolae once already, I nodded. “I’m okay with that.” My shoulders straightened and I gave Blaise one of my eat-shit-and-die stares. “But don’t get in my way of hurting Nicolae. I mean to bring the bastard down.”
Blaise chucked me under the chin like a favored child. Then his fingers slipped to the back of my neck, tilting my head up. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re beautiful when you act all tough?” His lips brushed mine.
“I am tough,” I whispered, my mouth reaching upward for his, craving more. Holy shit, he was impossible to resist.
“Yeah. I get that a lot.”
“Bastard.”
He kissed me, his tongue thrusting between my teeth.
Several seconds slid by as time seemed to stand still around us.
My leg curled around his, my fingers loosening a button on his shirt. I would have stripped him naked, had he not grabbed my hand and held it away from his skin.
“Later.” The one word held promise.
I struggled to tamp down the flame that licked at my insides. Now wasn’t the time.
A guttural growl echoed out of the depths of the tube.
Blaise shoved the cover over the manhole and held out his hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
I grabbed it and ran.
* * *
We caught a ride to the precinct in a kamikaze taxi cab. Still fairly new to the city, I gripped the arm rest, my fingers digging into the cracked vinyl. “Do you ever get used to the way the cabbies drive?” I asked beneath my breath, afraid to offend the driver.
“Close your eyes,” Blaise urged. “We’ll be there soon.”
Too tired to argue, I did as he said, my heart starting and stopping each time we jerked to a halt and the driver laid on his horn. Finally, I gave up and directed my attention to my partner. “Who was that man in your hideout?”
“I was hoping you’d know, since he mentioned your mother.”
I squinted, dragging up a shadowy image of the stranger in my mind. “There was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”
“Could he be a friend?”
“Mom didn’t b
ring any of her friends around us. As far as I know, she didn’t have any. It didn’t cross my mind then, but now I think it’s kind of odd she didn’t have friends.”
“How many friends do you have?” he questioned.
“Counting Randi?” I laughed. “One.”
“What about me?” Blaise tapped his chest.
I studied him. Partner, yeah. Lover...whew...I was trying to change that, but yeah. “Friend?” I shook my head. “I don’t know if we can be friends. I mean, you’re a demon. Can a demon and a human have a meaningful relationship?” I snorted. “What do we have in common?”
“A desire to defeat the bad guys, for one.” He lifted my hand.
For once, I didn’t pull away. “That would be me and all the cops in the precinct, and I’m not friends with them.”
“You could be...if you let them in.” His thumb rubbed the back of my hand. “Why do you push people away?”
A sharp pain edged into my heart, and I glanced out the window. “I don’t push people away.”
“You call slamming a man’s face into the concrete a way to make friends in the department?”
I glared at Blaise. “He patted my ass. What was I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, but you have the rest of the men afraid to work with you in case you misread their intentions.”
“The bastard deserved it.”
“Probably. But all you do is go to work and go to your apartment. You never stop by the pub and have a beer with the guys.”
“These...” I cupped my breasts and lifted. “They never look past my breasts. How can I strike up a conversation with men who can’t look me in the eye?”
“What are you really afraid of? That you might like someone? That you might put down roots, make connections, get close like family with the people you work with?”
“Shut up.” I crossed both arms over my chest and faced the street. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know that you don’t like to show your emotions. That you don’t like to talk about your mother and brother, and that your father left you when you were a child. You’ve told me enough that I know you’re afraid to love. Afraid that whomever you choose to love will leave you.”
“You’re wrong. I’m not afraid of anything.” A single tear slipped out of the corner of my eye and traveled down my cheek. Thank God it was on the cheek farthest from Blaise. He’d never see it, if I had any say in the matter. With a casual swipe, I eliminated the evidence of the chink in my armor.
“You don’t have to be afraid.” Blaise touched my cheek. “I’ve got your back.”
“And that’s supposed to make it better?” I shook my head, still refusing to make eye contact lest he see the tears welling in mine. “Look at you. You’re not even a permanent member of the force. You could leave at will. Why should I trust you to be there for me?”
“Because I care.” His hand gripped my chin and turned my face toward him.
“I don’t need you to care. I don’t need anyone.” I sniffed. Damn.
“I know you don’t need anyone. Maybe that’s what I love about you. That you’re tough. Determined. And so beautiful that you take my breath away.”
“Blah, blah, blah.” I jerked my chin free and resumed staring out the window. “Words are just that. Words. People leave. They die. They go away.”
“And you’d keep them at arm’s length to avoid the pain.” Blaise pulled me into his arms, refusing to let me keep him away.
I resisted. Well, sort of.
“Baby, you might be avoiding all the pain. But you’re also avoiding all the joy that loving another person can bring.”
I tried to push away. When he wouldn’t let go, anger bubbled up and spilled out. “I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever loved.” I smacked a hand to his muscular chest. “Damn it! It hurts too bad to ever go through that again.”
“I know. But it hurts because you experienced the joy of knowing them. If you could forget everything about those people, would you?”
“Yes!” All the fight leached out of me and I pressed my forehead into his shirt. “No.” My whisper was absorbed in the fabric. I never wanted to forget how it felt to be held in my mother’s arms, the feel of my little brother curling up next to me like a puppy seeking warmth, or how safe I’d felt sitting in my father’s lap when I was a little girl, scared of the boogey man hiding under my bed. “Why are you tormenting me?”
“I care.”
The taxi slid to a stop in front of the precinct building, cutting off further conversation.
I scrubbed at my face with the sleeve of the oversized shirt Blaise had given me, determined to remove all traces of tears. I’d established myself as a bad-ass. I couldn’t lose ground. The men of the precinct couldn’t know I had feelings. Feelings I’d buried for so long I didn’t know how to handle them.
Damn Blaise for being right. Damn him for bringing back all the good memories I’d packed away in the recesses of my mind.
We entered the building and headed straight for Detective Thomas’s office. A man stood with his back to us, his stance familiar.
I gripped Blaise’s arm. “It’s him.”
Blaise’s lips thinned into a firm line as he stepped through the open office door. He nodded at my boss. “Detective Thomas.”
“What the hell is he doing here?” I jerked my head toward the stranger.
The man who’d appeared in Blaise’s lair before all hell broke loose turned to face us, his face grim. “I’m trying to help you. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into with Nicolae.”
“Then tell us.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And while you’re at it, tell us who the hell you are.”
He stared straight into my eyes. “I’m Ivan Danske.” The determined set to his jaw slackened, the hard look in his eyes softening, almost to sadness. “Your father.”
Chapter Eight
I would have been so proud of myself, if a single thought could take root at that moment. I stood perfectly still, absorbing the impact of those two short, seemingly insignificant words, sure I’d been hit by a twenty-ton locomotive.
Your father.
For a long moment I continued to stare at him, schooling my face to poker stiff. Show no emotion, echoed through my thoughts so loud I couldn’t hear Blaise close the door behind me.
“Detective Danske, take a seat.” My boss’s brow furrowed, and he hurried around the desk to pull a metal chair forward.
“No.” I held out a hand. “I’ve got this.” I stepped forward, my eyes narrowing to slits. “How do I know you’re telling the truth? I haven’t seen my father since I was twelve.”
“You have my eyes and your mother’s hair.” He reached out.
I jerked back. “Leave my mother out of this,” I bit out. “Not that I believe you, but what the hell do you want?”
“To save your brother.”
A well of emotion hit me like a tsunami, striking a heavy blow to the shield I’d erected around my heart. This time I did step back, cocked my arm and unleashed all the pent-up hatred, anger, hurt and sorrow I’d ever locked away in a punch aimed for the stranger’s face.
He caught my fist, absorbing all the power, bringing my arm to such a complete and painful stop, my body lurched backward.
If not for Blaise, I’d have landed on my ass. He steadied me, his arm going around my waist, holding me up when I should have fallen.
“My brother is dead,” I said, my voi
ce low and hoarse, the wad of emotion stuck in my throat, refusing to let me sound normal and in control.
“No, he’s not.” The man claiming to be my father shoved a hand through his hair, pushing the salt-and-pepper strands back, making them stand on end. Despite the haze of red-hot anger glazing my vision, I had to admit the man was handsome. I could see how a woman could fall for those devilish good looks.
“Look, I don’t have time to explain away the past and why I left you, your brother and your mother, but know that if I could have come up with any other way to keep you safe, I would have.”
“Safe? You left us in the rattiest neighborhood in Chicago with no money. My mother slaved away at two jobs just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.”
“I know.” Ivan’s head dipped. “And I couldn’t help.”
“Why?” I pushed away from Blaise. “Why couldn’t you help the woman you supposedly loved and married, the family you helped create?” I snorted. “I’ll tell you why. You’re a goddamn deadbeat. That’s why. You weren’t worthy of kissing the ground my mother walked on.” By this time I stood toe-to-toe with the man, my anger burning in my cheeks.
He grabbed my arms. “I wanted to be there, but I couldn’t. It was too dangerous. I had to leave so they wouldn’t trace me back to my children. They would have found you.”
I knocked his hands away. “They?”
“Nicolae and his demon followers. He’s more dangerous than you can begin to understand.”
I stood my ground, refusing to let the man’s words get to me. “He doesn’t scare me.”
“He should.” Ivan Danske spoke in a soft whisper. “I’ve been trying to capture him for years. Ever since he stole your brother away from our home in Chicago.”
The blow hit hard. My chest felt crushed with the weight of this news of my little brother, whom we assumed wandered away from the house and been snatched by a sadistic killer, never to be found. “Stolen?”
“Yes, stolen.” Ivan raised his hands, palms upward. “I tried to keep him away from your mother and you kids.”
