by Lesley Davis
“That’s Trinity.”
“She’s beautiful.”
Rafe opened one eye directly at Ashley. “Yes, she is.”
Feeling her face flame, Ashley was unaccustomedly flustered. “No flirting while I’m trying to heal you,” she grumbled, gently nudging the cat out of her way and settling in nearer to Rafe’s body.
“My ex said I didn’t know how to flirt.” Rafe’s voice sounded slurred.
“Shows how much she knew.” Ashley pressed her fingers harder on the jagged line across Rafe’s forehead. Rafe’s whole body jerked like she’d been jolted with a blast of electricity.
“I’m sorry,” Ashley spoke softly, channeling as much of her energy as possible through her fingertips. “I think you meeting me today made you sicker.”
“I was fine until I cornered you,” Rafe said, her voice faint.
Ashley pressed a little harder. “I touched your wound, and it accelerated the seeping of its poison into your body, probably because it sensed my healing capabilities. I unintentionally stirred it up.”
“Are you going to be trouble for me, Sparky?”
Ashley smiled at the wistful tone. She watched Rafe’s face relax as she began to fade out. “I promise I’ll try only to ever be good for you,” Ashley said, sensing when Rafe slipped into unconsciousness. She turned her full attention to the matter at hand, removing the poisonous residue left by the demon’s horn that was spilling into Rafe’s veins. Ashley knew Rafe would have only gotten increasingly sick as the poison leaked into her body. Why she had felt the need to touch the angry woman who had pinned her against the wall hadn’t escaped Ashley. It wasn’t just the call of the poison to her healing capabilities; it was something more basic. Rafe had been injured, and it hurt Ashley to see Rafe trying so hard to mask her obvious pain. She’d wanted to take Rafe’s pain away, make her whole again.
Ashley wiped away a trickle of sweat off her face and pressed ahead with the healing. “I wish I could heal your other injuries,” she whispered, knowing that her skills were limited to the supernatural and could not accelerate the mending of Rafe’s fractures and other wounds. Trinity curled up at Ashley’s side, leaning heavily against her, the contented purr rumbling through Ashley’s leg. “Guess you trust me with your mom.” Ashley looked down at the cat and was met by large golden eyes looking back at her. “I promise I’m helping her. I need to get rid of the demon dross in her body. It would eventually kill her if left untreated.”
Trinity let out a plaintive mewl.
“Yeah, I know, demons in Chicago. Who’d believe it, eh? Like the city isn’t crazy enough.”
The steady thrum of the cat’s steady purring pulsed in rhythm to the energy coursing through Ashley’s body. She was heartened to finally see the skin around the cut start to turn pink as the poison left Rafe.
“Just a little longer, Detective, and you’ll be as good as new.” Ashley could feel the poison entering her own skin, but her body was capable of fighting it off, rendering it useless, nullifying its vile disease. “See, now, wasn’t it a good thing we crossed each other’s paths? You were in need of a healer, and I just happen to have the healing you required.” She frowned at her own comment. “Eli. I bet Eli planned this whole damn thing.” She spoke aloud as if Rafe could hear her and be able to contribute. “Not the demon part. Eli wouldn’t have set you up to meet with the demon. But our meeting has his stamp of interference masquerading as free will written all over it.” She saw with some satisfaction the jagged skin marring Rafe’s temple start to heal.
She made a face at Trinity, who was looking up at her intently, obviously fascinated by every word she was uttering. “He’s Eli; he has connections; he knows everything.” She shook her head. “Except for who this killer is in these crimes. Not even he has had that revealed yet.” She felt the powerful push of a head against her arm. “Which is a shame, Trinity, because it would save me the bother of touring around the streets at night having to look at dead women who don’t deserve to die. I could be putting that time to better use.”
She lifted her fingers off Rafe’s skin and examined her work. “There, that looks much better. I guess I was meant to help your owner live, because something tells me she’s one of the good guys.” Ashley sat on the floor with her back to the couch, shaking her hands out as if flicking off the remnants of the demon poison. She cracked her knuckles sharply as she waggled her fingers free of the cramp they had experienced from the intense pressure she’d placed on them.
Trinity climbed into her lap, demanding attention. Absently Ashley petted the cat, enjoying the simple task of running her fingers over the animal’s soft fur. One-handed, she reached for her phone and called for takeout. “Can’t let my blood sugar drop, can we?” she asked the cat, who just nudged her hand in a hint for less talking, more stroking. “Hope your mom likes Hawaiian pizza. I’ve got a strange craving for pineapple after that healing.” She listened to the soft breathing behind her as Rafe slept in a healing-induced slumber. “I ordered enough for four people, so when she wakes up she should have a slice left at least.”
The cat blinked at her.
“What? I’m starving. I’ve been reading dry old police files all day. It didn’t give me much time to grab a snack.” She picked the cat up and cuddled her. “Let’s go see if we can find some plates and glasses. I ordered a bottle of cola, and if I can’t find something suitable I’m drinking straight from the bottle and you can choose to be grossed out or not.”
She wandered into the kitchen and began opening Rafe’s cupboards to find what she needed. The domesticity of her actions made her pause for a moment. It had been a long time since she’d been in a home. A real home, as opposed to a hotel room hastily acquired for business reasons. Ashley couldn’t remember the last time she’d sat down for a meal with someone, to share conversation and maybe move to something more intimate. She snorted softly, startling the cat in her arms.
“Sorry, Trinity. It’s just sad when I realize you’re the first thing I’ve held in my arms for a very long time.” She nuzzled the cat’s fur. “All work and no play makes Ashley a very dull date.”
She looked over her shoulder to where Rafe was stretched out on the settee. “Your mommy is very lucky. She has someplace warm and cozy to come back to after a lousy day at work.” The cat meowed as if adding her own comment. “Yes, and there’s you to come home to as well. I have an Eli.” Ashley made a face. “Oddly enough, it’s not the same.”
Ashley had never felt so keenly her being alone in the world. She clung to the cat a little longer. “How about we find you something you’re not supposed to eat just so I can add to the list of things Rafe has against me?” She opened a cupboard door. “Though it would help if she had more choice in her pantry. Guess it’s just plain ol’ kibble for you, Trinity.”
She busied herself looking after the cat. Anything to keep her mind off how lonely she felt and how unreal her life had become that simply feeding a cat was a delight.
“Maybe I should get a cat.” Trinity’s big golden eyes stared up at her unblinking. “Yeah, Eli would just love that.” Ashley sniggered at the thought. “His immaculate suits and cat hair. God, it would be worth it just for that alone.”
She kept herself entertained with that idea while preparing Trinity’s supper, pushing aside all thoughts of demons and murders for a moment and just relaxing in doing something normal for a change.
Chapter Six
The tantalizing smell of food drew Rafe from her deep sleep, and for a moment, eyes still closed, she just breathed in deeply to savor it. It had to be an olfactory hallucination; her fridge was empty.
“I’ve left you plenty to pick at if you feel up to eating.”
Rafe’s eyes shot open at the sound of a voice very close to her head. She shifted slightly and met the smiling face of Ashley seated on the floor beside her. Ashley held up a big slice of pizza and took a bite from it. She spoke with her mouth full.
“It’s still hot, it hasn
’t been delivered long.”
Rafe eased herself upright to swing her legs around and sit up properly. She reached for a piece of pizza and only after the first mouthful was she surprised to discover just how hungry she was.
“Did you eat at all today?” Ashley asked, handing Rafe another piece once she’d devoured the first.
“I can’t remember,” Rafe replied, her voice husky. Ashley poured out some cola into a glass and passed it back to her.
“Is there some reason why you’re still in my home waiting on me? I thought you’d be long gone by now with my TV tucked under your arm.” Rafe cocked her head at the sound of a familiar feline snore. “Ahh, I see you weren’t going anywhere. You’ve been converted into a human cushion for my cat.” Trinity slept contentedly in Ashley’s lap.
“She’s no problem. I fed her while I was waiting for the pizza to arrive.”
“You’re a regular angel of mercy,” Rafe said around a mouthful of pizza. Ashley snorted but not with any humor. The look on her face gave Rafe cause to wonder what exactly had she said that had touched a raw nerve.
“Aren’t I just.” Ashley reached for more food.
“I can remember you bringing me home. I also seem to recall you ‘turning off the lights.’” Rafe gestured at Ashley. “And I know you did something to this mark on my forehead because suddenly there’s no pain when I touch it.” Rafe ran a finger over the less pronounced scar. “So I need to ask. Just what in the hell are you?”
“I told you, I’m Ashley Scott and I’m a private investigator.”
Rafe let out a sigh. “Yes, I’m sure that’s all on your business card. What’s not on there is the glitter show you apparently can produce on a whim.” She waited, but Ashley merely continued with her meal and ignored her. “You know I can’t share any information I have on a case with an outside source. But then I don’t need to, do I? You’ve been in our office apparently gathering information by some means that I can’t quite begin to explain.”
“I’m working on the same set of killings you are.”
“Who hired you?”
“A very interested party who wants the killer stopped just as much as you do.”
“Is this interested party a member of one of the victim’s families? Because I’ve spoken with all of them, except for this last one. Dean did their interview while I was being scolded by the doctors for being snuck out of the hospital in the middle of the night to visit a crime scene before I was officially released. To my knowledge, none of the families has ever indicated they were bringing in an outside investigator.”
“I’ve been asked to investigate by someone else, Rafe. It’s no reflection on your investigation or the work your people are doing.”
“What were you doing in my office?”
Ashley looked chagrined. “You weren’t supposed to know I was in there.”
“Well, I could see you as plain as day, so I’m asking again, what were you doing?”
“How could you see me?”
Rafe blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Let me put it another way—what did you see when you first looked at me?”
Rafe cast a long, measured look at her but decided to humor her. “Like I told you, I saw a small blonde dressed as a cat burglar surrounded by a golden, shimmering light that burned into my retinas.” Rafe picked up another piece of pizza. “I’m more intrigued as to why two of my most trusted people saw only Detective Powell in the room when I plainly saw you.”
Ashley smiled sweetly. “I’m intrigued by that fact too. What makes you so special, Detective?”
Rafe let out a small laugh. “I’m nothing special at all, Sparky. But you obviously are. So what are we talking here? Special ops? Mind control? Hallucinatory drugs in the water cooler?”
Ashley’s unfettered laughter made Rafe’s heart trip in her chest. Ashley looked so beautiful when amused. Her eyes shone and her face lit up in a way Rafe’s whole body responded to. Whoever this woman was, she was gorgeous. Rafe could appreciate that even though she tried to tell herself not to.
“It’s nothing quite so conspiratorial, Rafe. For goodness sake, you cops are a suspicious lot.”
“Comes with the territory.” Rafe saw her hesitation. “What?”
“What would you say if I said maybe I was just magic?”
“I’d say you’d been sampling Trinity’s catnip.”
Ashley’s eyes twinkled as she graced Rafe with a dazzling smile. “I’m going to like working with you.”
Exasperated, Rafe laid her head back against the couch. “I am not working with you, and I’m going to make damn sure you can’t step foot inside the Chicago Police Department again.” The pout of Ashley’s full bottom lip made Rafe want to lean forward and capture it between her teeth. She swallowed hard at the unexpected arousal that burned through her chest. It shook her and made her voice escape more angrily than she intended. “You took confidential files, Ashley. There’s a law against that.”
“Like you always follow the law?”
Rafe nodded, knowing full well she was blatantly lying. “Of course.”
Disbelief was written all over Ashley’s face. “And were you following the strict letter of the law the night you chased after a demon behind Castello’s Bar and Grill?”
Rafe’s body jerked with surprise. “How did you find out about that?”
Ashley pointed to Rafe’s forehead. “I told you; you had the mark of a demon.” She let her hand fall. “At least now it will fade with time and the poison he shared with you won’t kill you.”
Rafe was stunned. “It was going to kill me?”
“What he couldn’t finish in the alley would have happened eventually from the cut. You don’t usually get to escape a demon’s death wish twice, Rafe. You might want to rethink that whole you being special thing again. Someone is looking out for you.”
Rafe’s mind swirled with the information she’d been given. She brushed a hand tentatively across her forehead, wondering just how much she owed Ashley for something she had done that Rafe could not explain. It confused and boggled her. It was also terrifying.
“What do you know of demons?” Rafe shifted uncomfortably on the couch, unsure whether she really wanted an answer to her question.
“I know more than you realize,” Ashley said. “Not everything in your world is black and white. There are big areas of gray, and that is where the demons hide.”
Rafe just stared at her, digesting her words. Then she was back in the alley, witnessing the birth of a demon right before her eyes, and she’d seen the endless fire burning through to his very soul. She blinked hard to dispel the image that haunted her. “You’re insane,” she spat out, fearing Ashley’s truth.
“I’m not the one who chased down a demon in an unlit alley at night and nearly got her head caved in for the pleasure.”
“How do you know that? None of those details were ever released.” Agitated, Rafe needed to know who or what Ashley’s sources were. If there was a leak in the department, Rafe wanted it plugged and fast. But no one knew the full details, only Rafe herself.
“I read your statement this afternoon on one of your officers’ computers.” Ashley reached for yet another piece of pizza and began chewing it slowly. “You left out a few little details in your report, if you don’t mind me saying.”
“You looked me up?”
“You’re the lead of the newly formed DDU. I needed to know who you are so I could come to you. But nowhere in that report do you mention that the guy who tried to kill you that night was a demon. Why is that?”
Rafe clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached. “Because I’d probably be in the psych ward wearing a fashionable straitjacket instead of back at my desk at the DDU. There was no demon.”
“You told me yourself, he had horns and glowing red eyes.”
“When?” Rafe racked her brain trying to recall when she had let slip the things she tried so hard to keep hidden.
“When I was healing you.�
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“The ravings of a delirious mind while you did whatever it is you say you did to me,” Rafe blustered.
“Do you believe I healed you? Feel the scar for yourself, Rafe. Does it still feel like it’s burning through to your skull?”
Rafe closed her eyes and groaned out loud. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Then stop being so frightened I’m going to tell people what you saw.”
“I’m not frightened of anything.”
“Obviously, hence chasing after a man twice your size and with demon strength to match. It’s a wonder a scratch is all you got from him. I’m surprised he didn’t tear your damn fool head off.”
Rafe let out a shaky breath. “He tried hard enough.” Her hand shook as she raised it to her forehead, and she fought against a wave of dizziness that threatened to engulf her.
“Now look at what you’re doing. You’re getting yourself all worked up, and it’s not doing you a bit of good. You need to rest. You’ve just had poison drained from your system; you’re bound to feel strange for a while.” Ashley got to her knees, dislodging the disgruntled cat, who stalked off toward the kitchen in a huff.
“What have you done to me?” Rafe asked, finally afraid for herself.
“Healed you; nothing more. But I couldn’t take the other pains away, so you still need to watch your side. And I can’t make your hair grow back any quicker. I could only help with the one thing.”
“Just the magic,” Rafe said. “I think I’m going crazy, and you’re helping me right along that path.”
“You’re not crazy, but you’re damn lucky to be alive. Not many face down a demon and live to tell.”
“I’m not telling. He was just a man,” Rafe said.
Ashley smiled at Rafe as if placating a child. “When you looked into his eyes, did it feel like you were falling down an endless ravine of red fire? And that on your way down your skin was burned off piece by piece?”
