My hands were gripping the steering wheel like it was a life preserver as we headed toward Broadway. I wanted this killer behind bars so badly.
Asher didn’t say anything, but I figured he would overhear what happened with my parents, so I wanted to be the one to break the ice on that topic.
“My parents were murdered when I turned sixteen. Cuts all over their bodies. My mom had slices between her shoulder blades, and my dad had two slits on his forehead. Both bled to death.” I stared at the road ahead of us, trying to figure out the best way to get around traffic without breaking any laws.
“The same as Lisa,” he stated, and I nodded, even though it wasn’t a question.
“The murders stopped after them, and the case was very cold. For some reason it looks like he or she has chosen now to make a comeback.”
At least this time I was better equipped to catch the son of a bitch.
I was one of the best detectives in Seahill. If anyone could find a killer, it would be me. Especially as motivated as I was.
A warm hand touched my shoulder, and I spared a glance at Asher.
“We will catch him.” It was a promise from his lips, and I felt his determination flowing through me like it was my own. We would catch this killer; there was no room for doubt in my mind.
Once parked, we walked past the yellow police line and rode the elevator up to the scene.
“I’m surprised no one has asked to see anything from you.” I voiced my thought aloud, genuinely curious if he had done some magic so no one would question him. I had already planned to tell Chief he was with me, and he wouldn’t question it.
Asher just looked at me with his cool swagger, his leather jacket making him look every bit the rebel he claimed to be.
“When you walk like you belong, no one questions it. All about confidence.” He winked, and I shook my head. He was right, of course, but I wasn’t going to let him know that I agreed with him. He wore confidence well, that was for sure.
“You going to be okay seeing this?” I saw him looking at me in the mirrors that surrounded the elevator walls. He was concerned for my state of mind, and while thoughtful, I could handle it.
“If I let this become too personal, I’ll be taken off the case for conflict of interest. I have to keep it professional and do my job.” Hopefully it would be easily done and not just easily said.
Chapter Fourteen
Asher
Death was never easy to see. Especially a malicious death. The energy in the air from seeing the woman on the floor in a puddle of her own blood was messing with my feel of the room.
Echo talked to her superior, who was eyeing me with a curious scowl but turned his attention to her while speaking about the woman.
Amanda Johnson. Twenty-six years old, volunteered at her church in the early mornings, then worked during the day shift as a nurse at Seahill Hospital in the psychiatric wing. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she pulled a night shift as a waitress at a seafood joint by the bay. She was just a young girl trying to make it in the city. Seahill was not cheap, but she seemed like she was doing okay. Her one-bedroom apartment, but it was nicely decorated. Tidy, but something didn’t feel right, and it wasn’t the woman on the ground giving me that feeling.
Echo put on some gloves and examined the body, hopefully able to gather something more with her animal instincts.
“When did the death occur?” she asked a red-haired woman with thick-rimmed glasses, who was jotting down notes.
“This morning. I’m going to go with about nine thirty. She was supposed to have dinner with the pastor’s wife today, but she missed her morning volunteer time at the church and didn’t show up for work. After a few calls with no answer, she was worried, and came to check on her. Found her like this.” She looked down at the woman with sadness in her eyes, but there was a distance in her emotions that most didn’t have. In this line of work, she saw a lot of bodies, best to think of them as bodies instead of people, in cases like this, I guessed.
“Obvious cause of death—she bled out. The small cuts are deep and were strategically placed over arteries where they would do maximum damage.” She continued talking, and I looked down, feeling bad for the poor girl. I didn’t know her but the energy around her apartment was good and clean. She had positivity around her, so how did she attract such evil?
“Whoever did this is skilled with a scalpel, and I can’t be one hundred percent positive until we test it back at the lab, but I see no signs of struggle, so I’m guessing that she had been drugged or something to make her still so the killer could slice her up like this.” The redhead wrote down some more things on her little pad, and then walked off to look around.
“That’s Serenity, our forensics specialist,” Echo clarified for me. Makes sense.
“Catching anything that others may not see?” I leaned in and whispered my question against her ear. I felt a shiver come from her body at the contact of my breath but didn’t let it move my train of thought. Now was not the time.
“There’s a scent that seems unnatural to the rest of the apartment, but I can’t put my finger on it. Other than that, the killer is patient and organized. This doesn’t read like a crime of passion. It’s too methodical.” She looked around for anything that would give her a clue as to who the killer was, but there wasn’t anything abnormal to me.
“I know this sounds crazy, but even though it’s pretty neat in here, something feels chaotic.”
“I feel it too. Hard to pinpoint, though,” I admitted, and she looked at me with a face that said she was stumped.
We stayed for another thirty minutes, looking around for anything significant, talking to neighbors about Amanda. She was well-liked by them all. She kept quiet and didn’t bother anyone. Not a loner, but usually was just tired from working so much.
“We’ll go talk to her coworkers and church friends tomorrow. See if she had any enemies, or if something was going on that the neighbors didn’t know of.” Echo guided me toward the elevator; I guess we were done here.
She was tense the whole way back to the bar, her hands gripping hard then relaxing in a steady rhythm.
“You wanna talk about it?”
She looked at me, and then focused back on the road.
“I feel something inside me wants out. It’s hard to hold it in, sometimes. Animals are very instinctual, and apparently, I should have used a certain instinct while at the scene.” Her words made sense. It made me curious as to which animal thought it was needed.
She parked in front of the bar and hopped out of the car, standing by the front door impatiently, waiting for me to unlock it for her.
Once she was inside, she tossed her jacket to the floor seconds, then kicked off her shoes before her clothes shredded before my eyes.
“Holy shit.”
Even though I knew what her powers were firsthand, it was still a shock to see a big-ass lizard in the spot where a beautiful woman had just been standing.
The giant Komodo dragon flicked its tongue out and walked around, tasting the air around it. I knew Echo was the lizard, but I stood very still nonetheless, watching her do her thing.
It was maybe three minutes after she changed that the lizard’s body started to lengthen and ripple, turning back into a human woman. Instantly I grabbed her discarded leather jacket and placed it over her bare shoulders.
“Thanks. Sorry to do this again, but could I borrow some clothes?” She sounded slightly out of breath.
“You don’t need to change into an animal to be naked around me. No need to be so dramatic,” I teased, and it worked to ease the tension in her posture.
“I’ve got some new sweatpants calling your name.” I helped her stand. I walked up the stairs first, so I wouldn’t be staring at her bare ass in a leather jacket the whole way to my apartment. My control over the need to touch her could only take so much. Just the thought of seeing her in nothing but the leather was hurting my brain and other anatomical bits.
She k
new her way around and went straight into my bedroom.
And me, being the dumbass I was at the moment, followed her in.
She shucked off her jacket, not caring that I was there, taking in every inch of her beautiful tan skin, committing it to memory.
She was mine. Her eyes, her hair, her skin, her animal spirit—it was all meant for me, and I was hers. I felt it deep in my soul. She was my match in every way.
Chapter Fifteen
Echo
I knew his gaze was roaming over every inch of my body, and I couldn’t find the fucks to give. There was this strange connection between us, and it made me feel completely comfortable around him, even naked. I changed into his clothes, and once I was covered up, I faced him. I didn’t see any hints of shame on his face from looking, only adoration and awe gracing his expression. It was strange feeling as beautiful and womanly as he was making me feel right now. Especially after knowing I turn into animals.
There was just something different about him. I felt it even when I was a cat, and I knew it had nothing to do with the fact that I needed him to survive at the time.
“I smelled something down there where Lisa had been attacked. Like a waxy smell, very strong. Komodo dragons can smell prey ten miles away, I’m guessing that would have been useful for comparing the scents of the two scenes.” I walked past him to leave, but he grabbed onto my arm. My head turned toward his, and I felt déjà vu.
“What does your tattoo mean?” he asked, his usual swagger missing from his words.
“I saw it when I helped you change back the first time, and now I need to know.”
“Dreamcatchers were once used by my people to protect their loved ones from harm. Now it’s a touristy thing for bad dreams. The spider’s web between the wood would trap the evil that wanted to hurt us. I try to be a dream catcher, protecting people from harm. The two feathers hanging below are for my parents, to help remind me of my cause. Protect people from going through what I did.” The final words were barely above a whisper. The dream catcher tattoo on my hip was one of the only vulnerabilities I let myself have. The tattoo and my car. Both meant so much to me, both left me open.
Slowly and gently, his grip pulled me back toward him. I stared into his eyes and wondered if he was going to try and kiss me again. Would I let him?
There was no denying there was something between us, even if he was sometimes annoyingly charming and I stayed in perpetual eye roll around him.
“You don’t need me.” He pulled me closer until I could feel the heat coming from his body, caressing my skin.
His hand left my arm, moving up softly until it reached my jaw, settling there like a cradle.
“I don’t need you,” I whispered.
A small smile touched his lips, and I found myself looking at them.
“You don’t need me, but you feel this hunger as much as I do.” His head descended, our breath mingling, lips an inch away from connecting.
“What is it?” I felt something for him, and it was beyond anything I’ve felt before. It was raw and untamable.
“The instinct to claim what’s yours.” His words tickled my lips before they brushed against me softly, slow and gentle.
I also thought that kissing was meant to be this clashing of desire and red-hot passion, but this was something completely different.
Asher knew me without me needing to tell him how I felt all the time. I never get close to people. I’m a bitch, and I know it most of the time, but it’s better to be standoffish than lose more people I care about.
This kiss was him showing me that I could let him in. Building trust, instead of letting this craving between us consume my thoughts and scare me away.
His lips were perfect and controlled with each press against mine. I was starting to feel the desire to push for more, to caress his tongue with mine, to enjoy the strange current that flowed between us in a soothing rhythm.
“Have dinner with me?” He pulled back to look at my uncontrolled expression.
“I should probably get home; we’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” I took a step away, and his hands dropped to his sides. His eyes were spearing into my soul, trying to understand if he had pushed me too far, and I was running away or not.
“Do you have employees to cover you?” I asked, and he nodded. A small smile on my lips gave him what he wanted.
“Anything I can do to convince you to stay for a late dinner? I make a mean peanut butter and jelly…maybe some fresh bottled water?” His stupid, charming grin was back to trying to convince me to stay.
I was about to tell him I’d pass when my stomach growled.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I swear his grin widened.
Without another word he came closer, pressed a single peck to my already kiss-glistened lips, and then walked out of the bedroom.
What in the world was I getting myself into? Serial killers to hunt, an ultimate bad guy to unmask, save mankind, be an active participant in the Hero Society, and apparently dating for the first time since I was a young teenager.
I shook my head at myself and chased after the man who was rustling around in the kitchen.
He hadn’t made us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but whipped us up some mean grilled cheeses and a can of tomato soup. He snapped his finger and the lights turned off, and an old red candle he’d place on the table lit.
“I don’t put out on first dates, so you know.” I sat down and looked over the meal he had prepared.
“Getting you to call this a date is a big score in my book. It’s enough for now.”
I didn’t even need to look up to know that grin was back on his face again.
Together we chatted while eating, what I imagined was normal first-date conversation: favorite hobbies, music, movies, and all the other random info we could think of. An hour passed quickly once we got into the topic of family. Mostly his. His father was a martial arts master from China, his mother was from the States. He was raised on the other side of the country, but the energy of this area called to him and demanded he be here. So here he was. I didn’t open up much about my parents, but I did talk about the car my pop and I had rebuilt.
Talking with him was so easy, and it wasn’t until I started yawning that I decided it was time I headed home.
“Sure you’re okay to drive? That grilled cheese could put you into a food coma, and you’d pass out at the wheel,” he teased as we walked down to the front of the bar together.
“I think I’ll survive.” I turned to look at him and say goodbye when his body invaded my space, pressing my body against the door with his own large presence.
He didn’t say anything before he kissed me, this time with more fever than before. This kiss was not one of building trust—this kiss was meant to scorch my mind and make me remember each touch of lips, each stroke of tongues against the other. I was totally wrapped up in his gripping hands and strangled moans when he stepped back, giving me space.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He unlocked the door and held it open for me.
I felt the subtle vibrations inside my chest before his eyes flashed with amusement making my cheeks reddened.
He didn’t say anything as I threw myself in the Camaro and slammed the door shut with a huff, embarrassed as hell that I had no control over myself around him.
His eyes were on me, though, and I swore I could hear his thoughts as I drove home.
“Kisses so good I make my girl purr.”
I’m not sure which was worse, the fact that I randomly purred while around him, or that I just thought of myself as his girl in my head.
Chapter Sixteen
Asher
“Today we take my beast,” I said to a grumpy-looking Echo as she hopped out of her car that was parked behind the bar.
She looked at me with a death glare that promised a fight, but none came.
She relented, and I motioned for her to walk ahead toward the shiny, red Camaro so similar to her black one.
“My engine is bigger,” she stated in a cocky tone.
“I’ll show you something that’s bigger,” I teased, trying to keep the mood around us light. She laughed and opened the driver’s side door.
That just wouldn’t do.
“My car, I’m driving.” I stepped into her space, but before I could kiss her silly for trying to sit in my spot, she huffed and stomped off to the passenger side.
“Bad night?” I asked. She seemed a little more uptight than normal.
“Nightmares,” she grumbled, and we left it at that. I could imagine she was taunted by those horrid memories of her parents often. I would be. My parents were both happy and living among our people, running a small martial arts studio for the kids. I hadn’t known suffering like she had, and I knew it had taken its toll on her in ways I could only imagine.
She told me where our first stop of the day was—Amanda’s church. She helped the pastor’s wife in the daycare for a few hours every day.
The kids were out playing on the playground as we walked into the main building, looking for Sarah, the pastor’s wife.
The city church wasn’t too large, but it was nice on the inside.
Echo introduced herself and me to a small woman who was typing away at a computer at their welcome center, then asked about Sarah. The woman smiled at us and gestured for us to follow her.
“She’s outside with the kids.”
We walked outside with her, and she talked with a heavyset woman with blonde hair and green eyes. She was dressed in several layers for the encroaching winter, but all in all had a good vibe about her. The front desk girl stayed behind to help with the kids while Sarah walked over to us.
"Hello, I'm Sarah Burke. How can I help you today?" Her energy was easy and kind.
"My name is Echo Cross Seahill P.D., and this is my civilian partner Asher Lee. We have some questions for you about Amanda Johnson." Echo was completely in detective mode right now.
Sarah's expression grew completely solemn.
Dusk (Hero Society Book 3) Page 6
