Eternal Flame nw-3

by Синтия Иден

  A hard hand grabbed Zane’s shoulder and spun him around. The demon ran away, still screaming.

  “The woman controls fire. She can handle this,” Jude snapped at him, not releasing his hold. “It’s not like she’s some delicate flower. She’s—”

  “Bait?” he bit out as the smoke drifted from the open door of the den. “She’s just bait so it doesn’t matter what happens to her?” “She’s not—”

  “You don’t know what the fuck she is.” And, friend or not, he let his fist swing out. Jude stumbled back, probably more in surprise than anything else because it was hard to knock a shifter on his ass. Zane whirled and ran for the den.

  He shoved demons out of his way. Knocked them to the side and shouted Jana’s name.

  The crackle of fire answered him.

  Inside, he didn’t see anyone. Human or demon. Just an empty den. Had she gone out the back? Had she—

  “You shouldn’t be here.” She appeared in the thick smoke and came toward him with eyes flashing red.

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “And you damn well know better than to start a fire around you.” His hold was as strong as the cuffs had been, and he hauled her toward the door. She shouldn’t be around the smoke for too long, she knew that. Did the woman have a death wish?

  They burst outside, into the night. The other demons had fled the scene, desperate to escape from the flames.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Jana said again, shaking her head.

  “Oh, really?” His fury broke free. “Where should I be? Still at the cabin where you left my ass? Still sleeping off the sex while you get to burn this place to ash? I don’t think so, baby.”

  She blinked. For an instant, she almost looked … hurt. But then, “I was cleaning up your mess, demon. These assholes attacked you, remember? Were you just going to let them go?”

  “No.” Now that was just insulting. “I handle my own business, my way.”

  “Oh, really?” Her hands were on her hips. The building burned behind her. “Your way wasn’t working.”

  “And burning the building down around them was gonna work? That’s execution, that’s—”

  “I gave them a chance to run!”

  What?

  She shook her head. “You really shouldn’t be here.” Her shoulders slumped a bit.

  “News flash.” He stepped closer to her, making her tilt her head back to hold his stare. “Wherever you are, I’m gonna be there.” His breath rasped out. “Did you really think I’d just let you walk away? From the moment you slipped out of bed, I knew every move you made.”

  She swallowed. “You … this is a setup?”

  His gut clenched. All or nothing. “You’re the bait, baby. The juicy, tempting bait to bring out the bastards who torched

  Night Watch.”

  Jana’s lips parted. Then she smiled, a sad twist of her lips. Her dimple didn’t appear. “Is that all I am?”

  A police cruiser raced to the scene with its sirens wailing. An unmarked SUV flew up behind it.

  A woman jumped out of the SUV, her hair flying. At the sight of the gun in her hand, Zane tensed. Hell, here we go again.

  Tony scrambled from the back of the SUV, running up to the woman’s side. Good, at least one guy with sense was with the cops.

  “Look,” Zane said, raising his voice so they could all hear him clearly, “we can—”

  The woman fired her weapon and shot Jana in the chest.

  Chapter 8

  Jana fell back, and Zane lunged for her, catching her just before she hit the ground. Her eyes were open, stunned, and the red was already bleeding out from her gaze.

  She shuddered in his arms, and her eyelids began to close. The heat began to lessen behind him as the flames died.

  “Fuck!” The world seemed to explode around him. Or maybe he exploded. The beast he’d tried to keep in check roared-a loud, enraged cry of fury that burst from Zane’s lips. A cry that was her name.

  The scene shifted around him as the colors faded away until everything was gray. No black and white. No good or evil. Just pain and fury.

  “Zane … don’t-don’t let her …” The barest whisper of Jana’s voice. So soft. “Take … m-me.”

  “She’s not dead, demon,” the woman’s voice rang out as she stepped closer. “Just drugged.”

  His hold on Jana tightened. He rose, cradling her in his arms. Her head fell back against his shoulder.

  The blonde gave him a steely smile. “If you don’t want the same shot, put her down and step away.” Her gun aimed at him.

  Zane got ready to blast the bitch.

  Then Tony stepped to her side. “He’s not a threat.” His eyes were on Zane, but the words were directed at the woman.

  “He’s Zane Wynter, the man known to have been keeping close company with Ms. Carter for the last few days. And he’s a person of interest in the Night Watch fire.” She paused, her eyes narrowing. “He’s also the man who escaped from your custody, so excuse me if I don’t believe a damn word you say, Captain.” Her gun was still pointed at Zane.

  “He’s a hunter with Night Watch! He’s not a criminal!” Tony argued.

  Screw this. Zane lunged down the steps with Jana tight in his arms. Hold on, baby. Where the hell was Jude? They needed to get out of there. There were more sirens, and that meant more cops would be coming any second.

  But would those cops be backup for Tony or for the blonde?

  “I told you to put her down!” the woman yelled and her gun jerked. “I said—”

  Tony snatched the gun from her hand. “You’re not shooting at him.”

  “And you’re going to get your ass thrown off the police force!” She shoved past him. “Put her down!” She yanked a wallet out of her pocket and held it up in the air. “I’m with the FBI. I’m Special Agent Kelly Thomas.”

  Big fucking deal.

  “I’ve got a sniper on you right now,” she continued, voice flat. “The same sniper that took down your shifter friend.”

  Now that made him freeze. He turned his stare on her and met her pale, glittering green eyes.

  “Jana Carter is a killer,” she told him. “You don’t want to fight for her.”

  More SUVs and cop cars swarmed the scene.

  “Lady,” Tony snapped, “you don’t know what you’re dealing with here. Let them go.”

  “I know exactly what I’m dealing with.” The wind tossed her hair. “I’m staring at a demon and an Ignitor.”

  Zane dropped his glamour. “No, Special Agent …” Jana barely seemed to be breathing in his arms. “You’re staring at one very pissed demon.” Where was the sniper? Was the claim about him bullshit?

  She marched closer. Tony followed her, keeping his hold on the gun he’d taken from her. Her smile was brittle. “Jana Carter’s on the extermination list.”

  Zane stiffened. He’d heard about the list. Heard rumors for years that the FBI was monitoring the most dangerous of the paranormals and putting them on their extermination list. But … Jana?

  “Do you know how many people she’s killed?” the special agent asked.

  Jana didn’t look like a killer then. She looked weak and pale. Vulnerable.

  “Give her to me,” Kelly said. “And you can walk away. I’ll clear up the situation with Night Watch. Clear you with my supervisors, and you can go back to doing your job-a job that’s just like mine.” She exhaled and her gaze dropped to Jana. Her stare hardened as she said, “Tracking and killing the monsters out there.”

  Zane’s gaze drifted to Tony. Other cops were there now, standing back, but with their weapons up. If there was a sniper waiting, would he shoot to kill? Or was the plan to drug him, like they’d already drugged Jana?

  Kelly raised her hand and motioned with her fingers. Two men hurried forward. “Take her,” she told them. “Load her into the SUV and make sure she’s secured.”

  Tony stared back at Zane. Waited.

  “Give her to us,” Kelly said, “and
you’re clear. You know what she’s done. You hunted her because of it. Now you’ve done your job. You can get your bounty, get the cops off your back, and walk away.”

  She made it all sound nice and easy. But … “You’ll kill her.” He caught sight of Jude’s truck.

  Her lips thinned. “She’s on the list.”

  “Fuck your list.” He’d made his choice. “You’re not getting her.” Zane let his power out. For the first time since he was sixteen years old, he willingly let the demon part of his nature take control.

  A blast of power launched, rolling like a wave, and every human around him hit the ground. They fell, bodies sagging, immediately unconscious as they slammed into the earth.

  He hurried past the bodies. He rushed to Jude’s truck. The shifter was there, but slumped over the steering wheel. Those bastards had shot him. Hell. Zane shoved Jude over and climbed inside, carefully placing Jana on the seat between him and Jude. His fingers brushed over her cheek, then his hand clenched into a fist.

  His gaze swept the area, lingering a moment on the special agent. He lifted his hand and twisted the key. Then he slammed his foot down on the gas and roared out of the lot.

  And no one moved to follow him. They couldn’t-he’d knocked them all out.

  “Holy shit.” She lowered her binoculars, very glad that she’d decided to hang back once she’d heard the sirens. “Did you see that?”

  Her partner, tall and quiet, grunted. “He knocked them out.” He didn’t sound impressed.

  He should. “That demon just knocked out twenty humans at once.” Twenty. Hot damn. “We’ve got us at least a level eight.” She’d never captured a level eight. Five had been her highest demon bag.

  “I thought we were killing him?”

  She yanked out her phone. “The plan’s just changed.” Oh, it had changed all right. She had a level eight-or higher- demon in her lap, and she knew the guy’s weakness. Too perfect.

  Why, that demon would be even more useful than the Ignitor. Not that the bitch was proving to be particularly useful but …

  But she was some fine bait.

  “I want that demon.” She spoke into the phone, knowing other eyes were out there, watching the demon race away with her prey. “Follow him. Hunt him down.”

  Zane Wynter was a hunter, just like she was. He hunted monsters, too. But the difference between them … he was a monster. She was just a human who had to clean up the mess the beasts made. She’d been cleaning up their messes for years. So tired of cleaning up their shit.

  “If we can, take them both.” Because her Ignitor was so useful, and she did prefer to work with humans. “If the woman starts the flames again”-because she knew a taunt when she saw one—“shoot her-shoot to kill.” Sometimes, you had to cut your losses. “He’ll be more valuable to us.” The things she could get that demon to do….

  He already hunted his own kind. She knew the stories about him. So what she had in mind for him wouldn’t be too different.

  Killing demons. Killing vamps. Killing shifters. Killing all the sick paranormals who made the world into a nightmare.

  At first, Project Perseus had tried fighting them with human weapons. Guns. Bombs. Then they’d stepped up the game-and started using chameleons. Humans with enhanced genetics, the chameleons were perfect at sneaking up on the paranormals. They could drop their heart rates, slow their breathing, and ambush even shifters. The chameleons had taken out so many monsters. So many …

  But the real way to win the battle might just be by using one of the Other’s own. A demon half-breed to deal death.

  She smiled as she gazed through the binoculars. Perfect.

  Carefully, she stepped over the sniper’s still body. He was human, which was unfortunate, because she’d had to kill him. But, really, if he’d taken the shot, she wouldn’t have learned anything.

  Now, she knew everything she needed to know. New prey. Prey with a weakness.

  “What the hell?” Jude came awake in a rush, jerking upright with his claws out and up-just the way Zane expected him to wake.

  Zane grunted and kept the gas pedal pinned to the floor. “Wanna tell me how you got taken out?” Jude exhaled hard, and his head wrenched toward Zane. “Taken out?” The words were a little raspy. They wouldn’t be that way for long. Shifters, especially rare, white tiger shifters like Jude, were fast healers. That healing ability was why the tiger had only been out ten minutes.

  “I found you unconscious in the truck.” Jana lay slumped between them. No telling how long she’d be out. “Way to watch my back, tiger.”

  “Fuck.” From the corner of his eye, Zane saw Jude run a shaking hand through his hair. Then his hand dropped to his neck. “Drugged.”

  Yeah. And if the sniper had been out there, why hadn’t he taken a shot at Zane? His psychic blast wouldn’t have been strong enough to carry more than a block. The sniper could have taken him.

  “Who did it?” Jude demanded, and he finally seemed to see Jana. “Aw, hell, her, too?”

  Zane’s jaw clenched. After a moment, he said, “She was shot right in front of me.” He hadn’t expected the special agent to take that shot. If her gun had been loaded with real bullets …

  Darkness rose around him and the truck began to tremble.

  “Zane?”

  “A woman claiming to be from the FBI was there.” He forced his hands to ease their too-tight grip on the steering wheel. He sucked in a couple of deep, slow breaths. Control. Jana was going to be all right. “A Special Agent Kelly Thomas. She said Jana was on their extermination list.”

  Jude froze. Yeah, they all knew about the list. They’d even been hired a few times to make sure the exterminations were carried out for particularly dangerous paranormals.

  But … Jana.

  Zane yanked the wheel to the left. “She wanted me to just hand Jana over, knowing they were gonna kill her. Agent Thomas wanted …” He braked hard and turned to meet Jude’s bright stare. “I’m not turning Jana over to the Bureau.”

  Jude whistled. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  “When is it standard procedure for the FBI to drug hunters? Huh? When? They drugged you, Jude. Attacked first, and didn’t plan to ask questions later.”

  The tiger shifter’s lips tightened. “I’m pissed as hell about that—” And his fangs were still out. Those claws still ready. “But Jana—”

  “If the agent wanted Jana dead, she could have killed her.” While I just stood there. Fucking stood there. “But she drugged her. She didn’t shoot to kill.” Because the agent wanted Jana for something. To use her? Aim and fire-everyone knew that was the way to use an Ignitor.

  His gaze returned to Jana. She still barely appeared to be breathing. Her face was so pale, and dark smudges lined her eyes. “I’m not turning her over,” he said again. “She didn’t burn Night Watch. And before anyone plans her extermination, I want to know exactly what happened with those humans in New Orleans.” He wanted to know everything. Every detail of her life. How had she become a killer?

  How had he?

  “You’re lettin’ this get personal,” Jude warned.

  Yeah, he was. “Get out of the truck, Jude.”

  The shifter blinked. “It’s my truck.”

  Zane brushed back the dark hair that had fallen over Jana’s cheek. “I need the wheels because I’ve got to get cover and figure out what’s going on.” His eyes once again met Jude’s. “The FBI is gonna be looking for me now, too. I don’t want them to come after you.”

  “Screw them.” Said instantly. “The day I’m worried about some jerk-offs in suits …”

  “What about Erin?”

  At the mention of his lover’s name, Jude blinked. “What about her?” A distinct edge had entered his voice.

  “She’s the ADA. How would she feel about you being on the run?”

  “Erin trusts me.” Absolute certainty.

  “But she doesn’t need to get pulled into this.” He still wasn’t even entirely
sure what this was. “And neither do you.” Zane sighed. “This is gonna get bad, real bad.”

  “All the more reason you need me.” Jude’s smile showed off his sharp teeth. “I know how to do bad.”

  “So do I.” The shifter didn’t really know just how powerful he was. He’d worked hard to keep Jude and the others in the dark. Sometimes, you didn’t want the whole world to fear you-and sometimes, you did. “I need you to work with Tony. Find out if that special agent is legit. Use Pak’s contacts at the Bureau, and then call me.” He still had the replacement phone Jude had given him.

  The shifter measured him with a long, hard look. “Is she worth being hunted?”

  He’d never been hunted. Always predator. Never prey.

  “Don’t blow your life for a good fuck.”

  “Get out of the truck, Jude.” There was no more time to waste, and he really didn’t want to punch out his friend.

  Growling, Jude got out of the truck. “Don’t trust her, you hear me? She’s dangerous. The woman could fry you—”

  He laughed at that. “No, she couldn’t.” He was probably the only one she couldn’t burn. She could let her fire rage, and it wouldn’t so much as blister his skin.

  Jude slammed the door. “Watch my truck, okay? Watch—”

  Zane left him, racing the truck forward and speeding down the road. After he found a place to lay low, he needed to make Jana tell him the truth.

  Don’t trust her. Maybe though, just maybe, he could make her trust him. If he did, then he could get to Project Perseus- and give the assholes some serious payback.

  But she’d have to trust him first. Have to think that she could rely on him for everything. Anything.

  One killer, trusting another. Right. Fate would laugh her ass off at that one.

  When she opened her eyes, Jana became aware of two things. One … she was in a bed. A strange, lumpy bed that smelled of stale cigarettes. Two … she wasn’t alone.

  Since the last thing she remembered was standing in front of Dusk and getting shot-that bitch was so gonna pay for that-Jana didn’t move immediately. She kept her breathing nice and easy, even though her heart galloped in her chest. Slowly, she let the charge build within her body. Her gaze stayed on the peeling ceiling above her, on those faint brown water lines.