His dagger.
When the fuck had he dropped it?
Cocking its head, the demon didn’t get close enough for him to snatch it, and retaliation would mean needing to be quick enough the demon couldn’t slow him down. Even as the possible scenarios moved through his brain, he felt the hostile push at his thoughts, a monster slinking around under the bed before reaching up to snatch him.
He kicked out, knocking aside a trashcan. The demon sprang back, but he was already on his feet.
Images flashed through his mind’s eye. His mother and sister smiling, laughing, home from one of their shopping trips with bags and clothes strewn everywhere.
And then blood, so much blood.
“I enjoyed killing her.”
He closed his eyes, the pain in his head intensifying from clenching his jaw so tight.
“You shouldn’t have left your sister alone with me. You knew what I would do to her.”
The fury Parker struggled to contain seethed inside him.
“You swore to protect your family and instead you turned your back while I bathed in your sister’s blood.”
“No!”
The hostile grinned.
Something whistled past his head, embedding in the demon’s chest with enough force to knock it back against the dumpster. The pain hammering at the back of his skull eased.
“Don’t move.”
Parker frowned at the order, wondering if Rae meant him or the demon.
The demon snarled, digging in vain at the sword lodged in its chest.
Rae withdrew her kukri, a shorter curved blade, from beneath her jacket, and severed the demon’s head from its manifested, bloodless body in one stroke.
Parker was back on his feet by the time the vanquishing flames had faded.
“What the hell were you thinking engaging a hostile like that?” She replaced her kukri and shoved her sword back in its scabbard before whirling to face him.
Between the headache that wasn’t fading fast enough and the gut-wrenching images the demon had pushed into his mind, he couldn’t stomach fighting with Rae at the moment.
He pivoted and headed back toward the street, snatching up his dagger as he went.
Rae was right on his heels. “Wait a second, damn it.”
“I’m not one of your agents, Rae.”
“You still work in my field office.”
As if she would ever let him forget that. “You know as well as I do how much damage it could have caused before someone better equipped to take it out showed up.” He waved over his head to the loft apartment at the end of the alley. “I couldn’t just sit and wait while the hostile turned that little gathering into its own personal buffet.”
“You could have called it in.”
“I’ll be sure to think of that next time,” he quipped, not bothering to mention that someone at the field office would have eventually tracked him through the call he’d made.
“Parker.”
He stopped, turned.
Her lips parted, then firmed into a tight line.
“Yeah?” he prompted, almost imagining it was concern he glimpsed in her eyes. Considering she wanted him gone—probably not. “Don’t worry. I’m all in one piece, shortcake.” More or less anyway.
She scowled at the nickname he’d given her years ago and strode past him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Is that when you’ll resume raking me over the coals? ’Cause I think I’ll sleep in.” If he’d blinked he would have missed the hitch in her stride, prompting him to add, “If you plan on waking me, bring coffee. Clothes are optional.”
Unsurprisingly, she didn’t rise to the bait. When she disappeared around the corner, he sagged against the wall. Not even thoughts of Rae delivering the best breakfast in bed—herself—could stop his hands from shaking.
He clenched his fingers until they hurt, resisting the compulsion to glance down the alley to where the telepath demon had dug into his head.
“I enjoyed killing her.”
He closed his eyes against the echoing reminder, fighting the familiar helplessness that flared in his chest. There was no way to undo what had been done, no way to bring back his mother and sister. He just wished he knew when the past would stop reminding him of that.
Chapter Three
It wasn’t working.Rae gripped the edges of the small bathroom sink.
Don’t.
She held her gaze in the mirror until the unshed tears burning behind her eyes retreated. Drawing a deep breath, she turned on the cold water and splashed her face.
The frigid temperature helped shock her out of the panic still clawing through her middle. He was fine. Not even a scratch.
The bathroom door swung open and a wasted brunette staggered past her, half falling into the closest stall.
Drying her face, Rae escaped before the woman’s stomach started to heave.
The dim lights of Kane’s bar would mask her flushed face, assuming none of her team had shown up. Chances were they’d already put in their nightly appearance and had headed home by now.
Only a dozen or so people occupied a handful of tables, chatting and munching on peanuts and half-stale popcorn.
“Rough night?”
Kane looked ready to take back the glass of wine she’d ordered when she’d walked through the doors. She would have gone with something a little harder had she anticipated the last five minutes in the bathroom.
“I’ve had better,” she answered, lifting the glass but unable to bring herself to take a sip. She wanted to give her stomach a few more minutes to settle.
Looking a little guilty, he draped his hand towel over its customary spot on his shoulder. “You just missed some of the others. Parker too.”
Hearing the emphasis Kane put on Parker’s name, she thought, what the hell and tipped the glass to her lips. The impulsive move reminded her instantly of why she didn’t drink harder alcohol. The last time she had, the night before Parker had arrived, she’d had enough liquor to last a few lifetimes.
She’d also spilled her guts, playing the stereotypical part of the drunk who talked the bartender’s ear off. It would have been much worse if her body didn’t metabolize alcohol at a much slower rate than the average person. As it was, Kane knew way too much about her and Parker’s history.
As if sensing she had no plans to talk about what had sent her sprinting for the bathroom, Kane gestured to the pool table behind her. “He’s not too bad.”
Taking another sip of wine when what she really wanted to do was drain the glass, queasy stomach be damned, she glanced over her shoulder. The near effortless shot, a tricky bank of the cue ball to knock the eight neatly into the side pocket, caught her attention.
She was halfway to the table when the guy noticed her. How she wished the long, assessing look that ended in a warm smile did more to spark her interest. But then it was his skill with a cue she was after, not what was in his pants.
She took off her jacket at laid it across the top of an empty table. She’d already changed her ripped and bloodied shirt before stashing her backpack behind the bar.
Kane used to joke with her about what the team did for a living, though he’d finally given up on getting an honest answer out of them. He’d never let on that he knew the guy Drew fought outside the bar after closing a couple months back wasn’t really human, but Rae wasn’t convinced he was as oblivious as he let on.
Rae set her glass down. “Up for a match of nine-ball? Fifty bucks for the winner?”
Mr. Eight-in-the-side-pocket hesitated. They usually did when she suggested the stakes right out of the gate. Intrigued, he nodded. “Sure.”
She picked up a cue and chalked the tip. “Should we flip to see who breaks?”
“Ladies first.”
She heard Kane sigh, but the guy didn’t hear him or didn’t take it as a warning. They rarely did.
Rae racked the balls, letting the guy stare at her ass all he wanted. She didn’t feel the least
bit guilty taking their money when they were more interested in the fit of her pants than finding out how good she was before they started playing.
She lined up her first shot, clenching her fingers until they stopped trembling. Five minutes ago the cue would have been shaking in her hand.
“So what’s she playing you for? A hundred a match? Two hundred?”
Rae closed her eyes at the sound of Parker’s voice, asking herself why the hell she hadn’t gone home. That’s right—she’d nearly come apart in the street outside the alley and had needed a place to get herself together.
“Fifty,” the guy across from her answered.
Parker tsked and turned to Rae. “Feeling too guilty to clean this one out completely?”
Across the bar, Kane laughed.
She moved on to her next shot, not missing the wary look on the guy’s face. Leave it to Parker to screw with what was left of her night. At least his appearance effectively replaced her lingering anxiety with annoyance.
The guy mumbled something about needing to get going before he finished his drink and headed for the door.
Keeping her back to Parker, she took a drink of her wine. Five minutes. Taking any less than that to finish her drink before leaving would give Parker the impression that his appearance had rattled her.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Kane watching them. Unlike the rest of her team, she hadn’t stepped inside the bar more than a handful of times until two months ago. She’d become as much of a regular as the others since then, and now even Kane had a vested interest in her sex life.
Realizing she was hiding behind her glass, Rae leaned down to sink another ball.
Parker hadn’t budged. He rested his palms on the edge of the pool table, watching her intently.
A strong tap sent the white ball careening into the targeted two ball. “What happened to waiting until you rolled out of bed in the morning before I finished raking you over the coals?” She took another shot, satisfied that her hands remained steady.
“Figured I should take advantage of us being in a public place.” Something in his voice sounded off.
“So you followed me here?”
Parker glanced in Kane’s direction, and she straightened.
“You called him?”
The bartender pretended not to hear her, moving down the bar to chat up old Martin, who looked ready to fall off his stool. Kane asked him about calling a cab, and as usual, Martin brushed him off. Chances were Martin’s liver would call it a night before the old man did.
“Kane called the field office and it rerouted to Darcy’s cell. I ran into her just up from the alley.”
Why had he been hanging around there after she left? He shouldn’t have been there at all tonight, and had she been a little quicker, she might have been spared the image of finding Parker at the demon’s feet, his dagger in the hostile’s hand. “What did Kane tell her?”
“That he thought you were sick and might need a ride home.”
At least that was one mystery solved. Kane must have been the one she’d heard open the bathroom door when she’d been talking herself down in the bathroom stall earlier.
“I’m fine.” She was now anyway.
“Uh-huh.”
She lined up her next shot. “Was there anything else?”
“Probably nothing you want to hear.” A ghost of a smile teased his lips.
She knew that look. Knew he was debating whether to provoke her now or wait for a better opportunity later. The man could be downright diabolical when it came to pushing her buttons, and he knew it.
Waiting for him to make up his mind though was killing her. He probably knew that too, no matter how much she tried to appear interested in her next shot.
Screw waiting for him. “What did it say to you?”
He frowned, taking a second to realize she was referring to the telepath demon. “It used my mother’s voice.”
Rae stilled, instantly regretting the attempt to get the focus off herself. She drew back her cue.
“It said that my mother enjoyed killing my sister.”
Closing her eyes, she felt the past creep out of the box she’d buried at the bottom of her heart. “And?”
“And then you showed up.”
“Lucky for you then.” A slow, precise shot sank the next ball. “It was probably just getting started.”
“Maybe,” Parker conceded, though he didn’t sound certain the demon had been merely playing with him.
A quick glance in his direction made her stomach wrench tight. For months she’d been convinced she could take that haunted look away from him, save him the way he’d once saved her.
Then one day she’d woken up and realized he didn’t want to be saved, not when it meant accepting that his mother had killed his sister before killing herself.
“Parker,” she began.
The phone behind the bar rang before she could make up her mind what to say to him. From across the room, Rae watched panic flash across Kane’s face, his mouth opening and closing like a guppy.
“I’ll be right there.” He hung up, his face pale.
“What’s going on?”
“Lila, my wife, her water broke.” A wide grin split his lips even as his face turned a little more white. “I’m gonna be a dad.” He searched the counter, his hands disappearing beneath the edge. He turned around three times, searching the entire countertop. “My keys? Where the hell are my keys?”
“Your pocket?” Parker suggested.
“Right.” Kane dug them out and dashed for the front door, skidded to a stop. “Closing time.”
Only Martin paid him any attention.
“C’mon people.”
The occupants of one table started to shuffle to their feet, but in no particular hurry.
Kane glanced at his watch, then tossed another set of keys to Rae. “Get rid of them, shut off the lights and lock up. I’ll get the keys from you tomorrow.” He was gone before she could object.
Parker grinned, the haunted look fading as he snagged a chair, turning it around backward before sliding into it.
“What are you doing?”
“Keeping you company until everyone clears out.”
“I’m really not in the mood, Parker.”
“Headache tonight, honey?”
Relieved that he was back to himself, back to the infuriating Parker she knew how to handle, Rae chalked the tip of her cue again. “I don’t need you hanging around screwing with me.”
Arousal darkened his face. “Might take the edge off.”
She glowered at him despite the slow heat that swirled in her belly.
“Oh, you came back.”
The half squeal, half slur came from the brunette she’d left in the bathroom earlier. She made a weaving beeline for Parker. They always did. Even when he wasn’t trying, he drew people, usually women.
Rae wasn’t interested in watching the woman paw him. Her stomach had been through enough tonight. Unfortunately, the music wasn’t loud enough to drown out their conversation.
Keys jingled in the air. “I don’t live too far from here and could use someone to walk me home.”
Someone to knock her over the head maybe. It was people like her that made it easy for demons to prey on them.
“Let’s find a cab,” Parker murmured, escorting her outside.
Rae didn’t even let herself hope he’d take off for the night, even if the thought of him leaving with the brunette bugged the hell out of her. Damn Kane for calling the office. She could have played a game or two of pool and gone home without having to think about Parker any more tonight.
The other two tables, finally realizing there would be no more drinks without a bartender, finished up and left, leaving only Martin at the bar.
“You can’t make me leave until I’m good and ready.”
She’d bet her next paycheck the sword in her pack would make him good and ready.
By the time she was on her last shot—without P
arker reappearing—Martin wandered over. She noticed the bottle of beer he carried looked empty.
“You’re pretty good.” The gruff praise sounded like he’d wanted to tack on, “for a girl.”
“I have my good days.”
“Like the ones where you take all the young fools’ money?”
She fought a smile. “Sometimes.”
“Serves them right for rushing in. That’s all you young kids do these days. None of you take the time to think things through.”
She certainly hadn’t with Parker. Not six years ago, not six hours ago. Otherwise she wouldn’t have found herself in the bathroom, shaking like she’d just come face to face with her first demon.
“You all need to slow down a minute. It passes so damn fast. Why not savor it a while?” Bitterness gave way to longing.
“Unfortunately Rae is all about moving as quick as she can,” Parker put in.
Unimpressed with her, the old guy snorted. “Such a waste.” He headed for the door.
“Not driving I hope,” Rae called out.
“Old, not stupid,” came the gruff reply, cut off by the door shutting behind him.
She started to make a crack about the brunette, then realizing Parker would take that as a sign of jealousy, changed her mind. He left her to finish her last shot in peace, presumably to make sure the bathrooms were empty.
“So why did Kane think you were sick?” he asked a minute later.
She set her cue on the rack and started gathering up the empty bottles even though Kane wouldn’t have expected her to. “How did you talk Darcy into letting you come to check on me instead of her?”
He shrugged. “I threatened to play dirty the next time we sparred.”
More than once she’d watched all three female agents in her field office succumb to Parker’s ability to disarm with a lethal smile, one that made any hot-blooded woman think of silk sheets and long, breath-stealing orgasms.
“The hostile got a few nasty visuals into my head before I vanquished it.” The lie rolled easily off her tongue. Lying to Parker had never been easy, but she’d gotten good at it lately, otherwise he would be calling her on it.
“We’re alone now.”
Something she’d spent the last few weeks avoiding whenever possible. “And?” She picked up her empty glass and headed for the bar.
Dark Obsession Page 3
