Forbidden Passion (2 page)

Dark shadows flickered off the tall, thick trees as he drove from Main Street toward the mountains. The roads grew curvy, more narrow, the shadows thicker, the silence more ominous. Five miles around the mountain, and he spun up the graveled drive toward Marlena’s.

The hundred-year-old blue Victorian house sat atop a hill, the paint slightly weathered, the sharp turrets and angles reminding him of an old haunted house.

Throwing the SUV into park, he climbed out, pulling his bomber jacket around him to battle the brittle wind as he walked up to the porch. The steps creaked as he climbed them, and the sound of a wolf howling from the woods made him twist his head and scan the edge of her property.

The trees shivered, but if there had been one nearby, it had disappeared.

Bracing himself to see Marlena again, and hoping like hell she’d turned into a geeky adult who would hold no temptation for him, he raised his fist and knocked.

But his lungs tightened when she opened the door.

She was even more beautiful than he could have imagined, a radiant full moon against a blinding sea of night.

From her heavy breasts to her narrow waist to hips that flared enticingly, she painted a picture of seduction. But she was the last woman on earth he could think about taking.

Gritting his teeth, he swallowed back guilt. But even as be fought it, the dark side of him emerged, lust heating his body.

Wavy, blond hair that looked like silk shimmered over her shoulders, and her frightened eyes were still the palest, oddest shade of green he’d ever seen.

He’d never forgotten those eyes. They had been luminous and trusting when she was a child. Now that she was

a woman, they could suck a man in with their sensuality and promises.

But horror and sadness had filled them the day of the attack.

And that horror and sadness had taunted him day and night, reminding him of what he was.

She’d been made a ‘homeless child because of his demon family. And if she knew the truth, she’d hate him.

He had washed his hands in her blood.

He was obsessed with it now. The thick, sticky crimson as it flowed from open wounds. The coppery metallic scent as it filled the air.

The tiny splatters that looked like artwork on the walls and his shirt.

Blood was the life force of the body. The river that swept a person along.

The heart and soul that gave life and took it away, He lifted his fingers and stared at them now. Remembered the woman’s body as she’d jerked and screamed and begged him to stop.

She had had to die.

So did the others.

It was the only way to stop them from becoming like him. A monster. A child of the devil.

A killer who stole lives for pure pleasure and worshipped the evil growing inside him. The evil that gave him strength.

Strength and a power he’d never possessed before.

But he’d had to set the woman on fire to throw off the cops. Couldn’t let them know the real reason she’d had to die.

Besides, Zion had given him his orders. Make it look as if a firestarter had killed the girl.

And leave his trophy with the woman Marlena. The one who’d caused Dante to fail his initiation.

The woman who would have to die so Dante could find his way back to his father.

 
Marlena had dreamed of seeing Dante again for years. Only not like this. Not with a bloody ring from another girl in her hand, and the fear that someone else had been murdered.

Tension thrummed in the air as he stared at her, and for a moment, she literally couldn’t breathe.

The boy who had saved her that day had been tall, big, strong, but he’d barely been a teenager.

Now he’d grown into a man.

One with thick dark black hair, and eyes so deep and brown they looked as if they’d never seen light. A hard intensity radiated from him, sending a frisson of fear through her. He looked as if he’d walked with the worst of mankind too long and was suffering for it.

Even his size was intimidating. He towered over her, his shoulders were broad like a linebacker’s, his thighs thick and muscled.

And sexy. God, he was so sexy…

Her body actually trembled with the need to be near him. In her dreams, he was always the one who saved her just as he had when she was a child.

But his eyes held a warning, not a friendly welcome. And when she glanced at his hand where he gripped the door, she noticed dozens of scars on his skin. Burn scars. His shirtsleeve rode up, revealing a dozen more rippling up his arm.

His gaze followed hers, and’ his jaw tightened. “You had something to show me?”

His gruff voice jerked her back to reality. She’d assumed they’d discuss the past, but apparently he didn’t want to chitchat.

But she had questions, and eventually she’d force him to answer them.

She nodded. “Yes.
. .
in here.”

Desperate to regain control, she led him to the pine table in the foyer where she’d dropped the box. “There it is.”

Dante’s jaw tightened as he slipped on plastic gloves, then used a pair of tweezers to pick up ‘the ring and examine it. She wrapped her arms around herself as he brought it near his nose and sniffed.

“You’re right, it’s fresh blood. Human?’ He angled his head toward her. “You’re sure this ring belonged to Jordie?”

She shrugged. “It’s identical to the one she was wearing when I saw her. She told me it was a graduation present from her mother, that it had been passed down from her grandmother.”

“I’ll take it to the lab, have the blood analyzed, and the ring and box dusted for prints.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did you touch it?”

“No, just the outside of the box.”

“Was there a card or a note with the box?”

“No.” She rubbed her arms with her hands. “There’s no return address on it either, so it must have been hand delivered.”

Forbidden Passion

His frown deepened, and nerves skated through her. If someone had hurt Jordie, why would they leave the girl’s bloody ring on her doorstep?

“You didn’t see or hear anyone leaving as you drove up?”

She shook her head again. “I’m afraid not.”

“So we don’t know when it was left here?”

“I went to the lab this morning around eight and haven’t been home since, so it could have been dropped off any time today.”

He nodded, but anger ‘radiated from his every pore. “What are you’ doing back here in Mysteria?”

His bluntness sounded almost like an accusation. “I work at BloodCore.”

“Is that the only reason?”

Pain clenched her lungs. “I want to know what happened to my mother and sister,” she said. “Why no one ever found their killers.”

He stared at her for so long that her body trembled from the impact. “Don’t, Marlena. Let it, go.”

“Why should I?” she said, her temper flaring,

The scar running down his neck into his shirt darkened as he tensed: “Because it’s too dangerous.”

His icy tone made her take a step back. “I can’t. I’ve made it my life’s work to understand deviant behavior. If I know who killed my family, maybe I can finally understand the reason and move on.”

A sinister look settled in his eyes, one that made her wonder if this man was really the same boy who’d saved her years ago. If he was the hero she remembered.

Or if something had changed him.

“You treat psychiatric patients, Marlena. You know sometimes there is just evil.”

She couldn’t deny his comment, although his reference, or maybe acceptance, of evil bothered her. “You were there, Dante. I’d think you would want to know what happened, too.”

He narrowed his eyes to menacing slits. “That was years ago. I’m sure the sheriff did his best to find the killer. I have a current case to’ investigate.”

She crossed her arms. “Right. You need to see if Jordie is safe.”

“Maybe one of your patients killed her and brought you his trophy?”

Guilt nagged at her as she considered that theory, but she couldn’t accuse one of her patients without concrete evidence.

“I have Jordie’s address,” he continued. “She didn’t show up for her evening work shift, so I’ll. drive out to her house and see if she’s home.”

Marlena reached for her coat. “I’ll go with you.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “No. I’ll let you know what I find.”

Marlena caught his arm just before he headed out the door. “I’m a doctor, Dante. If she’s hurt, she might need medical treatment.”

Hesitation flared in his expression, but he finally nodded.

She grabbed her coat and they rushed out to his SUV.

As he shifted gears, Marlena fastened her seatbelt and said a silent prayer that Jordie was all right.

Dante clenched the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip. Marlena had come back to Mysteria to find out what had happened to her family.

He couldn’t let her discover the truth.

And he couldn’t let her touch him again.

He was in deep shit here.

Just the brush of her fingers against his skin had sent a tingling rush through his system and aroused him to the point of pain.

Marlena Bender was off limits. Forbidden. A human he couldn’t have.

But he wanted her with a vengeance.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to focus on the road as the wind battered the Jeep.

Marlena rubbed her temple as if massaging a headache, and he wished to hell he hadn’t let her come with him. Her feminine scent was driving his blood wild with lust.

But if Jordie was alive and hurt, Marlena was right— she might need a doctor.

“I was surprised to find out that you were sheriff,” Marlena said, breaking the tense silence stretching between them. “Although I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised since you saved my life that day.”

He grunted. She thought he was a fucking hero when he was only trying to make amends for his sins.

“I told you to leave the past alone,” he muttered. “Nothing good can come of stirring up trouble.”

“How can you say that?” Marlena asked. “Knowing. who killed my family and putting them in jail would finally give me closure. And what if these guys have killed again? As sheriff, wouldn’t you want to stop them?”

“Most likely they left the area a long time ago,” Dante argued.

In fact, he knew they had gone on to hunt in’ other towns. But if they returned, he would track them down.

They weren’t going to feed off the locals, not on his watch.

Marlena sighed. “I read the papers, Dante. I know there have been other unexplained deaths over the years.”

He gritted his teeth. “That doesn’t mean they’re related to your family’s death.”

“I know that. But the nightmares.
. .
won’t leave me alone. I have to do something.”

Dammit. Her return could draw back the very demons who’d destroyed her life.

“Like I told you; it’s’ dangerous,” be growled.”If you start digging around and the killers find out, they might come after you, Marlena.”

Fear turned her green eyes to dark emeralds. “I don’t care,” she said. “I have to know the truth. I’ve relived that attack for years.”

This time he reached out and covered her hand with his. Instant lust shot through him. He liked his sex fast and furious. With Marlena it would be fast and furious and potent.

But then he might want her again and again.
.
.Slow and languid…

He might even want to wake up with her.

That was too dangerous.

“Let me handle things, okay?”

Her fingers tightened below his, curling up into his palm in a trusting gesture.

Hell, he was the last person she should trust.

“Why were you in the woods that day, Dante?” she asked softly.

There it was. The one question he’d feared she’d ask.

The one question he couldn’t answer Without exposing the truth about what he was. And if that truth were revealed, the town would lynch him instead of allowing him to protect them.

“Dante?”

He abruptly released her hand. He had to break the connection and kill the desire thrumming through him. “I was camping downstream,” he said. “When I heard the screams, I came running.”

Thankfully, he found the dirt road leading to the cabin where Jordie lived and veered onto it. Ahead smoke billowed in a fog and curled upward.

Marlena tensed. “Look, something’s on fire.”

Dread balled in Dante’s stomach as he broke through the clearing and spotted a smoking tree. Holy fuck. A woman’s body was tied to it.

Marlena gasped as he threw the Jeep into Park.

He pressed his arm in front of her to stop her when She reached for the car door. “Stay here.”

The scent of burning tree bark seeped into his pores the moment he stepped from his SUV. Slowly he moved toward the tall oak, his gaze zeroing in on the woman’s body dangling from a low branch. Her skin was ashen where the flames had eaten it away, but he recognized her face. Jordie.

Marlena inched up behind him. “Oh, my God.
.

Dante froze at the sound of her raspy sigh. Instincts honed, he pivoted and studied the periphery to make certain the killer wasn’t lurking around watching.

The dead leaves covering the ground rustled in the hills, the bare branches swayed on the mountain, and whispers of death and evil echoed off the ridge.

Something was out there, but he couldn’t be sure what it was. A human or a demon? The killer or another predator?

Marlena’s sob broke into the haze. “Poor Jordie.
. .
Who would do such a thing?”

Dante had witnessed gruesome murders, savage brutality, mutilated animals and humans before. But Marlena had left Mysteria to escape them.

The sight of tears on her face wrenched at him. He couldn’t care about this woman. He had a job to do.

The fact that there had been other mysterious deaths and disappearances over the years gnawed at him. He knew they were demon-related, but the sheriff before him and the one before him had always found some plausible explanation. Wild animals. ,A drifter. A domestic dispute.

But he knew the truth.

He pulled her up against him and buried her head against his chest to shield her from the horror.

“Why would someone do this to Jordie?” Marlena whispered again.

The image of the bloody pearl ring flashed in Dante’s head.

It wasn’t a coincidence that Jordie had been sadistically murdered, and that the killer had left Marlena his trophy.

Dammit. The perp knew Marlena and wanted to lure her into his twisted game.

Which meant Marlena was in danger.

Marlena blinked rapidly to erase the horrible images in her mind. But her heart was pounding and all she could think was that it was too late. Too late for Jordie as it had been for her mother and sister.

That some sick twisted monster had brutalized the young waitress, and that he’d been at her house, on her porch.

That he’d left Jordie’s ring for her to find. Jordie’s ring all bloody…

Blood she could handle. She dealt with it every day. Samples of blood, but not fresh blood from a murder victim’s body.

Especially a murdered woman that she knew. That she’d talked to almost every morning this past week when she’d stopped by the diner for coffee on her way to work.

“Marlena,” Dante said gruffly. “I need to call in a crime unit and search Jordie’s house?’ He coached her back to the SUV. “Wait inside the Jeep, and lock the doors. If you see or hear anything or anyone suspicious, just honk the horn, and I’ll be right there.”

She nodded’ against his chest, the cold wind coupled with shock chilling her all the way to her bones as he led her back to the car.

With one deft movement, he unlocked the glove compartment and removed a pistol, at the same time scanning the woods, the house, the property.. He thought the killer might still be around.

“Do you know how to use a gun?” he asked.