Hotter After Midnight (8 page)

Yeah, Colin had already guessed they were looking for a guy. “Keep going.”

“The killer’s young, probably in his mid-twenties to late thirties, and it’s a good bet that he lives in the area.”

“How do you know he’s not a drifter?” the captain asked, and Colin knew he was hoping the killer was a one-hit wonder who’d just been passing through.

“He knew the house,” Emily explained. “Knew the neighborhood. Knew how to get in and out without being seen. This guy
knew
Preston. He’s not an out-of-towner who just popped in and randomly decided to murder the vic.” And stranger crimes didn’t usually have this dangerous level of rage.

“Well, shit.” McNeal looked even more disgruntled than usual. “There’ve been some rumblings upstairs about this guy being a serial.” He leveled a hard look at the doc. “You told me before you thought he’d do it again.”

“Yes, I did.” Her lips pursed. “But so far, this guy doesn’t fit the strict definition of a serial.”

“You mean because he hasn’t killed three people?” Colin asked.

She nodded. “The FBI requires three victims before the label of serial killer can be applied. So far, we’ve only got one body.”

The doc was holding back. He could feel it. “But?”

“But I think he’s killed before.” She touched the security photo of the hooded figure entering the Myers house. “This guy is confident. He had his plan in mind, probably for days before the actual attack. And there were no hesitation wounds on the victim’s body.” Her tongue snaked out, licked her bottom lip. “He went straight for the kill. This guy’s no amateur, no first-timer feeling his way. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”

“But until we find more bodies, we can’t say he’s a serial,” McNeal muttered.

“Right.”

Colin didn’t think that was a particularly bad thing. The public tended to panic when they got news that a serial killer was on the streets, and a panicked public could be very dangerous.

“If he is a true serial killer, he won’t attack anyone else right away. He’ll wait and have a cooling-off time. Could be for a few days or it could be years.” She began to straighten the photos, putting them into a nice, neat pile. “Course, since the guy’s a shifter, the normal serial rules might not apply at all.”

“What rules would apply?” This came from the captain, who was no longer leaning back against the wall. He’d shot to attention as Emily spoke, and now he stood at the edge of the table, arms crossed over his chest.

“Well, if we’re right and he
is
a shifter, then here are a few generalities for you.” She didn’t glance toward Colin as she spoke. “The guy’s about five times stronger than a human male. He’s highly sexual, got an extremely high IQ, and he’s damn good at manipulation.”

Colin stiffened at that. “Manipulation?” He didn’t particularly like that term.

Her head turned slowly, and she met his gaze. “Shifters are born looking human, but they carry beasts their whole lives. They have to hide their animal natures, have to pretend to be just like everyone else, and usually, by the time shifters reach adulthood, they’re damn good at pretending.”

You have to pretend, or else the humans will kill you. Hunt you and kill you.

Emily glanced back at McNeal. “He’s used to lying, used to hiding, used to blending in with the crowd.”

“If this guy is so damn good at blending in,” McNeal muttered, “then how the hell are we going to find him?”

Good question, and one that Colin didn’t have a ready answer for. Sure, he was chasing down leads. He was planning to go see just what Jake Donnelley knew about the case, but flushing out a shifter? That wasn’t going to be easy. Not by a long shot.

“We have to go into his world,” Emily said softly. “Preston was involved with at least one demon that I know of. He could know other SBs. Maybe we can get one of them to talk to us.”

Well, hell, the doc had just voiced his own plan.

McNeal shot him a quick, searching glance.

Colin nodded. “That’s my general plan.” Emily had just beaten him to the punch.

The captain grunted. “You can’t take Brooks with you to question them. The guy doesn’t understand the circumstances of this crime.”

Yeah, he knew Brooks was out. The guy was a decent partner. Smart, tough, and dependable. Hell, the guy’s main flaw seemed to be that he was always chasing a new lady.

Brooks was a good-enough guy, but he had no clue about the existence of the
Other
in the world. No idea that the creatures from the horror flicks he loved so much were actually real.

His partner lived in the human reality, the black-and-white world where bad guys pulled guns or knives on you—not the world where shape-shifters could rip you apart or demons could incinerate you.

“Take Dr. Drake with you.”

Colin jerked at the order, sure he’d misunderstood. “Ah, run that by me again, Captain.”

McNeal’s lips thinned. “You heard me, Gyth. You need someone to go with you when you interview the
Other
. You need her.

Hell, without her, you won’t even be able to tell the difference between the humans and the—”

“It’s not safe for her,” Colin snarled, cutting across the captain’s words. Take Emily with him to interview demons, shifters? Hell, no.

“You keep her safe.”

“I—” He floundered. Well, sure if Emily was with him, he’d do everything in his power to protect her. But he didn’t want to put her at risk. Anything could happen on the street, and if someone were to hurt the doc on his watch…

His nails began to stretch into claws.

What the fuck?

Colin balled his hands into fists and jerked away from McNeal and Emily. He hoped they hadn’t seen the change. Hoped they hadn’t noticed the razor-sharp claws that sprung from his fingertips.

Jesus.
That had never happened before. He’d never had the change come on him so damn fast when there wasn’t a physical threat nearby.

What in the hell is happening to me?

“Colin?” Emily’s voice. The soft drawl was laced with concern.

Great.

“She doesn’t go.” He didn’t look back at her. At the captain. His normal control wasn’t back yet, and he was having to fight the lure of the beast.

McNeal grunted. “Don’t be an asshole, Detective. You need her and you know it.”

The faint creak of the floorboards grated against his ears.
Emily is inching closer to me.

Get your control back, man. Get it back now.

He spun around, came face-to-face with her.

Her green eyes widened and her lips parted on a startled breath of surprise.

With the beast so close, all of his senses were heightened. Her scent filled his nostrils, and the light whisper of her breathing filled his ears. He could even hear the faint drum of her heart. Beating fast, so fast.

“Are you all right?” Her brows drew together as she stared up at him.

And he wondered just what she was feeling. Was the doc using her mojo? Was she tapping into his emotions? Before she’d told him that he projected, and he bet the beast was projecting a hell of a lot of raw emotion straight at her then.

“I’m fine,” he gritted, and it was the truth. The beast had just tried to slip its leash for a moment, but the animal was chained again.

Emily had lifted her right hand toward him. It hung in the air, hovering just above his chest. As he watched, her fingers slowly lowered and she pulled back her hand, stepping away from him.

“A civilian can’t work the street.” And his captain should damn well know that. “She’s not armed. She won’t be able to defend herself.”

“But she’ll know exactly who you need to talk with, won’t she, Detective?” The captain looked about as satisfied as a man could get. The jerk.

Yeah, she’d know who he needed to interview. She’d make his questioning go a hell of a lot faster.

But the idea of taking her with him…

It didn’t sit well with him. Not one damn bit.

“You need me, Gyth,” Emily told him softly. And yeah, she was right. He needed her for the case.

Needed her in his bed.

Right then, he wasn’t pleased with either fact.

His eyes narrowed on her. “If we do this, you do what I say, exactly as I order.” Keeping the doc under his control wasn’t gonna be easy. Hell, this was the same woman who’d gone traipsing after him as he searched that old vacant lot near her house.

I thought you might need my help.

Dammit, taking her out on the streets with him would be hell.

“Do you think you can do it, Doc?” he asked, taking a step toward her. Their bodies were close, so close he could feel the warmth of her skin against him. “Do you think you’ll be able to take orders from me?”
To actually follow those orders?

Her jaw clenched and her green eyes blazed with fire. “Yes,” she gritted. “I think I can.”

Well, he might not like it, but it looked like he and the doc would be working the street together.

And since Jake Donnelley had asked for a meeting at the Paradise Found in—Colin glanced down at his watch—less than an hour and a half, it looked like their partnership was about to get started.

Shit, but he wasn’t pleased with this situation. Not one damn bit.

His captain was glaring at him, giving him the old you’d-damn-well-better-not-screw-this-up stare.

Emily was gazing up at him, eyes slightly narrowed. Anger burned in her green eyes.

That couldn’t bode well for the night.

He leaned in toward Emily, pitched his voice low as he whispered in her ear. “If we’re doin’ this, then you remember that I’m the one in charge. You listen to me, Doc. And you do exactly as I say.”

She exhaled heavily. “I’m not an idiot, you know,” she snapped, making no effort to lower her voice. “I know you’re the one with the police experience.”

Oh, that had been easy. Too easy, really.

Her index finger jabbed into his chest. “But don’t forget I’m the one with the
Other
experience.” Then, finally,
finally,
the woman decided to lower her voice as she whispered, “You might think you’re the baddest thing out there, Gyth, but I’ve got news for you…I’ve seen things a hell of a lot scarier than a cop shifter.”

His gaze shot to McNeal’s. But the captain was just staring blandly back at him. His lips were curved with faint amusement.

He bit back the words that sprang to his lips. If Emily ever saw the beast he carried, he’d bet his life it’d scare her. Hell, when his ex-partner had seen his other form, Mike had run like hell. Then Mike had come back and tried to kill him.

Good thing he was hard to kill.

“So are we going to do this?” Emily stepped back. Reached for the files on the table. “Or are you too worried that my presence will screw up your case?”

Oh, he was worried. But they’d do it anyway. He’d play her game, play the captain’s game, for now.

And he’d make damn sure he kept the doc safe. He’d stick by her side every moment.

He just hoped she meant what she’d said about following his orders. Because listening to him, doing exactly as he ordered, well, that could be the difference between life and death.

“Umm, glad that’s settled then.” McNeal stretched slowly. “I’m going to get out of here.” He shot a quick, hard glance at Colin as he opened the door. “Let me know how the meeting goes.”

His head inclined in a barely perceptible nod. He’d briefed the captain earlier about Donnelley’s note. In hindsight, he now saw that hadn’t been the best plan. It’d obviously made McNeal think the doc would have a connection with the suspects on the case.

The fact that Emily
did
have a connection with them only pissed him off more.

He hated being forced into a corner.

Colin waited until Emily bid the captain good night, waited until the glass door swung shut behind McNeal, then he reached for her hand.

His fingers locked around her wrist, and her pulse pounded fast and hard beneath his touch.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Once he took her onto the street, there would be no going back. Acting as a profiler was one thing. She could sit back in an air-conditioned office and scribble her notes, but going with him to talk to the
Other
…well, it could make her a target. A very big target.

Behind her glasses, her green eyes stared straight back at him. There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in her expression. “I’m sure.”

“All right, then, Doc. Let’s go find out what our cameraman has to say.” Yep, it was time to go and meet Jake Donnelley. Time to go to Paradise Found.

According to Emily the place was the town’s number one demon hangout.

As dates went, it wasn’t his best.

Then again, it wasn’t his worst either.

G
etting past the seven-foot-tall demon guarding the door of Paradise Found had been incredibly easy.

She’d handed the guy a twenty, and he’d let them slip right past without even a raised brow.

The guy had known they weren’t demons. They didn’t carry the “demon scent” that marked the beings of that race. No, Emily knew she just smelled human. She wasn’t exactly sure how Colin had registered to the bouncer’s sensitive nose.

“That was easy,” Colin muttered, his eyes sweeping across the darkened interior of Paradise Found. “I would’ve thought it would be harder to get into one of the pits of hell.”

Yes, and if the bouncer hadn’t been one of her ex-patients, Emily was certain it would have been much, much more difficult.

Demons were real particular about letting humans into their playgrounds. And from what she’d learned over the years, they didn’t feel a whole lot of love for shifters, either. But then, who did? Shifters were the black sheep of the
Other
family.

She’d been to Paradise Found before. Once she’d hung out there far, far too often.

The place still looked the same. Dim lighting snaked across the bar, hiding the demons in the darkness. The old dance floor was still as small, and as packed with humans as ever. Jesus, the place even smelled the same. Sweat, alcohol, and sex.

Very carefully, Emily unclenched her hands. When had she balled her fingers into fists? Probably the second she’d stepped over the threshold and entered the bar.