Hot Demon in the City (Latter Day Demons Book 1) (20 page)

"Not yet," I said, attempting to keep my voice civil. "Anita and I are discussing it."

"I think you can do better." She snapped her compact shut and smiled into the rear-view mirror.

"I've done well enough," I said, trying unsuccessfully not to grind my teeth.

"She's a nobody," Hannah added, as if she hadn't heard my reply. "Besides, you can always get a little on the side. Nobody will know."

"I'm not interested in that," I said. "Sorry." I wasn't sorry. Frankly, I wanted to stop the car, jerk Hannah out of the back seat and wring her neck. Maybe a Deputy Coroner liked what she had to offer, but I wanted no part of Hannah (the Horrible) Tilton.

I hoped the CEO would give her all she wanted, just so she'd leave me alone. I pulled up to the curb and got out to open her door. She held onto my hand too long as I helped her from the back seat; I had to pull it away from hers as gently as I could while mumbling nonsense about parking tickets.

"I'll text when I need a ride back," she blew me a kiss. The doorman didn't miss the exchange when he opened the door for her.

Cursing under my breath, I slid onto the driver's seat and buckled in. Gossip would likely travel at the speed of sound, letting Anita know before the day was out that her supposed fiancé was diddling Hannah Tilton.

While pulling away from the curb, I considered turning in my notice, which would be a direct violation of my parole on Earth. That, in turn, would sentence me to an extra five years in this special version of hell.

* * *

Lexsi

Anita picked me up after work, her mouth set in a grim line.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Hannah."

"What did she do?" I asked.

"She made a spectacle of herself when Kory dropped her off at the Rome building," she said. "Now everybody thinks my fake fiancé is having sex with her."

"So they're all talking about you behind your back, then?"

"Yes. It didn't bother me at first, until they started calling me blind and stupid."

"Then call it off. Kory will have to think up another excuse to keep Hannah away."

"I want to give Hannah a piece of my mind instead. That's not possible, since she's already obsessed by somebody else."

"Maybe we ought to hunt the one who obsessed her, then," I said.

"Maybe we ought to rip his head off his neck, after forcing him to remove the obsession," Anita grumbled.

"My guess is, he's in league with the Romes up to his hairline, in addition to being best buds with Granger and Claudia," I observed. "Did you get the info on George?"

"It's in my purse. Thanks for the tip on the Romes practicing sex discrimination, along with all the other versions."

"It's the least I could do," I shrugged. "Since you're engaged to my boyfriend and all."

"What's for dinner? I'm starved," Anita said.

"Well, something different if you'll stop by the grocery store first."

"I'm all over that," she replied and pulled out of the station's parking lot.

* * *

"This is like Luigi's sauce, only better," Farin sighed after tasting the shrimp linguini I'd fixed for dinner.

"You've had his?" I asked.

"Yeah, Tibby took me. That was good; this is so much better. How did you get him to give you the recipe?"

"He didn't. I tasted his sauce today during an interview. I knew pretty much what was in it after that, so I thought I'd make some improvements. Turned out well enough," I said.

"It's better than awesome," Watson held out his plate for more. Kory hid a grin and speared a shrimp with his fork. I could tell he liked the food, too.

Rick's eyes were on me while I ate; I didn't say anything, although it made me uncomfortable. At that moment, I wanted Kory to have mindspeech, so he'd know. He looked up at me just then.

"Any word on that missing kidnap victim?" he asked.

"Just a random report. Somebody who was half drunk while crossing the border back into the States swears he saw the guy in a car with two others, but nobody is giving the report credence."

"Why would he be crossing the border anyway?" Farin asked. "Seems to me, he'd avoid the area after being kidnapped the first time."

"That's what most people, including the border guards and local police are saying. Border guards say they never saw anything, and they were checking cars."

"So there's really nothing new," Rick said, lifting his glass of wine to drink.

"No, there's really nothing new. Lee gave you a compliment today," I said.

"Me?" Rick set his wineglass down and blinked at me.

"He said you were an amazing meteorologist. Said we tried to hire you, once."

"I remember. It was last year, when Trey Downing retired. I turned it down."

"He turned it down because of me," Farin sighed and stared at her plate. "Rick wanted me to be promoted. You see how that turned out."

"Just because the Romes are jackasses doesn't mean you didn't deserve the promotion," Anita pointed out. "Because you did."

"I agree," I said. "I told Lee what I thought about the whole thing. I mean, Gerald is okay, but he's no Farin Armstrong."

"Yeah—his clothes are a dead giveaway," Watson quipped.

Kory snickered before slapping a grinning Watson on the back.

Farin rolled her eyes while Rick tried not to laugh. "See—this is the difference between men and women," Anita began. "We were discussing Farin's superior abilities, while you three only consider the way she dresses."

"That's not true," Watson disagreed. "We were considering the way Gerald dresses. Have you seen those godawful golf pants he wears every Fourth of July?"

"With knee-socks—don't forget those," Rick chuckled.

"Have you seen him at national conventions?" Farin asked. "I saw him last year—he wore shorts, black socks and sandals to a meeting. When pictures of that got out, Lee told him he could only wear suits at public functions from now on."

Everyone at the table laughed.

* * *

We were clearing dishes away when I got the call from Lee. "Can you come in? Hannah's off tonight and this is important."

"What's important?"

"A women's shelter in Austin was attacked. Six are confirmed dead," Lee replied.

"How?" I asked. "How were the women killed?"

"The six confirmed deaths all died in their beds. They're checking now for signs of rape before they were—ah—dismembered."

"I'll be there as quick as I can," I said and ended the call.

"What's this?" Kory took the phone from my hand and tilted my chin up with a finger.

"I think the real Loftin Qualls just left his calling card at an Austin women's shelter."

* * *

"The FBI is now involved," I reported an hour later. "As yet, no witnesses have come forward and information regarding the identity of this killer is unavailable. A massive manhunt is underway and several K-9 units have been called in to join the search."

Lee, who'd been called in just as I had, gave me a nod when the segment ended. "We'll let the others have it now," he said. "I'm concerned that whoever did this is long gone."

"I worry about that, too," I said. I had more information than Lee might ever have, and it frightened me. Not only had Loftin Qualls managed to get out of jail, leaving someone else to die in his place, he'd gotten past security at a shelter to kill six women who'd gone to bed early.

Everyone else at the shelter had to be moved after they were questioned. How had those women died without anyone seeing or hearing something?

"Still no word on that missing kidnap victim?" I asked.

"I checked around eight tonight—still nothing," Lee shook his head. "Look, go home. You have an early morning tomorrow. I don't expect Hannah until around noon."

I suspected that she was spending the night with the recently divorced CEO, but I didn't say it. Lee probably suspected the same thing. Anita would suffer through all the gossip Hannah started, while Hannah would skate through another affair because everybody was afraid to talk about her infidelities.

Afraid Hannah would get them fired
, I reminded myself.

Maybe she was in bed with James Rome, Jr., who wasn't really James Rome Jr.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled.

How had I not put this together before? Somewhere, the real James Rome, Jr. was likely held prisoner or trapped somehow, because he looked like someone else. At least I hoped he was. Like Loftin Qualls' replacement, he could also be quite dead.

How were they doing this?

Why
were they doing this?

Had Laurel found a way to get rid of her husband, and replace him with someone she liked better? I didn't use the word love, because I doubted Laurel actually knew how to do that. When I'd met her, she may as well have worn a T-shirt that said
Power Hungry and Self-Serving
.

Loftin Qualls had money; his family had even more money. Had Laurel approached them with an offer, in exchange for an obscene amount of cash or favors of some sort?

I went in search of Kory so we could go home, while my brain sifted through possibility after possibility.

* * *

"Here." Kory set a glass of bourbon in front of me. "It's the best I could find in the liquor cabinet. Watson's been drinking more than I thought."

I hated bourbon. I intended to drink it anyway, or I wouldn't sleep. While some images of the women's shelter were shown on the news during my broadcast, none of them were the horrific ones—of the hallway splattered with blood after the killer went from room to room.

Boot prints could be seen, even from the distance the photographs had been taken. My guess was that the shoe size wouldn't match Loftin Qualls'; it would match someone else's.

"Don't dwell on it tonight; you'll waste the booze," Kory set another glass of bourbon on the island and took the barstool next to mine.

"Easy for you to say." I lifted my glass and swallowed as much as I could, before setting the drink down and struggling not to gag.

"Take it easy. I don't mind holding your hair while you barf, but the experience has to be unpleasant for you," Kory teased.

"Can we not discuss barfing?" I mumbled and buried my face in my arms.

"Hey, now," he pulled my hair aside and massaged my neck. I wanted to moan with pleasure, his hand felt so good against my skin.

"You're really tense, onion," Kory breathed against my hair.

He was right. I felt as if I were about to burst with the information I held inside me—information that still came no closer to a resolution of any kind.

If Laurel Rome were behind all this, why did she need the Qualls' money? She had plenty of her own.

Why was she—and the man pretending to be her husband—in league with Granger and Claudia? What parts did they all play in this? Did Hannah know anything? Was the Sirenali who'd obsessed Hannah involved in this, too?

"This is so fucked up," I muttered. Kory's hand went still on my neck.

"What's fucked up? Never mind, I know the answer." He went back to massaging my neck, before switching to both hands and moving to my shoulders. Before long, he pulled me to my feet and herded me toward my bedroom. If he'd asked then, I'd have let him spend the night in my bed.

He didn't. Instead, he pushed me through the door and shut it softly behind me. I felt abandoned as his footsteps faded down the hall.

* * *

Kordevik

A much younger High Demon wouldn't—
couldn't
—have controlled his Thifilathi.

I barely did it. With her neck exposed and my hands on it, the animal part of me almost manifested. Lexsi would have been scarred for life if I'd allowed it to happen, physically and emotionally.

Placing claiming marks while the recipient was awake was horribly painful. Besides, Lexsi believed me to be human. When she recovered, she'd likely never want to see me again if I'd let my Thifilathi loose.

Fuck
.

What was I going to do? She was probably wondering why I hadn't kissed her yet.

Double fuck
.

Not only were we drowning in a mystery we couldn't solve, our relationship might disintegrate because I couldn't behave like a normal human suitor.

Yes, I wanted to march back to her room, get in bed with her and do what any normal male would do—make love to the woman of his dreams. Perhaps six months ago, I'd have been so pissed I'd have placed my claiming marks and let things fall out as they would.

That was before I knew her.

Before I loved her.

Fuck.

Chapter 13

Lexsi

"Hannah looks like she's been rode hard and put up wet," Farin snickered as I poured coffee in the breakroom. It was nearly noon and I was having a fourth cup to make up for a mostly sleepless night.

"She's here?"

"I saw her walking toward her office just now."

"Your equine reference has not been lost upon me," I held up my free hand.

Farin giggled. She was in a good mood—as she should be. Tibby had shown up after dinner the night before and slept in Farin's room.

I couldn't help comparing her experience with mine, which left me frustrated, unfulfilled and sleeping alone.

Yes, it would be my first time, but I wanted it with Kory and nobody else. At least Farin wasn't obsessing over the people who'd planted a bomb at her apartment. Davis and Thomas were doing a good job on that front.

"What's the latest on those murders?" Farin asked as Gerald Castleman, the station's chief meteorologist and her boss, walked in.

"The FBI and local police haven't given us any new information," I replied. "All we have is what we had last night. I've even contacted someone I know at a Texas station—they're in the same boat, with very little to report."

"Storms in the Austin area tonight," Gerald said while pouring coffee. "Rain may wash away evidence."

"I'm worried that there wasn't much evidence last night—or today," I said. "Nice to see you in early, Gerald," I saluted him with my coffee cup. Farin grinned behind Gerald's back as I walked out the door.

* * *

Kordevik

"No, we're having lunch, during which we will break it off," Anita hissed as she took my arm. I'd gone to her office to pick her up for our impromptu lunch date; she'd called me midmorning to inform me that we were going out.

"So, it makes you look better and me worse at the same time?" I whispered. Yes, I did my best to hold back my anger. After fighting my Thifilathi the night before, this really wasn't a good time for Anita to get me riled up again.

"Hey, I was helping you out," she snapped. "But after Hannah's stunt, this has to end. I didn't sign up to be the subject of nasty gossip. You're on your own, now, with that witch."

"Where do you want to have lunch?" I spoke in a normal voice.

"Oh, pizza sounds good."

"Pizza it is."

* * *

"Here," Anita handed the engagement ring back to me. We sat in a small pizza place six blocks from the Rome Building, waiting for our order. "I can't tell you how awkward it felt wearing that, when all you can do is watch Lexsi," she added.

"Thanks for helping me—or at least trying to help me." My words were sincere as I pocketed the ring with a nod. "I'll try to get the money back from the jewelry store."

"Yeah. I'd suggest offering it to Lexsi, but she deserves her own ring, not one worn for a while by someone else."

"You think she'd take anything from me?" I snorted.

"She might," Anita shrugged.

"There are things that have to happen first," I said. "One of those things is getting a certain vampire and werewolf off my back."

"There's that," she agreed. "I'm surprised you haven't seen more of them, to be honest."

"I think they're scared witless and hoping some other fool will look at the reward offered and try to take me off guard."

"Why would they be scared witless?" she asked, sucking on her straw. I watched strawberry lemonade move through the plastic tube for a moment before I realized what I'd done.

"Hmmph. I don't have to answer that," I said.

"I think you ought to tell Lexsi there's more to you than meets the eye. Just like there's more to her."

"You think that will solve anything?" I tossed out a hand. "You don't even have half the story and you're trying to give me advice."

"I know enough," Anita snapped at me. "I sure as hell hope you're bulletproof in every way, too, because you're probably going to need it."

"I can take care of myself." Rising from my chair, I slammed it beneath the small table and stalked out of the restaurant.

A bullet tore a hole in the sleeve of my favorite jacket before I could skip away.

* * *

Lexsi

"He wasn't in the Jeep when it exploded," Anita attempted to calm me down. She'd shown up at the station five minutes after I got the report of a car bomb near a pizza restaurant. Cell phone images sent by people near the site identified Kory's Jeep perfectly, right down to the tag, which survived the bomb.

"Then where is he?" I shouted.

"Shhh," Anita jerked her head toward the hallway. Heads were poking out of doorways to see what was going on.

"I'm here," Kory stalked in, looking as if he were prepared to wrestle a bear.

"What happened?" Anita fingered the hole in Kory's jacket. He jerked his arm away.

"Somebody tried to shoot me, that's what," he muttered angrily. "Then they blew up my Jeep."

"Oh, no," I whispered. "They tried to kill you twice?"

"As you can see, they were unsuccessful both times," Kory said. His words were calm and measured. I watched his eyes, though—a fire burned in their depths. He was so angry he could probably kill with his bare hands.

"Have you uh, talked to the police?" I asked. Kory in this mood frightened me. Things had taken a dangerous turn and I wasn't sure how to react.

"I called our new friends," he growled. "They're on the way to pick me up."

"Are they taking you home?" I asked.

"No. I'm taking a few days off. They said they have a safe place for me to stay."

"But," I began.

"Let it be, onion," he said and turned to walk away.

* * *

Kordevik

I intended to hunt the bastards down who tried to kill me, but I needed help from Davis and Thomas. They were already hunting Granger; I wanted their leads. They'd already promised to keep eyes on Lexsi; I didn't want to place her in further danger because I was staying at her place.

That's why I'd asked if they had a place for me to stay. They'd already checked my condo—it was wired, too. Someone was watching it discreetly, just as they were Farin's.

I stood under the awning at the station's entrance, waiting for the two werewolf agents to arrive. They'd already described their vehicle, so I wouldn't be convinced to climb into the wrong one.

"Want a ride?" Davis' passenger-side window rolled down, revealing his face.

"Yeah." I lifted the gym bag of clothing I'd gathered from my bedroom at Lexsi's and strode toward the vehicle.

The back seat of the SUV was roomy, comfortable and had a new-car scent to it. Stowing my bag on the floor on the opposite side, I shut the door and nodded at Thomas in the rearview mirror.

He pulled away from the curb.

Yes, I felt horrible, walking away from Lexsi like that. I'd done it for a multitude of reasons. Not least of those was that our relationship had progressed faster than I'd expected. It was past time for a first kiss, which I couldn't deliver until she understood the consequences.

In the eyes of our race, it meant we were married. The wedding she'd skipped out on had been a mere formality—for those other races in attendance. Once my Thifilathi claimed her, she'd be marked—and mine—for life.

Strange, how getting to know her in the real sense shifted my views on the subject. I wanted—needed—her consent before I placed my claiming marks.

She didn't need to know that I intended to fry vampires and werewolves; whoever was responsible for the attempts on my life, as well as Anita's, Rick's, Farin's and Mason's.

Lexsi, no doubt, was included in that list somewhere, merely by association.

"Mason says you have unusual talents, although he wouldn't elaborate," Davis turned in his seat to look at me. "He says you're extremely dangerous, actually."

"I intend to be extremely dangerous all over the ones who tried to kill me." An outward breath of smoke accompanied that statement. Davis' eyes widened in surprise.

* * *

Lexsi

Not only had Kory disappeared with the werewolf agents, Hannah, somehow, had managed to get Fiona Hall fired. Yes, she was a drain on the company, and everybody knew she was having an affair with an executive in the downtown office, but Hannah had done it in the most spiteful way possible.

It was why she'd forced Kory to drive her downtown the day before; to convince the CEO (by sleeping with him), to have Fiona officially transferred to the LA station while the executive involved only received a warning on his personnel record. Fiona was fired via e-mail by the LA station's General Manager before she could pack a bag.

Fiona had zero prospects of finding another job as a result; Hannah had effectively destroyed the woman. Fiona wept while clearing out her desk; Hannah asked (loudly) whether someone could shut off the noise.

Grateful that nobody saw the plume of smoke that escaped my nostrils, I sent information to Hannah for her six o'clock broadcast. Fiona's fate would have been mine, too, if Hannah had her way.

I didn't think her obsession had anything to do with the jealousy and nastiness, either—in my opinion, that was all her and nobody else.

"The word is displacement," Farin handed me the battered dictionary from her cubicle.

"Paper?" I held it up.

"Are you pointing out the obvious, or attempting to shame me for destroying trees? I've had that dictionary since I was in grade school. Mom bought it for me."

"All right," I lowered the book and set it on my desk. "Why are you asking me to look up displacement?"

"It'll be the defense mechanism one," she said and turned to walk away.

I went still. Hannah still wanted to fire me, and she'd probably attempted to fire Kory because he'd disappeared on her. Someone had to tell her that Kory was taking a leave of absence after his breakup with Anita; it was the excuse he'd given, anyway.

Hannah wanted him to be her exclusive driver from now on. He'd put a stop to that, albeit inadvertently. Her joy at getting Fiona fired was drowned by her subsequent anger at Kory.

Why did the Romes want such a spiteful bitch working for them? It made no sense—nobody in the industry liked her or considered her talented, let alone a normal human being. I only had to listen to gossip to know what everybody thought of her.

No matter how bad it gets, things can always be worse
, Gran says. That's why I didn't send mindspeech, begging Aunt Bree to allow me to crawl away from the cesspit that contained Hannah Tilton and the Romes.

I knew I was more upset than usual with my job, because Kory had abandoned me. He'd become my sounding board and my solace—more so than Anita, even, and she was willing to go to war for me.

Kory abandoned me
.

Yes, I knew most romances among humans didn't work out.

It was still a blow. Panic threatened—I shoved it down.

To keep from crying in my cubicle, I continued my search for the ten missing men from the California bus. At least one from the Texas bus had shown up. None from the California bus had been found, even with dogs and planes searching the area.

I made calls to the sheriff's office, local law enforcement and anyone else I could think of to contact, just to see if anything new was available.

I kept at it, too, until word came that an employee at the Coroner's Office had disappeared, along with some of the evidence collected from Gentry Mullins' body.

I'd bet my salary the missing items included a metal wristband.

* * *

Kordevik

"We asked for that evidence, dammit," Davis half-shouted into his phone. "Your office dicked us around about it, too. Now you're telling me it's gone—along with an employee? Look, I don't care that it looks like a kidnapping. Find both. Now."

Several seconds went by while Davis listened and fumed. "Look, I know you screwed around with Hannah Tilton, so she could pull that information from you. Did you tell anybody else?"

More seconds ticked by. "You'd better be right, and you better be there when some of my agents arrive. Clear your calendar, because you'll be answering questions all night. We'll also be questioning Ms. Tilton, so the truth would be your best plan of action. Yes, I do want to see all the photographs."

I wanted to see the photographs, too, and wondered if Davis would allow it. After all, I could have some insights that he wouldn't, since he'd been confined to Earth all his life.

* * *

I saw the photographs. Like Davis and Thomas, there was nothing to be made of the plain, silver wristband. It fitted over the wrist like a cuff, with the traditional opening at the back.

"Without the actual piece, these are meaningless," I handed the photos back to Davis.

"I know." He breathed a sigh and shook his head. We were in the evidence section of the coroner's office, where Thomas' wolf was sniffing about, attempting to detect the scent of the kidnapper. So many other scents were likely present, so the effort was futile.