Hunter's Rise (35 page)

Rising, he made a meandering path over to the window, gave an absent glance out. Saw the other were in a lot across the street.

Blond. Tall. Lean. Had a woman at his side… vamp. Pretty one. And it wasn’t five seconds before they both looked up and saw him in the window. He could see the way the were’s eyes narrowed. Felt the dominance rolling from him.

Sean curled his lip at him and turned away. He had a scene to work. If the wolf was still around when he finished, Sean would talk to him. If not, wasn’t that what AT… T was for?

D

ESPITE
the restless, futile rage rolling through her, Sylvia was amused when she caught the way the were turned his back on them. She’d felt that silent roll of power come from Toronto. If she’d been a wolf, she would have been cowering at his feet.

“I don’t think he’s too impressed with you,” she said mildly.

Toronto slid her a narrow look. “I wasn’t really trying. If I wanted him down here, trust me, he’d be down here.” He shrugged and started to pace, his head tipped back, nostrils flared. “The vamp was here— the one we’re tracking. I’m still thinking he did this to throw us off his trail. Has been gone a few hours— some power, because I think he left before sunset. Did the kill earlier in the day, maybe when Pulaski was sleeping.”

Sylvia had already noticed that, but she remained silent. He was working through the scent pattern or something. That required more skill than she had.

“He was clean when he left. No blood on him. Wasn’t angry or anything, either. Not angry, not afraid.” Toronto stopped, his eyes hooded as he stared off into the night. “This didn’t mean much of anything to him.”

“Maybe he’s just good at control.”

“No.” Shaking his head, he continued to stare off into the
night as he picked the scent trail apart. “There’s something else…”

“Like…?”

“Well, he’s fucking nuts for one. I smell the madness in him— it’s like his brain is rotting inside.” Then he shrugged. “Other than that, I’d need to be closer to the scene. Closer to where he was. And we can’t do that with all the cops crawling around. This is enough for now.”

Flicking one more look at the hotel, he headed back to the car. As he slipped into the seat, he grabbed his phone and sent Rafe a message.
At hotel. Not much for me to see here. Heading out now. Need to talk to that cop. Will call him from the road—number?

It wasn’t but a minute before the reply came back.
Just keep it at a phone call, Tor. And remember he’s got his hands full and he’s not one of ours, not one of yours.

“Yeah, yeah.” Toronto curled his lip and glanced up at the hotel. Wasn’t like he’d been planning to storm in there and demand the other wolf start licking his boots or anything.

He sent a quick text.
I’d like a word when you have time, cop.

He hadn’t even pulled out of the lot before the reply came.

If this is the blond guy or the hot brunette, it will have to wait. Other things take precedence.

Toronto narrowed his eyes as he slowed for a red light. That little pup had better watch it around the hot brunette… she was Tor’s.
You don’t want it to wait too long, cop. I just want details. You call me when you have five minutes, but you might want to do it soon.

The next text came with a short response. Toronto snorted.

“You look amused.” Sylvia gave him a narrow look. “I don’t see too much about this that’s amusing.”

“That’s because you weren’t just told to go howl at the moon by a wolf you could break with one hand behind your back.” He dumped the phone on the console. Something told him he’d have a bit of a wait before he got the call he needed, but that was okay. The vamp was already on the move.

“Where to?”

He shot Sylvia a look as he hit the gas and shot up the ramp
to the expressway. “Back on the road. We’ll be in Toronto before dawn.”

“But…” She glanced back toward Detroit. “We need to find out more about what happened to Pulaski.”

“No, we don’t,” Toronto said quietly. “Other people have this. We need to find his killer, figure out why in the hell he did this publicly, make sure he won’t do it again. Or at least that’s what I have to do. I can’t make you come with me.”

“What, you’re not going to take over again?” she muttered. Sighing, she shook her head. “We started it together. We finish together.”

Then, as the night wind came blowing in through the open windows, he reached over and caught her hand. His thumb rubbed over the back of it. “Rafe already knows we’re working this together. I’ll call him. We’ll get something to give to the family— they’ll have peace.”

Sylvia closed her eyes. “And what about the other kids he stole?”

“Rafe’s working on that. We’ll put a witch or something on it.”

Sylvia closed her eyes. “It’s too late.”

“Not yet, it’s not. Some of the witches, some of the psychics, they have freaky ass talents— some of them can pull memories from a fresh corpse, if they have to. Others can visit his home, maybe find something there that can lead them to his victims— what he did there is going to linger. Somebody will be able to untangle it and find answers.” He twined his fingers with hers. “I’m sorry.”

She was glad he didn’t mention anything about how she’d tried to act as though those other victims hadn’t been a concern. They had always been a concern. And now…
Stop it
, she told herself.
Just stop it.

“Hell. He’s dead. That’s justice enough.” Turning her head, she stared at him in the night. “It wasn’t for me, though. Not really. One of the boys he killed… Toby. His name was Toby.”

Toronto waited in silence, his gaze on the road. Good… if he looked at her, this would be harder. “Toby… he reminded me of somebody. Another kid who suffered
because of a monster. I wanted justice because of him. That doesn’t even make sense, does it?”

“Yeah, it does.” Brooding, he stared straight ahead. “I didn’t want to take the job. Rafe was going to give it to somebody else, but I didn’t want anybody else near you. From the time I saw your picture, I was obsessed. But I hated that I had to stop you from killing Pulaski. The only thing that made it tolerable is that I knew how those families feel… living with unanswered questions. I’ve had them all my life. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”

Her fingers tightened on his. And she laughed, but it was a strained, unhappy sound. “Aren’t we a couple of fucking badasses, Tor?”

“You bet we are.”

C
HAPTER 22

“I

T
looks… different.” Sylvia stared at the city, trying to take it all in. She didn’t have much time. In less than an hour the sun would rise and she’d have to go to ground, find someplace safe.

He moved so quietly, just a whisper of sound before he was at her back. His fingers brushed through her hair as he said quietly, “You were made here.”

“Yes.” Arms wrapped around her middle, she gazed at the jeweled lights of the skyline. Nothing looked the same. At all.

“How long has it been since you’ve been back?”

“Eighty-four years… I came back to kill the one who made me.” She blew out a breath. “I’d been living in California when he found me. He kidnapped me and dragged me across the country to this place… I
hated
this place, and I never wanted to see it again.”

“What changed things?”

“A vamp tried to take my home.” With a deep, shaking breath, she turned away from the city, met Toronto’s gaze. “After I left here, I ran. So hard, so fast. Once I found someplace where I felt safe, I went into hiding— only left to feed
and that was it. Then a vamp showed up at my place— he was running, too, and he needed a place to hide.
My
place. My safe place— my
home
. I was ready to run, ready to let him have it… I didn’t want to die. Shit, I was such a coward.”

“Not wanting to die doesn’t make you a coward.”

She held his gaze. “Running away? Letting him take what I’d earned? What I’d made mine? Not putting up a fight?
That
made me a coward.” She shook her head and moved away from him. “He had a mercenary on his trail. A wolf… a woman. I’d gone and hid in a nearby barn, burrowed under the hay because the sun was coming. She found me— you damn wolves and your noses. There was this look in her eyes… she was so disgusted when she saw me. Disgusted. And sad for me. I saw it in her eyes.

“She didn’t say anything. I think she knew what had happened. She just left me there. Went on to the house he’d stolen from me. Killed him while I lay hiding under straw and hoping I wouldn’t be found while I waited for the sun to set.” She blinked, a far-off look in her eyes. “It was the worst day I could remember since getting away from the one who’d made me. Then I woke up. And she was there. She asked me if I planned on living my entire life hiding like a mouse anytime somebody looked at me wrong.”

“I take it you told her no.”

She laughed weakly. “At the time, I was too damn terrified. But eventually, yes. That was the answer. And she was the one to teach me. It took me years to work up the courage to come back here.” In a soft voice, she murmured, “By the time I came back, he was already dead. So I left. I left, and never looked back. Didn’t plan on ever returning to this godforsaken place.”

“And here you are.”

She turned and stared at Toronto. “Yes. Here I am.” Her gut was a slimy, nasty pit of fear, but here she was. A wave of exhaustion flooded her, and she looked to the east. It wasn’t lightening yet, but it would. Soon. “It will be dawn before long.”

“Yeah.” He closed the distance between them again, reached up to toy with her hair. “I’ve got a place for us. It’s
small, quiet. Old. But it’s the safest place I know. You’ll rest easy there.”

Sylvia nodded. “And you’ll do what? I haven’t seen you rest much.”

“I grabbed an hour yesterday while you slept. I’ll grab a couple of hours before I hit the streets.”

Reaching up, she curled a hand over his wrist. Against her fingers, his pulse beat in a strong, steady rhythm. “And if you find him that fast? What then?”

From hooded eyes, he watched her. “You need to be a part of it, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” She swallowed, shifting her gaze away. “I need to know who was in that house. Why he had the mirror. I need answers, Toronto.”

“Okay.” He lowered his head, pressed his lips to her brow. “Unless I have to kill him, I’ll wait until you’re with me. But if he goes after somebody, if he’s an immediate threat, I’ll have to take him out. That’s the best I can do, though. He’s already proven he’s a crazy fuck.”

Weakly, she smiled. “Yeah. Leaving a vamp body the way he did was a good indicator.”

H

E’D
asked for a witch.

And here she was, on his doorstep. The only thing Rafe could think when he saw the redhead was,
Hell
.
At least it’s not Nessa.

Not that Kelsey Hughes was much better.

“I heard you needed a witch.” She smiled at him. Kelsey looked innocent and wholesome and kind… like a soccer mom. Like a PTA mom.

She could burn things with just a thought, could heal busted, broken bodies and could ferret out the nastiest of magics. Basically, she was perfect for what Angel had wanted her for, he suspected. Of course, she was also an active Council member. She could very well be here to bust his ass or kick him out.

Trying to keep everything locked down, Rafe just stepped aside.

“You heard right.”

She sauntered in past him and took a look around the house before shooting him a smile. “I love what you’ve done with the place.”

He scowled. Once upon a time, it had been her home. Now it was his. He hated feeling awkward, but he did. He’d fucked up—

“So, how are we going to play this?”

Meeting her green gold eyes, Rafe asked quietly, “We?”

“Yes.” She slid her hands into her pockets and rocked back on the heels of worn, battered boots. “We. Your land. Your problem. You need to fix it… if you want to keep it. I’m just here for support.”