Skin Deep (14 page)

“Look at this head.”

Cain’s gaze was pulled from the spine on the floor near a dismembered foot and zeroed in on a head lying on top of the old wooden bar. A large curvy script letter
A
was carved across her cheek. Cain swore.

“Open her mouth.”

“Huh?” Cain’s head snapped back in confusion.

“Her mouth. Open it. I’m pretty sure there’s chocolate in it, but I need to be sure.”

Cain sniffed the air. The acrid scent of blood was overwhelming, but there was a sweetness he couldn’t put his finger on lingering there as well.

“You don’t really think you’ll find more, do you?” That had to be a fluke. The Amari left their signature—a carved A in the flesh of their victims, not candy. “I’m sure Wrinkle Balls has candy around here for his late-night snack.” Cain reached for the head, about to sink his fingers into the carrot-colored hair—

“Just touch her mouth. It’s a crime scene, man. Come on.”

Cain rolled his eyes at the panic in Blaise’s voice.

“It’s not like we don’t know who did it. I mean, hell, we have a witness now.” He pried the stiff mouth open and reached inside. He knew it was there before his fingers grasped the damp little ball. The chocolate slipped in his fingers, gooey and wet, but intact.

“Well shit, man.” Blaise snapped pictures while Cain went around, prying open the mouths of the other two dismembered heads. One lay behind the bar amidst broken bottles and at least an inch of scum. Apparently cleanliness wasn’t a Mr. Porky’s pastime. He wasn’t surprised when the woman’s mouth concealed a ball of chocolate.

The other was impaled on a rounded black spike hanging on the wall farthest from the door. Cain leaned in, his gaze eye-level with the last victim. Her eyes were wide open, revealing bulging, film-covered eyes. The sharp end of the spike protruded through the front of her skull. Her mouth was wide open and he could see the candy inside.
What the hell does that even mean?

In less than an hour they had collected their evidence, packed up the bodies, and were heading south while Sparrc related the bar owner’s statement.

“According to Rick, a Were came in with the three women around lunch and stayed all day. It wasn’t until another one came that things got weird. Said he only saw the back of the new guy. Tall. Buzz cut. Couldn’t remember what color shirt he was wearing.”

“What about the first guy?” Blaise asked, running a hand through his spiky black hair.

“Normal looking. Young. Dark hair. Jeans. Plain black T-shirt.”

Blaise snorted and Cain wanted to mirror the sound.
That describes every fucking Were on the planet.

“When the second guy showed up, Rick only glanced at him before heading to the back to get some clean glasses. That’s when all hell broke loose.”

“Huh.”

“Rick came out of the back and the second guy was yelling at the first before he changed into a leopard. The first beat feet out the door and the second stayed and killed the women.”

“Did he say anything to Rick before he left?”

“Yeah, he did. Weird as shit, too.”

Cain leaned forward, anxious for the answer to his question. Sparrc flipped the mirror down and started messing with his bright blue hair.

“Come on, bro, don’t be a dick,” Blaise barked from the driver’s seat.

“He told him to call us, the Force, before the cherries went bad.”

“Cherries?” Cain asked, trying to make sense of the word.

“The candy we found in their mouths, they’re chocolate-covered cherries,” Blaise said.

“Wait, what about the first crime scene me and Cain hit up? The one the human cops were at? Was there a cherry in that bitch’s mouth, too?”

“No, but the cops found one lying near her head. Could have easily fallen out.”

“Weird.”

“Shit. Kiera’s at the house with Ryder, right, Cain?”

“Huh? No, she … had an errand to run and he went with her. Why?” He couldn’t admit that she was on a damned date.

“Call him. Make sure they’re at the townhouse and that he doesn’t leave her alone. She isn’t safe.”

Cain’s heart jumped inside his ribcage as he yanked his phone out of his pocket. An unrecognizable hiss escaped his throat as his animal snarled at the idea of Kiera in danger.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Blaise?” Sparrc spoke from the passenger seat, sounding annoyed.

“We have a serial killer on our hands. An Amari serial killer. This is a serious fucking problem.”

“What the hell—”

“Didn’t you get a good look at the girls tonight?”

“Well, yeah—”

“All of the victims, aside from the dead man from the last crime scene, who was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time, all had one thing in common, aside from being women.” When neither Cain nor Sparrc said anything, Blaise sighed. “Well, technically two things. The chocolate-covered cherries, and their hair. It’s—”

“Red.” Cain finished Blaise’s sentence. Each of the victims’ faces flew through his mind, their hair varying in shades of red.
But what does the chocolate-covered cherry have to do with anything?
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The memory of the sickly sweet scent of cherries entered his thoughts. He’d smelled it before, especially recently, on a particular person. “Fuck. She’s with the killer.”

Kiera took a deep breath as she followed Luke up the stairs to his apartment.

This’ll show Cain.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Luke said as they reached the top, his arm outstretched before him. “It’s not much, but it serves its purpose.”

Kiera nodded with a small smile, trying to feign interest.

“Here, have a seat on the couch. I’ll make us a drink.”

Kiera did as he suggested.
Why I am here?
The popular question of the night raced through her brain.
Because I want to be. Because I like Cain … I mean Luke.
Even her brain was betraying her now, not that her thoughts had ever been far from the tiger-shifting hunk and what a deliciously handsome asshole he was.

She thought she had him that afternoon, when he finally got out of bed and came into the living room. She had nearly lost her train of thought as he stood in the doorway shirtless, looking like a Calvin Klein model with his rippling torso and low-slung pants. She couldn’t keep her eyes from wandering low on his hips to where a trail of dark blond hair disappeared beneath the waist of his pants.

She managed to regain her composure before he noticed, she hoped. He didn’t seem tongue-tied in the least about her looks. He was too busy giving Ryder a hard time. After Maryline had dropped her clothes by earlier in the morning, she’d gone to great lengths to look perfect for her “date” with Luke. And mentioning the date had done the trick … at least she’d thought so at first, until he started talking about the Amari Family and her safety.
Of course
that was the reason he didn’t want her to go. It wasn’t the fact that he couldn’t bear to see her with someone else. It was his duty to protect humans and any who couldn’t defend themselves. At least that’s what Ryder had told her about their job description. Turned out Cain wasn’t just a sexy surfer boy, but a soldier, an officer of some supernatural military group called the Eternal Forces
.
Couldn’t there be anything about him that wasn’t desirable?

The fact that he has a girlfriend and tried to pay you for sex isn’t enough?

“Here you go. Hope you like Tequila Sunrise.” Kiera glanced up as Luke sat down, holding out an orange drink in a pretty martini glass.

“I’m not much for tequila, but I do love cherries.” She took a sip and winced at the burning in her throat.

“You do? I have something you’ll love, then.” He set his glass, identical to hers, on the table and went into a different room. She watched his retreating figure. His hair still looked nice from when she’d buzzed it the day before. Funny how some men could pull that look off. She tried to imagine Cain with a buzz cut and cringed at the idea of cutting off his perfect hair.

“Want a chocolate-covered cherry? They’re my favorite.”

Kiera started at the sound of Luke’s voice, she’d been so lost in her thoughts. Her gaze jumped to his hand still holding a small red box. A wave of nausea washed over her.

“
Don’t you want some more of your special-ordered, chocolate-covered cherries?”

The words echoed in her head. She hated the candy. Loathed them. Even before what had happened with Roth.

“Kiera, are you okay?” She snapped her head up and met his dark brown gaze.

“I’m fine. Uh, no thanks.” She pushed her hand against the box and prayed he would put them away. “I think I should probably go. Thanks for having me over.” She shouldn’t have come at all. Kiera was exhausted. She’d gotten no sleep the night before. Zero, none, zilch. And it wasn’t just because Cain had strummed her body like an Eddie Van Halen guitar. Once she made it to the couch, the loss of her blanket became even more prevalent in her mind. She’d tossed and turned the rest of the night, missing the soft yarn against her cheek.

She stood, ready to leave.

“No, wait, Kiera, don’t go. You just got here. Let’s watch a movie.” His hand closed around her arm and she looked back into his pleading eyes. She wanted to say no, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. After all, there was no way Luke could have known about her aversion to the candy. Even Darla and Maryline didn’t know.

“All right.” She perched on the edge of the couch while he fumbled with the Blu-ray player, bringing up some chick flick she’d never seen on his large TV.

I’ll watch the movie, then leave. It’s that simple.

They were twenty minutes into the show when Luke slipped his arm around her shoulders. She fought the urge to flinch away from his touch. She thought about Cain doing something like that and her heart fluttered.
What is it about Cain that makes everything seem different?
She had a million answers for that question and at the same time, no answer at all.

“Kiera?” Luke’s voice was a whisper against her ear. She turned her head to face him, only to be met by his lips against hers and in less than a minute, he was pushing her back against the couch, his body lying fully against her.

She allowed the invasion of his mouth, kissing him back, wanting—
needing
—to feel something for him, some stirring of lust. Instead, a tremor flared in her hand. Anxiety built inside her chest. The hardness of his erection pressed against her leg, feeling
wrong.
Overwhelming.

“You like it when I hurt you. Don’t you? You fucking fat bitch.”

Push it away.
She did. She pushed the feeling away as she pressed her hands against Luke’s chest and moved her lips away from his.

“Stop.”

He eased back but didn’t move off her.

“What?” His voice was harsh, a hint of anger behind it.

“Please get off me. I need air.” His dark eyes softened as he moved.

Kiera sat up and closed her eyes.
Roth is gone. Don’t let him do this to you.
She took a deep breath and the apprehension fizzled out. She glanced at Luke, who was watching her intently. She took in his short hair and masculine features. He was handsome. There was no denying that. Cain was just a hundred times more attractive.

“I need to ask you something.” The words escaped her lips before she realized she was speaking them. The question hovered in her mind, where it had been since the day Luke asked her out for the first time. “Why didn’t you ask me out before?”

A look of confusion flitted across his face.

“You’ve been my customer for more than six months. Why did you wait until now to ask me out?”

“Because I didn’t have the nerve to do so before.” He leaned in to kiss her again, but she avoided him by leaning back.

“That’s the only reason?”

He glanced around the room, as if searching for answers. “You were always nice and stuff, but when you got it together and lost all that weight …”

The truth in his words was suffocating. She knew this was the reason. She didn’t like the way she’d looked before, so why would anyone else? “You wouldn’t have asked me out if I was still big, like I was?”

“Well, I mean, no. But what difference does it make? You look amazing now. That’s what’s important, right?” His words were like a slap to the face.

Without saying a word, Kiera lifted her shirt and revealed the scars she hated. She watched Luke’s eyes trace over each one. His face contorted, a look of disgust wiping across his features as he stared at her skin. Flesh that would never be perfect or smooth again.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“I was stabbed.”

“Well, that’s okay, baby. Just keep your shirt on while we do it.” He smiled as he spoke, leaning back over her. A burst of anger swept across her body.
Keep my shirt on?
For the second time in the last twenty-four hours her hand stung from slapping a man across the face. This was the reaction she had always feared. If it wasn’t her body, then her scars would turn someone away. Again, her mind returned to Cain and his response to her disfiguration. “
Just give me the name. I will fucking fix it.”
He didn’t care that her body was scarred. He cared more about hurting the person who’d done this to her.

“What the fuck, Kiera?” Vicious anger pulsed through Luke’s words. “I tried to be nice to you. I took you on dates. I bent over fucking backward kissing your ass, never pressuring you for anything … and this is the thanks I get?” He stood. “I did everything I was supposed to.”

Kiera got up off the couch. “What do you mean
everything you were supposed to
? What are you trying to say? That those dates were just a means to an end?”

“Look, it’s no secret the second I saw you all hot and skinny I wanted to fuck you. I knew you weren’t one of those girls who would just jump on it, so I took the safe route. Took you on a couple of dates, though I thought I would have fucking got some by now.” He ran a hand over his head. The look of anger was still present on his face.

The words were like a kick to the ribs. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t even into Luke. She’d assumed he was nice guy. Took all of his kind words at face value and believed he was genuine … yet he was nothing of the sort. She was just a conquest. A notch in a belt.

“I’m leaving.” Kiera scrambled backward, desperate to be away from him and out of his apartment, but he grabbed her arm, dragging her back onto the sofa.

“Wait, I’m trying to fucking talk to you.” He all but shouted as Kiera tried to jerk away. The memories assailed her again. The numbing pain, the bright red of the blood, Roth’s body pressing down on her as he unbuckled his pants.

“No!” Kiera shouted. Luke fumbled with her arm and reached out, gripping the V of her shirt, which ripped as she tried to pull away.

“Let me go!” she yelled as she stumbled backward, tripping over her own feet.

A crashing sound echoed from below, quickly followed by the thundering sound of footsteps on the stairs. Kiera looked back in panic, to have welcoming relief wash over her at the sight of Ryder barreling into the apartment.

Kiera watched silently as Ryder hesitated, his eyes sweeping across the scene. A look of understanding dawned on his features as he moved his large body across the living room in two sweeping strides.

“No, Ryder, it isn’t what you think—”

The resounding crunch of fist against face killed the words in her throat as she watched Luke’s unconscious body collapse to the ground.

“What the—”

“Get your things while I tie him up.” Ryder didn’t look at her, but pulled zip ties from his pocket before securing them around the wrists and feet of her date. The soldier had become her ally in the last twenty-four hours. He didn’t have much to say, but he’d answered all her questions, reluctantly and with some prodding on her end. He acted cold and angry at the world, but she didn’t peg him for irrational.

“It was just a misunderstanding. You didn’t need to punch the crap out of him.”

Ryder’s cold black stare met hers. “This might come as a surprise, but for once, Cain was right.”

Cain’s hand tightened on his phone. He was on the verge of disintegrating the electronic hunk into dust as he thundered through the house. The reign on his control was nearly non-existent, with the haze of his inner beast fluttering over his visage. That’s where it had been from the second Ryder had called Sparrc’s cell on their drive home from Bangor. He hadn’t called Cain. Probably because the motherfucker knew Cain couldn’t handle it. It didn’t change the fact he was two feet away from the phone with super-human hearing.
“She’s safe, but I don’t know what he did to her.”

Those words sent Cain into a frenzy and had him bouncing around inside Blaise’s cheap-ass car, his tiger roaring for release. Only when Sparrc had threatened to tranq him had he calmed down a bit, forcing himself to relax by thinking of all the different ways he was going to kill the douchebag. How he would rip his fingers off one by one, followed by his toes, and each extremity after that.
One at a fucking time.

He pumped his legs faster and burst through the door to the basement they’d never used. He could smell him before he saw him. The cloying scent of cherries assailed his nose. The man who had touched Kiera sat strapped to a chair in the middle of the empty room.

“So, we meet again,” he snarled as the beast clawed beneath his skin.
All in good time.
He wanted this asshole to know who was going to be eating him for dinner.

Luke’s head popped up at the sound. There was a trickle of blood running down his face and his eye was nearly swollen shut.

“Why are you here? Please make them let me go. I didn’t do anything. Ask Kiera! Please …” His words trailed off as Cain leaned in closer, examining the man from head to foot.
What does she see in this guy?
He was sniveling and whining like a coward. A coward who hurt women.

Cain inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the man before him. He couldn’t smell Kiera at all, though her scent was a peculiar one, never lingering for long. He did smell tequila, and two other things. Chocolate and cherries. That was the last thing Ryder had mentioned before ending the call with Sparrc. A full container of the nasty-ass candy had been sitting on his coffee table.