Twice Cursed (31 page)

He pressed his lips together, tracking
his fingers through his hair. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. A
vampire killed a Were and that’s enough for an Alpha of the
Brethren to demand parley. Vampires are at the root of what is
happening in this city, you know it, and I know it. What I don’t
know is why their death squads have done nothing about it, but I’m
damn well going to find out, and this kid’s death certificate is my
engraved invitation to do just that.”

***

The East River was just ahead, across
from the promenade, where evening joggers moved swiftly along the
concrete path following the water’s edge. Seagulls keened sharply,
flying in frenetic circles as the sun set on the horizon, their
obnoxious cries muted somewhat by the dull roar of the wind coming
off the water.

Ryan sat alone on a park bench about
fifty feet ahead as Lily approached. Decorative flags flapped
overhead in the gusty breeze, their snap keeping time with the
noise from the gulls. From her vantage point, Lily watched the
detective’s absorbed gaze as he stared unblinkingly at the rough
brown water and its wind-churned peaks, oblivious to the cacophony
surrounding him. She flinched inwardly, ignoring the urge to stack
the odds in her favor by taking a quick look at his
thoughts.

“
Ryan…” Lily said, as she
came up to the bench.

“
What do you want?” His
voice was flat and his tone hostile, but Lily slid her bag from her
shoulder and dropped it next to him. This wasn’t going to be easy,
but then, nothing ever was when it came to the
supernatural.

She sat down, careful to leave enough
space between them. “I know I’m the last person you want to speak
with right now, but like it or not, we need to talk.”

He turned his head to look at her. His
eyes weren’t angry anymore, they were just tired. “I don’t have
anything to say to you.”

“
That’s bullshit, and you
know it,” she shot back, but watched as his jaw tightened at her
tone. She raked a hand through her hair, pushing it away from her
face only to have the wind blow it right back. They would get
nowhere fast if she didn’t force herself to relax and dull the edge
in her voice. “But that’s okay, because all you have to do is
listen,” she added evenly.

His answering grunt was almost lost to
the wind, but at least he didn’t get up and walk away. Either he
wanted answers, or he was waiting to dump her in the river as soon
as it was dark.

Lily turned her back to the wind,
twisting her hair into a knot and tucking it inside her collar.
“Hey, it’s really cold, and the wind is annoying the crap out of
me. Can’t we go somewhere warmer and talk? I’ll even spring for
coffee and donuts.”

He blinked, giving her a look that
said don’t push it. “I’m fine right where I am. If you have
something you want to say, then say it. I’m not going anywhere with
you, nor am I guaranteeing that I’ll stay to listen once you start
talking.”

He turned his gaze back to the water,
and Lily watched his frown relax into a practiced expression of
noninterest. She took in the curve of his strong jaw, his high
cheekbones and the shape of his nose, even the tiny beauty mark
above his lip. His profile was perfect.

“
My best friend had a
beauty mark like yours, almost in the same exact place,” she said,
trying to disarm the conversation before it even started. “I used
to tease her, call her Cynthia…you know, for Cindy
Crawford.”

He hmmphed, slouching further into his
coat. “Some friend.”

Lily slid her knee onto the bench,
shifting her body even more to face his. “Hey, equating a friend’s
looks with that of a supermodel doesn’t exactly make it an insult.
Terry had that sultry Spanish look going for her, and I personally
know plenty of women who’d gladly have surgery to look like
that.”

“
So?”

“
So nothing. Little things
sometimes remind me of her, that’s all,” she said with a shrug.
What she didn’t tell him was that right now, he reminded her so
much of Terry it hurt. Coincidence.

For a long moment Lily looked at him,
squelching the urge to turn his chin so she could see his eyes.
Despite the scowl, he looked good. Really good, and he smelled
incredible.

Unsettled, she shifted around to sit
straight, forcing herself to look at the ground. Ryan was virtually
a stranger, but an undeniable connection had managed to tingle its
way into her lower belly. Whether it was the moon or their
collective Were blood, or some strange combination of both, she
didn’t like it. Sean had warned her about lunar-driven desires and
the provocative lure the full moon inflicts, but as usual she
dismissed it.

Her pulse quickened, and
she sucked in a deep breath, but the richness of his scent in the
air only made her mouth water.
Holy
crap!
She repeated the words like a
mantra, reminding herself that nothing and no one controlled
her—not Sean, not the moon, nothing—only now she wasn’t so sure. If
this was what Sean meant, then instinct sucked the big one.
Instinct? Really? You’d rip Sean a new one
without batting an eye for even thinking about using that excuse,
and here you are being a scent slut. Get a grip.

“
Damn,” she cursed,
crossing her legs tightly against the itch between her legs. She
pictured Sean’s face, his smile and his eyes, and a sudden coolness
flooded her veins, soothing taut nerve endings as it discharged
unwanted tension.

Lily held her breath. If Ryan’s innate
Were senses noticed the unusual spike in pheromones, he gave no
clue, and she exhaled the last of her unease, clamping an iron fist
around her lunar libido.

Annoyed at herself, she glanced at the
sky to gauge the time. Darkness fell too quickly this time of year
to be out in the open with a deranged vampire roaming free. Sean
had gone back to the apartment to plan their next move, and she
needed to be there, with or without Ryan. Back to business, she
took another breath, thankful it tasted of nothing but
snow.

Ryan hadn’t moved. He slouched back
against the curved wooden slats, but however relaxed he wanted to
seem, his underlying physical response screamed
otherwise.

“
Do you remember in the
morgue, when I said one day I’d tell you how I learned about all
this, about all the weird shit around us?”

He stared straight ahead, his gaze
locked on the water. “I don’t want to know, and I really don’t
care.”

Lily followed his gaze. She didn’t say
a word, just watched the gulls circle the dirty water, biding her
time. Patience wasn’t exactly her strong suit, and after her
lunar-induced sex tangent, she wasn’t going to force the issue. Not
yet, anyway. “Your body language tells me otherwise,” she
prompted.

“
Really? Is that your
professional opinion, or are you doing a tap dance all over my
head?”

Lily stiffened at the
accusation.

He slid his glance sideways, his eyes
sharp. “Hey, don’t give me the hairy eyeball, sweetheart, those are
your words not mine.”

Sweetheart? If he wanted a mind tap
she could certainly accommodate him with one he’d never forget. She
shot him a warning look but otherwise bit her tongue. Ryan was just
being a prick—unless he had sensed her earlier attraction and was
deliberately baiting her. A bad feeling crawled across her
chest.

Sucking in a quick breath, she ignored
his glare and tried not to sound too indignant. “I don’t do that
unless I’m forced to,” she said, putting stress on the last two
words. “Look, you said if I had something to say, I should just say
it, so here it goes. My best friend—the one with the beauty
mark—she was killed a few months ago. She was murdered.”

Pokerfaced, Ryan didn’t flinch.
However, Lily was astute enough a profiler to register his slight
shock, and she knew her matter-of-fact statement was the last thing
he’d expected her to say.

“
How? Where?” His voice was
clipped and professional, despite the unease in his
eyes.

Once a cop always a cop, she thought,
ignoring the ping of guilt pricking at her heart for using Terry’s
death to get him to listen. She uttered a silent prayer for
forgiveness, keeping her face impassive as she drew his attention
further. “The police report said animal attack. We were up in Maine
taking EMF readings on a case.”

Ryan’s brow furrowed. “EMF readings?
What kind of case are you talking about?”

“
Paranormal
investigation.”

He didn’t comment, but his expression
had him mentally jotting down notes, processing the information the
way he would after canvasing a witness. “You said animal attack.
Now I suppose you’re going to tell me it wasn’t an animal that
killed your friend, but some kind of shape shifter,
right?”

Lily’s chest squeezed, but she was
careful to keep the emotion out of her voice. “No. It was a
werewolf. A rabid one, which I subsequently hunted and almost died
trying to kill. My friends you met this afternoon, they’re from the
same pack. In fact, Sean is the alpha.” She purposefully left out
the fact that he was also her mate. Not the place, and after her
body’s pheromone mutiny, definitely not the time.

“
Okay. Next you’ll be
telling me the attack was on a full moon, like something out of An
American Werewolf in London,” he shot back tightly.

The wind kicked up even more, and Lily
pulled her coat closer around her body. “No, but it could have
been. Unfortunately, the situation turned out to be more hospital
drama than Hollywood horror. There’s a virus at the root of what’s
causing the Weres to degenerate. The wolf that killed Terry also
infected me, but, for some reason, I’m immune. In fact, my
antibodies are what their doctors are using to develop a
vaccine.”

“
Their doctors? Their
vaccine? Didn’t the police investigate the nonsense you’re trying
to get me to buy?”

Lily stiffened, struggling against the
flare of temper sending heat into her cheeks. She pulled her hand
out of her pocket and banged her fist down on the green-painted
wood between them. “If you would stop being such a pigheaded
asshole for one minute, you could use that trained mind of yours to
connect the dots. Not everything is by the book, nor does
everything fit neatly into definitions of plausibility. Sometimes
things happen outside the box, without explanation. You know this,
and if you were truly honest with yourself and me, you’d admit
it.”

She paused, dragging in a cold breath.
“You called this morning for a reason. What was it that made you
pick up the phone? And don’t say it was to give me my walking
papers.”

He wouldn’t look at her, but the
weight of her gaze was not letting him off the hook. Ryan pushed
his feet out, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. “I don’t
know why I called.”

“
That’s a cop-out, and
you’re not that kind of a cop.”

His head jerked around, and from the
set of his mouth, Lily knew she’d hit a nerve. It was a cheap shot,
but time was running out and she’d never get another chance if she
backed off now. “Your instincts aren’t wrong, Ryan. They’ve been
telling you what you are for years. Don’t you think it’s about time
you listened?”

Ryan pulled his hands from his pockets
and slid forward gripping the edge of the bench. His posture was so
tense, he looked as though he’d shatter in the wind.

“
I know this is a lot to
take in, and I’m not helping by shoving it down your throat, but we
need to work together on this case, or things are going to get much
worse. That, and I care about what happens to you.”

In one swift motion he slid in close,
and without warning palmed the back of Lily’s head, crushing his
lips to hers.

Lily’s eyes flew open, and
her heart rate jumped in unfamiliar alarm.
Think, Lily…think.
She needed to act
rationally. If Ryan was anyone else, he’d be clutching at the hole
in his crotch where she shot him.

There was no doubt he had
caught the scent of her unintended arousal.
Weres and their fucking instincts…
Her palms were moist with sweat against his chest as her
thoughts raced. She needed to get him off of her, but not piss him
off, or insult him to the point where he stormed off.

He leaned in and inhaled the scent
from her hair, snaking his other arm around her waist. Lily’s body
screamed in confusion, nerve endings warring between instinct and
Sean’s claim. The four puncture marks on the back of her shoulder
throbbed in warning against the errant feelings coursing through
her body, and she squeezed her eyes shut ignoring the heat and
electricity slashing her lower belly.

Gritting her teeth, she slid her
fingers up and through his hair, feeling his lips slant in an eager
smile against hers until she jammed her thumb into the soft tissue
behind his ear.

Ryan jerked back, his hand scrubbing
at the spot like he’d been hit with a cattle prod. “Jesus, Lily.
What’s with the Vulcan death grip?”

“
Because, it’s the only way
I knew I could get you to stop and listen to me.”