Shadows & Secrets (Lick of Fire Book 4) Read online

  “See anything unusual?”

  “Other than she’s not wearing her head?” I muttered, giving in and turning my back on the body.

  “Other than that. Take a look around. Something is up in Maxxan. Vampires walking in the daylight? I work with vampires, heck the Director of the SIA is a vampire and he sure as shit can’t tolerate the sun. Whatever or whoever is doing this, it’s tied to Maxxan and it’s tied to you.”

  “Me?” I squeaked, clutching my throat.

  “They want you. Why? Biting you kills them, which leads me to believe its your blood that is toxic to them. Again, why? Why you?”

  “I could ask the same question.” I whispered, horrified. He was right. Wait. He was right? “Is this why you recruited me? For my blood?”

  “Among other things.” His shrug was offhand and I punched him in the shoulder, hard.

  “Hey! What was that for?” He flexed his shoulder and rubbed it.

  “For being a douche.” Stomping away I began to scan the surroundings, no clue what I was doing or what I was looking for. It niggled me that maybe, just maybe, I’d been played by SIA Agent Jordan Buchanan. He’d figured out way before me that my blood was toxic to vampires – so essentially, I could be used as a weapon.

  I was at the rear of the property where the fence had rotted away when I saw it. Paw prints in the dirt. And not just any paw prints. Mother fucking massive ones. Bigger than my head. Crouching I traced it with my fingers, touched the soil and felt the heat, so hot it almost burned.

  “That’s not right.” I murmured, puzzled. What sort of animal could leave tracks this size, and what sort of animal burned the ground it walked on?

  “Find something?” Buchanan crouched next to me, looked at the ground and back at my face.

  “Yeah. These?” I indicated the tracks.

  “What? There’s nothing there.”

  “Are you shitting me? Look douche, it’s been a long day, I don’t need you pulling my chain, okay.”

  “Rae.” He wrapped his fingers around my wrist. It was the first time he’d touched me in days and of course my heart skipped a happy little beat and warmth tingled where he touched. I cursed my reaction to him, wanted or not. “I swear I’m not pulling your chain. There’s nothing there. Nothing that I can see. Tell me what you see.”

  “Paw prints. Big paw prints. The ground is charred and hot. You swear you can’t see them?”

  “I swear. What do you think left them?”

  I didn’t want to say it, for saying it made it real and vampires were quite enough for one day thank you very much.

  “Rae?” He prompted.

  “Hellhound.” My voice was barely a whisper. The vampires had got themselves a hellhound. Heaven help us all.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Ouch!”

  “Stop being such a baby.”

  “Stop sticking me with needles then.” I grumbled, doing my best not to ogle the muscular chest in front of me. We were in my kitchen and Buchanan was about to draw my blood. Yes, you heard me correctly. Needless to say, I was not happy about it but he was right, the answer – or at least part of the answer – was in my blood.

  “I haven’t even touched you yet, that was just the tourniquet.” He was enjoying this, I could tell.

  “You know what you’re doing, right? You’ve done this before?”

  “We’re all trained in basic first-aid and bodily fluid retrieval.” He assured me.

  “Put that way it sounds totally gross.”

  “Ready?” He asked.

  I nodded. “No.”

  His lips curled into a grin and a dimple appeared in his cheek. I touched it then quickly snatched my hand away. What was I thinking? Clearly I wasn’t.

  “I won’t hurt you. Trust me.”

  Trust him. My heart was pounding, sweat beaded my skin as he tightened the tourniquet and instructed me to pump my fist.

  “You’ve got good veins.” He wiped the inside of my elbow with an alcohol swab.

  “Thank you.” Panic was starting to set in and my demon reacted accordingly. Electricity sizzled and zapped in the air, dancing across my skin until I was pretty sure I glowed with it.

  “Relax.” He hovered over me with the needle poised above my skin, not quite touching.

  “I’m relaxed.” I lied, another arc of electricity crackling between us.

  “Sure you are.” He chuckled again, then close to my ear, so close I could feel the warmth of his breath, “close your eyes.”

  I obeyed.

  “Do you want me to kiss you?” My eyes sprang open again.

  “What sort of question is that?” A stupid one, I answered silently. Of course, I wanted him to kiss me. My demon stopped zapping and grew intent.

  He was so close that it only took the slight movement of his head for his lips to touch mine. I couldn’t contain the groan at the contact. My lids fluttered shut and I basked in the wonder of his kiss. Man, he had skills. The softness of his lips contrasted with the sharp abrasion of his stubble, and when his tongue swept along my lower lip I didn’t give a second thought to opening my mouth and consuming him.

  The kiss went on and on and I had zero complaints. Not a one. My heart was racing, but no longer in fear, my lady bits were tingling in the most delicious way and my demon was practically purring. When he slowly drew away I groaned in protest, silenced when he laid a finger over my mouth.

  “Shh.” He stayed close and I kept my eyes shut. I felt a sharp sting, heard him murmur “easy” and then it was done. He moved away, the pressure from the tourniquet was gone and he was pressing a cotton ball to the inside of my elbow.

  “Hold this.” He said. How could he be so matter of fact when I was sitting here a red-hot mess of lust and hormones. Was he not affected by our kiss? Then when he turned I caught a glimpse of the erection pressing against the front of his jeans and a smile of pure feminine power curled my lips. Seems Jordan Buchanan wasn’t as unaffected as he liked to make out.

  “They’re not going to want to bring me in, are they?” I voiced my last remaining fear.

  “Who? The SIA? Doubtful.”

  “I just…don’t like being locked away.” I muttered, watching as he busied himself with the two vials of blood he’d just taken.

  “We’re not going to lock you away Rae, okay? I won’t let that happen.”

  “Then it’s a possibility?”

  “Jesus woman. No. It’s not. You are in no danger of being locked away by the SIA. As long as you stay on the right side of our laws.”

  “Which are?”

  “Don’t go rogue. You start running around burning humans to a crisp then yes, you are likely to find yourself incarcerated by the SIA.”

  Before I could reply Buchanan cupped my chin and studied my face intently.

  “Have you been getting any sleep?” He asked. I figured he’d noticed the dark shadows around my eyes.

  Lifting one shoulder I looked into his eyes and tried not to drown. “Not much.” I’d been patrolling Cameron and Tyler’s neighborhood, making sure they were safe but they weren’t my only family and I couldn’t be everywhere at once. I was terrified one of my cousins would be taken, or my parents or aunts and uncles. Sleep was a luxury I couldn’t afford. Coffee and energy drinks were my new best friends.

  “You know vampires cannot enter your home without an invitation?”

  “What?” I was tired, confused, and horny. Not the best combination.

  “A vampire cannot enter your home without you inviting it in. So, you are safe at night – you can sleep - as long as you haven’t invited any vampires in.”

  Tyler had been taken as he’d stepped out of his apartment, I remembered. So, we were safe – sort of. We just needed to be vigilant and alert when not in our homes. I yawned, threw open the refrigerator door and studied the contents. “You’re coming back, right?”

  “Abandonment issues Shelton?” He drawled.

  “Too tired for your douchery today Buchanan. J
ust hit me with the facts. How long is this going to take?”

  “Only a few hours. I’ve got the chopper booked. You can come too you know.” I was already shaking my head. I’d checked with Curtis Jacobs the executor of Grandma’s will. No leaving town. At all. For one full year. While I wasn’t fully committed to this plan of hers, I’d do my best to honor it while I am here. Plus, I wanted to be close to my family, in case anything more happened.

  “So…I guess…” I continued to study the contents of the refrigerator with unseeing eyes and he chuckled.

  “I’ll be back before you know it. Stay out of trouble.” I felt the brush of his fingers at the back of my neck and then he was gone. I remained standing in front of the refrigerator, the cool air swirling around me, cooling my emotions along with my body temperature. Eventually it beeped at me in outrage, demanding to be closed. I snatched an energy drink from my dwindling supply and dutifully closed the door.

  I had a job to do. Pulling out my phone I synced to the Bluetooth speaker Cam had given me and dialed the volume up loud “Let’s do this bitches!” I yelled, over the music. My plan for today was pretty simple. Paint the living room. I couldn’t stand to look at the faded outlines were the photographs had once hung, plus if I was going to stay here I may as well put my mark on the place.

  Cam had been a sweetheart and picked up the paint I wanted, a soft shade of grey, and supplied me with paint trays, rollers, brushes and drop sheets. I was all set to go.

  The hours passed quickly and despite never having painted a room before, I was pleased with the results. The cutting in was a bit rough but I’d gotten better at it and by late afternoon the room was done. Exhaustion was pulling at me, making me stumble and I decided to sit down before I fell down. I’d put the lids back on the paint cans, the brushes and rollers were soaking in a bucket of water on the deck out back, and the whole house reeked of paint fumes.

  Laying on the drop cloth I stretched out, closing my eyes for the briefest of moments. I’ll get up and take a shower in a moment I told myself. Then promptly fell asleep.

  When I awoke it was dark, my music had stopped and the house was eerily silent. I lay on the hard floor and listened intently. Was someone in here with me? Holding my breath until I saw spots before my eyes I eventually sucked in a lungful of air and eased to my feet. I’d convinced myself I was just jumping at shadows when I heard one of the back-porch boards creak. Someone was out there. Or something.

  Feet bare I tiptoed across the room and out into the hallway. A shadow crossed the glass of the back door and I froze before plastering myself to the wall and inching my way toward the back door. My heart kicked up a notch and my stomach fluttered, signaling my demon that shit was about to go down. My demon responded appropriately with a brush of electricity across my fingertips. I really needed to nail Buchanan down about teaching me how to control my demon and harness my power.

  It crossed my mind that it might not be the wisest thing in the world to confront whoever was sneaking around on my back porch, but I’d never been one to sit back and think through my actions, there was no point starting now. I was at the door now and stopped, ear pressed to the wall. Whoever was on the porch had either left or was at the far end. I had two choices. Try and open the door silently and take them by surprise, or burst out and attack, giving them a split-second advantage.

  Knowing there was no such thing as opening the back door silently – that mother creaked and groan like an eighty-year-old with arthritis – I opted for option two. Flinging the door open I shot out, landed in a fighting stance with my hands outstretched and electricity dancing in my palms.

  Of course, no-one was there. Deflated I let my hands drop. Had I just imagined the whole thing? I walked to the edge of the porch and surveyed the back garden and beyond. Crickets chirped, the moon gave just enough illumination that I wasn’t totally blind.

  “You’re either very brave or very stupid.” A voice said from the darkness. I swiveled my head and peered at the talking tree.

  “Jury’s out.” I replied. There. A man stepped away from the trunk of the tree, his shadow separating as he stepped onto the lawn, bathed in moonlight. It wasn’t anyone I’d ever seen before which led me to believe one thing.

  “Vampire.” I said.

  “Smart.” He inclined his head. “The boss will be pleased when I return with you.” He grinned and his fangs glinted in the moonlight. My heart leapt as did the electricity in my palms. As soon as he moved the electricity turned to flame and I did my best to concentrate, to use my abilities to my own advantage. I managed to hurl a small fireball at him. He dodged it easily and then he was upon me. We rolled across the ground and judging by his grunts my blows were finding their mark.

  He was stronger and faster than me but I had one thing he didn’t. Toxic blood. Only this vampire seemed to know better than to bite me. Flinging me off, he delivered a painful kick to my belly. Groaning I curled into a ball. Big mistake, he then started kicking my back and he meant business. Pain and panic flooded through me, my body buzzed as I tried to crawl away. My face was bleeding, pretty sure half of my internal organs were too. He didn’t need to bite me to kill me. He had the strength to beat me to death. The thought was sobering. Not so to my demon who erupted in what I can only assume was in self-preservation. I was on fire, I was literally a ball of flames, my entire body vibrating so fast my teeth were rattling and my eyeballs threatened to pop out of my head.

  Dragging myself to my feet I stood and tried to direct some of my fire at the vampire who’d hurriedly backed away. Buchanan had told me there were two ways to kill a vampire. Decapitation or a stake in the heart. Ripping their heart right out of their chest also worked he’d added. So, despite my impressive blaze I knew it wouldn’t kill him, but if I could toast him it would incapacitate him and maybe, just maybe, I could get some answers out of him. Or kill him. I wasn’t fussed which one occurred.

  He must have realized this too for he fled. Standing with my hands on my hips I yelled after him, “Listen up nutsack, tell your boss that I’m coming for him.”

  With the danger now gone I figured my demon would subside – I was somewhat concerned when it didn’t. I was still ablaze, from head to toe, and the dry grass at my feet was beginning to ignite. Shit. I spun, checking on Grandma’s house, thankful to see I hadn’t set it on blaze, but I backed up just in case. The fire trail on the ground followed me. Fuck!

  Breathe. Closing my eyes, I focused on dragging a deep breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. Cracking open an eye to check on progress my shoulders slumped when I was greeted with flame. Was this who I was now? Had it finally happened? This was going to make life really inconvenient if I was a walking, talking, fireball.

  The blast of water that hit me in the chest caught me by surprise and I lost my balance, tripping over backwards. The water continued, spraying me all over until eventually I was doused, my flame gone and I was a soggy, dripping mess covered in mud and ash.

  “Okay, okay!” I shouted, holding out a hand to ward off the stream from the garden hose.

  “You good now?” Buchanan asked, turning off the tap.

  “Define good.” I muttered, struggling to my feet and shaking off as much water as I could. At least I was no longer on fire. I was also butt naked. My clothes were nothing but soggy burned rags at my feet.

  “Tomorrow we work on controlling your powers.” He said, arms crossed, legs planted.

  “About time.” I muttered, stalking past him and into the house, leaving wet, muddy footprints in my wake.

  “You okay?”

  I swiveled mid stride and poked him in the chest, “oh yeah I’m totally fine if you can call having the ever-living shit beaten out of you by a vampire and then losing control and turning into a human fireball, fine. You promised me.” I did not like the way my voice wobbled on those last words.

  “Are you hurt?” His voice lost some of its usual aloofness and I tried not to be irritated that he seemed to
tally oblivious to my naked status. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, he to comment on what a great bod I had, or to offer his shirt or what, but it wasn’t to be ignored. My womanly pride stung.

  I took a moment to take stock of my injuries. Before I’d erupted in flames I’d been hurting. Badly. My ribs were broken, pretty sure I’d punctured some things on the inside but now? Now nothing hurt. I patted myself down, pushed my ribs, touched my face.

  “How do I look?” I asked. He arched a brow, his eyes not leaving mine. Okay, so maybe not so oblivious to my nakedness after all.

  “Besides wet?” He drawled.

  “Ha ha. Funny. Am I bleeding?”

  He peered at my face then ran his eyes over my body before shaking his head, “nope.” His eyes were back on mine, darker than before.

  “I think the fire healed me.” This was new. But then, I’d never been a human fireball before. Usually when I lost control it was indiscriminately throwing fireballs around, but this time I was the fireball.

  Buchanan was nodding, “could be.” He said.

  “What were the results? Of my blood sample.” I demanded.

  “Nothing yet. Dropped it off at the lab and they’ll let me know when they’re done testing.”

  “So what were you doing all day?” I was indignant that he’d left me here to deal with vampires who wanted my ass while he was taking his sweet ass time in Redmeadows doing God only knows what.

  “Not that I have to answer to you but I was interrogating the vampires we brought in.”

  “Oh.” Well. That was reasonable. “And?”

  “They’re not talking. Yet. But we’re not done with them, it’s early days.”

  “Right,” I nodded.

  Grabbing my shoulders he spun me in the direction of the stairs, “now go, get cleaned up and get some sleep. I’ll be back at sunrise for your training to begin. Be ready.” As I was heading upstairs I thought I heard him mutter, “lord almighty.” Before the front door shut behind him.

  * * *

  “First of all, you’re thinking of your demon as a separate entity, like there are two of you sharing the same body.” I was nodding my head, standing in the early morning light, not a scratch or a bruise on me from last nights events. Even the scars from my past had gone. My skin was pristine.