Eternal Flame (Night Watch 3)

No. She’d fallen in that inferno. She’d sagged in his arms, and fear had iced his heart. “Just breathe, baby.”

But she was shaking her head. She shoved off the mask and started coughing.

“Jana!”

Tears leaked from her eyes. “How … many dead?” His lips thinned. “At least three.” The fire had been too strong.

As he watched Jana, the vulnerability slowly disappeared. She swiped away the tears from her cheeks. The fear and the horror disappeared from her face until … nothing remained.

Now she’s pretending. The mask was back, and he didn’t like it one bit.

She pushed up on the gurney and the blanket fell away. “We need to get out of here,” she whispered, her voice hoarse from the smoke. “This was an attack, it was—”

“Wynter!”

Aw, hell. Not what he needed right then. His gaze flew to the left. Jude was already edging back, and Captain Antonio Young was shoving his way through the crowd to get to them. The guy’s badge gleamed on his hip, and the butt of his gun poked from the holster on his side.

“Zane?” A thread of worry whispered in Jana’s voice. “A cop?”

Their last encounter with a cop hadn’t gone so well. But this time would be different. He realized he still had a hard grip on her hand. Zane forced himself to let her go. “It’s okay, baby, he’s on our side.”

Then Tony was there. His glittering eyes swept over the group and lingered on Jana. “Ms. Carter?”

She nodded. The red still lingered in her gaze. Her eyes appeared bloodshot now.

“Jana Carter, you’re under arrest.” Tony reached for her hand and hauled Jana to her feet.

“No, man, wait!” The other cuff glinted between their outstretched hands.

But Tony shook his head. “You know she’s going in.” He jerked his thumb back at the burning building. “Seriously, what the hell were you thinking?”

Jana laughed. A hollow, mocking sound. “Guess he’s not on our side.” Her chin tilted up, just a bit. “Maybe he’s just on yours, hmm, demon? Use me, then throw me to the wolves.”

No, that wasn’t—

Tony started reading Jana her rights. Fuck.

Chapter 6

The door to interrogation room three closed with a soft click. Jana took a deep breath. Not like this was the first time she had found herself in one of these tiny rooms, sitting at an old, scarred table, and facing off against a cop who wanted to throw her butt in jail.

“I’m Captain Antonio Young,” the cop said, as he took a step closer to her.

“We know who the hell you are, Tony,” Zane muttered from her side. Because, yeah, they were still handcuffed. Still locked together. Covered in soot and ash, they’d been through fires hotter than those in hell, and they were still cuffed.

The cop-Tony-raised one dark brow. “You know who I am, Ms. Carter?”

Well, she did now, so Jana kept her face expressionless. Oh, she hurt. Every part of her body ached, and she just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.

Preferably without being handcuffed to a demon.

But at least the cops had sent some food in to her and Zane. Only because of Zane’s connections. Otherwise, Jana knew she never would have gotten those stale doughnuts and that coffee with the grounds floating at the top.

Tony pulled out the chair across from them, and its legs scraped against the floor. “Which one of you wants to tell me what the hell is going on here?”

“If I knew,” Zane said instantly, “I’d tell you.” Of course, he would. “Good” guys always liked to rat to cops.

“Hmmm.” Tony’s dark eyes dropped to the handcuffs. The metal shined on the top of the table. “Guessing those are P.P.?”

“P.P.?” Was that frog’s croak hers? Great. Her life was fandamn-tastic.

“Paranormal protected,” he murmured.

So he knew. Good for him. “What are you?” she asked, straining to make her voice stronger. Damn smoke.

His gaze shifted to hers. “I told you already, I’m a police captain.”

His eyes were so dark they almost looked black. The guy had a deep olive skin tone, a perfect face, and a voice like warm honey. “You an incubus?”

He blinked and, wait, did his high cheeks redden?

“He’s no damn incubus,” Zane said and a thread of anger roughened the words. Sure, he’d gone through the smoke, but he sounded perfectly normal. Demon strength and healing powers had their benefits. “He’s human.”

“We can’t all be demons,” the cop said quietly.

A human who knew Zane’s secrets? Interesting.

Tony leaned forward. “Why’d you attack my man, Zane?” The question was fired fast.

His man? Oh, the other cop. “Because your man fired on us,” Jana answered immediately, not waiting for Zane to respond. She wouldn’t let Zane take the heat for this. Not when that cop had come out with his gun blazing.

Tony’s lips tightened. “Bullshit. I gave an order—”

“Oh, you gave it all right,” she shot back, her hands knotting into fists. “Deadly force was fine as long as it was directed at Zane, right? What’s a dead demon when—”

But the cop wasn’t looking at her. He shook his head, slowly, and a deep furrow appeared between his eyes. “He fired on you?”

Zane lifted his hand, raising the cuffs. “First he tried to … ah, break us apart with a bullet. When that didn’t work, well, he said I was the expendable one.”

“Fuck.” Not disbelief. Shock. Wait, did he believe what they were saying?

Jana glanced between them. “You ordered a hit on him, you—”

“Ease up, princess,” Tony said. What? Her eyes narrowed on him.

“I’ve got a rat in my unit.” Tony shook his head again, and his shoulders slumped a bit. “What the hell is happening?”

The guy was playing innocent, that was happening. She’d never met an innocent cop. Plenty who were on the take. Plenty who knew how to look the other way, but innocent? No way.

“How’d the fire start at Night Watch?” Tony asked, and that fast, the cop’s eyes were back on her.

Jana shrugged. “You tell me, princess.”

His eyes narrowed, just a fraction. “You’re a wanted woman. How about I just go and throw you in a cage until it’s time to haul you back to New Orleans?”

“Tony,” Zane’s voice snarled, “you’re not—”