Eternal Flame (Night Watch 3)

The vamps nodded, but didn’t look particularly happy.

“You go in the front, loud and strong, and we’ll take the back.” Zane pointed at Jude. “You go with us.”

The big shifter’s face was etched into tight lines of fury. “I can smell his blood from here.”

Oh, that couldn’t be good. Death’s already there. That was what the witch had said. The last thing Jana wanted to do was walk in there and find the cop’s dead body. For a cop, Tony hadn’t been a bad guy. Not really bad at all.

The bees began to buzz in Jana’s head. She reached for Zane. “It … hurts when you do that.”

He blinked, then glanced quickly at Dee and Jude. They both shrugged, each with No-I-Don’t-Know-What-the-Hell-She-Means expressions.

“They’re not human,” she muttered. “I am. When you amp up the power, I can feel it.”

His eyes widened. “Then you stay here. Because if we go in there, and I find Tony and he’s—” He shook his head. “You need to be far enough away that the blast doesn’t hit you.”

The blast? She shook her head. “No, you need me.”

“He’s got two vamps,” Simon said. “And a shifter. I think we’ve got this covered.”

The vamp really wanted payback from her. She didn’t look away from Zane. “You need me.”

“I told you already,” he said. “I need you more than I’ve ever needed anyone.” He almost looked sad for an instant. No, not sad. Like he was—

“So I hope you understand when you wake up,” he continued, “I only did this to keep you safe.”

Then those bees swarmed in her mind. The green bled from Zane’s eyes, and the darkness she saw in his gaze seemed to reach out to her. She felt his arms catch her as she fell, and then … nothing.

“She’s going to be so pissed with you.” Dee shook her head and frowned down at Jana’s body. “And when that woman gets angry”—she shook her right hand—“she burns.” He grunted. “I’d rather have her pissed than hurt.”

“So what … you’re just going to leave her here?” Dee asked, lips pulling down. “What if some of the other ass**les out here find her?”

Good f**king point. He grunted and looked at Jude. “Keep her safe.”

“But you need me in there! You don’t know what’s—”

“I need you to stay with Jana.” The shifter would understand. He might not like it, but he’d understand. Jude had his own lady that he’d die to protect. “I can track Tony. He’s human. I can send out a psychic wave and feel him once I’m inside.” He just had to get closer to make contact. “Jude, keep her safe.”

When had she come to mean so much? Come to mean … everything? When she’d gone after the demons who’d attacked him? When she’d braved the fires at Perseus for him? When they’d made love and she whispered his name?

Hell, it didn’t matter when. She was under his skin, locked in what was left of his heart, and he wasn’t risking her.

Don’t let them know your weakness.

The killer already knew, and Zane would be damned if he put Jana at risk. He would have left her back at Night Watch, but the drugs had dulled his powers and he hadn’t been able to put her out then.

Now his strength had returned. Real good thing.

“Be back soon, baby,” he whispered and brushed a kiss over her still lips. He looked up at Jude.

The shifter nodded his head in agreement. “Watch your ass, demon.”

“Always.” He squared his shoulders, ignored the throbbing in his head, and walked away from the woman who could break him. The demons were waiting for him. Holding the human he called his friend.

“Distract them,” he ordered Dee and knew that she would. With her new vampire skills, she’d tear a path right through any demons who were waiting inside. She and Simon would be more than a match for at least a dozen demons. Well, they’d be a match while the sun stayed low. Since time was against them, they all needed to haul ass.

But how many were inside? Catalina hadn’t told them for sure. Just that Tony was surrounded by Zane’s brethren.

He split from the vampires and kept to the waning shadows. The stench of burnt wood and ash hung in the air. He slipped down the alley, moving as soundlessly as he could. He sure didn’t want to tip off his prey. Not now.

The back door was boarded up. Boarded from the outside, as if someone had tried to keep the demons in.

He stared at those boards and let his power flare. The nails began to ease out of the wood. Slowly, so slowly, and carefully. The nails dropped to the ground with a soft clink. He caught the boards before they could fall.

Then he heard a roar. A loud, guttural cry of female fury.

Dee. Timing her distraction perfectly. More shouts filled the air as the demons inside attacked or were attacked.

He eased open the door and went into the hollowed-out hell. The scents were stronger. The ash stained his fingers when his hand brushed against the wall. The odor of blood was stronger. Thicker. His heart slammed into his chest. Too much blood.

Zane’s breath rasped out. If Tony was dead …

A floorboard squeaked and he whirled around. A demon stared back at him. A demon with the face of innocence and eyes blacker than the ash. Screams echoed from the front of the den. Curses filled the air.

The demon smiled at him. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to get here,” Davey said, and he shook his blond head. “I mean, it’s not like the human had that long to keep living. We were running out of time.”

Zane lunged for him and grabbed the kid by his shirt. He jerked Davey close. “You f**king bastard.” Davey. The kid. The barely legal ass**le.

My damn fault. I let him live.

Davey must have read the thoughts on Zane’s face because he laughed. “Guess you’re wishing you’d just let me burn, huh? But don’t feel too bad. I would’ve gotten out anyway.”

But the little bastard had been all but begging for help then. As powerful as he seemed now, why would he have—

He’d taken the shifter’s powers. And his weaknesses. That cage-Zane would f**king bet it had been made of silver. Couldn’t move it, could you, ass**le?

Zane shoved his fist into Davey’s face. The demon’s nose shattered, and blood sprayed in the air. “Where. Is. He?”

Davey wrenched away from him. That perfect smile was bloody now. “I got ‘em both, you know.”