Eternal Flame (Night Watch 3)

“I figured she’d just run.” Daniels sighed. “Until I found out about the blood. Now I’m not so sure she went willingly.”

They were alone in the chief’s office. A small office, and one with a really crappy view. Zane forced his hands to unclench. “The vamp bit her back at the swamp. The blood could have come from that bite.” Could have. But if that shifter had gotten her …

Should have left his ass chained to the wall.

A knock rapped at the door.

“Come in,” Daniels barked.

The door opened, and Tony poked his head in. “We’ve got company.” Company that had made his whole face harden.

“Tell ‘em to take a f**kin’ number!” Daniels bellowed. “I’ve got a missing—”

“A missing what?” A female voice asked.

The chief froze, then grunted out, “Shit.”

Daniels might be surprised, but Zane had caught the woman’s scent, so when the door swung open fully and Special Agent Kelly Thomas appeared next to Tony, he wasn’t surprised.

But he was annoyed.

“Where is she, demon?” Agent Thomas asked, staring at him. “I heard the call on the police scanner. I know about the fire out in the swamp.” She walked into the room, her heels clicking. Tony, his mouth tight, shut the door behind her. “And I know an Ignitor set that fire.”

Zane rolled his shoulders. Jana, where are you? “You’re right. An Ignitor did set the fire.”

Her eyes widened. “You admit she—”

“Beth Parker started the fire. I can testify to that. So can two other witnesses.” He’d make sure Catalina didn’t disappear before backing up his story, and he’d also be sure not to kill the vamp until that guy could back up his claim, too.

The special agent’s teeth snapped together and she gritted out, “Another one?”

“I can dig up other witnesses who will testify that Beth Parker started numerous fires in the area.” He was bullshitting now, but screw that. Jana wasn’t being exterminated. “Parker was the Ignitor, not Jana Carter.”

The silence in the room was so thick he could feel it weighing on him.

Kelly’s cheeks flushed a dark, violent red. “Jana Carter is a killer.”

Maybe, but they weren’t killing her. “I’ve already talked to Pak. He’s calling his contacts at the FBI and clearing this mess up. You’ve been after the wrong woman, Special Agent.”

If looks could kill … “The hell I have been.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Jana Carter isn’t your prey anymore.” The chief wasn’t saying anything. Surprising, but good. The guy was going along with his story.

“Yes, she is.” And her stare touched on the chief. “You backing him?”

Jeremiah’s bushy brows climbed. “The evidence indicates that Beth Parker was the one who started—” ”Give me Jana Carter.”

Zane leaned forward and quietly said, “Not going to happen.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at him. “You’re in the middle of a federal investigation. I could have you arrested for obstruction, and don’t think you’re just walking away after that crap you pulled in Baton Rouge—”

“You pulled a gun on me, lady. I was just defending myself.” And he’d do it again. Real soon, if she didn’t back off.

Tony stepped between him and the agent. “Jana Carter isn’t here.” Ah, a calm voice. “We have no idea where she is.”

That was the absolute truth.

“She was with him.” Kelly pointed her finger at Zane. “They traveled down here together. My sources say they stole a Ford and—”

“What sources?” Zane asked, curious. She knew the make of the car they’d used. Sonofabitch. Perseus hadn’t come after them-she had. “Would those sources be the ass**les you sent to run our car off the road?”

Kelly didn’t answer.

Tony swore.

Her back straightened. “Jana Carter is a fugitive, she’s—”

“Gonna be cleared by the FBI any damn minute,” Zane promised. Pak had pull. Zane would be covered for his … incident in Baton Rouge.

And Jana had better be cleared, too. He sauntered around Tony. “I’m afraid your job’s over here, Ms. Thomas. Pack it in. You’re not after Jana anymore.”

But she wasn’t backing down and he could see the calculation in her gaze. “You really don’t know where she is.” A hard laugh filled the tight room. “Did she f**k you over, too? She screwed you, left you, and you’re still idiot enough to try and protect her?”

He glared back at her. “Stay away from Jana.”

She shook her head. “I’m doing my job. My job is to find her, to stop her-by any means necessary.” Her gaze could have singed him. “Don’t you remember? That was your job, too. Before you decided to have sex with a killer.”

Kelly spun away and stormed for the door. “I’m finding her, and I’m doing my job.” Her fingers curled over the doorknob.

“He was your stepbrother,” Tony said. Zane blinked. Uh, what?

“Brent Martin, one of the two doctors killed in that fire a few months back. The fire you think Jana started in that lab.”

Her spine was flagpole straight. “I don’t think it. I know she started that fire. I know she killed him.”

Tony whistled. “This thing has been personal for you from the beginning. It’s not about doing your job. It’s about getting some kind of revenge.”

She threw a fuming gaze back at them. “Jana Carter killed two innocent men.”

“Innocent my ass,” Zane muttered. “Lady, you don’t know what the hell has been going on down here.”

“Brent was researching paranormals—”

“He was slicing them into little pieces to see what made them tick,” Zane told her bluntly. “And guess what? Some of those paranormals didn’t like getting cut up. Some of them fought back.”

“Like your Jana?”

He wasn’t touching that. So he said, “He was working for Project Perseus, a bunch of bastards that couldn’t be trusted. You’re FBI. Start digging. Check ‘em out.”

“She already knows about them,” Tony said quietly. “From my intel, the FBI had been trying to get someone inside Perseus for months.” A pause. “Was your stepbrother an agent? Was he working both sides?”