Eternal Flame (Night Watch 3)

Catalina flinched. “He’s being hunted, too. He has to be at full strength.”

Survivors. Antonio rubbed the back of his neck. The knots were building beneath the skin. “Let’s start at the beginning, and let’s go real slow.” Erin and Jude closed in.

“First up, how the hell did you know we were down here?”

A ghost of a smile lifted her pale lips. “Pak told me.”

Figured. Pak knew just about everything, and he’d certainly be keeping tabs on his hunter.

Antonio huffed out a breath. “Look, Catalina, I’ve got a dead co-ed and—”

“Lindsey Meadows.”

Right. The media didn’t know the victim’s identity yet, but Catalina did.

She told him, “If you check your records, you’ll see that Lindsey’s half-sister disappeared about six months ago. Lindsey filed a missing person’s report, but then she came back and said she’d talked to Laura, that everything was fine.”

He’d already checked the records. He knew this. Tony also knew- “I’m guessing the sister isn’t fine.”

Catalina tensed. Her eyes widened an instant before the door pushed open again. Zane loomed in the doorway, and his little Ignitor was right at his side.

“I don’t know if the sister is fine,” Catalina said. “She knows.” There was some anger there. Fear.

It made sense that a witch would fear the Ignitor. Any smart person would fear her. Catalina had always struck him as the smart type.

Everyone turned to look at Zane and Jana-and they waited.

Kelly Thomas edged onto Zane’s porch, her gun drawn. She’d kept her eyes on the demon and tailed him back to his place-and she’d seen the way the guy high-tailed out of there. Like the devil was chasing him.

She could smell the blood, so she knew—

Kelly sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the body. The poor guy-his throat had been sliced right open, a sick smile that stretched far too wide.

The stench clogged her nose, and she stumbled off the porch. Wrenching out her phone, she dialed her contact with a press of her fingers. “Start a search for Zane Wynter and Jana Carter. What? No, I don’t care what Miller said. They just killed someone. Killed him. Send some agents and the cops out to 133 Louis Avenue.”

Her fault. Her fault that poor kid was dead. She should have struck faster.

But there’d be more innocent blood lost. She was putting an end to this hell.

Time to eliminate the Ignitor and the demon that Jana had brought to her side.

Okay, having everyone stare at her was … weird. Not like she was super comfortable being down there with the dead bodies, anyway.

The cop eyed Jana with a narrowed gaze. Seriously suspicious eyes. What else was new?

“Where’s Laura?” Catalina asked.

Jana blinked. “Who?”

“Laura.” The witch repeated. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know any Laura.” Jeez. Didn’t they realize what was happening? Zane had called and told them about Marcus. They should have been—

“She’s about five-foot-seven, and she’s got long, straight brown hair. She wears glasses that are so thick-too thick. And her nose is crooked,” Catalina spoke with her eyes still locked on Jana, “like it’s been broken before, and she’s got a small black mole near the corner of her chin.”

The description had Jana’s heart racing.

Catalina said, “Tell us where she is.”

Jana took a deep breath. Then one more.

Zane’s arm brushed her side. “What the hell are you talking about, Cat? Look, the shifter is dead. He was sliced open on my doorstep. Pak is sending a cleanup crew over, but we’ve got a damn serious problem on our hands.”

“Yes,” the cop said. “You do.”

Jana realized her palms were starting to sweat.

“The survivors are being eliminated. One by one.” Okay, that witch’s voice was just eerie. So blank. So … dead.

It took a minute for the words to sink in. Survivors. Oh, shit. “You mean Marcus—”

“Someone’s not happy that the supernaturals got out of Perseus alive,” Catalina said. “I scryed. I saw … I’m going to die.” The witch sprang forward in a sudden burst of motion and grabbed Jana’s shirt, yanking her forward. “Where the hell is Laura?”

“Catalina!” Zane lunged for the witch.

Yeah, she didn’t need his help. The day she let a witch get the best of her in a fight… That day ain’t comin'. The other woman was just embarrassing her now. Jana slammed her forehead into Catalina’s. The witch howled and those nails- more like claws-stopped digging into Jana’s shirt as Catalina stumbled back.

Jana fisted her right hand and got ready to punch the chick.

Zane’s fingers curled around her fist. “Easy.” His black stare glittered at her.

“I’m not the one who went crazy.” And it stung, dammit, hurt, that he was telling her to back off. Crazy witch woman was the one who needed to be controlled.

We have a friend of yours.

Oh, right, but he cared about the witch. While she … hell, what was she to him? Did she matter?

Zane turned his head and focused on Catalina. “What the hell are you doing?”

Jana pulled her hand away from his.

Tears trickled down Catalina’s cheeks. Oh, great, tears. Now Zane would probably crumble because the witch was pretty and crying and—

“Why the hell did you attack her?” Zane demanded.

“Because she was the last person to see Laura alive! I know she was!”

Okay. Catalina was right about that. Now all the eyes were back on Jana. She cleared her throat.

“Why is this Laura important?” Zane asked.

Catalina pointed toward the body on the gurney. A body Jana had been trying to ignore. “She’s important because her sister is the one who had her throat torn out last night. Laura is psychic. She was working with Perseus. I saw her there. She was—”

“She was there the night the flames went wild.” Jana tried to keep her voice emotionless. She licked her lips and met Zane’s stare. “She didn’t… survive the fire.” Flat words. Quiet.

But she’d never forget the sight of Laura dying. A touch … the woman had touched her, stolen her fire, then transferred it to Beth. All with a touch.

But Laura hadn’t understood the flames. The fire had been too much for her, and by the time she’d tried to give the power to Beth …