Chapter Eleven
Marcus watched Raven weave that wicked bike in and out of the traffic like a professional stunt driver. He knew she’d know where the captain was holed up. As long as he could keep up with these neck-breaking speeds without crashing, he’d get his man, or rather incubus.
He’d clear Raven’s name, and then she could resume her work. After all, hell needed bounty hunters too. He prayed everyone else would see that she had the same rights. He couldn’t imagine her life being snuffed out—by him.
When Raven pulled to the right and zip around a corner, he slowed the car. He needed to keep her in sight without being seen. If she made him, she’d become careless just to get away.
Pulling into a parking space down the block, Marcus watched her take off her helmet and fluff her long black hair in a way that made his breath catch. Tucking her helmet under her arm, she walked into Siren Strip Club.
He knew he shouldn’t go into a place where only demons from hell hung out. Heaven couldn’t protect him there. Raven obviously meant to get the captain before he did. Clearly, he needed to protect the succubus from herself.
Getting out of his car, Marcus looked around. Later he’d text Sal to bring a team of detectives. It was the only safety net he’d been able to think of. Hell would never hurt Raven or him in front of the humans. Now all he had to do was get the captain to confess before they showed up.
At the door to the club, he checked his 9mm, making sure he had two spare clips, and pushed the worn wooden slab open.
****
Raven stalked up to the bar. “Where’s the captain?”
The bartender continued polishing the beer stein in his hand. “He doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
Raven knew he’d never rat out the captain. No one had the guts to do it. “Don’t worry, disturbing him is the last thing I want to do,” she snarked as she headed to the back of the club.
Glad to have ditched Marcus, she marched down the hall with a determined stride. The Nephilim was bigger and stronger, but the captain fought dirty. Her boss would use every trick in the book to get the upper hand.
She wouldn’t underestimate the captain. No one who had fallen into his trap lived to tell the tale. She’d give him the opportunity to confess, then she’d kill him and keep Marcus and heaven out of hell’s mess.
A strong hand grabbed her arm and jerked her to a stop. Marcus’ scent filled her lungs and calmed her as he pulled her toward him. “You should stay out here. I’ll handle the captain.”
Glaring at him, she snapped, “You stay out of it. You’re no match for him.”
“Neither are you.”
He was right. No succubus could fight her incubus and win. But Marcus didn’t have a hope against the captain either, and this was her fight not his. “He is my incubus. I’ll handle him.” Prying Marcus’ fingers off her arm, she ordered, “Just don’t get caught between us.”
Before he could interfere further, she ran down the hall and kicked open the door. “Hey, Captain.”
The incubus sat behind the desk with his fingers flying across the computer keyboard. Not looking at her, he barked, “Get out.”
“I don’t take orders from you anymore.”
He stood so fast, the chair bashed against the muted and smudged gray wall. “I am your incubus. You’ll do as I say.” His booming voice echoed in the tiny office, but Raven didn’t flinch at the bravado. She wouldn’t back down anymore. She intended to clear her name and terminate their working relationship.
“Did you know heaven put a hit out on me? And hell is after both of us. You want to explain why?”
His eyes glowed red, and his lips pulled back into a snarl. “Get out. I have work to do.”
She carefully took another step into the room, watching for any sign of aggression. He moved fast, so she had to be faster if she wanted to survive. “Like I said, I don’t take orders from you.”
The captain straightened, trying his best to intimidate her. “Do you realize who you’re fucking with?”
Raven slipped off her leather jacket and threw it in the corner of the room. The humming deep in her body excited her tissues until her energy pulsed. “Yeah, you’re the prick I’m going to kick in the ass. Now why don’t you tell me why people were shooting at me?”
Rage filled the captain’s red eyes as his hands fisted by his sides. The captain looked as if he’d pounce, but then his anger seemed to lessen as he shrank back to his normal size. “It’s complicated—messy—too much for you to understand.”
Raven wanted to attack the bastard who had made her life a living hell, but she knew he’d use her energy against her. She’d wait until the right moment to attack. “Unmessy it for me.”
A phony smile smeared across the captain’s lips. “Look, there is no reason to get this upset. I have everything under control, so just go back to the precinct and do your day job. When I need your services, I’ll call.”
He took a step to her right, as if to leave, but she had to keep him in this room. The only way to keep everyone else safe was to trap him. “No. I’m not your trained bitch anymore. Why are you setting me up to take the fall?”
Anger raced across his face as he bellowed, “Do as I say and I won’t punish you!”
The humming deep in her core turned into pressure, a tension that excited her and made her skin twitch. The energy flowed into her eyes and knew they had changed to gray. The shift had started. “Punish me? I don’t think so.”
Raven knew he’d strike out at her. She watched for the subtle movement in his eyes that would precede his attack. She’d have to use his energy against him to win.
Summoning the shift, she concentrated all her energy on the tension deep within. A sharp rise of fear mixed with excitement pulsed through her. Smiling with the knowledge that she was near the brink, she gritted, “Why are you setting me up?”
His fist flew toward her face. She ducked, hitting him with a swift chop against the neck, and he crumbled to the floor.
The captain tried to shake off the effects of her punch. “You bitch.”
Before he could stand, she kicked him in the chest, knocking him flat, his face hitting the floor hard. “Heaven put a contract out on me. Know anything about that?”
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the captain snarled. “No.”
When terror flashed in his red eyes, she knew her eyes were burning white. The shift was imminent. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Watch yourself, whore.”
Raven gave herself over to the energy, letting it take control. Her leather pants ripped away from her body, the leather corset gave way easily to her shift. She resembled the giant in height, but she towered over the bulldog-faced man. “I’m not your whore. Tell me what I need to know.”
Sitting back on his haunches, as if giving up to her, he whined, “What do I know? Nothing. The arch-demon is in control.”
“Liar.”
The captain sneered at her. “You think being half-naked, with your tits jiggling like that, will convince me to tell you the truth? Your allure doesn’t work on me. That’s why you’re expendable.”
“Everyone is expendable, including you.” Raven was aware of the cool air on her body, but she was a succubus without human hang-ups about a naked body. Whether he enjoyed it or not, it would be the last thing he ever saw. “And I didn’t lose my clothes to impress you. I lost my clothes to fight.”
“Fight me? You’re delusional if you think you’re any match for me.”
Raven knew he was baiting her, hoping she’d attack thoughtlessly and give him the advantage, but she wouldn’t fall into his trap. “And I thought you were man enough to be in charge. You’re just the arch-demon’s lackey.”
“That fool.” He spat out the words. “I’m the one who decides whose soul to take and when. The arch-demon in charge—you make me laugh.”
She took a step closer, blocking his path to the door. “So you admit you had me steal those souls from heaven. You ordered those hits.” She pointed at him. “You, not me.”
A slow, sinister smile formed on his lips as his eyes narrowed. “Prove it.”
Raven crouched to attack but, before she could launch herself at him, a strong arm grabbed her around the waist.
“No.” Marcus’ voice, low and commanding, resonated against her ear. His touch scorched her skin, and liquid filled her sex as her nipples hardened, craving his heat.
All her senses cried out for his touch, his taste, his need heightening her own. “Let me go.”
“You don’t have to fight him, I’m here,” he said, coldly.
Raven felt every inch of his body and her arousal heightened, but she had to handle the captain. “Let me beat the truth out of him.”
Marcus’ lips were inches from her ear, his hot breath sent shivers down her spine and across her skin. “No.”
“I have the right to clear my name,” she shouted in frustration.
“Raven, we have ways of dealing with him to get the truth,” he said calmly, quietly.
“We?” She felt cold all over as her stomach dropped to her toes.
“Heaven will deal with him,” Marcus explained without inflection.
“Heaven can have their turn right after I’m finished with him.”
Marcus’ grip tightened. “We will deal with him.”
“I have to prove I wasn’t part of his plan. I have to clear my name.”
“You already have.” Marcus’ matter-of-fact tone didn’t offer any comfort.
His arm relaxed against her body, and she hoped he didn’t feel the need to restrain her any longer. She wasn’t sure the whole truth was out. “There is no way I’ve cleared my name.” She fisted her hands in determination. “But I will.”
“If you were in on it, you wouldn’t have taken on your incubus. A succubus would never do anything this dangerous. You’ve proved that death didn’t matter as much as clearing your name.”
“But that doesn’t prove anything,” she said defiantly.
“We knew he was calling the shots. I needed to prove that you weren’t aware of it.”
“So that’s it. It’s over. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Everything is fine.”
“For you, yes.” Marcus smiled, and her body reacted with sexual need. “Not for him.”
“You fool. You have it wrong,” hissed the captain. “She took the souls. I had no clue what she was doing.”
He tried to slither past them. Raven watched Marcus cross the space in two strides. He picked the captain up by the neck and bashed him against the wall. “Tell the lady what she wants to know.”
The captain squirmed at the tight grip until his eyes bulged and his face contorted. His fingers worked to pry Marcus’ hand away from his neck.
Raven hit Marcus on the back. “Stop, you’re going to kill him before he can tell us what we want to know.”
Marcus let the captain slide down the wall until his feet touched the floor.
Before anyone could react, the captain kneed her giant in the groin. Marcus bent over in pain, and the captain suctioned onto his mouth to breathe in his soul. He would kill Marcus.
Raven kicked the captain in the balls, but he continued to inhale. She had to do something to stop this. Pushing between them, she positioned the captain’s mouth against hers and inhaled. Unfortunately, he was an incubus and his power far exceeded hers. She felt light-headed as her soul weakened beneath the onslaught.
Marcus closed his hands around the captain’s throat with deadly intentions. “Leave her alone.”
With his throat in Marcus’ grip, the captain was forced to stop siphoning Raven’s soul, and she clutched her throat as her lungs filled with glorious oxygen. The captain’s red eyes turned gray, and he hit Marcus’ hand with a fist as he leaned in to “kiss” the giant again.
Marcus laughed as he shook his head. “Fool, I’m a Nephilim protected by heaven. You can’t take my soul. I, however, will crush your larynx if you don’t stop.” He closed his hands around the captain’s throat.
His face turned bright red as his hands dropped in defeat. Marcus appeared to lessen his grip but kept his hand at the captain’s throat. “Tell the lady what she wants to know.”
“It all happened so fast. I didn’t know what to do.” He looked at Raven as if confessing. “I was in too deep, so I acted to fix the situation. I needed more souls.”
Raven punched him solidly in the shoulder. “Who were you in so deep to?”