She leans forward with her elbows on her knees, staring at that little notebook in her hands. If I did not desire to keep her slightly afraid of me, I might do the same.
I’m drawn to her in a way I have only felt once before. Many centuries ago. I am always in control. I have to be. Now, more than ever. If the incubus bastard who called himself Thorn was able to escape Hell, any distraction could be fatal—or worse.
Nothing prepares me for the assault of memories. Screams. Blood. Women. Men. Every manner of being in between. They all begged. Pleaded. Tried to bargain with Thornto kill them and stop his endless torment.
I could not help them centuries ago, but if he—and the Fae woman he made his queen, Regina—are behind this dead shifter, I must end them. Now.
Fuck.
So much of that time is a blur. Regina’s voice, so sweet and compelling as she used her Fae magic to wipe my mind of all independent thought. The unnatural, horrifying sensation of Thorn—mio maestro—using his power to compel me to carry out his sick desires. To terrorize and torture his victims, to bring them to auction where other, even more depraved demons would do…such horrible things to them.
During those two endless centuries, I was able to hold on to the thinnest shred of the man I’d once been. Not enough to resist him, but enough to drown in the endless, overwhelming guilt as I helped him destroy life after life and betrayed all I held dear.
Looking down at my hands, I can still see the blood. Somehow, I found a way to break free. But those memories are gone forever. My first clear recollection is dragging Thorn and Regina down to Hell and offering them to the Devil—along with my own soul as penance for my sins.
Surely, they could not have atoned. Hell isn’t a place you simplywalk out of.Beelzebub does not give out hall passes. The last demon who escaped—Stefan, I think his name was—well, he almost took the place down with him.
Movement in my periphery brings me back to the present, and I find Zoe running a hand through her hair, stopping at the back of her neck, and rubbing like she’s trying to erase the memory of the shifter’s tattoo.
My arm throbs, the place he marked me, and I force the pain away. With a hard, slow blink, I meet Zoe’s gaze, and again, the power catches me unaware. Sucking in a breath, I put another inch of space between the two of us, though I ache to move closer. Something draws me to my new partner, something magical shimmering under her skin. In the depths of her green eyes. In her voice.
Does she know? About all that untapped power begging to be released?
With the grace that comes from complete and total control of my body, I rise and nod towards my car. “Follow me.”
Zoe gets to her feet, but refuses to rush after me. Is she trying to assert some form of control? If she battles me, she will lose. Every time. Though…the fun we could have if she tried… One look and she could be a quivering mess at my feet. But I swore long ago I would never use my power on the unsuspecting again.
And Commander Eve would have my ass. Most days, that would be a small risk with a very large reward. But today? I will not step one toe out of line. This case is personal, and I will see if through. Even—or especially—if it ends my pitiful existence.
“Where are we going?” Zoe asks as she pulls her keys from her pocket.
The leather seat wraps me in comfort, and I drape my arm out the window and force a smile as she unlocks her own car. “Headquarters. I believe it is time for your first glimpse of the Bureau’s red tape.”
* * *
Zoe
Thank God for GPS. Sin’s sleek, shiny car is a hell of a lot faster and more maneuverable than my old Civic, and he left me in the dust after less than two miles.
My meeting with Commander Eve took place in an enchanted building across town—in case I turned down her offer—so I’ve never been here before, and from the outside, BOO Headquarters looks like...well...nothing. A plain, concrete building with windows so heavily tinted, they’re completely opaque.
By the time I park alongside Sin’s A3, impatience hardens his already chiseled features.
“From now on,” he says as he ambles towards the unmarked building, “I will drive.”
My eye roll makes my head hurt. Sin holds the door for me, and once we’re both inside, he frowns. “Is this your first time here?”
“Yes.” I hold his stare, cataloging yet another variation in his eye color. At the moment, the outside of his irises are like the summer sky.
“Then prepare yourself.”
As warnings go, it’s pitiful, but when we round the corner and enter the bullpen, I realize there’s nothing else he could have said. My jaw drops open, and Sin doesn’t break stride. “I suggest you get yourself under control, Zoe. The leopards do not like to begawkedat.
If it were empty, this room would look like any other bullpen in the country. Beige walls, scuffed linoleum floors with a layer of grime no mop can remove, and the scent of stale coffee with an undercurrent of sweat. Even the desks look the same.
But the agents sitting at them? It’s like a paranormal menagerie. What can only be a vampire stares at me from two desks over, her lips curving into a smile and revealing sharp, glistening fangs. Her partner is...a ghost? She’s wispy, almost translucent.
Sin’s right about the leopards. A pair of them—twins if I had to guess—pin me with hard stares. They look like humans except for the spots and fur covering their bodies, their decidedly feline noses, and whiskers. I avert my gaze and follow Sin as he weaves through the bullpen and heads for a glass-walled office in the center of the large space.
