Abra Cadaver (21 page)

“It’s going to take more than that, Miss Brimmer,” a man’s voice rasped in her ear. “You cost me the boy the other morning. Now you owe me.” His breath was hot and foul. “Teachers wrote, ‘Alan Hendrick does not work to his full potential’ on this host body’s report cards. That scarred him as a child, Miss Brimmer. Children just want to be accepted for what they are. They don’t need some preachy bitch ragging on them to get motivated. To pay attention.”

Hendrick’s grip tightened on Holly’s neck, and she started to feel dizzy.

“Guess what, Miss Brimmer,” he whispered, his lips grazing her neck. “Alan Hendrick is paying attention now.”

She managed to let out a little whimper, and Hendrick’s body shivered at the sound of it as if he had thoroughly enjoyed the helpless noise. He turned her around, and she stared into green eyes behind wire-framed glasses. Hendrick wore a chin-length wig of wavy, dark brown hair and his mustache and beard had been shaven. Along with the contact lenses and glasses, he’d applied makeup to hide the scar across his brow. In a green dress shirt, brown corduroy blazer, and khaki pants, he looked like any other dad who had come straight from his office cubicle to visit his kid’s school. He didn’t look anything like his mug shot that had been passed around at the faculty meeting. Nothing like the man blocking Holly’s exit in the bar the other night.

Child abuser and master of disguise
. She hated criminals with multiple talents.

“At this time, any parents and teachers still in the building should make their way to an exit. Thank you and enjoy your evening.” Mrs. Veraca’s voice rang over the intercom.

“We must follow the principal’s orders.” Hendrick used one hand to hold Holly painfully by the wrist and the other to push aside his blazer. Her eyes zoomed in on the hilt of a dagger at his waist. “If we don’t follow the rules, someone could get hurt.”

She nodded as her mind struggled to come up with a plan. Something. Anything. She did not want to leave the building with this lunatic. She wasn’t particularly fond of staying in her classroom with this lunatic either. No good options here.

“Get your bag, Miss Brimmer.” Hendrick yanked her over to her desk, picked up her school bag, and hung it on her shoulder. “Play the part now, or those cops outside will be putting you back together like a puzzle. A bloody one.” He flashed the dagger again.

Hendrick made her go down the stairs outside her classroom first. She thought about running ahead. She was fast, in shape, but voices in the stairwell told her that a child was at the bottom. Couldn’t risk Hendrick doing something to hurt anyone.

Instead, she took the steps slowly, aware of Hendrick following closely behind her. At the door, two parents chatted with the officer guarding there.

“This police officer is my uncle, Miss Brimmer!” a little, blond-headed kindergartener said as Holly and Hendrick approached.

The officer shook his head as the parents laughed. “Sara, let Miss Brimmer out. She’s had a long day.” He offered Holly a smile and nodded at Hendrick. “Have a nice night.”

“You, too,” Holly managed.

Hendrick said an abrupt thank you, paused a moment to watch the girl, then let Holly go ahead a couple of steps.

Doesn’t want to seem like he’s following me,
Holly thought. Now that she had some space, she could think. She wanted to get Hendrick away from the kindergartener even though near the police officer was the best place to be.

Outside, the rear parking lot was dark except for one light shining down from the roof of the school. A few cars huddled around hers, and she instinctively walked toward it.

“Yes. Let’s go for a drive,” Hendrick said.

“The police are probably watching us. Hell, some of them are out here. They’ll come over if you get in with me. They think you’re a parent.” Holly stopped at the passenger side of her car.

“Laugh.” Hendrick put an arm on either side of her, pinning her to the car door.

Her stomach rolled. She wanted this night to be over. “What?”

“Laugh. The police will think you’re just a little whore, bringing a lonely dad home for some extra credit work.” He pressed his hips against hers, and she felt his arousal through his pants. “Playing with you will be fun, though I rather enjoyed
playing
with your friend in the alley the other night too.”

Hendrick smiled, and Holly noticed he was missing a tooth. Had Keane done that?

Keane. His name pumped adrenaline into her veins. She snaked her hand to the back of Hendrick’s neck. She had a moment to see his eyes widened behind his fake glasses. Had he not expected her to play along?

Good.

She sidestepped and switched positions with Hendrick. Letting her lips hover over his, she brought her knee up with every ounce of strength she had, connecting solidly with Hendrick’s crotch. As he bent forward and howled, she pushed on his shoulders until his head cracked back into the passenger side window. The glass spiderwebbed behind him, and green demon blood sprayed onto her clothes.

Holly fell to her knees, shielding her face. She scrambled to her feet, but Hendrick was quick, supernatural quick, just as Keane had said. His arms were around her waist and pulling her back to the ground before she could get free of the cars parked around hers. The broken tar of the parking lot dug into her palms as Hendrick turned her around to face him. The last thing she saw before he flipped her over was the beam of a flashlight sweeping over the cars.

She let loose a scream her parents probably heard at the beach house, and the beam of light rushed toward her. Other beams followed from different directions, and Hendrick tried to untangle himself from her.

Tried to get away.

Holly did the first thing that popped into her mind. She wrapped her legs around Hendrick’s waist and kept him from getting up. He half-dragged her along the ground. Her dress ripped beneath her. The parking lot tore at her elbows, but she held on.

“Let go of me, bitch!” He dug his fingers into her thighs, but Holly only squeezed tighter.

“Hands up!” a police officer ordered.

She focused on the officer’s gun hanging over her face and pointing at Hendrick. Three other officers circled around the back of Hendrick.

“She won’t let go of me!” Hendrick shouted.

“I’m not some kid you can do whatever you want with,” Holly said. She wanted to squeeze the life out of Hendrick.

“Cuff him,” the officer said.

Two officers moved in, wrestled Hendrick’s hands to his back, and handcuffed him. Another set of hands slid beneath Holly’s arms and pulled gently until she sat up.

“Holly, let him go.”

When she looked up, she could see McDonahue’s face leaning over her. She unclenched her legs, let them fall to the ground, wondered how much of her underwear McDonahue had seen. The other officers pulled Hendrick to his feet and carted him away. McDonahue helped Holly stand, and he shrugged out of his jacket to drape it around her shoulders. Now that she was free of Hendrick, Holly’s entire body shook.

“Deep breaths. You’re all right now.” McDonahue rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You just did something amazing, Miss Holly Brimmer.”

Amazing? Something important?

“I did, didn’t I?” She froze for a moment. What if she had done what she was supposed to do? Would Keane sense it? Would he leave right away? “I’ve got to go, Jensen.” She slid his jacket off and handed it to him.

“Wait, you’re all scratched up. We need a statement. There’s paperwork involved. What’s that green stuff on your dress?” He followed her to her car. “Where are you going?”

“Home. I’ve got to get home.” She searched her bag for her keys, but when she tried to put them in the door lock, her hands shook too much.

“Holly, you’re in no condition to drive right now.” McDonahue asked two officers to take care of her car. “Let me take you home and you can give a statement on the way.”

Holly nodded. Her only goal was to get home before Keane left. She didn’t care how she got there.

Moments later, she was seated in McDonahue’s squad car and headed toward her house. She filled in a report of the night’s events on the drive, shuddered a little as she realized she’d gotten a demon arrested, and worried she was going to find her house empty upon her arrival.

When he pulled onto her driveway and parked the squad car, McDonahue angled himself against the driver side door to look at her.

“I assume Mystery Man is inside waiting to comfort you,” he said.

She studied the frayed fabric at the hem of her dress and the green blotches of demon blood. She nodded and slowly brought her gaze up to meet McDonahue’s. “I’m sorry if I led you on, Jensen.”

“I’d like to say I’m not disappointed, but I am. Any gal that can take down a criminal twice her size is a gal I’d like to get to know better.” He offered her a smile and held out his hand. “On behalf of the town, thank you for your assistance tonight in catching a bad guy, Miss Brimmer.”

Holly took his hand and shook it. “Anytime, Officer McDonahue.”

She got out of the squad car and bounded up the porch steps. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she had a feeling that if Keane wasn’t inside the house, her heart would never pound again.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Keane gripped the edges of the book he pretended to read on the couch. He’d heard the police car drive up and knew that Officer McDonahue was dropping Holly off.

Easy,
he told himself.
Holly isn’t yours to get jealous over.
She wanted to be his. She’d said she loved him, but he couldn’t let her throw the life he’d given back to her away. Couldn’t let her waste it on him. She was better off with the cop. Or a lifeguard. Whoever.

She spilled—breathless, flushed, and damn sexy—into the living room. He swallowed loudly. Another thing that had changed about him recently. Normally he did everything with less noise than a shadow. His eyes connected with Holly’s, and he couldn’t look away.

“Keane,” she said. “You’re still here.” Did she look relieved? “I did it, but you’re still here.”

“Did what?” He got to his feet now and focused his gaze on the curve of her lips, the swell of her breasts beneath her dress, the flow of her long, auburn hair.

Shit, she looks like a goddess. Even more than usual.

“I did something important. Something that matters.” She walked over to him, and her soft lilac scent danced around the living room. She was so alive. For one moment, he was overjoyed that he had been compelled to save her.

“What did you do?” Usually he knew what his save had done. He felt a release from them when they did it, then he could leave them. Right now, however, he felt anything but a pull away from Holly. He wanted to launch himself at her instead. Peel the clothes from her slender body and taste her skin. “Is that…” He motioned to the stains on her dress. “Is that demon blood?”

“I caught Hendrick.” She took a step closer to him, and he noticed a tear in her dress, the crimson blood at her elbows, the scratches on her legs.

“He touched you.” He sat her on the couch and kneeled in front of her. He inspected her elbows and legs. Superficial scrapes, but had Hendrick done things he couldn’t see? Demons carried all sorts of infections.

“He tried to touch me, but since you taught me some moves, I’m a bad ass now, and he didn’t get the chance.”

Keane had to smile at the triumphant gleam in her eyes. Gods, she was magnificent. “The police have Hendrick?”

She nodded. “Thanks to me.”

“Well, that sure sounds like something important.”

“So you’re going to leave now?” She folded her hands in her lap, and he nearly went mad with wanting those hands on him.

He leaned back on his heels and looked at the clock on the mantel. “When did you catch Hendrick?”

Holly followed his gaze. “About thirty minutes ago, I’d say.”

“Then I should be feeling compelled to leave. Actually…” He stood and stepped back from the couch. “I should be gone already.”

A single tear trickled down Holly’s cheek. “I don’t want you to go, Keane.” She stood as well and pressed her body against the front of his. “Will you kiss me? Please? Before you go.”

How could he say no? He didn’t want to say no. He traced her lips with his index finger then lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was gentle at first, warm and smooth. She tasted of blueberries again tonight, and he wanted to feast on her lips forever. Some small part of his brain, however, knew he shouldn’t continue kissing her if he was about to leave.

“Holly…” He grabbed her wrists to stop her hands from combing over his chest. “We shouldn’t do this.”

“You really don’t want me? You don’t even want to try to work something out?” She wriggled her hands free of his grasp and paced away from him. “Just leave then.”

“I can’t.” Keane fought with himself over whether or not to go to her. To fold and give her what she wanted. What he wanted.

“Why not? I did something big. I’ve waited for this day. For the natural cycle of my life to start spinning again. If I don’t mean anything to you, go.”

Keane did walk toward her then. He grabbed her upper arms and guided her backward until she was pressed between his body and the wall.

“If you think you don’t mean anything to me, then you’re crazy. You mean more to me than anyone ever has, Holly. I love you.”

He crushed his lips down on hers, and the witch’s voice crept back into his head.

Born anew

when someone loves you,

life resumes

when love consumes.

Why hadn’t he remembered that part of the spell? He drew back from Holly and looked at her. Something red-hot burned in his stomach, and he dropped to his knees.

“Keane?” She kneeled beside him. “What’s wrong?”

His stomach let out a growl, and suddenly he was ravenous. All the hungers he hadn’t experienced since the fourth century B.C. came crashing down on him. He wanted to eat…everything. Wanted a banquet like they used to have in his time with every kind of food imaginable.