Blood Dark (18 page)

And as those sparks behind her eyes exploded, sending her into a white chasm where she could no longer see anything. Finally, eventually, with a guttural masculine groan of sated pleasure, he climaxed inside her.

C
aitlin didn’t know
which part of her ached more as she soaped herself down in the shower, even the soft flow of the water making her skin tingle and the bite marks on her inner thigh sting.

Kane rinsed off beside her, the soapsuds sliding down his sculpted abdomen, his behind, down his impressive length even in its depleting state.

It felt so comfortable being there beside him, in a place that was neither his home nor hers. But anywhere with him now felt like home, like she belonged, like it was where she needed to be.

As he rinsed the last of the soap from his eyes, he smiled as he caught her admiring linger; a smile that warmed her somewhere deep.

‘Are you perving on me again, Parish?’

She smiled. ‘That’s what you get for having a lot to perve on.’

His laugh was fleeting, deep, masculine. As he caught her lips in another kiss, she knew her smile had remained for the entirety of it.

I love you
, she almost said.
I’ve always loved you, Kane Malloy
.

But as if sensing she was about to say something, Kane pulled away, stepping out of the shower.

Now that the adrenaline had eased, now that she’d had a least a couple of hours sleep, all she could think about was what would have happened if she had lost him there in that alley, the pain of the prospect so great as to make her chest ache.

Kane had been right to tell her it was about those moments. That whatever was inevitable was just that. And she wanted more of those moments, whatever the consequences. Any option of ever walking away was now gone.

He tossed her a towel as she opened the door. She wrapped it around herself before stepping in front of the mirror, using the end of the oversized fabric to dry her hair.

Her stomach flipped as Kane stepped in behind her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he rested his temple against hers as he met her gaze in the mirror. The affection was so unnecessary, a fact that intensified it more. And as his gaze held hers, he didn’t have to say anything for her to know. She just did.

He may not have confessed undying love, he may not have told her he loved her at all since their time in the porch, but she’d felt it in the way he’d held her in that circle. Just as, despite the overwhelming desire to look, she’d trusted him. More than anything, despite the creature circling inches away, she’d felt safe with Kane.

She’d had total faith in him in a way she’d never had faith in anyone. But she’d always had faith in Kane – that’s what she’d come to realise. From the moment she’d known he was the only one who could help her defeat the soul ripper, she’d believed in him being capable of anything.

And
no one
was going to change that.

He kissed her tenderly on the temple. He gathered up his clothes and made his way back into the bedroom.

She watched Kane’s reflection in the bedroom as he dressed himself.

She refastened her bra and zipped up her dress, her mind made up.

C
aitlin emerged from the bathroom
, dressed again but her hair still damp about her shoulders.

‘I need to get home,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to be up in a few hours.’

She held his gaze as if she was about to say something momentous and it burned deep inside him; something unnerving about the prospect.

‘Look me in the eye,’ she said, ‘and promise me once more that Caleb has nothing to do with those killings. That he’s completely innocent.’

‘He’s completely innocent of those killings, Caitlin.’

She broke away to approach the table. Sitting down, she grabbed the notepad and pen.

He realised a moment later what she was doing. He saw the times, the dates, the locations in one long list of eight, Caitlin recalling them as easily as he knew she would.

Her leap of faith knotted his throat and made his heart ache. Her leap of faith as she no longer asked for anything in return.

For now.

‘Don’t let me down, Kane,’ she said, holding her solemn gaze on his. ‘
Please
. I’m going to have to interview Caleb tomorrow, but I’ll hold on as long as I can. Make sure he has his alibis by then.’

She brushed past him but he caught her hand.

Now that he had what he needed, the temptation to keep her there was immense. He knew his hand had tightened as he played the prospect through his head. The temptation to lock her away where she would be as safe as he could make her overwhelmed him. With so many dens he had many options. With what was potentially crawling the streets, he almost could have done it whether she wanted him to or not – rewarding her leap of faith by taking the one thing she’d wanted to retain: her freedom.

‘Leave them,’ he said. ‘Leave the VCU, Caitlin.’

Her gaze dropped. She shook her head before looking back into his eyes. ‘I can’t.’

He wanted to push her away. Instead, he brushed her hair back from her face. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, her jaw in his hands, her lips willing.

He saw to following her home, despite her reluctance. He saw to it personally despite returning her bag, her gun and knife to her. But she’d still left the pouches at home – something he warned her never to do again. The fact she didn’t look over her shoulder once told him how reassuring his presence was. She knew he had her back. That he had her back all the way to her apartment.

He watched as her light went on.

That was when it was at its most difficult: watching her go back home alone when all he wanted to do was pull her close, to have her warm body next to his through the night and when he awoke the next day again – something he had missed more than he wanted to admit to since her return to the VCU; one of the reasons why he hadn’t returned to his own bed in his haven at all. The whole place felt empty without her.

The confirmation of her reluctance to leave the VCU was the perfect time to finish it and give his full attention to Blackthorn – especially now that he had what he wanted, what he needed.

But she’d been right: this was far more than sex now; this was far more than mutual convenience. It wasn’t just love; this was different. This was something more intense. He’d known it the first time he’d gone out and felt that shot of excitement, of comfort, of returning not to his empty haven, but finding her there waiting; that very thing that had turned his base into his home again.

He had to acknowledge it at least to himself: Caitlin Parish had got to him. The one who could do him more damage than any other was the one he had fallen for. He could feel it right in the pit of his gut: she had got into the darkest depths of him and had created a spark of light – something warm, something insuppressible.

He wondered if he’d told her there and then that there was a way for them to be together, if the fears that forced her to keep a safe distance were unfounded, whether that would have changed things. But that was a secret far too sacred for someone still unwilling to relent.

He
had
to move on.

But addictions brought their own punishments.

And addictions mixed with love were the most potent of all.

Kane lit up his cigarette and exhaled a steady stream of smoke into the night air. He waited for her light to go out, waited a little while longer before stepping away and taking the long and solitary walk back to Blackthorn.

C
aitlin shoved
her way through the door to HQ and marched up the stairs two at a time, her boots switching from echoing down the extensive corridor to becoming silent as she burst through the next set of doors to reach carpet.

Morgan had left her two messages on her home answering machine – one at five, less than half an hour after she’d got home, and one again at half six when she was probably deep in REM sleep. She never slept through calls, the exhaustion clearly having got to her more than she thought.

When she’d got to the TSCD, to her office, she’d found four messages on her work mobile – messages that had escalated with impatience. None of them had told her what it was about. All of them told her to see him as soon as she got in. She had no doubt running out on Meghan was going to be top of the agenda let alone being late and having been non-contactable, but then she found a note on her desk:
Conference Room B
, written in Morgan’s handwriting.

Conference Room B was only ever used for press conferences or emergency meetings. The prospect of either had her heart palpitating faster than knowing she was already knee-deep in it.

She calmed her breathing before pushing open the side door to the already hushed room. She slid into the empty seat at the end of a row – six rows in total containing maybe thirty people. She didn’t recognise any sign of the press. This was an internal meeting – an emergency internal meeting.

Morgan met her gaze from where he stood behind the stand, the screen on pause behind him.

He didn’t need to sustain eye contact for her to know he was far from impressed.

‘… discovered yesterday in the back alleys near the east side of Blackthorn,’ he continued, already mid-flow with the attentive audience. On the screen behind him was stilled footage of the nilkim, as Kane had called it. ‘It was out of control within minutes. We lost two agents. Nine more were injured, three seriously. The only thing that prevented complete onslaught was the firing of a single arrow. The creature evaporated before it reached the alley opening.’

‘Evaporated?’

‘Vanished. What we don’t know was whether the disappearance is permanent or temporary.’

There were a few mumbles as the audience talked amongst themselves.

‘Do you know who sent the arrow?’ an agent called out.

Morgan briefly met Caitlin’s eyes in the crowd, Caitlin subconsciously rubbing the bite marks still tingling on her inner thigh, before he reverted his attention to the agent who had asked the question.

‘As yet, no,’ Morgan said. ‘What is relevant though is that trace substances were found on the arrowhead that we believe were integral in the creature vanishing. It’s integral because it demonstrated to us that it is possible to defeat these things if you know how. And therein lies our task ahead. Because what is of significant concern is that it wasn’t an isolated incident.’

There were even more murmurs, a shuffling in seats to accompany it.

‘Another creature was found on the south side during the course of yesterday afternoon,’ Morgan declared.

He flashed up the image on the screen.

It lay on the ground – a rubbery, bug-like creature with hooked feet. Whoever had killed it had done so brutally, but it looked like it had been quite the battle.

‘There was also an incident less than half a mile from where this creature was found. Almost an entire con row was burned down. Witnesses are claiming there was an attack of child-like creatures. Over thirty bodies were found in the aftermath. Analysis will begin in due course.’

‘Is it happening anywhere else?’ another agent called out.

‘As far as we know, no,’ Morgan continued. ‘For some reason, this locale appears to be an epicentre for the activity. What has happened might have been it, but there’s a risk there could be more. Something is happening out there.’

‘The prophecy?’

‘At the moment, the aim is to keep panic to a minimum. All we know is that we were unequipped to deal with it. Our objective first and foremost is to find out what we can about these fourth species, gathering as much information as we can, with the aim of compiling a glossary of as many of these things as possible. More importantly, how to combat them.’

‘When we have no resources?’ a voice from the crowd called out. ‘No money?’

‘The Global Council was made aware of the situation early this morning. I met with our locale’s representative. Dr Sirius Throme has pledged whatever support we need to create this task force.’

Caitlin’s heart pounded at the mention of his name – and Morgan having no idea of Sirius’s furtive, rancid plan.

‘I bet he has,’ another voice called out. ‘It’s surprising how the money can be found when there’s the possibility of something leaking across the borders. I wonder if he would be pledging funding if this was a crisis limited to Blackthorn or Lowtown?’

‘It’s not a crisis …’ Morgan insisted.

‘And where is this information going to come from anyway?’ yet another voice called out. ‘We’re the third species control division, not fourth. Up until you put this on the screen as far as any of us were concerned this fourth-dimension rumour was nothing but a fairytale.’

‘All eight registered interpreters from Midtown and Summerton are in the process of being brought to Conference Room A, as well as fifteen from our neighbouring locales. Their books are being temporarily confiscated to be gathered with the ones our libraries contain. We know for a fact that therein lie details of these fourth species and how to tackle them.’

‘What about the practising witches? Can they not be of use?’

‘If they haven’t started it in the first place,’ another muttered. ‘After banishing them to Blackthorn, I hardly think they’re going to be voluntarily saving our arses.’

‘We don’t need them as yet,’ Morgan cut in. ‘Just as we need word to leak out even less as to what we’re doing. As a result, Conference Room A will be manned twenty-four hours a day until we get all the intel we need. Once we have our glossary together, the task force will become equipped and operational.’

‘Consisting of who?’

‘A selection of our VCU, LCU and DCU agents will be transferred to support the Unidentified Species Unit. We will have to use our CEOs to help pick up the slack.’

The mutters turned to grumbles.

‘And what about the day-to-day management of Blackthorn and Lowtown?’ This time the agent stood up as he called out. ‘We’re already thin on the ground out there. You’re putting those left out there on the streets at even more risk.’

‘Which is why we will pull on our Curfew Enforcement Unit and extend their hours. As I have said, this might have been a freak incident that will come to nothing more. This is merely an initial course of action – a safeguarding. Now that we know the fourth dimension exists, it’s the perfect time to act should this ever occur again. In the meantime, what we don’t need is chaos. We certainly don’t need any further lack of faith in our system at this time. I’ll have another update in a few hours.’

How he avoided looking in her direction, Caitlin didn’t know.

As Morgan closed the conference to a hum of voices, Caitlin followed his directed nod to accompany him into the side-office.

She closed the door behind herself as she followed him inside.

‘I’ve been trying to get hold of you,’ he said. ‘And you’re late.’

‘I overslept, I’m sorry.’

‘Your work phone was in your desk, Caitlin. You know someone of your position is to keep it on you at all times, especially in the middle of a case. I’ve noticed this has become a habit of yours since returning.’

She knew she could offer no explanation beyond the obvious, so she didn’t even try.

And she knew just by the look in his eyes that he understood the situation only too well.

‘I said I’m sorry.’

‘I’ve been worried sick. Where did you go last night? Yale reported you as missing.’

‘I got a couple of leads. I lost her in the crowds so I headed home.’

‘You’ve heard what I’m up against out there. I don’t need this, Caitlin. I don’t need to be worrying about you.’

‘And this was a closed conference, Matt. Why did you want me there?’

‘Because you’re one of the agents I’m going to transfer.’

Her heart skipped a beat. ‘Me?
Why
?’

‘Because we’re going to be able to close the Dehain case. We had a witness come forward last night.’

Her heart hammered against her chest.

‘Someone who has shed further light on the murders,’ he added.

Caitlin’s stomach flipped as a chill washed over her. ‘
Who
?’

‘Her name is Abby Sommes. She claims to have headed up a vigilante group called The Alliance. She’s been in hiding but decided to come forward in exchange for both immunity and transference to another locale.’

The chill turned icy. She lost the sensation in everything except her leaden legs. ‘What kind of information?’

‘She’s placed Caleb Dehain at the scene of one of the murders. It’s good news, Caitlin. It looks like we have the breakthrough we need.’