Heart of the Witch (15 page)

Her brain told Ravyn to tell Kayne no, to make him go away so this strange feeling would leave too. But his words drew her like the pull of the earth on the moon. Make
him suffer? Yes
. She parted her lips, her head already nodding in agreement, the words forming in her throat, words accepting his offer and—

"Is everything okay?"

Ravyn and Kayne turned as one, swiveling toward the speaker. Nick had come into the back room. What was he doing here? He had no right to pry in affairs that had nothing to do with him!

"Everything's fine," Ravyn heard herself say. But with the interruption, reality returned. Her skin suddenly felt greasy, as if she'd come in contact with something vile. Kayne.

She glanced back at her old lover. His eyes blazed with fury. Cords of muscle in his neck stood out, emphasizing a small tattoo of a dagger just below his Adam's apple.

Kayne turned on Nick, his voice still low pitched but thrumming with rage. "Who the hell are you, and what do you think you're doing, walking in on us?"

"Sorina was worried about Ravyn. Asked me to come back here and check. You have a problem with that, pal?"

Nick was a few inches shorter than Kayne. His shoulders were wide and his arms muscular, but Kayne's physique was that of a warrior of old. Ravyn could imagine Kayne in battle gear, bare chested beneath a breastplate, golden skin pressed hotly against cool metal… And of course there was the dark-forces thing Kayne had going on. She couldn't forget that. No, Nick didn't stand a chance against him.

He didn't seem aware of that fact. He stepped closer.

Kayne's eyes simmered, his face contorted with fury, and the air in the room dropped a few degrees. Couldn't Nick feel that? Didn't he know things weren't quite normal? Ravyn didn't see a hint of fear or hesitation. Part of her was tempted to let the two men go head-to-head. She didn't really care which one was the victor. They could shred one another to pieces as far as she was concerned.

But she couldn't allow that; Sorina would be furious with her. At least, that's what she told herself while lifting a hand to intercede between the two men.

"Okay. Stop it. He was just leaving, weren't you, Kayne?" The look she gave her ex-lover was a challenging one. She knew that if he called her on it, she would lose, but she took the chance regardless.

"Yes," he said, surprising her. He cast a scorching look at Nick and reached out for her hand. A chill that was part excitement, part revulsion raced through Ravyn, causing her skin to tingle from her fingers to her breasts. "But I'll be back."

She waited breathlessly for him to place his lips on her hand. Those lips that had trailed across her most intimate parts, that had spouted words of everlasting love and desire. All lies.

He didn't kiss her. Instead, he gently released her hand. For a moment it hung suspended between them. Then she let it fall to her side.

Kayne disappeared through the curtains. Ravyn and Nick stood silent, the air between them heavy with tension. The quiet was broken by the sound of the front door, and Ravyn released a breath. Kayne was gone.

She turned to Nick. "Sorina sent you back here? She normally likes to handle the role of protector herself."

"She said she wasn't sure what she'd do if she came back here and confronted your pal." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Old boyfriend?"

Old
boyfriend
. Somewhat tame sounding, considering her and Kayne's history. She'd been eighteen when they met, so young, so impressionable. He'd had a commanding presence—and he was a witch, not a fickle mortal like her mother's boyfriends. He'd showered her with affection, with praise, making her feel as if she was the only thing in his life that mattered… which was something she'd never had, growing up. Everything had seemed perfect, the whole till-death-do-us-part scenario. Although, in the end, it had been the dark forces that had parted them, not death. When Kayne had wanted her to join him in his new and disturbing quest, she'd been devastated, pleading with him not to let the darkness take control, to stay with her. When she'd given him an ultimatum to shun the dark side or lose her love, she felt as though he'd crushed her heart in his powerful fists, for he hadn't chosen her. And he'd been banished by the coven.

"None of your business," she told Nick, hoping none of what she was feeling came through in her tone. "Please, just leave me alone."

"You know, I was just trying to help," Nick explained. "Your sister thought you were in trouble and needed rescuing. Maybe instead I interrupted your little love tryst. Is that why you're pissed?"

Ravyn released a breath and shook her head. "I'm not pissed. I'm just annoyed… about everything."

"So, is what he said true? About the serial killer? About what happened?"

"That's also none of your business."

"Look, maybe I could help you. Sometimes it helps to talk about things."

She stared at him. What was
with
this guy? What would it take to get him to leave her alone? Well, she knew how to make him leave her alone, but she'd done enough damage with her powers lately. "I don't want to talk about anything. Not with you. What I'd really like is for you to please leave. I think you're through for the day."

Nick sighed, shaking his head. "I'm going. I'm sorry. Really. About what I've done and about whatever happened to you. If you ever want to talk, let me know. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She didn't reply. She simply stared, waiting for him to leave so she could give in to the mass of tremors surging through her body. Tremors of fear and anger.

Jay stood in front of the cafe next door to Gifts from the Heart. A few customers were scattered among the wrought-iron tables and chairs on the patio, but most had opted to dine indoors. The unseasonably warm temperatures the area had enjoyed for the past few days had fled, bringing a cool wind and a light misting drizzle.

Jay was glad about the rain for two reasons. One, it meant fewer people on the streets. Two, it gave him an excuse to carry the umbrella he used to hide his features. Just in case she spotted him.

A breeze carried the smell of food from the cafe, for a moment overpowering the scent of rain in the air. Soon both smells were gone, and all he could detect was burned flesh. The odor wouldn't go away; it was with him all the time now.

A woman holding a little girl's hand walked toward him. Her eyes flicked to Jay, then away. She hurried past, tugging on her daughter's hand. Jay's fingers gripped his umbrella in white-knuckled rage. Had the woman been frightened of him? He was a
surgeon
, for God's sake! A healer. Why would the bitch be afraid of him?

He suddenly realized his face was heated, scrunched up, and in spite of the cool day he was drenched in sweat. He then became aware of his other hand, which was hovering in front of his crotch, aching to touch himself yet afraid of the pain it would bring.

He dropped his hand and let his gaze slide to the ground. He couldn't draw attention to himself. He needed to keep a low profile. He'd taken a leave of absence from the hospital, claiming exhaustion. There was nothing yet to raise a red flag. Of course, all this depended on whether Marshall could keep his damn mouth shut. If he couldn't, Jay would have to take care of him, too—but he didn't really want to. He'd never killed a man before, wasn't sure there would be much thrill in it. Of course, when you were talking about Marshall Weindot, the "man" thing was definitely in question. But Jay didn't want to do his dirty deeds too close to home. Sort of like the maxim that an animal shouldn't shit where it eats and sleeps.

A dark-haired man left the store. Jay had seen him before. Was it Ravyn Skyler's boyfriend? They didn't act very intimate with one another. But, of course, how could one become intimate with a she-devil? So far, the only person he'd seen her with on a regular basis was the blonde woman. Her sister, Sorina.

He looked up at the clouds, wondering if the rain would ever stop. His reconnaissance mission over for the day, he limped toward where his car was parked several blocks down the street.

His injury was less painful than before, almost manageable with the pain medication. He was very close to ready for a hunt. The only thing left to do was home in on the prey.

Nick sat in his office, sucking on an Altoid, pretending that was what he wanted instead of a drink and a smoke. He swallowed. How could his mouth be so dry with the mint on his tongue? He'd been eating mints continuously to keep from wanting a drink. They seemed to make him want a drink more.

In spite of the breeze coming through the half-open window, his office felt warm and oppressive. Outside, a mower roared, and the smell of freshly cut grass wafted in. Both the noise and the smell annoyed him, and he wondered if they were worth putting up with. Trying to ignore them, he stared at his computer screen.

He was researching each of the Tin Man's victims. Nothing had snagged his attention so far, although one vie did have a VPO out on an old boyfriend. Victim protection orders were pretty common stuff, but it might be worth checking out at some point. Nick jotted down both the victim's and the boyfriend's names. He looked up the guy's address and wrote that down, too, also entering the information in the computer on the spreadsheet he'd created.

He'd spoken to the employees who'd been working at Caribbean Nights the evening of Ravyn's attack. None of them saw anything unusual. They remembered the three women celebrating something, but hadn't noticed a bearded man watching them. They'd seen Ravyn's car still in the parking lot after closing, but said that wasn't unusual. Lots of times customers met one another at the restaurant and went home together, returning later to pick up the extra car. By the time the police came to check it out, they'd already heard about what had happened. None of them could give any further information.

Nick shifted in his chair, his skin tingling, itching, burning with his need for a drink. The feeling would pass; he just had to ignore it. He forced his mind back to the case.

Questions kept pounding at him. Why had Ravyn survived, when the others hadn't? Why had those boys heard a man scream instead of a woman? What had been going on with Ravyn's strange sojourn out by the lake the night he followed her? And what was it about the woman that made him want her even more than he did whiskey?

The office door opened and Marvin popped his head around it. "Hey, you busy?"

Nick huffed a breath out and clenched his jaw. "A little. What's up?"

"Just heading out and thought I'd stop by." Without an invitation, Marvin came into the office and sat in his usual spot across from Nick's desk. He wore a new Led Zeppelin T-shirt. Nick guessed it was new because the clear plastic strip with the letter M for medium printed on it was still stuck to the front.

"Need any help with the case yet?" Marvin asked.

Nick sighed, his irritation increasing as the mower noise outside seemed to grow louder. "Not really."

Marvin pushed his lower lip out, reminding Nick of a child who's been told he can't have any candy. "There's not
anything
I can do?"