Revelations: Book One of the Lalassu (16 page)

“This isn’t something you want to know about,” Michael said slowly. “I’m deeper into the freaky stuff than I ever knew existed. I don’t know if there’s a way back.”

“There is always a way back. This could get a lot uglier.” Joe’s earnestness came from a good place, wanting to protect his friend.

But Michael was past being protected from doing what was right. He knew the truth, and he had an obligation to act on it since no one else would. “It already has.”

The sadness in Michael’s voice shot right to Joe’s gut. He could see his friend swallowing hard, trying to keep his cop persona intact.

“But I have to see this through,” Michael finished.

“Promise to call me if you need help. Any help.” It was a final straw to grasp, a slim olive branch to keep their friendship intact.

“I will.” But he wasn’t sure he would.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dani watched as the cops gently tucked Tanisha into a squad car to take her home, safely anonymous among the crowd of dancers gawking at the proceedings. She kept well to the back, avoiding any official attention. No one here would betray her, but there was no point risking it. Reckless energy still crackled across her nerve endings, leaving her drunk on her own power. The Huntress coiled around her, far too close to the surface for comfort. Dani should be getting as far away as she could.

But she lingered, watching, unable to stop contrasting old memories of her treatment with Tanisha’s. She had expected ridicule and impatience. Instead, the cops were listening with sympathy. They’d put a blanket around Tanisha to ward off shock. Whenever Redneck shifted, the cops shifted, keeping themselves between her and her attacker. Everything was so different from what she’d experienced before. Every gesture the authorities made told her Tanisha would be sheltered. There were no eye rolls, no shrugs, no huffs of irritation.

She swallowed a strange sensation of feeling small and alone. She wanted to go to Michael and go back an hour to when he still looked at her like a hero. She wanted to sit with Tanisha and accept the small comfort the cops offered. But she could never have trusted them, never relaxed in their care. The chill clasp of handcuffs was more familiar than the rasp of mass-issued blankets.

Was it because of Michael? He certainly knew them. He’d been speaking to one of them, a fine Hispanic hunk of manflesh, for at least ten minutes. Could he have convinced them to take Tanisha seriously? Uncertainty only added to her roiling frustration. She couldn’t keep her eyes or mind away from Michael for any length of time, and every moment only added to the Huntress’s determination.

He was talking to Tanisha again, writing something down, probably a name of someone who would help her. Redneck was gone, hauled away. Everything was wrapping up, coming closer to the moment when she would have to face Michael again. The Huntress hissed in anticipation.

No. I won’t let you.
It was the first time she’d ever completely denied the inner predator. She’d delayed the Hunt before, turned aside from potential prey, yes. Flat-out shut it down, no.

Inner rage flared, betraying its inhumanity. Colors and noise began to bleed together again as she struggled for dominance with her feral nature.
NOT HIM!

Then choose another.

Another. Find another man and tempt him into orgasm. Simple, but the thought of letting some jerk paw her was disgusting. The idea of letting some asshole inside of her brought bile rising.
No.

The Huntress hissed its displeasure, coils clamping around her brain. Dani pulled back, heading blindly back into the club. Maybe another drink would help. Sirens had scattered some of the clients, but not all of them.

Choose my prey
, the Huntress urged. It began flicking her gaze around the club, evaluating each male as a potential target.

Dani tried to look away, but her back and neck cramped, holding her in place.

Take one of them.
Feed me.

No
. She wasn’t doing that again. Not now. Her jaw ached from her clenched teeth, as if it might crack under the pressure.

The few remaining clients were snarling at each other, shouting loud, blame-filled accusations. With sickening clarity, Dani knew the rising anger was her fault. With each denial, the Huntress’s influence grew stronger. It added to the horror of knowing the Huntress’s thwarted influence had tipped Redneck from leering to attack.

I have to get out of here.
It became the only clear thought in her mind. Raoul leapt over the bar to separate fighting patrons and send them on their way.

Dani fled, all too aware that she needed to put physical distance between herself and the Huntress’s potential targets. Adrenaline flooded her body, narrowing her senses to practical blindness. Thin chipped wood slammed into her fingers. She barely identified the staff bathroom door before she pried it open and collapsed inside. Curling up on the broken tile floor, she buried her hands in her hair and hid her face on her knees. The act of inhaling escaped her as if her lungs had forgotten a lifetime of practice. The Huntress coiled impatiently through her veins, demanding action.

Time ceased to have meaning as she fought her inner nature. Buried memories clawed back to the surface. Crushing weight pinned her down. She had no leverage to throw it off.

Voices floated above. “I’d say she owes us all a little something. She won’t remember it anyway. Besides, she said she wanted to have some fun.” She couldn’t tell if she was hearing it or remembering it.

Why wasn’t her body doing what she asked? She should be able to fight them off. Instead, panic clawed at her, shredding the calm she needed to keep her monster contained.

“Dani, honey?” The female voice floated in and out of her awareness, not fitting with the crushing memories.

Dani’s fingers dug into her scalp, ripping out long strands of hair. The fresh sting gave momentary contrast with the remembered pain.
It’s not real. Not happening.
She told herself over and over again, fighting against the choking memories of terror and agony.

After the cops took Opal and Redneck away, Michael returned to the utterly deserted bar. He guessed most of the clients hadn’t wanted to stick around when the flashing lights and sirens arrived. He couldn’t see Dani anywhere. Had she left?

Raoul circled the room, collecting discarded drinks and bottles. “Nice work tonight,” the bartender said. “Want a beer?”

Michael nodded, automatically reaching for his wallet.

Raoul arched one eyebrow in an expression better suited to Spock than Cheers. “Keep your money. This is on the house.”

“Dani is the one who saved her.” He couldn’t quite repress a wince. No matter how much he tried to tell himself the violence had been necessary, something in him rebelled.

“That’s something to keep to yourself,” Raoul warned.

“Sorry.” He really wasn’t any good at the clandestine stuff.

“But it wasn’t what I meant. You talked to the cops and got them to take care of Opal. But that’s not the only reason.” Raoul handed him a bottle. “I’m talking about the kiss.”

“Oh.” Michael looked down, embarrassed.

“I’ve been here five years, you know?”

“So you know her pretty well?” He wondered if the bartender could help him put what he’d seen into context.

Raoul frowned, toying with an empty bottle. “I wouldn’t say I know her at all. Likes to keep herself to herself. But I’ve never seen her like tonight.”

“Me, either.” Michael took a long pull on the beer to erase the coppery tang of blood on his tongue.

“You’re the first guy I’ve seen in here who treats her like a person. Every one of these fuckers wants to be in her bed, but you look like you want to talk to her over breakfast,” Raoul told him.

“Why are you telling me this?” Michael forced himself to meet the other man’s eyes.

“Because I don’t want her to get hurt. The Stone Lady does not do emotions well.” Raoul’s fingers tightened around the glass he was cleaning.

Michael’s instincts shrilled a warning, sharpening his senses. “What do you mean?”

Raoul glanced toward the back of the club and shook his head.

“What is it?” Michael demanded, the prospect of Dani being hurt pulling him up out of his seat.

“She’s freaked out about what happened. You need to give her some time.”

Michael winced at the memory of her pummeling Redneck. “It’s hard to imagine. She seemed pretty comfortable.”

“She’s not invincible. She acts tough but I never met a tough guy who didn’t have a scared little kid somewhere inside,” Raoul insisted.

Whatever Dani had inside, it was not a scared little kid. Michael couldn’t think what to say. He was confused, emotionally exhausted and desperately wanted to return to the blissful ignorance of a few days before. But then he wouldn’t ever have met Dani. The price felt indescribably high.

“Raoul!” Ruby’s shrill shout cut through the theater. She came rushing out from backstage.

“What is it?” Raoul tensed.

Michael followed suit, preparing himself for the next round.

“It’s Dani,” Ruby babbled. “She’s locked herself in the bathroom and won’t talk to me. I’ve never seen her like this.”

Michael’s long legs devoured the distance across the room faster than Raoul despite having farther to go. He got to the bathroom and heard the sickening thud of flesh against concrete.

“Dani, open the door!” Ruby called out.

Michael slammed into the rough plywood door to force it open. Dani lay curled up against the wall, her eyes blank and empty. Harsh red scratches ripped across her skin. Her fingers were curled tightly in her hair, distorting the skin underneath.

“Oh my God,” Raoul breathed.

“Dani, honey, what’s wrong?” Ruby asked, joining Michael to kneel beside Dani.

She didn’t respond to them. Michael had a sudden taste of what Dani must have experienced when he’d gone into a trance in Vapor’s apartment. She was right there, but her body seemed heartbreakingly empty.

“Did that asshole do something to her?” Raoul snarled.

Michael shook his head, his mind whirling. Could the thing inside have taken over?

“Is it drugs? A bad trip?” Ruby glanced at Michael.

“She didn’t take anything. Can you give us a minute here?” Michael barely noticed when Raoul pulled Ruby away, giving them privacy. All of his attention stayed with Dani. He had to find out what she was experiencing if he was to have any prayer of helping her.

He reached out and cupped his hand around her ashen cheek, feeling the coolness of her flesh. Immediately he caught jumbled flashes of memory.

A pale young girl with wide dark eyes and dark hair cut close to her scalp, curled up around a teddy bear as she screamed.

Crowded rooms full of teenagers drinking out of plastic cups.

A pin-up girly poster stuck to the ceiling
.

“Dani, come back to me,” he called. “Whatever happened, it’s long over. It can’t hurt you anymore.”

She didn’t respond. He held her wrists firmly, pressing his fingers into the pressure points to release her grip. Gently, he disentangled her hands from her hair, almost drowning in the sickening regret that threatened to swallow her.

“Look at me, please,” he begged, fighting the first ragged edge of his panic. “Come back. We’ll make it okay.”

He kept talking, repeating over and over that it was safe, that it would be okay. Sense slowly returned to her dull eyes. She looked at him for the first time since the attack in the alley. He felt her awareness returning, and then a new memory flashed across their bond.

His fist smashed into lax, boozy flesh, and he wanted to crow with the vicious satisfaction of hurting someone who threatened someone else.

Michael snatched his hand back before he could relive any more of the attack. Whatever she regretted, Redneck’s beating wasn’t it.

Dani slowly closed her eyes. He could still sense her weariness, the effort she’d expended to put the monster back into the bottle.

“How long?” he asked, keeping his voice calm and his movements slow.

“Since I was a teenager,” she answered, her voice flat and expressionless.

“Is there a way to get rid of it?” he asked hopefully.

A short bitter laugh barked out between her lips. “No. I could go through the High Priestess ritual. Then it would become me, take over whenever it wanted to.”

“Why would anyone do that?” Michael whispered, disgusted by the idea. No good could possibly come from that thing.

“Everyone tells me I shouldn’t be afraid of it. But they don’t feel it the way I do.” A humorless smile twisted her mouth. “Maybe I broke it. Maybe it’s the awfulness inside me that made it the monster it is today.” He could feel the shame and self-hatred spreading through her heart like a noxious green mold.

“Was that it outside? Did it take you over?” he asked. If it had been the monster, it would mean Dani wasn’t responsible.