Safe From the Dark (16 page)

Tony
snorted, dismissive.

“If
it wasn’t Althea, Dreyer would find eight reasons to hate Colin before
breakfast. The man was furious that Hank Daniels was elected mayor instead of him,
and figured when he died that he’d finally get his chance. Then the Council
backed Colin and that was that. He was pretty pissed – he’s on the Council
himself.”

“They
didn’t even consider him?”

“You
catch more flies with honey, Asher, and Dreyer is nine-tenths vinegar. Besides,
he already owns half the town. I’m guessing folks figured that a man can have
too much power.”

Evie
stretched carefully.

“How
are you feeling?”

“I’m
good.”

Tony
scrutinized her carefully.

“Go
home. Case or no case, you’re still healing. I’ll have a couple of guys meet
you up there.”

Evie
was about to protest, but knew he was right, and a nap and a bath sounded good.
Instead, she nodded.

“Think
you can convince Dreyer Morton to come down here for a chat?”

“Without
a fully prepped legal team? Maybe. I’ll give it a shot.” Tony grinned and
pointed to the door. “Out. That’s an order.”

THE
ASHER CABIN WAS silent, as it had been before Fran Asher’s granddaughter had
moved back to town, and brought her life of sin and corruption with her. Like
father, like daughter. Her mother at least had realized that the world was
better off without her kind and had taken care of the problem. If only Laura’s
bullet had killed her husband instead of just wounding him, but no, his
corruption had seeped into young Evie Asher, and now she was back, luring Colin
in with her soft curves.

SLUT
COP. It won’t stand.

Killing
Deirdre had been satisfying, especially after the rage that overflowed at the
sight of Colin pleasuring the Asher woman out on the porch, for God and the
entire world to see. He’d used his hands and mouth, and even from the secluded
spot in the woods, the pleasure and satisfaction on the woman’s face was
evident. And intolerable. The shots were meant to hurt, to rid the world of
another succubus, but the fear of hitting Colin was too great, so accuracy was
impossible. He needed to live, in order to be corrected.

And
then we can be together.

The
sound of approaching cars meant visitors, and there was work to be done. Hasty
now, red spray paint staining the latex gloves as the message was laid out.

This
was the last warning, but really, it was meaningless, because no matter what –

Evie
Asher had to die.

EVIE
WAS NUMB AS she made the short drive from her house to Colin’s. The giant red
SLUT spray painted across the front of Gram’s beloved cabin was a violation, a
reminder that she was in the killer’s sights. The feeling of helplessness and
fury had fused together into an icy rage that left her surprisingly calm, and
then numb as she gave her statement to Tony. Together with Zeke and a couple of
volunteers, they had scoured the area – more wasted hours.

Inside
the cabin, Evie had been shocked to find evidence of tampering – nothing was
missing, but objects had been moved. Her skin crawled at the thought of the
killer touching her things, invading her space. By the time she and Tony had
finished dusting for prints and taking pictures, it was dark.

She
had protested when Tony ordered her over to Colin’s place for the night – the
place was under heavy guard already, and there was no way Evie was spending the
night at her cabin tonight.

“It’s
just going to provoke the bastard,” she insisted.

“I
think at this point you could be halfway around the world and still be in
danger. At least if you’re both in one place I can keep an eye on you.”

Too
upset and exhausted to argue, Evie had simply climbed into her car and headed
over. As she pulled up in the driveway, she took note of an unfamiliar silver
minivan.

Evie
forced a nonchalant smile for the guards as she walked up to the porch and
knocked. A moment later, the door was wrenched open, and Colin looked down at
her, his eyes filled with surprise and relief.

“Deputy
Asher! Come in, please.”

Bemused,
she let him take her backpack and usher her into the living room, where
Millicent Grayson sat, nursing a cup of coffee. She was wearing a tight,
low-cut red sweater and a short skirt, and looked more than a little annoyed to
see Evie. Realization slammed into Evie – she’d interrupted an attempted
seduction. But unlike the last time, when it was clear that Colin was
enthusiastically encouraging Deirdre’s advances with a few of his own, now he
seemed almost desperate to get away.

Serves
you right,
thought
Evie, as Colin propelled her forward.

“Millie,
have you met Evie?”

Reluctantly,
Millicent shook hands.

“Nice
to meet you, Deputy. Your grandmother was a wonderful woman. She’s missed in
this community.”

“Thanks.
I’ve been trying to get a hold of you, Miss Grayson. I have a few questions, if
you don’t mind.”

“Actually,
this isn’t the best time – ” began Millicent, angling herself a little toward
Colin.

“It’s
a perfect time,” Colin assured Evie, putting her between them.

Evie
was amused, but swallowed the smile that threatened.

“Can
you tell me where you were Monday night, Millicent?”

“I
was home. My son Lloyd was sick.”

“Did
anyone see you?”

“No,
I was home alone.”

“Did
you make any calls?”

“No.”
Millicent turned to Colin, her eyes wide and scared, “Colin, what is this?”

“Just
routine questions,” Evie insisted, soothingly, “We’re questioning anyone who
might have a connection to Colin. Everyone he works with, everyone he’s dated,
and so on.”

Millicent
blushed.

“Colin
has been wonderful since my husband died. But he and I are just friends,” she
murmured.
So far.
The words were unspoken, but hung in the air between
them. Behind her, Evie could hear Colin mutter, “Shit,” under his breath.

“Millie,
maybe we should have coffee another day. Deputy Asher and I have some police
business to go over.”

Millicent
frowned, but set her cup down.

“Are
you sure? I don’t want you staying here alone.”

Some
demon prompted Evie to speak up. “There’s security guarding the house until the
threat has passed, and I’ll be staying here tonight as well.”

She
turned to look at Colin and caught the flare of heat in his eyes, but he tamped
down on it before smiling gently at Millicent.

“See?
Safe and sound. I promise.”

Millicent
bit her lip, but gathered her coat, stopping to give Colin a hug, which he
returned.

“If
you need
anything
, I’m just a phone call away.”

“I’ll
see you out.”

With
a barely civil nod at Evie, Millicent let Colin lead her out of the living
room.

Evie
used the moment alone to gather herself, and a sense of inevitability settled
over her. She knew what she was about to do was a monumentally terrible idea,
but she didn’t want to fight it anymore. It rankled that some deranged stalker
had labeled her a slut, and was punishing her for leading Colin Daniels down a
dark, sexual path. It rankled even more that aside from some mind-blowing heavy
petting, she was innocent of the accusations.

If
I’m going to be branded a nymphomaniac, the least I deserve is a couple of
screaming orgasms to validate it,
she
reasoned, all of her past reluctance and worries swamped by the thought of
finally getting what she’d wanted since the moment she stepped foot in Bright’s
Ferry.

Colin
returned to the room, leaning thoughtfully against the doorway.

“You
don’t really think she killed Deirdre, do you?”

“I
can’t rule it out.” Evie hoped her hands weren’t shaking as she tried to figure
out the best way to broach the subject she really wanted to talk about.

“Do
you really mean that, or are you just jealous?” he teased.

Evie
blustered.
Of course I’m jealous. That doesn’t mean I have to admit it.

Rather
than answer, she stalked past him and headed upstairs, her pulse pounding. Behind
her, she felt Colin hesitate, and then follow. Outside his bedroom door, she
stopped and turned to face him.

“Is
there anyone in this town who doesn’t want to fuck you?” The words came out
harsher than Evie had intended.

“What
are you doing here, Evie?” His voice was soft, heated, and she couldn’t meet
his gaze.

She
reached for the buttons of his shirt instead. A rough yank and they gave way,
pinging across the floor.

COLIN
LOST HIS BREATH as Evie ripped his shirt open to flatten her hands against his
chest. The skin-to-skin contact was so unexpected, so delicious, that he
shuddered, hardening so swiftly that it was almost painful.

Evie’s
lower lip was trembling, and her eyes were lowered, focused on the flesh she explored
with greedy, but oddly tentative strokes. He realized with a shock that she was
scared as Hell. Scared of what? That he’d reject her?
Fat fucking chance.

The
spark between them was off the charts, but the memory that made him quake was
Evie on the porch, bare and glowing with sexual satisfaction, the taste of her
sweet pussy lingering on his tongue as she shyly invited him inside. The first
hint of trust.

Trust
that had been trampled as Evie spent the week interviewing the women he’d slept
with. As a result, she probably expected something meaningless and fast, a
sweaty drive to climax that would leave them physically satiated, but not
require any more commitment than a couple of hours of her gorgeous body straining
against his. A quick fuck that would leave her wounded heart out of it, and let
her get on with her life, her defenses intact.

Colin
was stunned to find that he didn’t want that. Not with Evie. She’d come to him
and they were going to do this right. He wanted it to mean something to her. What
exactly, he wasn’t sure, but Colin wanted her to remember him, to wipe all
memory of other lovers out of her head until she was as obsessed with him as he
was coming to be with her. If that made her uncomfortable, he’d just have to
make her come again and again, until she was too unglued to think about it.

He
licked his suddenly dry lips, thinking about how responsive she was as Evie
scraped his nipples with sharp little fingernails and stroked a path downward. His
cock jerked.

“You
came over to sleep with me.” His voice was harsh, hands still clenched at his
sides.

“Are
you going to turn me down?” she asked as though that were an actual
possibility.

“Not
on your life. But we’re going to do this my way.” Of that, Colin was sure.

Evie
frowned.

“That’s
not what – ”

No
more arguments.

 “Shut
up and strip.”

THE
DEMAND SENT A wave of heat through Evie’s veins, but she ignored Colin, reaching
for his belt, surprised to find her hands were shaking as she tried to work the
buckle. She couldn’t believe she’d ripped his shirt. His chest was as gorgeous
as she remembered, miles of hard muscle, warm and alive and begging to be
touched.
Fucking buckle.
She jerked at it.

“Shit.”

“Evie.”

Colin’s
hands closed over hers and she looked up, startled, and caught her breath at the
hunger in his eyes. Holding her gaze, he helped her slowly open his belt, undo
the single button, and carefully slide the zipper down over the heavy bulge
beneath. The eroticism of the simple act had her pussy throbbing, already damp
with need.

Evie
freed her fingers from his and looked down.

Colin
sucked in a breath as she traced the soft arrow of hair under his navel, and
then slid past the waistband of his boxer briefs to wrap her fingers around his
cock, hot and huge, the size of him making her own breath catch in her throat.

“God,
baby,” he groaned, his head falling back as she learned him, stroking and
squeezing, and using her other hand to shove his clothing down his body, wanting
him completely bare to her. He shrugged off the remains of his shirt.

Fully
naked, he was a beautiful animal – warm skin poured over muscle, big and hot
and tight, the proof of his arousal thick and long and deliciously hard for her.
The shaft rose proudly from a neat thatch of dark hair over a heavy sac, the wide
head rosy and glistening, promising pleasure and more pleasure and more
pleasure. No wonder women threw themselves at him all the time – he should be
carved out of marble, gracing a museum pedestal somewhere.