The Heat

  Layered over these scents, like sand solidifying fossils, were other scents.

  Gunpowder. Daniel spotted the gun, where it had been tagged and bagged beside the Mayor’s body. He knew, even without looking at it closely, that the chamber was empty. There was enough gunpowder residue along its barrel and coated, like invisible dust over the furniture and floor in the living room to tell him that much.

  There was the remnant scent of the police officers who had come and gone, their tired sweat, the starch of their uniforms, the deodorant they kept in their lockers at the station. He could smell traces of the medical team that had investigated the scene. Their plastic gloves and disinfectant. And even the carbon from the flashes used by the crime scene photographer left a faint signature.

  The scent of one officer, in particular, was of interest to Daniel. “Jennings is here?” Daniel found himself asking. His voice sounded dead, even to his own ears.

  “Yes, sir. He and Mayfield were the first on the scene. They’re outside. Jennings said he had some information for you anyway, so he’d wait to talk to you.”

  Daniel nodded. Or he thought he did, anyway. It was difficult to tell. As he gazed down at the bodies of the family he’d known so well, his body felt far away and foreign.

  He was losing it.

  He turned, slightly, as if to speak to Knight alone, and barely managed to pull his eyes off of the blood-splattered Hello Kitty doll that rested a few inches from the little girl’s deathly still fingers.

  Though he spoke in a whisper that only the detective could hear, the tone of his voice was so low, so dangerously angry that anyone hearing it would have paled at the sound. “I can’t smell Cole here.” It was a statement, simple and hard. “Can you?”

  Detective Knight frowned. He thought for a moment. “Do you mean Malcolm Cole?”

  Daniel nodded.

  “No, Chief. I don’t scent him here. You think he had something to do with this?”

  “I just handcuffed and marked my mate against her will and without any kind of explanation and then had to leave her alone in my bed because Cole shows up in town at the same time that she does. Coincidence?” He whipped off his mirrored sunglasses, and gazed at the detective. “I seriously fucking doubt it. So why can’t I smell that British bastard here?” he hissed, furiously. “I know he’s here. I know he did this.” Daniel roughly gestured to the mess around him. “He did this so that he could get to Lily when I have no choice but to leave her alone and unprote-”

  At once, Aiden ripped the shades out of his chief’s grip and opened them back up again, sliding them over Daniel’s ears and slamming them back into place. Daniel winced slightly when the metal hit the bridge of his nose, but it seemed to snap him out of whatever had taken hold of him. He blinked, realizing that he was trembling with some unfamiliar emotion.

  Aiden glanced around them, making certain they were alone before speaking. “If you left her alone, then assign someone to watch over her and don’t waste time about it, boss. As for where Cole is and why we can’t scent him here – we’ll deal with that right after we tend to the Mayor’s relatives and the media.” Aiden leaned in close to peer directly into the mirrored darkness behind his boss’s shades. “You need to breathe, Chief,” he said. “Reign the wolf in. Your eyes are glowing.”

  Daniel gazed at his friend for a long, silent moment. And then he straightened. After a moment, he nodded. Aiden was right.

  This wasn’t Daniel’s first rodeo. It was, perhaps, his roughest. But not his first.

  He could handle this. He just had to think. Take care of business. He took a slow, deep breath and ran a hand through his thick blue-black hair. He had planned on putting an officer out in front of his house. But in his haste to get to the Mayor’s mansion; in his harried state of – discomfort – and anger, he’d neglected to do it.

  At least Tabitha was there. Or, should be anyway. He hated to admit it, but despite the fact that his sister had kept Lily’s secret from him for all of these years and he was definitely peeved at her for it, he was certainly depending on her a lot right now. If Lily woke up while Daniel was gone and Tabitha was there alone with her, his little sister would have to explain…. Everything.

  “I’m going out to speak with Jennings. Try to find some way to deal with the media until I can get there,” he told the detective. He would get the information he needed from Jennings and then send Jennings and Mayfield to the house.

  The detective nodded and stepped aside so that Daniel could pass.

  Outside, the crowd had thickened and all of the other news crews had arrived. When they saw Daniel coming out of the mansion, they began shouting at him almost at once. They were sharks and they had smelled blood in the water and they wouldn’t be held off for long. Daniel’s jaw tensed and his gums ached where his fangs had been dying to make an appearance for the last hour.

  He kept them at bay and made his way to where officer Allan Jennings stood, waiting inside the yellow tape beside an ancient, moss-draped oak tree. He held a white coffee cup in each hand and when Daniel approached, he held one out for him.

  “I’m sorry, Chief.” Jennings spoke softly. “Rough day.” His expression was one of genuine regret.

  Daniel nodded and took the cup. “Thanks.” He could smell the coffee, deep and black and free of cream or sugar. He could smell other things, as well.

  He could scent the Mayor on Jennings. There was the incredibly faint but cloying scent of the Mayor’s aftershave and the starch of his tailored suit hanging around the officer.

  It made sense. Knight had told Daniel that Jennings was the first to arrive on the scene.

  Daniel looked down at his coffee. He considered taking a sip, but his stomach turned a little at the thought. There was too much going on inside of his mind – and his body – at the moment. So, instead, he held the coffee in his hand and asked, “You were the one to find the Mayor and his family?” He wanted to ask about Cole. It was all he really wanted to know. But he was the Police Chief for a reason, and his job took precedence. The Mayor had been murdered. There was a protocol to follow.

  “I responded to the call, sir. I was just down the street when the maid and the piano teacher found the bodies.”

  “And Mayfield?” Daniel asked. Mayfield was Allan’s partner and the two were nearly inseparable.

  “He was at the bagel shop,” Jennings answered, a little sheepishly. “We made a bet and he lost, so breakfast was on him. He’d been gone about ten minutes when the call came in.”

  Daniel mulled this over for a moment, his gaze focused on the ground. “When did you get the coffee?”

  “Just now, sir,” Jennings answered. “Starbucks around the corner. Figured you could use the warmth.”

  It was midday in June and the humidity was choking sweat out of everyone on the street, but Jennings was right. Daniel felt cold. It was the mark of a good cop who could understand such things.

  Daniel nodded and turned to face him, now prepared to ask what he’d wanted to ask all along. “What did you learn about Cole?”

  Jennings turned and started to walk toward the yellow tape a few yards away. “I’ve got everything here, Chief.”

  Daniel followed him as he ducked under and headed toward the marked car nearby. Jennings opened the car door and nodded in at officer Mayfield, who was seated in the passenger seat, the CB radio in one hand, a pen and legal pad in the other. He nodded at Daniel and Daniel nodded back.

  Jennings reached in and pulled a manila folder off of the driver’s seat and handed it to Daniel, closing the car door behind him. “His itinerary, flight numbers and times, hotel numbers – it’s all here, Chief.”

  Daniel flipped it open and started reading. “Good. Now I need you and Mayfield to get to my house, Allan. Park yourselves out front. Lily St. Claire is inside and she’s not well at the moment. I need you to make sure she doesn’t go anywhere, Jennings.” He looked up and pinned Jennings with a hard stare from behind his mirrored shades.
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  It was clear from the officer’s immediate uneasy expression that he could feel the weight of that gaze, even through the sunglasses. “No problem, chief.” Jennings turned and climbed back into the car and Daniel stepped out of the way as the engine started up. He watched the vehicle back up and then inch through the mulling crowd until it was down the street and out of sight.

  And then Daniel took another deep, calming breath, squelched his nausea, and turned to face the waiting news crews.

  Chapter Six: House Arrest

  Tabitha nodded at the cops sitting in the marked car across the street from Daniel’s house. They nodded back. She unlocked the front door and went inside. It was quiet. She looked around and noticed Lily’s purse on the love seat. There were two full bottles of Coke on the coffee table. The side table drawer had been pulled and left open. It was empty.

  Tabitha knew what Daniel usually kept in that drawer. She groaned and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. She set down her own purse and headed for the stairs, taking them quickly but quietly. Daniel’s bedroom door was ajar. She slowly pushed it open the rest of the way and Lily’s sleeping form came into view.

  Tabitha stood there in the doorway and took in the bruises around her best friend’s wrists and the scratches around the bedposts and she knew, instantly, what had transpired. The cuffs were gone now, but it didn’t take a genius to guess that if a cop had to tie someone down in a hurry, he would go for those.

  “Christ, you really made a mess of this, Danny.” She shook her head and came forward to sit on the edge of the bed. She watched Lily’s breathing. It was still very deep and slow; she wasn’t about to wake up.

  And then Tabitha noticed the blue knot symbol on Lily’s right forearm. A tattoo? Gently, she took her friend’s arm and turned it over. A beam of light cast through the window and seemed to shimmer off of the entwined line of intricate blue. It was the exact color of her brother’s eyes.

  Not a tattoo.

  “Holy shit, big brother.” She dropped Lily’s arm and let out a shaking breath. “She’s gonna kill me.”

  Tabitha had known that he would do something to protect Lily, but she’d kind of figured on him stealing her strength with his kiss or even going the human route and drugging her up some how to keep her in his house. She hadn’t figured on this. It made sense, in a way. And Tabitha knew how badly Danny would want Lily.

  “You just couldn’t resist, could you.” Again, she sighed, and wondered how long Lily would sleep. The longer, the better. Daniel’s home was one of the few places Malcolm Cole couldn’t enter. Alpha werewolves could not enter one another’s territory. Like a vampire trying to infiltrate a human’s home without an invitation, Cole would simply stand at the threshold and not be able to move. And, so, he wouldn’t even try.

  Lily was safe here, and as long as she slept, she wouldn’t try to leave. But Tabitha knew that the moment she woke up – the moment Tabitha tried to explain the situation to her – Lily would bolt. She supposed that was the reason for the cops out front. For whatever good it would do. Tabitha knew her best friend, and when Lily St.Claire got it into her head to do something, she went at the task with a relentless determination. She’d saved a lot of abused wives that way. And a few kids.

  A wave of fondness for her best friend swept over Tabitha. Gently, she brushed a lock of golden hair from Lily’s forehead. Lily frowned. Her breathing became more shallow.

  Holy crap, Tabitha thought. She’s waking up. The girl is stronger than either of us thought.

  *****

  “Tabby?” Lily’s voice was soft and scratchy. Her eyelids fluttered a little and then opened. She blinked several times.

  “I’m here, girl.” Tabitha knelt beside the bed. “Thirsty? Can I get you a drink?”

  Lily tried to focus on her friend, but her vision was blurry. Her throat was a little tender. Like she’d spent an evening cheering on the Penguins; she always screamed too much while watching a hockey match. She nodded, her cheek brushing the soft sheet beneath her. “Yes, please.”

  Tabitha stood and Lily could hear her leave the room.

  The room…. Where am I? Lily rolled over slowly and stared up at the ceiling. It was charcoal gray. Her gaze slid from the ceiling to the walls and then to the dresser against one side, and then to the bed…. She turned on her side and glanced up at the stainless steel headboard and bed posts, the black sheets and pillow cases.

  This was…. Daniel’s room, wasn’t it? She couldn’t quite remember. Her head was so fuzzy. What was wrong with her?

  “Here you go, girl.” Tabitha set a glass of water on the bedside table.

  “Tabby, where am I?” Lily asked as she tried to sit up. A strange, languid weakness licked at her limbs, begging her to lay back down. She acquiesced and relaxed; the bed felt too good. It was like she’d taken two Xanax and chased them down with a beer.

  “We’re at my brother’s place,” Tabitha said. “Just rest and take it slowly, Lily. The more rest you get, the better.”

  “Why?” Lily asked, again trying to focus on her friend. Slowly, the fuzziness around her friend’s familiar face was smoothed out.

  “Um….” Tabitha seemed to pause in answering, as if not sure what to say.

  And then a memory flashed through Lily’s mind like a camera bulb in a dark room.

  Hand cuffs. A knife.

  Lily blinked. She felt the blood drain from her face. “Tabitha, why am I here?” she asked. Her tone had dropped into absolute seriousness.

  Her friend sighed. “Okay Lily, I’m gonna spill and I need you to promise me that you won’t flip out and do something stupid.”

  Another memory flashed before Lily’s eyes. Daniel’s face. His staggering kiss. And fangs?

  Lily found the strength to sit up, this time ignoring her body’s drowsiness. The flashes were coming faster now. She barely heard Tabitha’s words.

  “Remember that dream you had in high school where you saw Daniel turn into a wolf?”

  Lily nodded distractedly. In her mind, Daniel was cuffing her to the bed. Her gaze slid to the bed posts. There were the scratches. It had really happened.

  “It wasn’t a dream, Lily. What you were seeing really happened. Daniel is a werewolf and you saw him in his true form. You saw him like that in your dream because you’re meant to be his mate.”

  Lily’s gaze dropped to her wrists. They were red and bruising. And then she saw something shimmer on her right arm. She turned it over and stared down at the strange but beautiful marking that graced her inner forearm.

  “Lily, are you listening to me?”

  “He cut me,” Lily said it without thinking. She could remember it quite clearly now. “He cut himself and then he cut me…. But there’s no cut here.” Just this mark.

  “Shit.” Tabitha stood and sat beside Lily on the bed. Gently, she turned Lily’s head so that she was looking at her again. “Lily, please hear what I am saying. I will explain everything to you, if you only give me the chance. Please stay with me here.” Tabitha’s tone was commanding and calm, as if she desperately needed Lily to acknowledge her right now.

  Lily recognized that kind of desperation. She’d heard it enough times. She gazed into her friend’s eyes and nodded.

  “Good. Now just listen carefully, and don’t do anythin’ stupid, okay?”

  Lily shook as a chill coursed through her body. “All right.”

  “Daniel is a werewolf. He was born that way. The trait is passed down to the males in our families. And you are most likely supposed to be his mate, Lily. You dreamt about him in high school in his true form. Only Dormants dream about wolves in their true form.”

  Lily’s gaze narrowed. She pulled back from Tabitha, suddenly much more alert as the last of the strange drowsiness left her body and the fuzziness slipped from her mind. “What?” she asked. “What the hell are you saying?”

  Tabitha took a deep, calming breath and cocked her head to one side. “How long have we been friends
, Lily?”

  “Forever.” Lily replied. “So why are you filling my head with bullshit?”

  “It’s not bullshit Lily, and,” she paused, grabbing Lily’s arm and holding it up to the light. “I think you know it. In your heart.”

  Lily’s gaze slid from Tabitha to her arm and then back again. “He cuffed me to his bed and sliced me open and now you’re defending him?”

  “Nope,” Tabitha dropped her arm and shook her head. “I’m not defendin’ him. I don’t think he should have marked you.” She seemed to mull that over for a second and then added, “Maybe. But he did anyway. Yes, he cut you. But the wound healed almost instantly – probably the second his blood was mixed with yours. It’s not there now, is it?”

  Lily didn’t have an answer to that.

  “And this mark?” Tabitha pointed to it. “It’s what remains when his blood claims yours and takes over. He’s basically telling our kind that you belong to him.”

  Lily gazed at her friend for a long, silent while. Things seemed to be both spinning wildly in her head – and standing utterly and completely still. It was like having vertigo of the brain. She remembered everything that had happened that morning: Daniel coming to the restaurant, her ride to his house, him carrying her upstairs – everything. Even the kiss… And the orgasm she’d had as she slipped into unconsciousness. None of it was natural; none of it made any sense.

  Unless Tabitha was right.

  And everything Lily had ever thought she’d known about the world was dead wrong.

  “Werewolves are real.” Lily said it, not so much as a question as a restatement. She said it just to hear herself say it. So she could hear how insane it sounded.

  Tabitha just nodded.

  But as insane as it sounded, Lily had no explanation for the strangeness of that morning. Or for the mark that now graced her arm. Another chill raced through her body. She hugged herself. Tabitha took the sheets from the bed and began to wrap them around her shoulders.