She couldn't escape the dead, not even in her sleep.
After her broadcast, she'd called Niol and told him that she needed his help. Because if she was about to go snooping into a dead man's house, well, with the crazy shit happening in this town, she wanted backup.
And what better backup could she get than her all-powerful demon?
He'd picked her up, followed her directions, and now stood with her on the stone steps of the house. Holly flipped up the welcome mat, hoping to find a spare key.
"Love, if you want inside, all you have to do is ask…" Soft.
She shivered. From the cold, had to be. The night air carried a definite chill.
Sure, it was the cold. And not because the guy's voice was sexy.
Her hands rose to her hips. "I'm asking, demon."
He glanced at the door. Narrowed his eyes. She felt that strange thickness in the air again. She'd felt it at the station and at the house, right before her mother's vase had shattered.
A soft click sounded and the door swung open.
"Nice." She said, and this time, meant it. Demons could be handy. Holly strode forward-
And Niol's grip on her shoulder had her jerking to a halt.
She glanced at him, brows lowered.
"Powerful demon." He pointed to his chest. "Human." Hers.
Growling, she inched back, and let the big, bad demon stride inside first. If there was a nutjob in there with a really big, really sharp knife, she wasn't going to argue with the merits of having a level-ten powerhouse take the first steps inside.
Her mother hadn't raised a fool.
The house was tomb quiet and the air tasted a bit stale. Niol flipped on the lights, exposing the worn furniture, the old TV.
"So, are your spider senses doing a tingle?" She asked him, glancing at the shadowed rooms to the left and right.
He raised a brow and stared back at her.
Holly tried not to notice just how strong his jaw looked and just how dark his hair was.
His eyes-they didn't disconcert her anymore. Midnight pools, swimming with secrets and emotions. Staring into those eyes-too tempting.
"My spider senses?" He repeated.
She motioned with one hand toward the rest of the house. "That super hearing and vision you've got." Not shifter level, but so much better than her own. "Is this place safe?"
"Safe enough."
That was good enough for her. Her shoulders relaxed. "Then let's hurry. I want to search this house, fast, before that shifter cop or his good buddy pull up." A clue. One small lead, that was all she'd need to find.
Searching Carl's place in the city would be a waste of time. Anything important, Gyth would have already bagged and tagged it, and the shifter wasn't the sharing sort.
But maybe, just maybe, Carl had brought some information here. If he'd really been worried, as Niol had said, maybe he would have come someplace where he felt safe and-
Niol walked away and began pushing through some papers on the kitchen table. "Wait!" She reached into her back pocket and tossed him a pair of latex gloves.
He caught the gloves and gave her a what-the-hell look.
"The cops will find this place eventually. We don't want to leave prints behind."
He gave a faint "hmmmm," then said, "Love, this isn't your first break-in, is it?"
Holly wasn't going to answer that one. Pulling on her own set of gloves, she glanced around the den and spotted an old desk nestled in the corner.
"Just what are we looking for?" Niol called.
"Anything that doesn't belong."
She thought she heard him swear.
Holly jerked open the top drawer. Pushed aside some bills. Opened the second-
And found a brown envelope with Carl's name scrawled across the front.
Her fingers were rock steady when she reached for the envelope. She pulled out a photo, one that had her heart thumping into her chest, then she saw the note.
"Niol."
He was at her side in an instant.
Not steady anymore, her fingers shook when she lifted the photo. A shot of her and Carl, sitting on a park bench, heads bent close as they talked. "The note-the note was with the picture."
He reached for the note. "Fuck."
The impure will die.
Niol balled the note up in his fist. "Now do you believe me? One of your precious humans is out there, slaughtering demons."
Holly couldn't deny that it sure looked that way. The impure. But how had the killer known?
Christ, had she given away Carl's secret?
Sam's?
Beside her, Niol stiffened. "We've got to go." He grabbed the envelope and stuffed the note and photo back inside. Then he shoved the envelope into his coat pocket.
"What are you doing? You can't-"
"Oh, right, cause the lady who wanted to break and enter is suddenly getting morals on me."
Her lips parted.
"I've got friends at the department, okay? I'll get a finger-print check on it-any damn thing we need, I'll get. Now, come on ." His fingers locked around her arm and he hauled her toward the door.
Then they were outside, the air biting into her skin. Their feet thudded over the steps and-
"What the hell are you people doin' here?" A gruff voice demanded, and an old man, shoulders hunched, stepped from the shadows near the side of the house, armed with a shotgun.
Oh, shit.
Niol pushed her behind him. "Lower the weapon." His voice shook with fury.
The man's mouth fell open and the barrel of the gun immediately dropped toward the ground.
Glancing over his shoulder, Niol said, "Stay behind me, for every step, got it?"
If the guy wanted to get between her and a bullet, she wasn't gonna argue right then. Holly nodded.
He turned back to the guy. "Don't move." Power vibrated in his voice.
The guy didn't so much as blink. Distaste had Holly's mouth drying up. Compulsion. Control.
She knew exactly what Niol was doing to the man who stared blankly forward, eyes wide and frightened, but body still.
She'd been like him, once. Trapped by a demon's power. Helpless. A puppet.
"Niol…"
"He can't remember us." Softer. "When the cops find this place, we can't risk him telling them about us."
She knew that, dammit, but it still didn't make what he was doing right. "Don't hurt him."
A faint nod. "You don't see us. You never saw us." Dark, insidious, his voice flowed in the night.
The man didn't move.
They started walking, moving slowly down the remaining steps and toward the car.
The old man watched them, gun still lowered.
Holly jumped in the passenger side. Niol slammed the door behind her, then turned back to face the guy once more. "Go home," he ordered. "Sleep, and forget you even came outside tonight."