"She’s in front of you, isn’t she? Pretty little Doctor Drake. She’s rather extraordinary. Knows so much about…our kind."
McNeal swore.
"I’ll offer you a deal, Detective. Smith for Dr. Drake. An even trade."
And she saw Colin’s control snap. "Fuck, no, you sonofa-"
Emily shot to her feet. Punched the button for the phone’s intercom so she could speak. "Tell me where and when." No way was she going to sit back and let Smith die. Not if there was a chance they could save her.
A beat of silence, then, "Dr. Drake." He purred the words. As much as a robot could purr. "I had a feeling you were there."
So the asshole got bonus points for being right. "Don’t hurt Smith," she ordered, her voice flat and cold. "Tell me where to be, and I’ll make the trade."
Colin was shaking his head. His hand flashed out, locked around her wrist. "No damn way."
Emily lifted her chin. "Tell me where," she repeated.
"Warehouse district. Building 13. You come alone, Doctor. All alone. If I so much as smell a cop, you’ll be swimming in Smith’s blood."
She believed him.
"Midnight, Dr. Drake. I’ll see you then." The hum of a dial tone resonated from the phone.
Emily exhaled the breath she’d been holding. Colin stared down at her, his face an iron mask. "You’re not going." An order. One that he fully expected to be obeyed.
"If I don’t, she’s dead." And she couldn’t have Smith’s death on her conscience.
"In my office, now." McNeal stormed ahead of them, not glancing back to see if he was obeyed.
Colin dragged Emily with him, keeping his tight grip on her wrist. He jerked her inside, slamming the door behind them.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" he snarled. "You do not, do not, ever interfere in my investigation like that again, do you-"
"I did what I had to do." Smith’s life was on the line. There’d been no choice. "Tell me, Colin, if he’d offered to trade her for you, what would you have done?"
His clenched jaw was her answer.
"I’ve got to help her. If I don’t, he’ll kill her." Rip out her throat, just as he’d done to the others.
"When you walk into that warehouse, he’ll kill you," he gritted. He yanked her closer to him, pressing his body against hers, flesh to flesh. His heat wrapped around her, his fury hovered in the air surrounding them. "You think I’m just gonna stand by and let that happen?" He kissed her hard, his lips bruising and hot. "No fucking way. I just found you. I’m not about to lose you now."
Her breath caught. "Colin…"
"If you two are done, we need to figure out just what the hell our next move is gonna be," McNeal growled, slamming his fist against the desk.
Emily jerked. She’d almost forgotten about him.
"This guy’s a shifter, so when he said he could smell a cop, I know the bastard meant it." His lips thinned. "So how are we supposed to get backup in there without him going crazy and killing Smith?"
Emily glanced up at Colin. There might be a way…
"I’ll shift," Colin muttered. "He’ll smell animal, not man."
McNeal’s eyes narrowed. "Shift." He whistled. "So you’re one of them." A pause. "I knew you were Other, but I didn’t realize-"
McNeal broke off, shaking his head. "A shifter."
If he only knew the full story, Emily thought.
"I’ll follow Emily, track her into the warehouse." His hand tightened around her wrist. "And I’ll catch the bastard."
McNeal cast a brief glance toward Emily. "Give us a minute, would you, Emily?"
She nodded, aware of a new tension in the room. She stepped forward, but Colin’s hold didn’t budge.
"Colin…"
He swallowed. Slowly, his fingers uncurled. Lifted. His eyes were burning with emotion and the faintest hint of fang gleamed behind his lips.
Emily lifted her hand, stroked his cheek. "It’s going to be all right." She said the words, not certain if she meant them, just wanting to ease the fear she could see lurking in his gaze.
He turned his face. Pressed his lips against her palm.
The mark on her neck seemed to throb.
"I–I’ll be right outside." Getting ready to face a killer. Trying to stop her knees from knocking together.
Pretending that she was brave when really she was so scared she thought she’d vomit.
Oh God. What if she couldn’t stop him from killing Smith?
Or from killing her?
Emily pulled away from Colin and hurried out of the office, fighting the fear that pummeled her.
He wanted to take his mate away. Wanted to toss her over his shoulder and carry her far away. To someplace safe.
A place without psychotic killers. A place quiet, peaceful. A place where he could put her in a big, nice bed and make love to her for hours.
He wanted to take her anyplace but to that godforsaken warehouse.
"I can’t send any other men in with you." McNeal was watching him with eyes that saw too much. "I can’t risk the humans finding out what we’re fighting."
He understood that. When they got to the warehouse, the Butcher might not be in human form. And if the other cops saw him shift…
"And I don’t want you to ‘catch’ this guy, Gyth." McNeal stared him straight in the eye. "He can’t see the inside of a courtroom."
Colin nodded. He’d already figured that out.
"Do what you have to do. Just get the women back safe." A pause. "And make certain that bastard doesn’t have the chance to ever hurt anyone else."
"Don’t worry." His voice had turned guttural. The wolf was close.
The Night Butcher had claimed his last victim.
Colin held his captain’s stare, let the other man see the intent in his eyes. "The bastard was a dead man the minute he asked for the trade." No one would threaten his mate and live.
No one.
Time to hunt his prey…
And protect his mate.
Chapter 16
The night air was cold. Emily’s breath formed a small cloud before her as she walked through the darkened warehouse district. There were rustles all around her. The scurry of rats and cockroaches. The howl of wind. The distant hum of a train.
Building 13 stood in front of her. Windows boarded up. Completely black.
The holster of her gun dug into Emily’s back. McNeal had given her the weapon and the bullets before she’d left the station.
"Aim and shoot," he’d said.
And she would. She knew how to shoot, and she wouldn’t hesitate to fire when she saw the Butcher.
She didn’t hear Colin behind her, but she knew he was there. Tracking her, as the wolf.
His scent was already on her, so that had to work to their advantage. The Butcher wouldn’t be able to distinguish between them. He’d think it was just one person.
The doors were in front of her. Emily lifted her hands and shoved against the old wood. With a loud groan, it gave way beneath her fingers.
A dark cavern waited for her. She stared into the darkness, knowing that the killer was waiting for her.
A faint moan reached her ears. Broken. Full of pain.
She licked her lips. Reached for the small flashlight she’d tucked into her jacket pocket. The light flashed on, cut a thin swath of light through the blackness. She wasn’t worried about the light giving away her position. If the killer was a hybrid like she suspected, he’d be able to see just as easily in the darkness.
The building smelled of mold and rotted wood. Cobwebs brushed her face and something ran across her left foot.
"Smith?" Emily raised her voice, tried again. "Smith?"
A whimper came from the darkness.
Emily crept forward. Swung her light to the left, the right-
There. Crumpled against the back wall. Head sagging to the side. A broken doll.
Smith.
Emily ran to her. The light hit Smith’s body, showing the cuts and bites that covered her skin. Blood matted her hair, trickled down her bare arms and legs.