Holly Storm had them by the balls.
All she had to do was direct the cameraman’s attention to Michelle-that woman would spill everything about the demons. We need to get her loaded into the truck, fast.
Gyth shook his head. “Storm won’t talk about the Other. ” The guy sounded completely confident.
Brooks didn’t exactly share that confidence. “Maybe we should pull her off the air. We’ve got a dead body on the scene, man, and-”
“I shot my attacker…” Still cool and calm.
Brooks closed his eyes. Fuck .
“She didn’t kill him.” Brooks cracked open his eyes and saw that Gyth was still watching Holly Storm, his head cocked to the left as he said, “But she’d take the fall in a heartbeat for that kill.”
For him.
Brooks felt his temples throb. “Niol got to him first?”
Gyth didn’t answer, but then, he didn’t really have to. Brooks knew just what Niol was capable of doing with his mind. “Should’ve given us a statement first,” he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“I don’t think Storm makes a habit out of doing the things she should do.”
He was getting that.
“Niol’s not gonna make it to the hospital, is he?”
“No, but we know where to find him.”
True. The guy had never been one to hide. Brooks figured they’d get his statement soon enough. One thing he’d learned, the Other cases didn’t always go by the book.
Five minutes later, the camera finally lowered.
They headed for Storm.
She dressed with care. Sexy two-inch heels. Short black skirt. Low neck, cleavage-showing, bloodred shirt.
Her side ached and her arm still stung, but, all things considered, Holly figured she was doing pretty damn well.
For a woman who’d almost been sliced open.
She took a deep breath.
Over. Zack wouldn’t hurt anyone else, not ever again.
Holly stared into her mirror and watched her eyes fade to black. She could control the change now. It felt…natural.
At this point, she rather liked those eyes.
Not impure. Not a mistake.
Me.
The cops had kept her for hours. So many questions. So many eyes on her.
Then there had been more cameras. Other reporters wanting her to talk.
When she’d finally managed to escape, her first instinct had been to run straight to Paradise.
But she hadn’t wanted to see Niol still covered in blood.
Besides, she’d known that the police were going for him- his turn to answer questions.
So she’d waited and let the darkness fall.
Holly glanced at the clock. Close to ten p.m. now. Things should just be getting started at Paradise. Time for her to hunt a demon…
And to lay her soul bare before him.
Chapter 19
Demons and vampires packed the floors of Paradise. Holly walked right past them, her chin up, her shoulders back, her heels clicking on the floor.
Music blared in her ears. A loud, drumming beat that heated her blood.
So many bodies. So much power.
But she wanted only one man.
There . At the bar. Head back, strong fingers wrapped around his glass of amber liquid.
A whisper went through the crowd and she knew she’d been spotted.
News traveled even faster in the demon world than it did in the human one.
Niol’s head lowered and his eyes locked on her. No surprise showed on his face.
He knew I was here the minute I stepped inside Paradise.
He watched her, his face still, expressionless. The mask was back. The demon who felt nothing.
Holly didn’t stop walking.
She could see right through the mask. She could see the emotion in his eyes. Burning black fire.
More whispers as she drew closer to him.
They’d have an audience for this. Not her style, but his.
Holly stopped two feet away from him. The guy looked good. No, gorgeous. Not even a hint of pale skin. Apparently two gunshot wounds didn’t slow the man down long at all.
Though they’d sure scared some years off her life.
His gaze swept over her, lingering not on the exposed skin of her breasts, but on the faint cut on her throat, the bandage on her arm, and the wound on her side that was covered by her silk shirt.
“You shouldn’t be here.” A rumble of sound.
Her brows rose. “I thought I was welcome here.” If he wanted to tell her to fuck off, he could do it. But this wasn’t going to be some quiet ending. She was coming clean with Niol.
Time to tell the demon just how she felt.
“You’re an asshole, Niol. You saved my life, but then you left me and didn’t look back.”
His eyelids flickered at that.
Had he looked back?
The glass in his hand cracked. Slowly, carefully, Niol sat the drink down on the bar top. “Why are you here, Holly? The case is over.”
And so are we .
No, not yet.
“There are only two reasons humans come here…” This came from the bartender.
I’m not human. Those rules didn’t apply to her. They never had.
“Are you here to play?” Niol asked.
Holly shook her head. “Game time’s over, demon.”
His lips tightened and Niol stood, the barstool scraping on the floor behind him. “Why are you here? ”
For you . She knew her eyes said the answer for her.
He shook his head.
She closed the distance between them, rose up, and kissed him. Kissed him with her hunger, with the lust that was al ways so close, and with the love that had stirred slowly within her.
A gust of wind tossed her hair and teased her flesh.
Niol lifted his head.
The blaring music quieted.
“Come with me.”
To hell and back if she had to. Oh, wait, been there.
Niol caught her wrist and led her toward his office. The door slammed behind them and he wrapped his arms around her, caging her body tightly against his.
“I’m trying to do what’s right,” he gritted, and his fingers dug into her arms. “Don’t you see, love? For once, I want to do what’s right.”
The demon wasn’t nearly as dark inside as most people thought.
Not dark at all, really.
She finally saw him clearly. Her demon. Her Niol. Just…hers.
He stared into her eyes and his jaw clenched. “Fuck, no Holly-I warned you! It’s too dangerous! You can’t make me love-”
“I love you, Niol.” Good, bad. Everything.
He swallowed. “You shouldn’t. I-I’m not…what you need.”
“You’re the only man I need and the only one I want.” There was really just one thing he could say to make her leave. Just one. “You saved me. And I’m not just talking about tonight.” Though she’d never forget her first sight of him in that horrible room. One look, and she’d known that he would keep her safe.
Maybe she’d always known that.
“You showed me who I really am. You got me to stop hiding from myself.”
He didn’t speak.
Final shot. Holly licked her lips. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
“What I want doesn’t matter.” His fingers were steel strong around her. “What you need-”
“Do you love me?”
Don’t make me love you.
The only answer that would matter for her. If he said no, she’d walk away, and drag her pride with her.
She’d walk away, but dammit, she’d miss him.
“Do you?” She pressed and the mask on his face cracked.
Niol’s lips took hers. Wild and hard and hot and oh, just what she wanted.
“Hell, yes,” he growled against her mouth. “Yes.” The words seemed torn from him.
Probably because they were.
But he shook his head and shoved back from her. “I can’t let you stay, this isn’t the world you want-”