Deadly Desire

I glanced at him. 'What would you do if I did?'

His gaze swept me briefly-a look that was almost impersonal. Almost. 'A fight would ensue if you tried, and I'd hate to see bruises marring that luscious body.'

'You're presuming you'd the get the chance to land the first punch. Trust me, that won't happen.'

'Maybe. Maybe not.' He shrugged, like it didn't matter.

And really, it didn't, because I had no intention of arresting him or getting involved in a fight with him. Sal might not have come back yet with any deep and dark secrets about this man, but every instinct I had suggested he was dangerous in ways I couldn't even begin to imagine. Getting involved with him in any way was not on the agenda-unless it was absolutely necessary.

I just wished my wolf could get that particular message.

'You didn't find me tonight,' he commented into the silence.

'I had too many men wanting a dance to spend time finding one lonely little killer.'

Kye's amusement swam around me, warming me in ways I couldn't even explain-and certainly didn't want to examine.

'So you looked, but couldn't spot me. Excellent.'

Up ahead, near the King Street, something scraped softly against the concrete. It sounded like the nail of a dog or something similar, yet there were no animals of any kind haunting the shadows or scrounging around the overflowing bins. There didn't even appear to be any rats-maybe they had fled due to my tone-deaf singing.

'I'll find you tomorrow night,' I said, concentrating more on the surrounding darkness than on what I was saying. 'I'm told Sundays tend to be slower, so I'll have more time to play.'

'I'll tip you a hundred if you do find me.'

I glanced at him and shook my head in mock sorrow. 'Overconfidence gets them every time.'

'You've got to find me first.'

'I will.'

He smiled a disbelieving sort of smile. 'Have you found out what's behind the locked doors yet?'

'Have you?' I countered, my gaze searching the night again, but still finding nothing. And yet my uneasiness was growing.

We swung onto King Street and headed down toward Flinders, as we had last night. This time I had every intention of catching a cab home-my arm muscles were still aching from last night's flight.

'Anyone who gets near those doors, even accidentally, is swiftly thrown out of the club.'

He touched my arm, the contact electric as he pulled me sideways a little. I glanced down, saw the puddle of vomit, and muttered 'thanks' before moving free of his grip. But the heat of it still burned my skin regardless.

'I haven't seen the blonde at the club, either,' he said, 'Though her scent is quite strong in various rooms.'

'I've seen both of them.' I didn't add where, because I didn't want him storming the offices and possibly warning her and her accomplice that we were on to their hideout.

Again that odd scratching noise whispered across the silence. I frowned and glanced over my shoulder. Nothing and no one followed us, and yet… the shadows didn't seem to be quite so empty anymore.

Something was there, watching us.

Kye stopped abruptly, but his gaze was on the road ahead rather than on the shadows behind us.

'What?' I said, halting beside him.

'Magic,' he said softly.

'Magic?' I frowned, letting my senses roam ahead, feeling for anything out of place. There wasn't anything immediately obvious. Yet the unseen drunks didn't seem to be singing as loudly and an odd sort of tension was rolling through the darkness.

Then the meandering wind brought with it a familiar scent.

Sulfur.

'Oh, fuck.'

'What?' he said, his gaze still ahead, his body alert.

'Hellhounds.'

He glanced at me. 'The ones that were at the warehouse with the crow and the zombie?'

'I think so. They've obviously come to finish the job.' And Jessica had obviously suspected me a whole lot more than I'd figured.

I swung my bag around and began picking through the mess of clothes to find the small containers of holy water. I dragged out two and handed one to Kye.

Kye shook the container, then gave me a somewhat dubious look. 'Water?'

'Holy water. It burns them like acid and will blind them if it gets in their eyes.'

'You really are a most surprising woman, Riley Jenson.'

His expression was an odd mix of amusement, excitement, and hunger. The hunter was ready for his kill-and I wasn't entirely sure who, exactly, was his prey. Nor was I sure whether the shiver that rolled across my skin was excitement or fear.

'So how do we kill it?' he continued.

'Them,' I corrected, shoving the container into my jeans pocket, which freed up my hands but kept the water within easy grabbing range. 'I think there's two-one in front, one behind. And decapitation is the only way we can get rid of them.'

'Do we attack, or do we wait for them to come to us?'

He didn't seem perturbed either way, but then he hadn't fought these things before. I had, and I'd prefer not to relive the experience if I could avoid it.

'Let's keep moving. They may not be here for us at all.'

'You don't believe that any more than I do.'

Well, no. And I couldn't help wondering why they were stalking me tonight. If they'd been at the club all along-and I had no doubt their mistress would keep them close, for safety's sake if nothing else-then why hadn't they come after me last night? She'd suspected me then, too.

And the hounds couldn't have picked up my scent at the club because I'd used Liander's special soap both times… Then I stopped and cursed myself for being a fool. I may have used Liander's soap before my shift, but I hadn't used it when I took a shower after work. Which meant I'd washed away the neutralizer and allowed my own natural scent to come through.

That's why they'd picked it up. It was a stupid, stupid, thing to do, and one I'd make sure never to repeat. If I got out of this situation okay, that is.

We walked on, our footsteps light on the concrete. Cars rushed by, their headlights tearing through the surrounding shadows and revealing nothing more ominous than discarded soda containers and old hamburger wrappings.

I flared my nostrils, trying to catch the scent of sulfur, but it seemed to have disappeared as easily as it had come. Yet they were still out there, still watching. I could feel them, like a blot of evil growing on the horizon.

Kye stopped again. 'The feel of magic just got sharper.'

I viewed the street ahead. I still couldn't sense anything more than I had moments ago, but that didn't mean much. 'You're sensitive to magic?'

'Yeah, something like that,' he said, voice clipped. 'There's people walking this way, too. Unless you want to endanger them, we'd better bring this thing to a head in a more secure spot.'

'And here I was thinking you didn't care about anything or anyone else but yourself,' I said, then pointed up Little Bourke Street. 'There's several small alleys there that aren't really used at night. It'll limit the possible damage to others.'

'That'll do, then.'

We headed across the street and down to the first alley. The sulfur scent drifted past again, sharper and closer than before. I still couldn't feel the hellhound in front of us, but there was definitely one behind.

The reek of rot and rubbish from the nearby bins filled the air, overriding every other smell. As I stared into the darkness, I reached into my bag for the knife, drawing it from the sheath and out into the darkness. The silver blade seemed to glow with its own blue fire, and markings I hadn't noticed before suddenly appeared along the blade's