The woman was demented, and demented minds did not think the way normal folk did.
Jack glanced at his watch. 'It's time for you to get going.'
She blew out a breath and nodded. The only reason Jack and his crew weren't storming the place was because everyone knew their foe might not be who they were expecting him to be. There were six people currently in the diner. Marcia could be any one of them. She might not even be wearing Grey's form—might not change until he—she—
knew for certain Eryn was going to turn up. And since Marcia was a trained operative, then she'd probably see a police charge long before they got near the building.
She buttoned up the second coat and shoved her hands into the pockets. 'You'll come the minute I give the word?'
She knew he would, but she just wanted to hear him confirm it yet again, if only to calm the rising tide of nerves.
'Darlin', I'll come for you anytime you want me to.'
She laughed, as he'd no doubt intended, and swatted him lightly on the arm. 'One of these days, you're going to meet a woman ready, willing and able to take you up on your outrageous suggestions, and then you'll be in deep shit.'
'Ah, but what woman is going to put up with her man getting his jollies spying on other women?' He shook his head in mock sorrow. 'I love my work, and I'm not going to leave it, so love and me ain't ever going to be companions.'
'Just wait. It'll happen.' Her gaze went to the diner again.
'Okay, I'm off.'
'Just be careful.'
She nodded, hunched her shoulders a little, and then stepped out into the wind. It whipped around her, blowing her hair ten different directions as she trudged towards the diner.
'Evening Eryn,' Dan greeted as she blew in through the doorway. 'You're a little early today, aren't you?'
She struggled to shut the door, then blew her hair out of her face as she turned around. The scent of death was evident, but the ceiling fans were slowly spinning, moving the air, moving the scent. She couldn't pinpoint where that smell was coming from.
'Or awfully late, as the case may be,' she said, undoing one coat as she looked over the other patrons. None of them looked familiar. None of them smelled familiar.
As they'd suspected, Marcia had come here wearing someone else's form.
'You want a coffee?' Dan asked.
'And a burger.'
She made her way past the tables, taking in the scents as she did so. None of the patrons sitting there smelled of death.
Frowning, she slid into a booth next to the window, wishing there was something she could do other than simply play the helpless bait.
She crossed her arms, staring at the other customers, wondering which one of them was the fake. Marcia was here, she was sure of it, so where the hell was she? Or rather, who the hell was she?
And for that matter, where the hell was Grey? He'd promised to stay close, but there was no shiver of recognition coming from any of the people here.
So where was he, if not inside the diner?
Dan brought over her coffee and burger, and the rich smell made her stomach rumble. It was a reminder that she hadn't eaten in a long while.
'You sound pretty hungry, Missy. You want me to start cooking another?'
'My stomach can handle one,' she said with a grin. 'Two before I go to bed might give me nightmares.'
He nodded, and she dug into her burger, relishing it even as she kept her eyes and ears open.
Three of the patrons chattered between themselves, their topic the movie they'd just seen. Two others read newspapers, and none of them looked like villains. But then, why would they? Even if Marcia was one of them, she'd been at this game long enough to look 'normal.'
Once she'd finished the burger, she picked up her coffee and leaned back. If not for the fact that she'd caught the whiff of evil when she'd first walked in, she might have thought this a waste of time, that Marcia had decided against coming here.
But why would she do that, when she thought she had Grey at her mercy and wanted to complete her revenge against him?
It didn't make sense. So where was she? What the hell was she waiting for?
Eryn yawned hugely. God, she was so tired—which was damn surprising after she'd slept all day. But then, she thought with a grin, if you factored in her exertions with Grey, maybe it wasn't so surprising. Either way, she definitely needed stronger coffee to keep her awake. She glanced toward the kitchen and realized Dan was watching her. Had been watching her for some time.
A chill ran through her, seeming to sap her strength in an instant.
She glanced at the coffee cup, at the empty plate, then back at Dan. He grinned.
Only it wasn't Dan's grin. It was something colder. More deadly.
Dan wasn't Dan. Dan was Marcia.
'Jack, get in here now,' she said, only the words stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out. She thrust to her feet, the sudden movement spinning the diner around and around.
He'd put something in the food. The coffee.
She was an idiot. A complete idiot.
Dan was approaching, his footsteps seeming to reverberate through her head. There was anger in his gaze now, and something in his right hand, something he hid from the other patrons.
A knife.
A knife that flickered with blue fire under the diner's lights.
It was silver.
He couldn't get her with that knife. Couldn't lodge it in her flesh. She'd never be able to shift shape if he did.
Without really thinking, she called to her hunter soul.
Magic swept through her, but the drug in her veins was slowing all reactions, even the shapeshifting one. She smelled his closeness, heard the sweep of air even as her body gained beagle form. She dodged under the blade, felt the scrape of fire as it cut across the flesh along her spine, then launched herself at his throat.
He threw up his arms to protect himself. She latched onto his forearm, her teeth sinking deep into his flesh, the metallic taste of blood rushing into her mouth as she twisted and tore at his arm. He staggered backwards, his scream a sound of fury and pain combined.
Again the air screamed its warning. She released him, dropping to the ground, trying to dodge the blow. She wasn't fast enough by half. The blade sliced into her thigh, hitting bone and lodging there. Agony flared, running like wildfire through the rest of her body.
The woman hiding in Dan's friendly form laughed. It was a cold, cruel sound that abruptly cut off, then became an odd choking sound.
'I came here with orders to kill you, Marcia,' Grey said, his voice as cold as Eryn had ever heard it. 'It was something I wasn't going to enjoy until now. For touching her, for lodging that knife in her flesh, I will watch you die and I will enjoy it.'
'The police are coming,' the man who was Marcia gasped.
'You know the rules. Do nothing when discovery could occur.'
Grey snorted. 'The rules, in this case, stopped applying ages ago. Good-bye Marcia.'
There was a slight hiss of air, another gargled sound, then the thump of a body hitting the ground. Then warm hands were on her and the knife removed.
His voice was warm in her mind, but it was far away, so far away.
