Demon’s Embrace(4)

“Only that the first three victims all shared your birthday.”

“Seriously? That’s it? That they shared my birthday. There are five million people living in this town. That means that there are what? Thirteen, fourteen thousand people who share my birthday in this area alone.”

“Yes, but the victims were all female and all born in the same year. They were all twenty-seven. Just like you, so that changes the numbers considerably. Correct me if my math is wrong, but that brings it closer to one hundred or so.”

“That’s still a pretty big number,” the woman said with just the slightest hint of fear.

Ronan stepped closer, crowding her with his big body. He touched her face almost reverently. It was an interesting move from a man who usually held people—women especially—at arm’s length.

“It’s a number small enough to make your brother worry, princess. So let me and Alex do our jobs, and we promise to keep you safe.”

Her gaze flickered to Alex and then back to Ronan. “Okay,” she said quietly, “but only because I don’t want my brother to waste energy worrying about me.”

“No problem, princess. Your brother is the only reason I’m here. As soon as they catch this serial killer, I’ll be out of your hair, and you’ll never have to see me again.”

“Good,” she said with just a little bit too much vehemence.

Despite the insult apparent in their words, Alex could read their body language very clearly. There was a physical attraction between them and, even if neither of them acknowledged it, maybe even an emotional connection. Interesting.

“Okay,” Alex said, trying to stay focused on their mission. Safety first and all that. “I understand you work from home. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” the woman said with a puzzled frown. “What’s your point?”

Oh, he really liked this one.

“It would be far easier to have this conversation if I knew your name.”

Her eyes narrowed with anger, but she managed to grind out through clenched teeth, “Kali Jenkins.”

“Ah, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman,” Alex said with a smirk in Ronan’s direction. He was so focused on Ronan’s reaction that he almost missed Kali’s eye roll. She truly was something special, and if he didn’t stop teasing her, she was going to look down and see the erection trying to break free from his pants. “Okay, my point is that if you work from home, you can essentially work from anywhere that has an Internet connection. Correct?”

“Well, kind of. I mean, maybe for a short time, but…well, it’s not good to…um…” She trailed off as if she were looking for a bullshit excuse, before Ronan stepped in and started barking orders. Well, maybe barking was a harsh description, but he sure could use a few hints on how to deal with a stubborn lady. Although, come to think of it, the guy could probably just use some lessons in dealing with people overall. For a human being, he really sucked at dealing with other humans.

“Please excuse my dumbass friend’s rudeness,” Alex said as he stepped closer to Kali and tried not to pull her into his arms. Goddess, he’d never quite found it so hard to resist a human before. “Kali, we have a safe house a couple hours’ drive from here. We can help pack your things. Take as much as you’ll need for two weeks, and then we’ll make a decision after that.”

“Two weeks?” she asked in a higher-pitched voice than he’d been expecting. Wow, he hoped she didn’t do that very often. He tugged on his earlobe in the hopes of stopping his ears from ringing.

“Hopefully, we can have you back here much sooner, but at least with two weeks’ worth of stuff you’ll be able to continue with your normal routine. You’ll just be somewhere else.”

“Oh, sure,” she said quietly, a hint of vulnerability sneaking through her tough demeanor.

He couldn’t help himself. He pulled her into his embrace, smiling when she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight. “Like you said, the odds are in your favor. Let’s just keep them that way.”

She nodded, her head rubbing softly against his chest with her movement. “How long do I have?”

“Five minutes,” Ronan growled in a voice rough enough to cut glass. “Move.”





* * * *





The angry look she turned on Ronan was exactly the opposite of what he needed. As soon as the words had come out of his mouth, he’d wanted to take them back. He wasn’t even sure what had made him go all drill sergeant on her anyway. It couldn’t have been jealousy that she’d clung to Alex like he was her last hope, because that would imply that Ronan had feelings for the woman. Which, of course, was ridiculous, because she was nothing like the type of woman he usually dated.