Epilogue
Two weeks later
“I want to fuck you in the back seat right now.” Shade’s claws are lengthened, digging into his black jeans so hard that he might rip them.
We’ve gone through too many pairs of pants lately. At this rate, I need to buy stock in denim.
“I won’t ruin it. I’ll be good. I’ll sit up while you ride that pretty cunt on my cock.”
“You only feel that way because I’m helping you hunt someone,” I add, knowing that it isn’t the only reason. Teasing him is fun. He gets worked up so easily.
“No.” His giant, oversized hand covers my leg, reminding me of last night, when he held onto them while fucking me on our new couch. “Because that citrus scent of yours is stronger now since the pregnancy.”
My heart warms. I understand now. He won’t admit it, but I’ve noticed. He loves it when the lure light shines on our child. Shade is always enamored when seeing our child. A trance overtakes him, along with a big smile that I don’t think he knows appears upon his face.
He watches for as long as possible, never taking his eyes away from the glowing womb. Shade talks to his son every night. At least, I feel he’s a boy. I don’t know how. I just do.
It warms my heart to know Shade finally has the family he has ached for his entire life. It’s changed a part of him. He’s…softer sometimes, but only with me. I have to stop him from killing someone at least once every single day.
He hates everyone.
Everyone but me.
And I love it that way.
“If you’re good, when we get home, you can have me any way you want.”
His growls shake the car, the windows vibrating from the force. I gasp, feeling the rumble in my body.
“I’m always good,” he murmurs, his lips finding the shell of my ear.
That lie causes me to laugh. I turn my head, pressing my palm against his cheek. “You are never always good.”
He kisses the back of my neck where my mating mark is, sending tingles down my spine.
“I know, but that’s exactly why you love me.” His fingers drop to my hip, where that dumb tattoo is hiding under my pants.
I brought up getting it removed one night, and Shade did not like that idea. He spent the entire night showing me just how much he loves it. I decided the tattoo stays. Shade said it was a reminder that I love a freak of nature like himself.
I suppose, in a way, he is a freak of nature.
My freak.
Who seems to get freakier as time passes. His abilities get stronger, and the King of Dreams guy, Shade calls him Dreamer, was right about his ability to give multiple people nightmares.
He does it to Creed, Rhett, and Fitz at least once a day.
I pull into the rundown motel just on the outskirts of town, parking it in a spot that is away from the door Reba Lynn was staying in. I have been hunting for Shade’s target for a few weeks now, trying to find someone that people wouldn’t miss.
The motel sign light flickers just as a rat scurries across the parking lot.
“This is where she is?” Shade asks, surveying the entire lot.
“According to one of my confidential informants. He saw her in room twelve.” I pluck the mugshot photo from the file and show it to him.
“She’s a serial stalker murderer. I’ve pulled her record multiple times.
She gets a restraining order against her from the men she stalks, then murders them, but she is really great at leaving no evidence behind.
She’s the main suspect, but no damn evidence to tie her to the crimes. ”
“And what is she doing so close to town?” Shade asks.
This is where I love doing my job. I become excited. Shade gives me his full attention, his intense black eyes watching me with a tilt of his lips. He loves it when I go down the rabbit hole of finding clues.
“Well, there is a man in town who filed a restraining order against her yesterday.”
“Yesterday? Wait, how long has she been here?”
“A few weeks. I think she is doing her own hunting and has found her target. Apparently, she broke into his house, followed him at work, sent him notes, and when the police did a sweep of his apartment, they found cameras in his bedroom.”
“How long before she usually goes in for the kill?”
“We have about three days, give or take a few, before she loses her patience.” I gasp, gripping his arm when the door to room twelve opens. “She’s leaving! She’s leaving. Go, go get her. We can’t have her leave.”
The inside of the car darkens when his nightmare comes forward. I love the ominous, eerie creep that falls over me, a slight chill, an invisible force that I can’t see, but he can see me.
It’s exhilarating.
“Do you want to come with me?” Shade’s voice deepens with malicious intent, a sardonic grip of his vocal cords that clicks across his throat.
“Come with you? What would I do?”
“Come see what it is like to invade someone’s mind. It’s quite…exhilarating.”
I nibble on my bottom lip, watching Reba lean against the old, rusted iron railing and light a cigarette. Her hair is up in a messy bun, a few loose hairs sticking up around her hairline. She’s definitely been planning something.
“We can be a team. Like Hemlock and Water,” Shade says, and the endearment is sweet, even if he doesn’t know the names.
He thinks he isn’t smart, but I couldn’t disagree more. I think a lot got messed up within his mind when the experiments happened. I think words get confused, stories, even memories, everything has changed for him.
I stare at him, endearingly, unable to picture what my life would be like without him. He came quick and fast, unexpected, yet welcome. He’s rough, mean, murderous, possessive, and every red flag a girl can think of. There’s so much people don’t see when they look at him.
“You mean Sherlock and Watson?”
He grunts, giving a curt nod. “Yes, them. They make a good team. We are a good team. The best team. We are better than them.”
I chuckle when he begins to growl, annoyed by fictional competition. “They aren’t here, Shadey. “
“I’d kill them if they were.”
I hide my smile, staring at him with the same intensity he feels for me.
I love him.
I loved him since the first time he paralyzed me, fucking me with one of his roots.
He gave me everything I needed, not knowing I would make sure he always got what he needed too.
“Let’s go before she makes me run after her. I don’t want to make a scene.”
I open the door, allowing the cool night to wrap around me, and the red motel light reflects off my car.
He is by my side before I can double-check that my badge is on my hip. I loop my arm through his, my hand not even close to wrapping around his bicep.
Every step, the ground threatens to fall from under us from the force Shade carries himself with.
We pass a side garden to the right, walking towards the staircase, or what used to be a garden is now riddled with cigarettes and soda cans.
When we climb up the staircase, Reba is on the right. I don’t hide my badge, and she doesn’t seem like she is going to make a run for it.
She’s confident. I’ll give her that.
“I have done nothing wrong.” She doesn’t even look at me, never taking her eyes off the night as she smokes.
The foggy cloud escapes her lips, creating a slight mirage of her face.
“Just here to talk.” I point to my badge. “I’m Detective Sanchez. I’m just here to ask a few questions.”
“You can try, but I won’t answer them. Not without a lawyer present. Don’t waste your breath. I know my rights.”
That’s fine. She won’t be needing rights tonight anyway. She will never stalk and murder anyone again by the time Shade is done with her.
God, I can’t wait to see him in action. I’m excited. I’ve only ever been the star of the show, never a spectator.
“That’s okay.” Shade steps forward, his gaze locking onto hers.
I wish he could mystify me like he does others. Vampires aren’t allowed to use their influence on their mates.
A real fucking buzz kill. I would love for him to force me to do whatever he wanted, as I obeyed his every command.
“You won’t be needing a lawyer tonight, Reba Lynn.” Shade plucks the cigarette from her, taking a long hit off it before blowing the smoke into her face.
She doesn’t even blink.
“I don’t?”
“No.” His hand steers her to her room. “We’re going to play a little game.”
“I love games!” She brightens, giving him a smile.
“We’re going to have so much fun,” Shade lies. “Open the door, Reba.”
She listens, completely entranced, and inserts an old gold key with a keychain attached to it.
The door swings open, and Reba steps inside.
The room is dark with a lamp in the corner, glowing a dim yellow light.
There are stains on the carpet from years of not having a deep cleaning, and cigarette smoke hangs heavy in the air.
“What game are we playing?” Reba spins around to Shade, smiling widely.
It’s hard to believe I’m looking at the face of a killer. She doesn’t seem like the type, but evidence doesn’t lie. She’s good at what she does, but Shade is better.
I shut the door behind me and lock it, then close the blinds, not wanting anyone to know what was going on.
“We are going to play, ‘What’s your favorite nightmare?’” Shade replies, his roots sliding across the floor.
It’s always amazing to see his abilities come to life. The roots inch from his body, going where Shade wants them to. They move like arms or legs, smooth and natural.
“How do we play that?”
“It’s easy. You tell me your worst fear first.” The room darkens even more, the presence of the entity within him wanting out, wanting to feed.
The roots begin to wrap around Reba Lynn, binding her arms and legs together until she can’t move. Flowers begin to bloom, purple petals sprouting, and I know he is seconds away from releasing the poison.
“And then I’m going to make you relive it.”
“But I’ll be scared. That would be…a nightmare.” Reba’s eyes become sad, a frown tugging on her lips. “I don’t think I like this game.”
Shade grunts, the space darkening even further. Smoke releases from his skin, black and heavy.