AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The hell you are.”
But he would broach no argument. “You may work with me or against me, but I am going, and I’m going with you.”
* * *
“No way,” Doyle shouted, his finger stretched out to point at Luke. A finger that was about to be broken if the para-demon didn’t get it the hell out of Luke’s face. “No fucking way.”
Sara stepped between them. “He stays. He helps.”
“He’s a murderer.”
Sara stepped up, getting right in Doyle’s face, a sight that warmed Luke’s heart. She pointed to her left, toward the adolescent body, now splayed out in death, over which the techs were doing their job.
“Do you have any reason, Agent, to think that Dragos committed this crime or any crime related to this murder? Do you? Because I don’t. But I damn sure want to find out who did, and if I think Dragos can help, then he stays. And he stays on my authority.”
“You’re on thin ice, Constantine.”
“Then it’s a good thing I know how to swim, isn’t it?”
The look Doyle shot Luke was one of pure hatred. Then he stalked away, leaving Sara seething. She looked up at Luke, her face flushed. “Dammit,” she said. “All I want to do is find Stemmons before he kills the next victim. I don’t need the rest of this bullshit.”
“You said he kept all the victims caged? I need to get close to the body.” He needed to see if the little girl had Tasha’s scent on her. If they’d shared a cage. And he needed to search for the scent of Caris.
“All right,” she said, looking at him sideways. “But I’m sticking my neck out on this, Luke. Don’t prove Doyle right.”
“Never.”
By the time they reached the body, the Division staff had cleared out most of the county workers, and Severin Tucker and a few other agents that Luke didn’t recognize were adjusting the thoughts of the few who remained. Sara spoke with Leviathan, who turned, stared at Luke, and then gave one quick, curt nod. She cocked her head and Luke joined her. “Two minutes.”
“I won’t need any more.”
He bent over the naked body, focusing only on the smell, forcing himself not to think about the loss, the youth, the horror of this young life ripped away so brutally.
The memory of another time and another place rose within him. Livia laughing, calling his name. He shoved it down. He couldn’t go there. Not now. He needed to keep control. Needed to keep the serpent in check. Tasha’s life hung in the balance. Lose control, and he could lose her.
He lifted his head, nostrils flaring, breathing in deep the scent of the night. Of raw earth. Of grass. Of the child herself, and the pungent odor of death taking hold.
And just when he was about to give up, he caught it. A familiar fragrance like lavender in the fields. Innocence and beauty.
He turned, finding Sara beside him. “Tasha.”
Sara’s eyes went wide with understanding, and she grabbed his arm, tugging him back away from the crowd. “Tasha?” she repeated. “You came here because Stemmons has Tasha?”
“I feared that Caris had taken her.” He drew his hands through his hair, trying to think. So far he had no scent of Caris, and he began to walk the perimeter of the crime scene, searching the night for her woody scent.
“And you didn’t tell me? Dammit, Luke, how long have you suspected this?”
He stopped, stared down at her. “Does it matter now? Your monster has Tasha, and unless I’ve missed my guess, Caris is with her.”
She fell in step beside him. “I went out on a limb for you, and—”
He held up a hand. “There.”
“What?”
They were at least twenty yards from the crime scene, but there was no mistaking the scent. She’d been there. The vile bitch had stood on that exact spot, and not very long ago, either. “Caris.” He turned to Sara. “I must go.”
“Go?” she repeated, looking back toward the body. “Go where?”
