His hands tightened on her shoulders. Where are you hurt, Delaney?
Im not, but I dont think I can say the same for you.
He glanced down at himself as if realizing for the first time what he looked like. Im fine. I didnt hurt you?
No. Your friend got me out of there before you chucked any furniture my way. She stared at him. I guess hes your friend? Good grief, one of them nearly killed you.
Tighe grunted. They look as bad as I do. And, yeah, theyre my friends. They heard me destroying the place and came to offer a little well-timed intervention. He released her shoulder to stroke her hair. Thank the goddess, I didnt hurt you.
She almost told him not to touch her hair, not to stroke her, but couldnt bring herself to utter the words. His touch felt good. As if he cared. At least as if he cared that he hadnt hurt her.
Was it the drugs that sent youover the edge? she asked carefully.
He stilled. The drugs?
She sighed. Right. No drugs involved here. You just waved your magic wand and got control of me like that.
Oddly, the tension seemed to drain out of him. Oh. That drug.
Tighe, theres some nasty shit going on here, she said quietly, reaching for his face as if she meant to press her palm to his cheek. She snatched her hand back. Yet that fluttering in her head whispered that he needed her touch. He needed her.
She crossed her arms over her chest. Why dont we both get out of here, Tighe? I can get you some help.
Youd help me, would you, brown eyes? His thumb rose to stroke her cheek as if he had fluttering angel voices of his own telling him she needed him, too.
She didnt. Of course she didnt. Yet, heaven help her, something soft and weak inside her wanted to lean into that gentle touch. She steeled herself against the urge, but didnt pull away. He was clearly a violent man she didnt want to antagonize. Not when she was unarmed. But the truth was, she didnt want to pull away. Angel voices aside, there was something about this man that drew her, something more than the flaming attraction.
There was a gentleness in his touch and a warmth in his voice that made her want to step inside the circle of his arms and lean against him, drawing strength and maybe just a little bit of comfort.
Was it more evidence of mind control, or was this her doing alone? Maybe she was starting to suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, that tendency of captives to identify with and care for their captors. She wasnt sure which was more disturbing.
Or perhaps it was neither. Perhaps she was genuinely beginning to glimpse facets of a man who was more than he seemed.
His hand lifted, his fingers sliding into her hair, sending a soft shiver through her body. Im glad I didnt hurt you.
And, heaven help her, she believed him.
His thumb traced over her bottom lip, sending shards of excitement spiking into her blood. Her breath caught. She could feel his gaze on her mouth.
I want to kiss you, brown eyes, but Ive forced you enough.
His words sent rich, warm desire pouring through her, turning her breasts heavy and her body aching to feel his mouth on hers again even as they lent more credence to her belief that he might be more than he seemed. A man who wasnt evil but had definitely gotten himself tangled up in some nasty stuff.
She knew rationalizing when she heard it, even in her own head. She wanted him to kiss her.
Your friends
Are busy. And not going to bother us.
She made a wry twist with her mouth. And you dont care if they do.
He smiled, flashing a pair of sexy-as-hell dimples. No.
Ripples of need raced through her body, and she gave herself up to the desire, captured his strong face between her hands and pulled his mouth down to hers.
Some small part of her brain shouted that this was all part of the plan to get him to let his guard down, but the shout was quickly drowned out by the roar of pure, unadulterated passion.
Tighe shuddered and sucked in air through his nose as if trying to inhale her. His arms went around her and he pulled her against his chest as he captured her mouth in return.
The kiss exploded inside her, filling her with equal parts sweetness and crazy desire. She opened her mouth as he did, her tongue sliding sensuously against his. He tasted like he smelled, like rain and thunderstorms and wildness. Intoxicating.
Why? Why do I have to be so attracted to him?
His hands slid over her back as he slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss.
Pain exploded in her head.
With a gasp, she pulled back.
Whats the matter? he asked sharply.
My head. Headache. I need to lie down. Before she passed out again. This was the exact pain shed suffered in the parking garage. Not now. Not now.
Tighe cupped her face with his hands. The light pressure of his palms seemed to ease the pain.
That helps, she whispered.
Lincoln Memorial, Tighe called. Ill meet you over there.
She tried to open her eyes, to look at him in confusion. Had she blanked out after all? She seemed to have missed the other half of that conversation.
Through the haze of pain, she saw a pair of jeans and a shirt come sailing out the bedroom door.
Change before you bring the cops down on yourself, a disembodied voice called. And do something about the blood.
Tighe made a sound in his throat, that oddly animal-sounding growl, and released her. The pain in her head soared. She collapsed back against the door, pressing her hands to her cheeks, but her own hands didnt help.
She wasnt sure how long shed stood there, fighting back the waves of pain, when she felt Tighes hand close around her wrist.
Come on, brown eyes. Were going for a drive.
I dont think thats a good idea.
But he opened the door and ushered her into the night, and she didnt have the strength to argue. She let him steer her into the passenger seat of a car, in no shape to fight him. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, her only concern to stay conscious and keep her head on her shoulders until the awful thing passed.
Finally, finally, the pain began to recede. The headache disappeared, leaving her feeling shaky and cold. What was happening to her? The headache had felt like the kind she got before she saw the murders, but just like in the car, shed seen nothing this time. Which didnt please her in the least. If she had to suffer the pain, the least she could do was get a clue that might help her catch the killer.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes to find Tighe pulling to an illegal stop near the Lincoln Memorial. He released her hand. She hadnt even remembered he was holding it.
Get out, brown eyes.
What are we doing here?
My twins here.
Her jaw dropped as he pushed from the car. She joined him, her mind scrambling and coming up with nothing that made any sense.
How do you know hes here?
He grabbed her hand. Come on.
She ran to keep up with him as he headed toward the steps of the memorial, but they were still ten yards away when Tighe emitted another of those jungle growls, released her hand, and pulled out two wicked-looking switchblades in a single, quick move.
Delaney leaped back, watching with disbelief as he began stabbing the air. He was crazy. Completely and certifiably mad.
But as she stared, cuts began to appear on his cheeks and tears in his clothing as if from invisible claws.
Goose bumps rose on her skin as her head shook back and forth. She wasnt seeing this. It wasnt real. It was the drugs. She had to be hallucinating.
A dark shape above had her looking up as a huge bird of prey, a hawk, dropped out of the sky. For a terrible moment, she thought Tighe was going to turn those deadly knives on the bird, but he barely glanced at him. Instead, the bird began clawing at the air with talons and beak as if he, too, were battling an invisible enemy.
A moment later, a huge cat, a cougar, joined the fight, and she knew she had to be caught in one giant hallucinogen-induced dream.
God. Delaney backed away. She had to get out of there. But Tighes words came back to her. My twins here. If there was a chance she hadnt dreamed that, too, she had to at least look for him.
She ran for the steps to the memorial and started up, as desperate to get away from the impossible battle as she was to find the murderer whod nearly killed her.
With each step the question pounded in her brain.
What if Im the only crazy one?
Tighe stabbed at the draden, tearing them off him as he tore out their hearts by the dozen.
Dammit, Ive got to get behind cover and shift. Hawkes voice sounded in his head. Through the vicious swarm, Tighe could just make out the hawk, nearly covered in the ferocious little beasts. My wings are being shredded faster than I can heal.
Since when do they attack animals? Kougar growled mentally. The draden were all over him, too, going for his eyes. Unlike Tighe, the cougar had no hands with which to stab and swat them away. Im going to have to shift, too, but its too well lit here.
The Lincoln Memorial was a glowing beacon on the D.C. nightscape, and even in the middle of the night, people were known to roam the National Mall.
Do it, Tighe said. What in the hells going on, Hawke? Care to take a guess?
I think your clones behind this. He was made from a draden. Im guessing he can communicate with them.
Tighe groaned inwardly. His own private army.
Your humans on the run, Kougar said.
Tighe turned. Delaney was running, all right. Straight up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. She finally had a shot at freedom, and she was throwing it away to try to catch a murderer. Exactly what he was coming to expect from her, but the reality made his blood run cold.
He took off after her, a swarm of draden at his back, fear stabbing through his chest like a twelve-inch blade.
If that draden spawn of a clone of his was still up there, shed be dead before he ever reached her.
CHAPTER 8
Delaney, wait! Tighes voice echoed up from the base of the stairs.
Trust him, the angel wings whispered in her head.
Why she listened to either of them, she didnt know, but she was too rattled to fight the instinct to stop. Three-quarters of the way up the steps, Delaney doubled over to catch her breath as Tighe climbed to join her.
As he drew near, she saw he was a bloody mess again. Ghostly fingers crawled over her scalp as, deep in her head, the clanging bells of disbelief rang and rang and rang.
Dont ever go after him alone, brown eyes. Hes too dangerous, in case you didnt learn that the first time.
You seemed a littlepreoccupied. But, jeez, she wasnt even armed. Either the whole situation had her badly shaken, or she really was losing her mind.
Tighe took her hand and kept climbing, all the while stabbing the air with the knife in his free hand. That didnt bother her nearly as much as the blood that was beginning to trickle down his cheek and neck from wounds that shouldnt be there.
Dont look. Just dont look.
Sweat was rolling down her temples, her breathing labored by the time she reached the top step of the memorial. As her gaze scanned the area, out of habit her hand went for her gun and closed around nothing. Blast it.
Something caught her eye. A bare foot, facedown, poking out from behind one of the mammoth marble columns that framed the memorial.
There, she told Tighe.
Together they ran, Delaney taking the path outside the pillars, Tighe running inside. They converged on another murder scene. She closed her eyes against the sight, then opened them again to study the bodies of a young couple, each partially undressed as if caught in the act of sex, now lying side by side, identical ovals of teeth marks on their necks.
Not far from them lay a female police officer. Had she heard the screams and come to investigate, only to meet with the same fate? It seemed probable. A wedding ring gleamed on her finger in the bright light of the memorial. She was married. Probably with kids, who would never see their mother again. Dammit.
Did you know her?
She looked up to see Tighe watching her.
No.
He nodded. Im going to try to find him.
As Tighe kept walking, Delaney bent over the cop and checked for a pulse. Nothing, but her skin was still damp with sweat. Her murder, at least, had only just happened. She grabbed the womans gun and slipped it into her back waistband, careful to cover it with her shirt hem.
How had Tighe known the murderer had been here? Was he, too, getting the visions?
As she crossed to the kids, she saw Tighe again fighting something, being injured by something, which wasnt there.
Dont think about it.
She checked the young couple for pulses and again found none. The old fury welled up inside her at the waste of life. God, she wanted whoever had done this dead.
She saw Tighe turn and come back toward her, still stabbing the air, the blood running freely down his face now. He must be catching himself with those knives. That was the only explanation that made a bit of sense.
The gun weighed heavily against her back. If she wanted to shoot him, now was the time, when he was still far enough away that she stood a chance of getting the shot off before he stopped her. But the doubts had lodged too deeply in her head. That she might actually be the one with the mental problem.
As sirens began to sound on the wind, coming nearer, she let him close the distance between them without pulling her weapon.
His expression was tight. Those may be heading here.
Delaney nodded. The cop has only been dead a matter of minutes. She probably called in the murders of the kids before he attacked her.
Come on, were getting out of here.
Let me stay. Let me help the cops look for him.
Not a chance. He took her hand and gave her no choice as he ushered her down the long set of steps and into the car. Then he dove in on the drivers side, slammed the door, and continued to stab wildly at his invisible foe. A foe who couldnt possibly be in the car with them. Not unless he was the size of a fairy.
The man was crazy. Whether or not he was in league with the murderer, he was nuts. And the cops were on their way. She reached cautiously for the door handle and never touched it. One of his knives whipped out to within an inch of her face.
You open that door, and itll be the last thing you do. His voice was low and deadly.
Okay. Delaney slowly put her hand back in her lap, her breathing tight as she watched him slash at nothing. Her eyes widened as the gashes that appeared on his face out of thin air just as miraculously disappeared.
Okay, were both crazy, right? No, they were both probably suffering from hallucinations, thanks to those drugs.
A couple of minutes later, Tighe stopped fighting and sank back against his seat, his breathing hard.
Did you win? she asked conversationally, pushing back the urge to close her eyes, cover her ears, and scream that this was not happening.
He turned his head toward her, his mouth opening as if he were about to reply, then closing again.
Care to tell me who you were fighting?
Not who.
Well, that was a point in his favor, since clearly no real person had been doing battle with him in the car.
Then what?
Its not your concern. He straightened, his breathing already back to normal, and lifted his shirt to wipe the blood off his face. They wont bother you.
She stared at him, another thought breaking through the bafflement and disbelief that had become her mind. What if he really had been battling something? Something she couldnt see. Some kind of cloaked, supersecret weapon.
Had she accidentally stumbled into the middle of something far bigger than a psychopathic serial killer and his sexy, drugged-up twin?
Tighe turned to her as if he were reading her thoughts. Dont try to figure it out, Delaney. Dont try to figure me out. You wont succeed. And if by some long shot you do, youll only endanger yourself more.
Because then she really would know too much. A frisson of adrenaline pumped through her veins. She felt the gun at her back and wondered if she could bring herself to kill him. If she drew on him, shed better be ready to shoot, because shed only ever get one chance.
Her gaze studied his strong profile as he started the car and put it in gear.
No, she wasnt ready to kill him. If her theory was even partly right, that he was involved in something big and dangerous, she needed to know more. She needed all the information she could get if the Bureau was to have any chance of stopping it.
And, disturbingly, there was a part of her that wanted to believe the angel wings that continued to whisper, Trust him. There was a part of her that was genuinely drawn to him in ways beyond the sexual. His strength. His gentleness. He intrigued her mightily.
And yes, deep in her gut, she was starting to trust him.
As he drove, questions bombarded her brain. She tilted her head against the headrest behind her, watching him.
How did you know your twin was here, Tighe?
He glanced at her. You told me.
She jerked upright. I told you?
I saw him in your vision.
Her scalp began to tingle. In my vision? Shed never told him about her visions. Shed never told him anything. Was he reading her mind now? Could this night get any weirder? I dont know what youre talking about.
Dont you? I think you do, brown eyes. He glanced at her again. I was the one having the visions until you came along.
She stared at him, the hair rising on the back of her neck. What do you mean?
He turned back to the road. My twin and I have a psychic connection I dont entirely understand. When he first started killing, I was the one seeing the murders. I was the one watching those terrified faces as he went for their throats. Through his eyes, I saw the death of that blonde in the basement of the Potomac Side Apartments. A couple of minutes later, I saw him attack you. I thought hed killed you as he had her.
No way. Her mind rebelled, yet she stared at him, her attention riveted.
He glanced at her and met her gaze. But my next vision wasnt of death. It was of you staring at yourself in the bathroom mirror at work. You wondered out loud why you were being forced to watch him kill others. One of your coworkers found you leaning on the sink, white as a ghost, and called your name. Thats how I knew who you were.
Her head rang like a gong struck too hard. Yet everything he said was true. Everything correlated exactly with the events as she knew them.
You think Ive come between you and your twin.
I know you have, though Im not sure how. Something must have happened when he attacked you and didnt kill you. Youve disrupted our connection. Now when he murders, I sometimes see you watching the murder, and I sometimes get tiny glimpses of it myself. But so far, the only time Ive seen the whole thing since you got involved is the one time I held on to you while you got the vision.
She blinked. In your house just now. You saw it instead of me, didnt you? You knew he was in the Lincoln Memorial killing those people.
Yes. Tighe released a harsh sigh. But I didnt get there in time to catch him.
Because something attacked you. She pressed her palms against the roof of the car. Is this for real, Tighe? Is this all happening, or am I seriously losing my grip on my sanity?
He reached over and gently squeezed her knee. Id like to tell you youre losing it. Or its all a dream, or something equally inane. But youre not, brown eyes. Youre perfectly sane. Youve just gotten in the middle of things you shouldnt have. He nodded toward her window. Keep your eyes peeled, Agent Randall. We may have missed him, but he could still be around here preparing to feed off someone else.
Delaney nodded, letting his words sink in. She wasnt insane, at least. Which was definitely something. Unfortunately, the deeper she got into this, the more convinced she became she was going to be lucky to get out of it alive.
She needed to trust her instincts and her instincts were screaming at her to trust him, to hold on to him and not let him go. Every instinct she possessed warned her that Tighe was her only chance of survival.
Tighe glanced at Delaney as he had every few minutes for the past couple of hours as they drove through the night streets of D.C. The woman drew him like a cat to cream, even in the dark where he could only glimpse her face in shadow. There was a depth to her that intrigued him. Alternating layers of strength and softness. Of fury and pain.
He was pretty sure he knew where the pain came from, but he wanted to know the whole story. He found himself wanting to know everything about her.
Was your mother a cop, brown eyes?
She turned toward him as the lights of a passing cab lit her face.
No. Why?
I saw your expression when you saw the dead cop. I thought maybe youd known her. Or that she reminded you of your mom.
Delaney sighed and tilted her head back against the seat as if exhaustion pulled at her. I saw her wedding ring. Id be willing to bet she had kids. My mom wasnt a cop, but I was eleven when I lost her. I hate the thought of any other kid going through that.
Tell me what happened. I heard you tell the cat in your apartment that a scumbag caught her on a bike path. He wasnt sure shed open up to him, but theyd been traveling together in a comfortable silence for a while now. He found he wanted to understand her better.
He raped her. Murdered her, while I was at school. I dont know any more than that. They never found the killer.
Im sorry you lost her.
It was a long time ago.
Not so long. And you live with it every day of your life, dont you? Its why you became a federal agent. To catch the killers like the one who killed your mother. Maybe to catch him.
She turned back to him. Then slowly looked away. Maybe I am a little obsessed, she said softly. But, blast it, Tighe, people like that need to be stopped. She swung back to look at him. How dare he steal her life? And not just hers. Mine. He took everything from me that day. Everything.
Tighe slid his hand over her shoulder and gave a squeeze. Just dont devote so much of your life to revenge that you forget to live it.
Its not revenge.
What is it, brown eyes?
Itsa calling. I hate the killers. All of them. She groaned. It is revenge, isnt it? Every time theres a murder, I wonder if its the same guy. If maybe this time Ill get him.
She was silent for more than a minute, as if pondering that realization. Finally, she shrugged. Who cares why I do it? Its my job, and Im good at it.
He squeezed her shoulder. What happened after your mom died? Did your dad raise you?
She gave a soft sound of disgust. No.
That single word held a stunning wealth of emotion, emotions that trailed across his tongue. Anger. Hurt. And a deep, painful betrayal he knew the taste of all too well.
My dad decided he couldnt handle being a single parent. Five days after I lost my mother, he ripped me away from everything Id ever knownhome, friends, school, my catand dumped me on my aunts doorstep, more than two hours away. I guess in his messed-up logic it was the perfect solution. I needed a mother, and she needed help. She was single with four small children. Only I didnt get a mother. I got a full-time, unpaid job. I became her babysitter, cook, housekeeper, you name it.
Cinderella, he murmured.
She made a sound. Believe me, I thought that at least ten times a day. Which was ridiculous, of course. I wasnt abused, at leastYeah, anyway.
Tighe looked over at her. Her abrupt silence was loaded. He reached over and stroked her hair. Id like to hear it all. Though I dont want to cause you more pain.
Its notI mean She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. My aunts boyfriend moved in with us when I was sixteen.
Ah, hell. He was afraid he knew what was coming.
He managed to keep his hands off me for all of five months, but he watched me. I knew he watched me. He finally made a move two days after my seventeenth birthday.
His hand clenched the steering wheel, the strength of his anger catching him by surprise. He hurt you.
She met his gaze, steel in her eyes. No. He groped me and tried to kiss me. I ripped open his cheek with my fingernails, then slammed my fist in his eye. A glimmer of satisfaction arced through her expression.
Tighe grinned, a vicious smile. Good girl. He tensed. Did he retaliate?
Not directly. My aunt kicked me out that night and told me never to come back. I dont know what he told her.
You went back to your dad.
No. I hadnt seen him in years, not since I was thirteen. He came to see me a few times after he left me with my aunt, but I wouldnt talk to him. I was furious with him for deserting me. She groaned. I was such a brat.
No you werent. Your anger toward him was deserved. If a mans blessed with a daughter, he protects her. No matter what. His grip on the wheel tightened as a sharp pain lanced his heart.
Yet he was no better than Delaneys father. How long had Amalie cried for him? How long had she hated him?
Thanks, Delaney said softly. I never forgave him. Maybe if I had, hed have been there for me later.
He looked over at her. What did you do? Seventeen is young to be on your own.
I got a job waiting tables and rented a room from a lady down the street. After high school, I worked my way through college, my sights firmly on getting the man whod ruined my life and all the others like him. Revenge. She yawned deeply. As you said.
Youre exhausted. He patted his right thigh. Lie down, brown eyes. Get some sleep. He was suddenly glad hed grabbed the larger of the sedans, with its bench seat.
She glanced at him, a smile hovering at her mouth. That sounds like a line if I ever heard one. And Im too tired to care. Leaning sideways, she stretched out along the seat to lay her head firmly in his lap. I dont know why Im starting to trust you, she murmured sleepily. I shouldnt.
He stroked her hair. Thanks for not using that gun on me.
She groaned in disgust, drawing a chuckle out of him, but didnt move to reach for the weapon. Within seconds her breathing evened out, and he knew she was asleep.
He stroked her arm, feeling a warmth toward her, a protectiveness, he didnt understand. She was a human. Yet he didnt remember the last time hed felt this close to another. Any other.
Human or not, she was a remarkable woman. Determined and driven. Tough and courageous. But not without compassion. Hed seen her expression when theyd come upon the three bodies less than a dozen yards from the statue of Abraham Lincoln. Shed seen more than bodies. More than victims. Shed seen two lovers terrorized and destroyed. And a wife, possibly a mother, who would never go home to her family.
Hed tasted Delaneys fury over the wasteful destruction of life. Yes, she might have been driven to this job of hers out of revenge, but it was a deep compassion for life that kept her dedicated.
Hed have to remember to tell her that. He brushed back a lock of hair that was trying to fall across her cheek, then lifted it and ran the softness between his fingers.
Inexplicably, Delaney Randall had begun to matter to him. He wanted her safe and able to live her short, fragile life to its utmost. With all the things shed missed, and still missed. A home. A family. A cat.
The thought made him smile, but his thoughts turned wistful. He sensed a large capacity for love in her, and he wished that for her. Children of her own and a man who would stand by her side no matter what, and love her as she deserved to be loved.
The tiger raised its head deep inside him, a growl rumbling in his throat.
Yeah, the thought of her in another mans arms didnt please him either. But he certainly didnt want her for himself. She was human.
And if she wasnt?
He shook off the weirdly disturbing thought and turned his attention once more to hunting for his clone.
Several hours later, as the sun rose behind overcast skies, Hawke called.
Any luck? the Feral asked.
None. Not a sign of him. But no more visions. Which either means he hasnt fed yet, or Delaney doesnt get them in her sleep.
Were back in the safe house, looking for a little sleep ourselves.
Im going to drive around a bit longer. He snapped the phone closed. As tired and hungry as he was, he couldnt bring himself to call it quits. Admittedly, he was loath to take Delaney back to the safe house with Kougar and Hawke there. And she was sleeping so soundly, he didnt want to wake her.