Dark Wings Descending (5 page)

The woman laughed. “Conscientious to the last, eh, Cook?”

“Anything for a quiet life,” Ashley looked at the officer’s name tag, “Edwards. My wife, for some reason, wants my undivided attention when I’m home.”

Edwards looked Ashley over with an appraising eye. “I can understand why.” She smiled. “I’ll leave you in peace to check your statement, then for God’s sake, go home.”

“I hear you,” Ashley replied, hurrying to log into the computer as it spat out Duncan’s password and gave her entry into the system. With knowledge gained from too many illegal entries into police computer systems, Ashley began searching for any information concerning the DDU.

*

After riding the elevator to the third floor, Ashley stepped off and headed toward the newly appointed DDU offices. She took a deep breath before she strode through the door and watched the occupants look up at her entrance, then jump to attention.

All but one.

“Detective Powell, what a surprise to see you here,” the young female officer said. “Can we help you with anything?”

“I’m looking for the latest report on last night’s killing.”

“I can print you a copy right this minute.” The officer turned to her computer.

Ashley recognized Detective Jackson from the crime scene, but she couldn’t help but notice the other woman in the room staring at her, her eyes blinking as if looking directly into sunlight.

Oh crap.

“Who are you?” she asked Ashley bluntly.

“Rafe, you know who Detective Powell is.” Detective Jackson nudged at her, giving her a concerned look. “That blow to your head didn’t scramble all your brain cells, did it?” He whispered for Rafe’s ears alone, but Ashley easily overheard his worried tone. Rafe threw her another suspicious look. Ashley decided she would be wise to beat a hasty retreat. Her glamour was fooling the others in the room, but something was definitely off when it came to this detective.

“I’ll just take these papers,” she said and hastily exited the office, clutching the reports to her chest and trying not to make it obvious that she was about to break into a run. She had barely made it to the elevator when a body slammed into her, spun her around, and pinned her to the wall. Rafe Douglas loomed over her, and from her closeness Ashley could easily see the tiny golden flecks of gold amid the chocolate brown of Rafe’s eyes. Struck silent by Rafe’s starkly handsome features, Ashley just stared up at her, even though as Detective Powell she would have towered over Rafe.

“I don’t know who you are, but you sure as hell aren’t Powell.” Rafe pressed in harder, all but holding Ashley up against the wall by her chest. “And what’s with all the lights around you?” She blinked furiously as if bothered by it. When she did look down at Ashley, she looked directly into her eyes.

Ashley’s mouth gaped.
Oh my God, she can see through my glamour. She can see me.
Unable to stop staring at the angry face before her, Ashley inspected the cruel damage that had been wrought on Rafe. Without thinking, she reached up to touch the bruises. “What happened to you?” Ashley stroked Rafe’s cheek gently, and for a moment the body holding her so tightly against the wall stiffened, then softened fractionally. Eyes closing, Rafe seemed to lean into her for comfort. Ashley murmured softly to her, touching each and every mark that marred Rafe’s skin. She ran her fingertips over the vivid bruises that left their purpling trail across Rafe’s forehead. A scratch mark, still rough and jagged, stood out on her temple. The raw edges all but burned Ashley’s flesh, and she jerked her hand away, gasping at the pain. Rafe’s head lifted as if she were awakening, her eyes dazed.

“You’ve been marked by a demon,” Ashley said.

“A what?” Rafe sounded confused, if not a little drugged. She blinked at Ashley. “What are all these lights?”

Unnerved, Ashley slipped from Rafe’s hold and made a dash for the stairwell. She knew full well that Rafe wouldn’t be able to follow her. Mindful of the cameras positioned in every corner, she kept her disguise in place until she found a bathroom to rush into. Finally emerging as a female civilian, Ashley slipped free from the precinct armed with her report and a USB full of “Eyes Only” material she’d garnered from the police officer’s computer. She’d slip back in later to see what she could gather from the DDU’s own logs, but not while she knew Rafe Douglas was in the building. She opened her cell phone and pressed a button.

“Eli, we have a big problem.”

*

Rafe was struggling to stay awake. She slid down the wall until she ended up on her knees, lethargy seeping through every pore. All she could hear in her head were the soft comforting words from the blonde who had touched her so tenderly. Rafe blinked, her eyesight finally clear of the golden shimmers she’d witnessed surrounding the woman. Unsteadily, she ran her hands over her face and touched the jagged edges where Armitage’s horn had cut her open. Rafe hadn’t corrected the doctors when they had concluded it came from her being pistol-whipped. She hadn’t said a lot about that night.

She tried to get to her feet, feeling unsteady and a little woozy.
I chase an intruder out of the office and she does what? Drugs me somehow? Mesmerizes me?
Leaning against the wall for support, Rafe was at a loss to explain her feelings. She felt bereft, adrift, and more than a little confused. When the blonde had touched her, she’d felt curiously safe.
Who the hell is she? Because she sure as hell wasn’t Detective Powell.
She drew a finger along the scratch that broke her skin, tracing the path the woman had touched. It felt a little less raw. Rafe managed to push herself away from the wall and slowly made her way back to the office. Her mind spun.
What the fuck just happened here?

*

Never stopping in her mad dash across the city to her apartment, Ashley didn’t feel safe until she slammed home the bolt on her front door.

“Productive trip?” Eli asked from his usual perch before the picture board.

“One of the detectives can see me.”

“Really?”

Ashley balled her fists on her hips at his tone. “Yes, really. As in see me,
see
me
. She can see right through the glamour to the real me inside.” She was surprised to see Eli’s eyes widen, since he rarely changed expressions. “And that’s not all; she reacted to my healing.”

“You were
touching
her?” His voice rose an octave.

“She’s been hurt. I couldn’t help myself. Her injuries called to me.” Ashley threw herself into a chair and pulled her knees up to her chest. “You could have told me one of the detectives on this case was so damn gorgeous, for a start.”

“Is she, now?”

“Wickedly handsome, all dark and brooding, with a face just this side of austere…until I touched her and she melted in my hands. But she’s been hurt so badly. What happened to her, Eli? You have to know.”

Eli remained quiet.

“She also sports a scratch from a demon horn. It scalded me when I touched it. How did a member of the newly assigned DDU get into an altercation with a demon, Eli? Can you tell me that at least?”

“She’s a detective, so I’d wager one of her cases led her to a perpetrator whose blood wasn’t entirely human.”

Ashley scrubbed at her face with her hands. “You drive me insane sometimes, do you know that? I can never get a straight answer out of you.”

“I’m not here for answers, Ashley.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. The old ‘free will’ speech. I’ve heard it all my life, Eli. I know the drill.” She rested her head back against the chair and narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you have knowledge of her and the demon scratch
and
her role in the DDU before you sent me in?” She frowned as Eli looked at her with calm serenity. “You mention one word about destiny and I am throwing you out of the window.”

“We’re two stories up.”

“Then you’d better hope that the rumors you can fly are true.” Ashley dragged herself to her feet and handed him the file. “Here. See if there’s anything in there that adds to what we already know.” She grumbled as she slapped the USB stick down by her laptop. “Why I can’t go in as the private investigator I am is beyond me.”

“Because you’re not searching for the same thing they are,” Eli said.

Ashley stormed out of the room and locked herself in the bathroom. She caught sight of her image in the mirror, and for a long moment just looked. “She could see me. How long has it been since someone has really taken the time to see
me
?” She sat on the edge of the bathtub and hung her head. “And now she’s never going to want to see me again.” Staring at her fingertips, she recalled how soft Rafe’s face felt. “Trust me to find the only detective in the city touched by a demon. How’s that for damned fortune favoring the foolish?”

“You’ve been off all afternoon, Rafe. Do you need to wait in the car at this place?” Dean pulled up at the fifth meat storage facility and wrinkled his nose at the unmistakable smell of animal flesh wafting through the window.

Rafe waved him off. “I’m fine. I’ll probably never be able to order a burger again, but I’m okay, honestly. Second day properly back and all that. I’ll get into my stride again soon.”

Dean didn’t sound convinced. “If you’re sure. You’ve been awfully pale these past two hours, a little green even.”

“I’m sure, and if you dare try to hold my door open for me again, I swear I’ll pistol-whip you.”

Dean struggled to hold back a laugh. “Now, there’s the detective I know and love!” He pulled himself out of the car and watched as Rafe struggled to get out from her side. “How about we make this our last call today? I’m getting sick of seeing dead bodies hanging from hooks when they should be sizzling on my plate.”

Rafe unobtrusively leaned against the car for support. “Sure. If you can’t stomach any more. This one is the nearest to our first killing. Maybe we’ll strike lucky.”

“Keep dreaming, Detective.” Dean snorted and led the way. “The previous factories were all the same—full to the rafters with illegal immigrants who scatter like cockroaches the second the light hits our badges, and suddenly no one speaks English when we question them. You’d think they’d want him caught.”

“Maybe we can get some uniforms to canvass the area, some who have more than one language to their credit.”

“Do you really think he’s going to be a butcher?”

Rafe shrugged. “I trust Blythe’s profile. She has an excellent success rate. Her team is very much sought after even without the profiling. She works with an amazing team of detectives.”

“Is she single?” Dean asked, pretending to be looking at the building before them, but Rafe wasn’t fooled in the least.

“Don’t you ever give up?”

“You can’t blame a guy for trying to find the love of his life, and you have to admit, Rafe, she’s a stunner. All that black hair, and her eyes. A guy could get seriously lost in those eyes.”

Smiling smugly, Rafe let him continue to rhapsodize. He finally caught her look.

“Oh come on, don’t tell me she bats for your team.”

“I’m not saying anything about Special Agent Blythe Kent other than she is an exemplary agent.”

“Oh God, she is. She’s a lesbian,” he wailed. “But she’s such a beauty.”

“Yes, she is, and don’t worry. Many of the women who fall at her feet appreciate what a marvel she is too.”

Dean shook his head. “Another dream bites the dust.”

“You saw her briefly on the conference call, Dean, and you were already building the little house with the picket fence?”

“Sometimes you just feel an instant connection, that recognition as soul meets soul, the instant rush of lust…er, attraction,” he hastily amended.

Rafe’s good humor died at his words. She’d all but climbed into the arms of the blonde who’d breezed into their office, then disappeared.
I can’t believe I let her go
. Rafe had double-checked with Alona what reports had been given out. None of it was too sensitive that it couldn’t be handled properly should it wind up in the hands of the press. On subtly questioning her, Rafe was still disturbed that Alona had only seen Detective Powell in the office with them.

I can’t believe how out of character I acted and that I just let her slip from my grasp
, she berated herself again. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was the question of the woman’s identity or the way she made Rafe feel that bothered her the most.

*

Pretending to be part of the police headquarters night staff provided Ashley with her easy entry back into the department. She rode the elevator back up to the third floor and wheeled the cleaning cart she’d appropriated down the hallway. The DDU office was mercifully dark, and Ashley breathed a sigh of relief as she opened the door and eased inside.

“I wondered if you’d be back.”

Ashley clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her scream. She looked around the room until a small desk lamp clicked on, illuminating Detective Rafe Douglas.

“What are you still doing here?” Ashley went on the defensive.