Watch and all of a sudden you think you know about me? You think you know—”
“I know you started your first fire when you were thirteen. A fire that killed your father.”
“Stepfather.” There was a difference. An important one.
He crept closer. Not that those cuffs let him stray too far. “Why? Why the hell do you do it? You don’t have to hurt people. You don’t have to use the fire at all. You could’ve been normal—”
Was he crazy? “Demon, I’m as far from normal as you are.” Did he think she’d chosen to be like this? Did he know how many nights she’d cried and begged God to just let her be normal? Jana sucked in a long breath. “And I don’t know what you’ve heard about Ignitors….” Because it wasn’t like her kind were thick on the ground. “But when the flames start that first time, there’s no controlling the fire.” Not when the flames burn so fast, and you scream and beg for it to stop.
Only for the fire to flare hotter.
It had taken her years to learn control, and those lessons had been painful.
“You’ve killed people with your fire.” A muscle flexed in his jaw.
“Oh, and you’re Mr. Innocent?” Doubtful. She’d never met an innocent demon. “I bet you’ve just gone your whole life, and you haven’t ever hurt anyone, right? You’ve never—”
“The last person I killed was an Ignitor.”
Didn’t expect that. Jana swallowed and studied him, letting her eyes sweep over his face. The curl of his lip seemed cruel. His eyes too sharp and hard.
He stared at her and said, “I broke her neck. She never even knew I was coming for her, not until it was too late.”
Well, damn. Goose bumps rose on her arms. Not from the cold. Not this time. “Why?”
“Because she was working with a band of vampires. She was torturing my friends, and I wasn’t going to stand by and watch them die.”
So she’d died instead.
His hand lifted. Dammit, Jana flinched. But he was just brushing back her hair. His knuckles grazed her cheek. “Now it’s your turn.”
Her breath caught.
“Why do you do it? Make me understand. Give me something here. Why’d you start the fires?”
Screams that wouldn’t stop. “Because I could.” That’s all she’d say. Was that a fair exchange of information? No. But then, she hadn’t forced him to answer her question.
And she wouldn’t answer his.
Jana spun away and marched for the thick line of brush, dragging him with her. “The motorcycle’s over here.”
Because even the idea of being turned over to the folks at Night Watch didn’t seem so bad right then. But ripping her soul open and baring her past to the demon? Yeah, rain check, please.
She didn’t bare her soul for anyone. Her secrets were hers, and she planned to take them to the grave.
They stopped for gas at some rundown station. The bike vibrated beneath her legs and exhaust drifted around them until Zane killed the engine.
He was driving this time. The big, bad demon in control.
Jana heard a gasp when she got off the motorcycle, and she turned her head to see an older lady with stone-gray hair and narrowed eyes staring at her. No, not at her exactly, but rather at the cuffs.
Fabulous. Between the cuffs and her gaping shirt, Jana knew she was the image of wholesomeness. Oh, well. She flashed the lady a smile. “He’s a little kinky.” So am I.
Zane swore.
The lady’s jaw dropped. Then she slammed her door and drove away with a squeal of tires.
Her smile spread a bit. A growl reached her ears. She glanced at Zane and found him frowning at her. “What?”
He jerked the gas nozzle out of the tank and shoved it back into place on the pump.
“Come on.” She sidled closer and ignored the stench of gasoline. She always had to be careful at places like this. One wrong thought… boom! “Are you trying to say that you don’t have a kinky side? Because I’m not buying that.” She put her hand on his chest. Let her fingers rest just over his heart. A nice, fast beat. “I saw you last night, remember? I know just how wild and rough you are inside. You wanted sex, fast and hot.”
His nostrils flared and his heartbeat kicked up even more. Interesting.
She tipped her head back. “Have you had a few fantasies? While we were on the road, and I was wrapped around you, while we’re chained together, have you thought about—”
“What kind of game are you playing?” he demanded and she heard the arousal in his voice. She could see it in the taut lines of his face. If she looked down-she’d peeked when they’d hopped off the bike-she knew he’d still be hard for her.
What kind of game was she playing? The only kind she liked. The dangerous kind. But she was running out of options.
“Get on the bike, Jana.”
She didn’t move. “You know”-she let her lashes lower, veiling her eyes, and she dropped her hand—“I could burn this whole place in about two seconds.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her up. No strain there. Such a strong demon. Zane had already healed from the injuries he’d gotten in the wreck and from the tranq shots.
He eased her onto the motorcycle and kept his left hand around her a bit too long. “You could, but you won’t.”
She blinked. “And how do you know that?”
“Because you scoped the place when we pulled up. You saw the two kids pumping up the tires on their bikes, and the old man behind the register inside.” He paused. “You saw them, and I saw your face.”
Dammit. He’d seen too much.
“You’re not blowing anything up here.” He eased in front of her and started the cycle quickly. He knew how to hotwire, too. Figured.
The cycle roared. “Hold tight,” he ordered, like she had much of a choice. “Just another twenty minutes and we’ll be back in the city.”
Yeah, they’d had to drive for a while because she’d hauled butt and gotten them as far away as she could last night. Only to be dragged back now.
She closed her eyes, waiting for him to shoot the cycle forward.
Nothing happened.
Jana opened one eye and found Zane gazing at her over his shoulder. “What?”
His brows were low. “If you were really a cold-hearted killer, it wouldn’t matter about the kids.”
Just figuring that out? Give the man a cookie. “I’m saving all my fire for you, lover.”
He laughed. Flashed her those too-white teeth and laughed.
Then the motorcycle surged forward.
Jana held on tight. The guy’s muscles were like stone beneath her hands and her hair whipped behind her. No helmet. She might as well be begging for death.
Once he dumped her at Night Watch and those powers that be decided what to do with her, well, she just might actually beg.
No.
Begging didn’t do any good. She’d begged before. When she’d first been locked up. Begged to see her mom. Begged for help.
She’d gotten nothing.
Then when those bastards out there on her trail had learned about her power, she’d begged to be left alone.
What had Zane said? Normal. Yeah, she’d wanted to be normal. She’d begged for that, too.
Begging got a girl nowhere, fast. Fighting, shoving, letting the fire rage-that was the only way to make a difference.
When she got to Night Watch, she’d do whatever was necessary to stay alive. And if she had to let out the flames, then the place would burn.
And if innocent people were inside?
She pressed her face against Zane’s back and wondered just how far into the darkness she was willing to go.
The motorcycle took another curve, nice and slow. Zane hadn’t driven fast. He’d been careful the whole time. After one accident, maybe he was worried about a repeat. She sure was.
They eased from the curve, heading down the long road, and sirens screamed at them.