Darkness Descending (10 page)

“Nah. I was just another face among many.” She tapped a finger against her forehead. “I acted like a babbling monkey so the other prisoners would stay away. Wasn’t bad, really. I had a roof over my head and regular meals. Even got a shower once a week. I only did fourteen days.” She grinned. “Overcrowding, you know. Not enough space for all the criminals.”

“Did you really think it was the best thing to do, coming back to New Orleans?” Though Maddox spoke softly, he watched her with an intensity that scraped against her nerves. His words and relaxed attitude didn’t match the intensity simmering in his eyes. Like a cougar perched on a rock, he watched her the way such a predator would stalk prey.

She clenched a hand, nails digging into her palm. “I had no choice. I still don’t know what really happened to Amanda.” Her grip tightened, painfully so. “I keep wondering if she’s out there now. Is she one of them? Or did one of your people—” Throat closing, she couldn’t finish the thought.

“I don’t know. You were definitely one that got away from us. Could be she did, too.”

Heart skipping a beat, Jesse felt her blood pressure drop. “The storm, I guess.”

He nodded. “Yes. It wasn’t the best of times for anyone in New Orleans.” He leaned forward, closing the narrow gap between them. “You never said how you two were taken.”

Jesse clenched her eyes shut. Why, oh, why did Maddox have to remind her how stupid the two of them were? Her tongue rasped over dry lips. “Our birthday was Thursday, and we went to Sneakers to have a few drinks after work the next night. We were blowing off some steam, and we’d partied a little too hard, got a little too drunk to drive. We thought we’d take the bus home, but we missed the last one out.”

He cocked his head. “Two girls out late at night isn’t a good idea at any time.”

Jesse suddenly felt sick, ready to throw up. The coffee in her stomach was curdling, turning to acid and burning its way through her. Damn, he was pulling all the strings, reviving bits and pieces of the assault she’d struggled to suppress.

“It was stupid, I know. But it wasn’t my idea to accept a ride, either.”

He drew his brows together and pursed his lips, obviously lost in thought for a minute. “You got into a car with strangers?”

Guilty as charged.

She nodded. “There were these two guys at the bar who kept giving us the eye, sending over drinks. We flirted, but it was nothing serious. They were cute and seemed nice enough. It was supposed to be harmless, just getting to know them.”

Jesse grimaced as she spoke. It was inevitable the guys would offer to take them home. That was the natural and gentlemanly thing for them to do. It didn’t seem like it would be a bad idea, either. She and her sister were both wasted.

“They’re okay,” Amanda had laughed. “Let’s live a little.”

Twenty-four hours later her twin was dead. Or maybe undead.

Maddox shifted in his seat, leveling her with a look. “The guys weren’t what you thought they were.”

“Hardly.” Jesse clenched her eyes shut. How many times had she and Amanda heard that same warning from their parents? Every kid was given the standard primer early on: Don’t accept candy from strangers. Don’t let anyone touch you in ways that make you uncomfortable. And most important of all, stay away from people and places you don’t know.

She wished she’d listened to her own inner voice that night, and heeded it. “It’s all kind of blurry in my mind,” she admitted. “Their names, or where they took us.” Her throat worked as she swallowed heavily. “I—I don’t remember most of what happened.”

Part of that was a lie. She did remember bits and pieces. She especially recalled how mesmerized she’d been by the feel of warm lips caressing her bare flesh; how willing she’d been to surrender everything for another calming touch, another painfully chilling kiss . . .

What kind of person would admit she’d enjoyed having not only her body but her soul ravished?

Maddox reached across the table and touched her hand. The shock of skin-to-skin contact was instant and electric.

Eyes flying open, Jesse reared back and pulled her hand away. Right now she didn’t want to be touched by anyone. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay?”

Maddox sighed and leaned back against his seat. “Take it easy,” he advised. “I’m sorry to drag up the bad times.”

She offered a wan smile. “It’s not your fault it happened . . .”

Sassy reappeared, carrying two plates heaping with food. Setting one down in front of Maddox, she slid the other over to Jesse. “Here ya go, honey,” she said, flashing a mile-wide grin.

“The best breakfast you’ll ever eat. I had Louis add some extra bacon on for the skinny girl. Good food’ll put a few pounds on her little self.”

Maddox nodded back. “Thanks, dear. As usual, it looks edible. No wonder your roaches are so fat.”

The black woman rolled her eyes. “It’s easier to feed’em than kill ’em,” she guffawed.

“I’m sure they appreciate it.” He picked up his empty coffee cup. “If we could just get a refill, all will be well.”

“Sure enough, honey.” Tossing a wink, Sassy bustled off again.

Maddox reached for a fork, which he wiped on his T-shirt before stabbing it into his food. “Eat up.”

Ten minutes ago Jesse had been hungry enough to eat a horse. Now she barely had an appetite. Just looking at the plate heaped with scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and grits swimming in butter made her sick all over again.

Pushing the plate away, Jesse lowered her head into her hands. It had been a mistake to come back to New Orleans. She knew that now. She should have stayed away, running as fast and far as she could.

While she couldn’t fully fathom the probing behind his questions, one thing was for sure. Maddox deValois clearly knew the dark, devouring netherworld of the Telave. Whether it was premonition or a self-preserving instinct, all warning signs were pointing the same way. If she became involved with him, he would somehow send her spiraling into the abyss of the undead.

It was a ludicrous idea, but she couldn’t allay the images invading her mind. The notion terrified her.

The girl had barely touched her food. She wasn’t eating. That wasn’t good.

Maddox looked down at his own empty plate. In less than fifteen minutes he’d managed to scarf down the entire huge meal, and he had even asked for seconds. His coffee cup held a third refill, and he was considering a fourth.

While he had eaten like a man fearful this was his last meal, Jesse had grazed, taking a nibble of bacon, a taste of eggs, a spoonful of grits. By now her food had grown cold. Congealed with grease, it looked thoroughly unappetizing.

So much for a hearty Southern breakfast.

Pushing his empty plate aside, he checked the clock hanging above the register. Another half hour and he’d have to get a move on. His boss was a hard-ass who didn’t tolerate late or lazy men.

He glanced back at Jesse. She sat with her head down, fork perched limply in one hand. Now and again she would lift a bite toward her mouth, grimace, and put it down again. The girl was already skinny for her height. She couldn’t afford to drop more weight. If she lost ten more pounds, she would be emaciated. The demon inside her was literally sucking her dry. If it didn’t stop soon, she’d simply shrivel up and blow away.

She’s so young
, he thought.
It isn’t right for her to try and fight a thing like this. Death would have been a mercy.
As always, the idea of putting her down lingered in the back of his mind. People euthanized animals when they were too ill or diseased to live without pain. Was her agony any less because she was human, a being perceived to have a soul? The demon flourishing inside her was clearly taking its toll, not only physically but mentally. Though she’d managed a year with the thing growing inside her, she was an emotional and physical wreck.

She’d probably have a better chance of survival if she simply gave in and fed the demon. But what might she morph into afterward? No one had ever encountered a living vampire. With a mind and will of her own, she wouldn’t be a part of the collective at all.

Again he had to consider the Enlightened One’s promise to send a leader to guide them. He’d always imagined it would be a man, a great towering oak of pure male strength and power. A half-starved girl who weighed perhaps a hundred pounds soaking wet wasn’t what he imagined a celestial champion would look like.

Then again, looks could be deceiving. She might be a weapon they could use against the Telave—a weapon possessing all their strengths, but none of their infirmities.

The more he considered it, the more he liked the idea. There had to be a reason Jesse Burke had stumbled into his path.

He just needed to figure out what that reason was.

Leaning back, he lit another cigarette. “You should try to eat a little more,” he suggested. “If you’re really going to do what you think you have to, you’re going to need your strength.”

The ensuing silence between them extended and became uncomfortable. The rest of the people in the diner buzzed around them. Idle chatter filled the gap.

Sighing with frustration, Jesse finally dropped her fork. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought I was hungry.” She blanched and wrapped her fingers around her coffee cup instead, as if seeking its warmth. For the first time he noticed her long elegant fingers were free of grime and no more dirt caked her nails. “Guess I’m not.”

“Everyone needs food,” he prodded. “You don’t eat, you don’t live.”

She barely managed a shrug. “So?”

“It’s a shame to let good food go to waste.”

Jesse pulled a face. “Who says this is any good to begin with?”

Reminding himself to have patience, Maddox puffed on his cigarette. Jesse had lived on the fringes of normal society since becoming infected. Her social skills were going to be more than a little bit rusty. He also thought he detected more than a little bit of self-pity in her whine.

She needed a good swift kick.

“There’s no way I’m taking you out on the streets after dark,” he said, trying not to sound too gruff or negative. “If you’re not strong enough, you’re going to be left behind.”

Swallowing hard, she glanced up at him. Her gaze met his with a bravado he knew she was faking. “I can hold a gun.”

He exhaled in frustration. “There’s more to hunting these things than pointing a shotgun and pulling a trigger. For one, that damn thing has a kick that would knock you right on your skinny little ass. For two, those damn things can move fast. Sometimes faster than the human eye can even see. You can’t shoot what you can’t aim at.”

She instantly frowned. He watched her gather her thoughts, knowing she was trying to put a counterargument together, and failing. “So you’re saying I’m basically useless.”

Maddox tapped a line of gray ash onto his empty plate. He felt a little cruel for putting her through this, but he had no choice. A chain was only as strong as its weakest link. “I don’t think you’re useless,” he said slowly. “You have the power of a demon brewing inside you. If you could learn to control it, utilize its strengths, I believe you’d be a very powerful fighter.”

Jesse shook her head, and her frown deepened. The shadows under her eyes emphasized the depths to which they were sunken. “I’m not feeding it.”

He sucked in more smoke. “I’m not saying to let it take over,” he countered. “But you’ve obviously got some control; otherwise it would have simply extinguished you and taken over your body, which is how the Telave work. You’ve been able to fend it off thus far, and that’s promising. I believe if you were a bit stronger physically, you could make the little beast sit up and take notice.”

A spark of recognition glinted in the depths of her eyes. She flexed her hands. “You know, I feel it boiling beneath my skin. Some kind of”—she shook her head—“I don’t know. Energy, maybe is what you’d call it, as though I’ve grabbed on to a live wire. Sometimes I feel so furiously strong, it’s frightening. And just when I think that strength is a part of me, the demon sucks it away.”

“When do you feel that strength?”

The spark dimmed a little. “When it’s hungry,” she admitted. “And when I think I just might want to give it a taste.”

He studied her for a minute. “Then that’s the carrot to dangle in front of its face. The promise to feed.”

The spark died. “No. That’s the one thing I’m trying to stay away from. I won’t bargain with it, or promise it anything just to run a little faster or jump a little higher.”

Maddox eased off. He could tell by her body language that she was terribly afraid. She wasn’t ready. Not yet. Maybe later she would be. For now, no. Fear still crippled her.

“Then you’ll have to do it on your own,” he advised. “And that will mean building your body the old-fashioned way.” He was preying on her insecurities, but it was the only way he could think of to move her toward serious action. Right now he wasn’t prepared to cut her loose and let her sink.