Their Dark Hunter (Masters of Darkness) (2 page)

Tingling erupted in the pit of his stomach as he summoned Dray into the restroom. The door opened and the dark
-haired demon stepped in and locked the bolt behind him.

“What happened?” Vex heard the deepness in his tone. Knew that his man was probably shitting himself. But he didn’t care. He hadn’t lost a demon under his own roof now for decades, and it wasn’t about to become a regular occurrence on his clock.

“I’m not sure.”

Vex had him around the throat before he could ta
ke another breath. “Start again. This time you better hope you tell me what I want to hear.”

“I heard heels. Like
, high heels. I never even heard the shot.”

He eased his grip and stepped back. “So, it’s a woman.”

Dray took a ragged breath. “I’m almost positive. One minute Malcolm was talking, and next thing I know, I walked out of the stall and he was down.”

Pounding erupted on the door and Vex projected the evil
from his skin like an atom bomb. The talking behind the barrier disappeared and he turned and looked at his men. “Find out what you can. I want the tapes pulled for the hallway. I want to know if anyone saw anything suspicious. The faster we can figure out who did this, the better chance we have at stopping them before they can do it again. Report to me the moment you hear or see anything. I’m going out to scan the room.”

Vex unlocked the door and flung it open
with all the anger he felt. The club belonged to him. There was no way he was going to let some pesky angel, or anyone else come into his house and try to take out his men. No way in hell.

The music grew louder as he rounded the corner and came face to face with the large open room. His eyes scanned the crowds for anyone who looked out of place, or might even be watching for a reaction to the event. From what he could see, the environment was still full of lust, excitement, and everything normal for a club
’s atmosphere.

Vex
lowered his eyelids and let his senses take over. Although to the eye, everything might appear normal, he wasn’t stupid enough not to use his other gifts to search. The metallic smell of sin always hung heavily in the air, and the sweetness of the immortal was only a tiny speck in the wicked fragrance. But twisted within, there was something else just out of his reach. Something he couldn’t quite make out. Vex opened his eyes and let the feeling lead him. The bar was crowded as he neared the area, but the need to keep going drove him forward.

“You okay, boss?” Fiona, the bartender, narrowed her eyes at him and he nodded to the human girl as he passed. What the hell was that smell?
It was intoxicating to the point of making his mouth water. He breathed in deeply at the front door. The sound of a street bike starting had him glancing down the street.

Long, dark hair stuck out of the bottom of a black motorcycle helmet, and the woman was dressed in leather from the neck down.
As much as he wanted to bask in the curvy figure sitting on the bike, he glanced at her feet. The boots she wore were stilettos. Bingo. It had to be her.

Vex headed for the black Ducati, trying his best not to appear threatening. A black gloved hand lifted to where her mouth would have been and appeared to blow a kiss. He turned behind him to see if there was anyone there. Besides the people standing in line,
there was nothing.  In shock, he watched as her fingers came down to her palm, and she repeated the action. She was fucking waving at him. She knew what he was.

Power rushed through his limbs as he raced toward her.
Tires squealed, and he growled as he watched the bike take off at neck-breaking speed. Trace jerked to a stop at his side.

“We got her on the cameras. Come take a look.”

Vex clenched his fists.
Dammit
. He hated that she had gotten away. And the kiss and waving…it was like she was looking to instigate a fight. Well, if this woman wanted to play games, he was all too willing to introduce her to the rules.

Chapter Two

Birds flew overhead as Melody stared up into the tinted, blue sky. What had she been doing? Her mind felt confused, and she blinked a few times trying to figure out where she was. The moment she sat up, aching raced through her body. The weight of her helmet was almost too much to hold her head up. As her neck rolled to the side, she took in the damage to her outfit.

The leather
pants were torn, and she was pretty sure from the fire racing up her back that the material was shredded there too. A groan came from her mouth as throbbing pulsed in her head.

What the hell had happened last night? Melody forced herself to stand and noticed that nothing was broken. Thank god for that. Pieces of her bike
were scattered throughout the brush, and she saw her Ducati on its side against a mesquite tree.

She undid the strap under her chin and pulled the helmet off. The lightness of her head fel
t ten million times better. She breathed in deeply. The air was stifling in the midday sun, but nowhere near as suffocating as wearing the helmet. From the position of the sun, she had to have been out here for a while.

The back road was completely deserted as she scanned the area. It wasn’t surprising no one had found her. There was only one house down this road. Hers. And it wasn’t like she ever had a lot of company.

“Fuck.” Dirt flew up as she kicked the loose sand. Her bike was ruined. What was she going to do now? Melody froze as she tried to recall the previous night. Work. Visions of the hospital projected in her mind. She could remember finishing out her shift at seven. As she’d gone to leave, Melody could remember Olive calling out to her from her room. The girl was a few months over the age of ten. When she’d been admitted to the children’s hospital, the leukemia had already taken its toll. Olive’s body rejected all treatment they tried, and Melody knew the sweet, little girl didn’t have much time left. Not just because she was a nurse, but the gift she’d grown up with told her the ugly truth.

Hey sweetie, you doing okay?
Melody had walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. Big brown eyes looked up at her. The sadness that emanated from them broke her heart.

You’re leaving, already?

She had grinned at the girl, nodding.
Yeah, my shift is over. I should be back next Thursday, though.

Oh.
Olive had looked down at her hands. Life was so unfair. This little girl was so full of good, and yet she was being taken without her life really starting. Melody kissed her head, bald from the chemo treatments, and picked up a book from the side table.

Would you like me to read you a story before I leave?

The little girl shook her head.
Not tonight. My mommy already did.

But you’re still awake. Usually after your story, you’re fast asleep.

Something had flashed behind Olive’s eyes as she stared up at Melody.
“Do you think there are really angels in heaven?”

The question was so unexpected that it
had taken Melody aback.
I know for a fact there are
. She had returned the girl’s smile. The conversation wasn’t one she had felt was appropriate for her to be having with such a young girl. Melody had shifted under Olive’s innocent gaze.
Now you try not to think about that, and get some sleep. The angel’s will come for all of us one day, but not any time soon.
She put the book down.
I’ll see you next Thursday, Olive.
It had been a lie. She knew the little girl wasn’t going to be there, and the thought was downright sickening. It brought tears to Melody’s eyes as she rode the elevator down to the ground floor of the hospital.

Changing in the restroom had been
simple enough since she brought her backpack everywhere, but it came even easier knowing that while good got taken away every day, evil was thriving under everyone’s nose. Images of the club burst into her head and she sucked in air. Melody’s eyes lowered. The gun still rested in her knee-high boot. She could feel the pressure against her calf. “It worked.” A laugh came from her mouth and she started clapping. “I can’t believe it.”

The house wasn’t but a hundred yards from where she had wrecked. Melody began to jog
in the boots, swearing as the heels stuck in loose spots of the caliche road. Sweat was covering the inside of her outfit and the cut she had down her leg was on fire by the time she opened her front door.

“Leon!” She placed the gun on the coffee table and unzipped the outfit
and boots, peeling them off. The damn things were stuck to her skin. She winced at the pain, but disregarded it while she scanned the small living room and adjoining kitchen. Cereal was left out of the table and Lucky Charms were scattered across the dark wooden surface like a toddler had been set loose. “Leon! Where are you?”

Music was blasting from the back bedroom.
Melody walked over and pushed the door open. Dark hair was flying out around her friend’s face as he shook his head back and forth with his eyes closed. His hands where making drumming motions, while he sang the lyrics to the song at the top of his lungs. Melody picked up his shoe that was by the door and tossed it to him. It hit one of his hands, and his eyes flew open.

“Mel! Hey, where have you been?” He got up and turned off the music. “Holy…did you crash your bike again?
That’s a nasty cut you have going on there.”

Instinctively, her eyes lowered
to the dry blood, and the gash on her leg. “Yeah. Would have been nice if you would have looked for me. I’ve been baking just down the road for hours, unconscious.” She waved her hand through the air. “Anyway, who cares … that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.” A smile came to her face. “I did it. I figured out the way to send them back. At least temporarily.”

The big brown eyes of her friend grew at her words. “You're joking.”

“No.” Melody was sure her heart was going to explode. “I did it, Leon. The holy water capped in the bullets worked.” She started dancing around. Her dark hair bounced over her bra-covered chest as she jumped up and down, waving her hands in the air.

Leon’s six-foot frame collapsed to edge
of the bed. “I can’t believe it,” he whispered. The long hair shadowed his face as he looked down. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy, but Mel…” His eyes searched her face and she became still at his seriousness. “Did anyone see you? Aren’t you scared? There’s so many of them. And then, there’s you.”

Melody felt her
lips part. She wanted to argue. To tell him to just be happy for her, but she couldn’t. He was right. There wasn’t another demon hunter for hundreds of miles. No one even knew the evil beings existed, except immortals, and angels, and she wasn’t either one of those. She wasn’t even completely human. Only half.

“I had my helmet on. No one saw my face.”

“Wait.” Leon stood, and cocked his head to the side. “But other demons saw you? They saw your bike?”

A frustrated sigh escaped her mouth. “Well, yeah. When I was leaving the club a man walked out
.” A shiver shook her body, and it wasn’t a bad one. She had to admit. The first time her eyes locked on the gorgeous man, the pull was like gravity. “I think he was the master. His power was overwhelming.”

“You did it at
Club Street!” Leon walked to the closet, throwing open the door. “Get some damn clothes on. We gotta get out of here. Cameras, Mel!” He jerked a shirt off the hanger, forcefully. His abs flexed as he pulled it over his head. “I swear, sometimes you don’t use your damn head at all. I’m surprised the house isn’t already crawling with demons.”

She rolled her eyes. “Leon. Calm. I had fake tags on my bike. They won’t be able to track me down. And even if the cameras did pick up my face
, what are they going to do, put up wanted posters? Come on.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Thanks for getting dressed, though. I need you to help me get my bike in the back of your truck. I’ll try to fix it myself.”

Waves pushed against Melody’s skin. It always happened when his temper spiked. “I don’t think you understand,” Leon growled. “Dem
ons are extremely clever. And the master, of all people.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’m an immortal, Mel. I’ve been in this world a hell of a long time. I know the way they work. Tell me this. How many people around here drive a black Ducati?”

For the first time fear hit Melody. “Not many.”

“No,” he said, low. “We live in a small town, twenty miles from the city…a
small
city, at that. There’s maybe a handful in a fifty-mile radius.” He slid on his shoes. “They
will
find you if you stay. Forget the bike. We have to get the hell out of dodge, now.”

“I can’t leave, Leon. Where would we go?”

Clothes hit the bed as he starting tossing them from the closet. “We’ll stay with Harvey for a while. He’ll take us in.”

Melody’s hand came to her hip. “I don’t think s
o. You go. I’m staying.” She turned around and headed for her room. There was so much she still needed to do. First thing. Shower. Banging coming from Leon’s room had her shaking her head as she grabbed some clothes.

The moment she had met the immortal, she knew there was something different about him. He was the first of his kind she’d ever met. The smell of his skin triggered a longing deep down in the pit of her stomach. At first she thought maybe it was one of those weird cases of love at first sight, and what she was experiencing was butterflies. He was, after all, beautiful. He looked every bit like an a
ngel. But after a few days, he’d told her he was an immortal. The emotion she suddenly realized wasn’t love. It was just the good in him that she’d picked up on. He was nothing more than a brother to her. From that moment on they’d been inseparable.

“Mel! Let’s go.” He rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a trash bag. “Hurry. Get moving. You still have to pack.”

“I’m not going, Leon. This is my home. I’m not afraid of demons. I have plenty of bullets left, and I’ll be ready in case they show up.”

The bags fell to the floor as he rushed toward her. “Oh, you’re going.” Melody r
an into the restroom and locked the door just before he got to her. Pounding erupted and she stepped back. She knew his strength.

“You open this door
, right now. If you don’t, I’m going to break it down.”

She reached over and turned on the shower. “You don’t want to do that. I’m not dressed.”

A huff could be heard through the thin wooden barrier. “Five minutes. That’s all you get. If you’re not out, I’m coming in whether you’re wearing clothing or not. The joke will be on you showing up to Harvey’s, butt ass naked. Now, get going!”

Melody felt her jaw drop. She’d never heard him say a curse word in the three years she had known him. Leon was a saint. The reason why he’d fallen to begin with wasn’t clear. He’d never told her, and she was too respectful to ask.
She had been hoping he’d tell her when he felt comfortable enough, but he never had.

Stinging raced down her leg while the water ran over the cut. Bruising surrounded the deep laceration. Damn, she’d wiped out pretty good. If
only she could remember why … or how. Knowing her, she was probably going way too fast down her gravel road. It wouldn’t be the first time this sort of thing had happened. Still, she figured she would have learned by now.

“Three minutes!”

Melody lathered her hair with the soap and nearly screamed at the agony that raced down her back. How had she forgotten about that? At the banging on the door, she felt herself hurrying. She wasn’t sure if he would really come in or not, but just in case, she sure as hell didn’t want her hair to be full of shampoo.

“Two minutes.”

“Bull, that was more like thirty seconds!” She quickly washed her body and turned off the water. The moment the mirror was wiped off she took in her back. “Oh my…”

“Time
’s up!”

Melody wrapped the towel around
tightly just as the door swung open. Her eyes narrowed, angrily. “Dammit, Leon. Didn’t you hear the water turn off?” Brown eyes took her body in. She felt herself shift under his gaze. There’d never been sexual tension between them before, not like this. She couldn’t stop the uncomfortable feeling that washed through her.

The fallen angel stood before her, not moving.
The amount of arousal pouring from his skin had her stepping back. Melody hardly ever picked up on the scent of people’s emotions, but just knowing she could sense his was a bit scary.

“
Leon.” She said his name loudly, trying to break the fixation she had on her body.

His eyes lifted to her face
. Slowly, his head shook back and forth. “I’m sorry.” He stepped back. “Get dressed and let’s go.”

“But—
“

“You’re going.” The look he gave her said he was serious about dragging her out. Melody slammed the door and put on some jeans and a t-shirt. She would only stay there for a few days and let this blow over. There was no way any demons could track her down. Not even the master she’d seen standing outside. He entered back into her mind and she felt
herself become wet at just the thought of him. It took everything she had not to moan out loud. Damn, he’d been sexy in that dark suit. Too sexy and powerful looking, if she wanted to admit. It was best if she pushed him as far from her mind as she could. What she needed to focus on was hunting demons.