Luther's Return
Page 11
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“Did you recognize him?”
Eddie shook his head. “I only got a partial of his face. And no voice. There’s no audio on the recording.”
“Run what you’ve got through our database at HQ; see whether we can get anything with facial recognition.”
Eddie nodded. “I already sent all the footage to the server at HQ.”
Samson turned back to Luther, narrowing his eyes. “Who took Isabelle?”
“Didn’t you hear Eddie? It wasn’t me!”
“One of your men?” Samson continued grilling him.
Luther sucked more air into his lungs. “I don’t have any men. I was in prison for twenty years. Remember?”
“Oh, I remember.” A dangerous undertone colored Samson’s voice. “And now you’re out. And back here. On the night my daughter disappears.”
“I’ve got nothing to do with that.”
“We’ll see.” He motioned to Zane and Amaury. “Cuff him and take him to HQ.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” Luther warned.
Samson went toe to toe with him. “No, you’re the one who’s making a mistake by showing up here.” He tossed a sideways glance at his subordinates. “Interrogate him downtown.” Then he swung around and looked back at Eddie. “Did the guy on the video touch anything? Doors? Walls? Anything at all?”
“There’s a chance we can get some fingerprints off the door, but it means we’ll need to get fingerprints from everybody else too in order to rule them out.”
“Do it!”
“I’ll get a team on that,” Blake interrupted him, then nodded to Eddie. “You and Thomas analyze the recording and run it through the system.”
Not too gently, Zane and Amaury grabbed Luther’s arms.
“Welcome back,” Amaury gritted.
“I hear we’re related now,” Luther replied. His protégé Eddie being Amaury’s brother-in-law made them practically family.
Amaury flashed his fangs at him, apparently not too pleased about that fact. “Trust me, that won’t have any bearing on how I treat you.”
A shove from Zane catapulted Luther closer to the door of the backstage area. The woman in the blue costume still stood there, her lips moving as she mumbled something to herself.
Tears rimmed her eyes. “It’s all my fault.”
The words registered but didn’t make sense. Luther hesitated for an instant, resisting Zane and Amaury’s grip, and inhaled.
The scent filling his nostrils made him jerk back in surprise.
The woman wasn’t human.
5
Katie’s breath shuddered and her heart skidded to an abrupt halt. Luther was staring at her, eyes widened, lips parted, still showing the tips of his fangs. His nostrils flared. Though she was used to being around vampires and had never been scared of them, this was different. Luther was different. He wasn’t civilized like the others. Anything but. Feral came to mind. It fit with his admission that he’d been in prison for twenty years.
His eyes were dark, almost black, but around the rim of his irises a golden hue began to shimmer. It was a sight from which she couldn’t tear herself away. Almost as if he was using some unseen power to draw her to him. To entice her to approach. To catch her in his net.
She felt paralyzed, unable to move, unable to breathe for fear he would tighten the invisible chains he’d wrapped around her and suffocate her. In her mind’s eye she could see it happening. Her instinct told her to step back, to extricate herself from his spell. But something else inside her, something purely female—and purely wanton—overrode her sense of self-preservation.
This man was danger personified. Her entire life, she’d tried to avoid danger, tried to stay safe, but suddenly that very notion seemed cowardly. Danger suddenly called to her. Tempted her. Told her to throw caution to the wind. To live a little. To take a risk.
Luther’s eyes narrowed, and his lips moved. You, he mouthed.
But before she could figure out what he meant by that, a voice broke the spell she seemed to be under. “Katie!” It was her brother Wesley.
Luther’s head whirled in Wes’s direction, his look changing to one of battle-readiness.
The moment Wes reached them, he pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. “Hey, love, you okay?”
Katie could only nod, before Samson interrupted, “We need you to find her, Wes.”
With a regretful look, Wes shook his head. “Sorry, Samson, but she’s a hybrid. Her vampire side prevents me from scrying for her. I have no way of locating her. Not with witchcraft anyway.”
Eddie shook his head. “I only got a partial of his face. And no voice. There’s no audio on the recording.”
“Run what you’ve got through our database at HQ; see whether we can get anything with facial recognition.”
Eddie nodded. “I already sent all the footage to the server at HQ.”
Samson turned back to Luther, narrowing his eyes. “Who took Isabelle?”
“Didn’t you hear Eddie? It wasn’t me!”
“One of your men?” Samson continued grilling him.
Luther sucked more air into his lungs. “I don’t have any men. I was in prison for twenty years. Remember?”
“Oh, I remember.” A dangerous undertone colored Samson’s voice. “And now you’re out. And back here. On the night my daughter disappears.”
“I’ve got nothing to do with that.”
“We’ll see.” He motioned to Zane and Amaury. “Cuff him and take him to HQ.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” Luther warned.
Samson went toe to toe with him. “No, you’re the one who’s making a mistake by showing up here.” He tossed a sideways glance at his subordinates. “Interrogate him downtown.” Then he swung around and looked back at Eddie. “Did the guy on the video touch anything? Doors? Walls? Anything at all?”
“There’s a chance we can get some fingerprints off the door, but it means we’ll need to get fingerprints from everybody else too in order to rule them out.”
“Do it!”
“I’ll get a team on that,” Blake interrupted him, then nodded to Eddie. “You and Thomas analyze the recording and run it through the system.”
Not too gently, Zane and Amaury grabbed Luther’s arms.
“Welcome back,” Amaury gritted.
“I hear we’re related now,” Luther replied. His protégé Eddie being Amaury’s brother-in-law made them practically family.
Amaury flashed his fangs at him, apparently not too pleased about that fact. “Trust me, that won’t have any bearing on how I treat you.”
A shove from Zane catapulted Luther closer to the door of the backstage area. The woman in the blue costume still stood there, her lips moving as she mumbled something to herself.
Tears rimmed her eyes. “It’s all my fault.”
The words registered but didn’t make sense. Luther hesitated for an instant, resisting Zane and Amaury’s grip, and inhaled.
The scent filling his nostrils made him jerk back in surprise.
The woman wasn’t human.
5
Katie’s breath shuddered and her heart skidded to an abrupt halt. Luther was staring at her, eyes widened, lips parted, still showing the tips of his fangs. His nostrils flared. Though she was used to being around vampires and had never been scared of them, this was different. Luther was different. He wasn’t civilized like the others. Anything but. Feral came to mind. It fit with his admission that he’d been in prison for twenty years.
His eyes were dark, almost black, but around the rim of his irises a golden hue began to shimmer. It was a sight from which she couldn’t tear herself away. Almost as if he was using some unseen power to draw her to him. To entice her to approach. To catch her in his net.
She felt paralyzed, unable to move, unable to breathe for fear he would tighten the invisible chains he’d wrapped around her and suffocate her. In her mind’s eye she could see it happening. Her instinct told her to step back, to extricate herself from his spell. But something else inside her, something purely female—and purely wanton—overrode her sense of self-preservation.
This man was danger personified. Her entire life, she’d tried to avoid danger, tried to stay safe, but suddenly that very notion seemed cowardly. Danger suddenly called to her. Tempted her. Told her to throw caution to the wind. To live a little. To take a risk.
Luther’s eyes narrowed, and his lips moved. You, he mouthed.
But before she could figure out what he meant by that, a voice broke the spell she seemed to be under. “Katie!” It was her brother Wesley.
Luther’s head whirled in Wes’s direction, his look changing to one of battle-readiness.
The moment Wes reached them, he pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. “Hey, love, you okay?”
Katie could only nod, before Samson interrupted, “We need you to find her, Wes.”
With a regretful look, Wes shook his head. “Sorry, Samson, but she’s a hybrid. Her vampire side prevents me from scrying for her. I have no way of locating her. Not with witchcraft anyway.”
