Page 141 of Dark Lover

The woman paled impossibly. “Aren’t you the police? I just called 911. Poor Mrs. Hemmer! Mr. Hemmer will be devastated.”

Sam cursed and ran into the apartment. “Where is she?”

“She’s in her bed,” the housekeeper cried.

Sam bypassed the elevator and took the stairs, her sister and Macleod on her heels. She ran down the end of the hall, past the bedroom where she’d first seen Ian, assuming the master suite to be at the corridor’s end.

She was right.

Becca lay naked and very dead on the king-size bed.

“A pleasure crime,” Macleod stated flatly. “He took her power.”

Sam walked over to Becca, actually feeling sorry for her. She never reacted to any kind of demonic crime, but now, her gut churned. “How can he tell?” she asked Tabby. She knew it had been a pleasure crime, too, but they always brought in the CDA lab team to verify it.

“We come across pleasure crimes almost every day, Sam. They’re epidemic in our time. Macleod can sense when the rape was demonic. Besides, look at her face.”

Sam realized that she hadn’t wanted to look closely at Becca. She didn’t know what was wrong with her or why she was almost upset. She closed her eyes and then stared at her face. Her expression was ecstatic. She was so much like Mother.

Sam felt sickened by the crime. She wondered if every time she worked a pleasure crime now, she’d remember her mother. Shaken, she said, “Hemmer doesn’t have one drop of demonic blood. He couldn’t do this.”

Tabby was silent. Macleod said softly, “Moray could.”

“Why would Moray be involved with Hemmer?” Tabby asked.

“They knew each other,” Sam said grimly. As Sam tossed a sheet over Becca, she told her sister about Moran. Then she heard damned familiar footsteps. She wasn’t surprised. As she turned, Nick walked in with Kit.

Kit came up to her. “Hey, are you okay?”

Sam nodded. “Thanks for caring.” She sent Nick a frosty look as Kit and Tabby hugged warmly.

Nick broke up the reunion by walking past the women and jerking the sheet off Becca. “I wondered if I’d find you here,” he said to Sam. He studied the corpse for a moment. Then he looked at Sam. “Your boy went to Awe.”

Sam tensed. Nick still had Maclean under surveillance? Would Ian be okay at Loch Awe by himself? She was still hurt, but her warrior mode replaced all emotional involvement. Moray was out there, and he had to be destroyed. To make matters worse, Ian didn’t know his grandfather had returned from the vanquished. “Is he okay?” she asked carefully.

“How the hell would I know?”

“Gee, I don’t know. By wiring that house, too?”

He gave her a dark glance. “I want you to come by my office tomorrow.”

“No, thanks.” Sam smiled coldly. She wouldn’t budge on this issue.

His stare would have leveled another person. “I have a present for Maclean.”

Sam started.

“I’m damned sorry I had to do what I did, although I’d do it all over again. But I don’t need his damned file. If you have the guts to come by, I’ll give it to you.”

She was stunned.

“Yeah, it’s a peace offering. But there are strings attached.”

“Like, I come back to work for you?”

“Something like that.” He smiled.

Tension filled her. She loved her job. It was her duty to protect and defend the world, but she’d never forgive Nick for tossing Ian under the bus. “I’ll think about it,” she said. “Or am I on a timer?”