Demons, darkness and desireâ¦
The only time Demi Chattox, a witch, gets to see her lover, special agent Cal Black, is when theyâre chasing down demons. When theyâre tasked with escorting a VIPâa Very Important Paranormalâto a summit meeting in New York, it seems like the perfect assignment. A few days away from the jobâ¦in a Manhattan hotelâ¦just the two of themâ¦
But thereâs a storm ravaging New York, and a vampire who doesnât want this particular VIP to make it to the summit. As Demi and Cal race to complete their assignment, theyâre driven by their sense of dutyâand by their desperate need to find some time alone.
Chapter One
âFire on the rooftop, two oâclock!â Demi Chattox called into the radio headset.
âGot it,â her sister Gina answered. A puff of a rain cloud appeared over the roof, dousing the flame that had just sprung up. âThe little bastards are heading your way.â
âWhatever you do, gang, donât let them see you,â Cal Black said, his rich tone crackling over the radio into Demiâs ears, sending ripples of hunger throughout her body. How did he do that? No matter where he was, what he was doing, she wanted him. And, lately, she wasnât getting enough of him.
Work, work, work. Did he ever stop?
âWe canât let them get away from us this time.â Demi spoke quietly, glancing across at her sister Selena as she held the other end of the fire-retardant netting. The tiny dragon flies had wreaked havoc on Chicago for the past two days, starting fires all over the city. The firemen were worn out and people were complaining the police force wasnât doing enough to stop the arson rampage terrorizing the city. What they didnât understand was that they were creatures, not people, starting all the fires. âEveryone in place?â
âBuilding up some heat as we speak,â her sister Brigid responded from her position several yards in front of them.
With the chief of the Chicago Police Special Investigations Divisionâs permission, Demi, a special agent on the team, had called in the assistance of her sisters to help corral the pests and put an end to the fear of having another great Chicago fire like that of 1871.
As witches, the five sisters each possessed a magical power they only used in dire circumstances, like rescuing one of their own from an evil chimera or protecting innocents from the machinations of a mind-freezing Medusa. The only two witches employed on the team, Demi and her sister Brigid, worked for the police department as consultants, cleaning up renegade paranorms in order to keep the city streets safe for humans and paranorms alike.
Sometimes Demi called on her sisters when they needed the full power of all five points of their pentagram to stop evil.
âI sense someone else,â Selena whispered.
âWhere?â
âNearby.â Holding her end of the net, she closed her eyes. âIn the shadows on a corner. Heâs pushing the dragon flies.â
âPushing them?â Demi asked. âYou mean theyâre not working on their own?â
Selena opened her eyes and smiled. âThey arenât smart enough to target anything. I think itâs a demon manipulating them.â
âWhy?â
âI sense anger over something that happened in his past.â
âCal and I noticed a pattern. All the residences heâs targeted belonged to executives of Chicago Bank and Trust. And the bank suffered a fire in their mailroom last week.â
âDissatisfied customer?â Selena offered.
Demi tapped the talk button on her headset. âCal, check out the street corners as Gina and Aurai work the dragon flies our way.â
âWhat am I looking for?â he responded.
âA demon.â
âJust one?â
Demi smiled. Cal was one confident, cocky human, unafraid of the paranormal creatures who could kick his ass in a heartbeat.
âYes,â Selena answered.
âAny idea what one looks like?â Cal asked.
âLike a regular person,â Brigid said, her tone flat. âUnless, of course, heâs a shifter.â