Burn For Me (Phoenix Fire #1)(21)

“I’m not some damn hero, no matter what you think.”

She had thought that, and barely controlled her wince.

“I’m the monster in the dark. The big, f*cking bad wolf. I’ve seen hell, and I’ve brought hell to earth.”

He wasn’t looking at her. Maybe that was a good thing.

“And I’ll do it again and again,” Cain promised in his growling voice. “That’s who I am—what I am. I bring death. I bring hell.”

The breath in her lungs seemed to have frozen. He was wrong, she knew it. But Eve didn’t know what to say to him and as they headed down that mountain—so fast—the silence in the vehicle deepened.



He’d frightened her.

Cain braked the truck at the edge of Atlanta. They’d driven for hours, heading fast to get away from the remains of Genesis. He’d asked Eve where she needed to go. Where she’d be safe. After only the smallest of hesitations, she’d named the city. As he’d driven, the miles had passed in heavy silence.

He’d felt Eve’s stare on him so many times during that long drive, but she hadn’t spoken. What was she supposed to say? How did a woman respond when she’d learned that she’d just f*cked a killer?

She didn’t. She just ran away. That was what all the others had done, and he knew that was exactly what Eve planned to do. You didn’t stay with the devil forever, not if you wanted to keep your soul.

His gaze scanned the lot. There were big rigs at the truck stop. A handful of them. Exhaust fumes drifted up into the dark sky.

“What happens now?” Eve asked, finally speaking. Her voice was husky, soft.

What happens … he wanted to keep her with him. To find a motel room. To strip her and take her all over again until the pleasure left them both weak and tired. Until he couldn’t move and she didn’t want to.

But he had a target to take down. Genesis had burned, but his vengeance wasn’t complete, not yet. He still owed the traitor who’d gotten him locked in that pit.

“It’s the end of the line.” He tossed the keys to her. “You keep the truck.” He’d find another ride. Easy enough.

He jumped out of the vehicle. Slammed the door shut behind him. Left her. He’d never been one for the good-bye scene, and telling her good-bye—no. Not what he wanted to do. Better to just walk away and not see her—

A door slammed behind him. “Wait!” Eve’s voice. Not so husky anymore. Sharp. Angry.

He stilled.

Then her hand was on his shoulder, jerking him around to face her. For someone so small, she had a pretty strong grip. “You’re leaving me?” Her eyes were wide with a combination of shock and fury.

What had she expected? “You said you had friends in this city.” He’d gotten her to talk only one time during the ride. Good thing she’d said Atlanta was where she needed to be … it was exactly where he’d be finding his target, too.

The more dangerous paranormals liked the big cities. With all the humans running around, there was plenty of prey for them. Since their coming-out party, the paranormals had actually done a good job of taking over the big cities in the U.S. There was strength in numbers, usually.

That’s why Genesis was afraid of us. They knew how powerful we were becoming. If the paranormals took over, then what happened to the humans?

They get on the endangered species list.

Eve’s fingers dug into his shoulder. “You’re just walking away? After what happened between us?”

His hand rose. His fingers slid over her cheek. She didn’t seem to realize it, but he was trying to protect her. From myself. If he stayed with her … I’ll never let go.

Because he already craved her.

She was a weakness to him. The only one he had. She could be too dangerous.

Cain’s hand slid away and he stepped back, making her hand fall. “I’ve got a shifter to kill.” Jimmy Vance.

“W-what?” She obviously hadn’t expected his response.

“He won’t sell out any more paranormals. He won’t sell me out ever again.” He wouldn’t be able to … kinda hard to sell out folks when you were rotting in the ground.

“You can’t just—just kill him!”

He’d told her the truth about himself, but she still didn’t seem to get it. Not the good guy. “Sure I can.” He closed his eyes. Summoned up the power that was always inside him. Let it swell. Let it grow. Let the dark edges seep past his control. When his eyes opened again, he knew that she’d see the fire in his eyes. “I can do anything I want.”

No one would stop him. His guard wouldn’t be lowered again. Wyatt was dead. Fried to ash.

Soon Jimmy would be, too.

Paranormals had died in that facility, and, unlike him, they hadn’t been able to regenerate and come back. He’d heard their screams. Their last desperate cries.

They deserved their vengeance, too. He’d give it to them.

He turned away from her again. Began walking.

“Don’t.” Her soft voice behind him.

But he didn’t stop. He didn’t look back. He had a shifter to kill, and Eve, with her big, blue eyes and her trembling, red lips, wasn’t going to stop him.

No one was.



He’d left her. The jerk had actually dumped her at a truck stop. Just … walked away. Okay, he’d left the truck with her, so she hadn’t exactly been stranded, but …