Chapter 6
By the time Talon reached Sunshine's club again, it was complete chaos on the street outside the club's entrance and in the alley behind it.
A large crowd of people stood around outside where two ambulances were parked while medics tended three wounded officers. Someone had beaten them to a pulp.
He paused near one ambulance as he heard the officer giving his report to a detective.
"He was at least six feet six. Lean, muscular build. Caucasian male dressed in black, with long black hair and a goatee. Mid- to late twenties with this huge silver claw thing on his hand. He looked like the devil himself when we came up on him. Man, he tore through us like we was nothing. I got at least two bullets into him and he didn't even flinch when I shot him. He just kept on coming at us. He must be on PCP or something."
Talon froze.
Zarek. There was no one else who could fit that description.
Damn. He shouldn't have left the area while Zarek was here. Zarek must have attacked them just a few minutes after he left.
"So what happened?" the detective asked.
"Me and Gabe had a disturbance call about a fight in the alley. We got here in time to see the claw guy fighting two men. We yelled for them to stop, but the guy ignored us. He ripped their hearts right out of them. Right in front of us."
Talon groaned. They had seen Zarek take out a pair of Daimons. Great. Just great. He closed his eyes and cursed. This night was starting to rate right up there with abscessed teeth.
"Johnny got here right as I pulled my weapon and ordered the claw guy to stop. He turned on us like a wild beast. Next thing I know, I'm on the ground bleeding, you guys are here, and he's gone."
"And the bodies?"
"He must have taken them with him while we were trying to get to the cars for safety. I'm telling you, Bob, the man was insane."
Talon raked his hands through his hair. Not even in town one night and now Zarek had the entire police force looking for him.
How had the man managed to last so long?
His phone rang again, but the caller ID didn't display the caller's identity. Expecting it to be Acheron since Acheron's phone almost never registered a number, he was surprised to hear Zarek's thick Greek accent on the other end. "The Daimons wanted to party with your girlfriend, Celt. Don't leave her unprotected."
The phone went dead.
An eerie chill went up Talon's spine. How could Zarek have known about him and Sunshine?
The man's powers were rating right up there with Acheron's.
His instincts on alert, Talon looked up to the roof above his head-to the old abandoned drugstore next door to the club. Silhouetted against the dark sky was a figure. To a human's eyes, the man standing on the rooftop would be invisible, but Talon's honed Dark-Hunter vision saw him clearly.
It was Zarek.
Zarek inclined his head to him, put the phone in his pocket, then stepped back and vanished into the darkness.
Talon frowned. Psycho Zarek had been watching over Sunshine all this time? Even while the cops were looking for him?
How unlike Zarek was that?
Talon immediately hit the automatic call-back feature on his phone.
"What?" Zarek asked, his voice surly. "Can't you see I'm trying to get out of here before the cops find me?"
"What were you doing at Runningwolf's?"
"Picking my nose, Celt. What do you think? I saw the Daimons on the street and I tracked them inside."
That explained that, but Talon had a bigger concern. "How did you know about me and Sunshine?"
"I overheard the Daimons talking about the two of you. You should be more careful, Celt. A mistake like that one could be costly."
"Costly how, Zarek? I've just seen the body of a woman who'd been drained of her blood and her soul."
"Ooo," Zarek breathed. "Here's a news flash. It was a Daimon attack. Ever notice that tends to be their MO?"
"Yeah, but I've never known a Daimon to claw a woman up while killing her. Have you?"
There was a brief pause. "What are you saying?"
"I think you know, Zarek."
"Yeah, and you can kiss my ass, Celt. Maybe I should have left your bitch to them after all."
The phone went dead again.
Talon ground his teeth, torn between the deep need to find Zarek, beat the crap out of him, and wash his mouth out, and a deeper need to make sure Sunshine was okay.
Putting his phone in his pocket, he decided to leave Zarek to Acheron, who'd already said he was going to talk to him. Acheron was much better at handling Zarek anyway.
At least Ash could kill the bastard and not die in the process.
Talon expelled a long breath as he thought over Zarek's warning that the Daimons were after Sunshine. It didn't make a bit of sense.
Why would the Daimons be after her? And how could the Daimons know about the two of them?
This made the second attack on her in as many nights. Daimons took their victims where they found them. They didn't stalk someone who got away. They just moved on to the next handy meal.
He didn't know what they wanted with her, but until he found out, he wasn't going to leave her in danger.
Scanning the crowd, Talon found Sunshine standing just under a light outside the club, next to a large, muscular man with black hair who was speaking to a uniformed police officer. She wore only her thin black sweater without the fuchsia one she'd had on earlier. Her arms were crossed over her chest as if she were cold.
Talon made his way through the crowd to her side.
Her face lit up the moment she saw him. "Talon? What are you doing here?"
He was more relieved than he would have thought possible. Just seeing her here, unharmed, and hearing his name on her lips...
He shouldn't feel anything for her and yet there was no denying the raw emotions he felt every time she met his gaze.
"Are you okay?" he asked, shrugging off his jacket and holding it up for her.
She nodded as she allowed him to help her into his jacket. "Did you hear what happened? Some guy went nuts in the alley where I park my car and killed two men. Then, he attacked the police. It's terrible!"
Before he could think, Talon pulled her into his arms and held her close. She was shaking and cold, but she still felt so wonderful that he didn't want to let go of her. "I'm glad you weren't hurt."
The man who'd been talking to the police officer looked at them with a stern scowl. "You know, bud, I don't know you from Adam, but that's my baby sister you're hanging on to. So I'm thinking the wisest course of action for you is to let her go and introduce yourself. Pronto."
Talon bit back a smile. He knew exactly what the man meant. Some things were very sacred and little sisters were one of them.
Reluctantly, he withdrew from her.
Sunshine punched her brother gently on his arm. "Talon, this is my brother Rain. Rain, meet Talon."
Her brother snorted. "God, with a name like Talon your parents must have been holdover hippies too."
"Something like that."
"That's his pet phrase," Sunshine told her brother. "That and not exactly."
Rain sized him up, then offered him his hand. "Nice meeting you, Talon. I better get back to work. Sunny, yell if you need one of us."