Soul Eater Page 5

  After their meal, Jenna watched Brody over the rim of her coffee cup. She had to admit that he was still the hottest guy she’d ever met. Each time she was in his presence she felt as if her body was on fire. It didn’t help much that it had been so long since she’d enjoyed the touch of a man.

  “So how’s the crime busting business going?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

  Jenna wanted to, needed to, talk to someone about the case, but could she talk to the Sinister Police Department’s prime suspect? Finally her need to share her thoughts overcame her reservations. Besides, she was almost positive that the local police were barking up the wrong tree.

  She told him about the box that she’d found on the front porch that morning and about the several missing person’s reports that she’d gone over.”

  “Have you looked over all the files?” he asked.

  Jenna shook her head. ‘No, I’d planned to look them over when I got back to Sinister.”

  “Well before you do, I guess there’s something I should tell you.” Brody looked away from her to stare out the window at the people passing by. It was apparent that his mood had grown dark.

  Jenna felt her chest tighten. She prayed that he wasn’t getting ready to tell her that he’d been involved in any way.

  “You’ll find this when you start going over those files anyway…. “His voice trailed off.

  Jenna wanted to coax him on, but she had the feeling that this was something he was going to have to do all on his own.

  Brody looked back from the window and, taking a deep breath, he continued, “Not long after your family vanished, my little brother disappeared while riding his bike.”

  Gasping, Jenna reached over to cover his hand with hers. “Brody, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

  “I know. No one did. Seems they didn’t pay too much attention to the Indians who disappeared.” He smiled but the bitterness he felt was evident in his voice.

  “And you think your brother was a victim?”

  “Yes, I do. I believe most disappearances around here could be contributed to the killer, or the thing that’s doing this. That’s what I was doing hanging around Sinister so much. I knew it had something to do with that town and the mining.”

  “Is that what you still think?”

  “Even more so now. You’re going to find out anyway so I might as well tell you. I work for the Riverton Police as a detective. I’ve been working undercover.”

  Understanding dawned on her. “No wonder you weren’t worried about being convicted in this case. Why didn’t you tell them this?”

  “There’s something not right with that town, including the police. As much as your dad and I butted heads, I’m beginning to think he was one of the last normal guys on that force.”

  “I know what you mean. They have been acting a little strange.”

  Leaning over, Brody took her hands in his. “Jenna, I don’t want you staying there alone. I’m not just saying this because I want to lay you down and make passionate love to you, though I do,” he added. “I’m worried about you being there alone. That package you got today means something. They’re trying to scare you, or worse.”

  “I know, but I have a job to do,” she reminded him. “Besides, my partner will be here within a day or two.”

  “Come and stay at my ranch, make that your headquarters.”

  Jenna shook her head. “I think I’m closer to the culprit if I stay in Sinister.”

  “That’s what worries me,” he told her with a smile.

  As crazy as it felt, Jenna found that she was actually considering the idea.

  “Just for tonight. We’ll put our heads together and see what we come up with,” he prodded.

  “I don’t know.” Jenna hesitated.

  “I won’t take no for an answer,” he told her as he was standing up. “I’ll feel a hell of a lot better if you’re with me.”

  “You know Brody, I’m not completely helpless. I didn’t get to be an FBI Agent by being a wimp.”

  They were back outside under the afternoon sun before he continued the conversation. “Under normal circumstances that may be true, but I doubt the FBI prepared you for anything like this.”

  Still Jenna was uncertain.

  “If it will make you feel any better, I have a spare bedroom you can use.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Should I just follow you then?”

  He nodded and pointed to a blue truck in the Riverton Police Department’s parking lot. “That’s my truck there.”

  She couldn’t help but feel shock and amazement. Jenna wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting-a little shack, a trailer, but it wasn’t what she found. Brody had amassed himself quite a spread. His house was large and in a log cabin style.

  Brody walked over to her car, opened the door and held out his hand. Jenna took it, letting him help her out.

  “This is wonderful,” she commented.

  “Cattle can be quite profitable, if you have some business sense.” He pointed to his head.

  Jenna laughed. “Somehow I just never imaged you being a business man, let alone a police officer. You’re just full of surprises today.”

  Brody’s gaze rested on her lips and then traveled up to meet her gaze. “I have many more surprises to offer.”

  The desire in his voice caused Jenna’s breath to quicken. Her body remembered his touch and responded. Finally she forced herself to turn away. Reaching into the car, she grabbed the case files she’d brought with her.

  Inside, she placed the files on a large, wooden coffee table that sat in front of a massive stone fireplace. Looking around, she admired the rustic beauty of Brody’s home.

  Disappearing into the kitchen, he returned with two glasses of Chardonnay. “Shall we get started,” he said as he handed her a glass.

  Taking a sip, Jenna found the drink refreshing. “Thank you.”

  For the next few hours the two of them went over the files. With each autopsy report there was one glaring similarity. Brain hemorrhaging. Jenna came to the autopsy report for the Brodrick girl. Examining the file, she was sure it would be like the rest.

  It was as she suspected. Victim died of loss of blood but there was no obvious wound. Burst blood vessels in the brain.

  “Look, all the victims have had aneurisms,” she pointed out. “Why haven’t the police looked into that? Also, there are no autopsy reports on any of the victims that were discovered within Sinister’s jurisdiction.”

  “Maybe they never looked into the brain hemorrhages because there’s no logical way you could contribute that to the killer, even if it was the cause of death.”

  “This tells us that the aneurisms happened first and then the blood drained somehow. Could fear have caused this?”

  Brody shook his head, denying the possibility. “Fear could account for a couple, but I doubt all of them, especially the younger ones.”

  “What are your ideas, then?”

  “Legend says that the Soul Eater will take possession of a body before killing it. It devours the soul and then eats its life force through the blood. The being has also been known to take the form of those souls he has devoured. It’s possible that this process caused the brain hemorrhaging.”

  Jenna looked doubtful.

  “Come on woman, you can’t still believe this is a simple matter of someone with a deranged mind?”

  “It is strange, I’ll give you that, but I don’t’ know…. “Her voice trailed off as she stared out the large living room window. “How do you explain the odd behavior of the police?”

  Brody shrugged his shoulder. “I haven’t figured that one out yet.”

  While they were working, the day had faded to night unnoticed. Brody reached to an end table and picked up a remote. The fireplace came to life, bringing a comforting glow into the room.

  “More wine?”

  “Are you trying to get me drunk?” she asked with a smile.

  “Sure, why not?”

  J
enna handed him her glass and he took it into the kitchen to refill it. Soft music filled the room and then Brody returned.

  “Care to dance?” he held out one hand to her.

  “I’d swear you’re attempting seduce me.”

  “You would be right,” he whispered softly.

  Warning bells were going off all through her head. She knew if she took his hand and let him pull her into his arms that would be it. She’d be lost to her own feelings.

  Jenna looked into his eyes and found that she was mesmerized by the flickering firelight reflected in their darkness. His headband was gone, leaving his long, black hair to fall across his wide shoulders.

  “Come on, baby doll. Let me show you what love can be,” he pleaded in a soft low voice.

  Exhaling, Jenna hadn’t even realized that she had been holding her breath. Who was she kidding? She’d known from the moment that she accepted his invitation they would end up making love. It was what she wanted.

  She took the hand he offered, letting him pull her into his arms. He held her so close that she could feel his heart beating and the warmth of his body through his clothes. The music wrapped around them like an exotic perfume, pulling them into the rhythm of the haunting melody.

  Jenna yielded to his demanding kiss, their tongues dancing and exploring. His teeth came down on her bottom lip, causing just the slightest bit of pain so that his tongue could sooth her injured flesh.

  “Jenna.”

  The breathless way he said her name was like a sensual caress, igniting her animal instincts.

  He had set fire to her passions and they erupted into an uncontrollable inferno. The years peeled away and he was once again the center of her universe. Her hands slid beneath his shirt to the taut muscles that rippled across his chest.

  As they moved with the music, Brody’s deft hands slid across her body, removing her clothing, caressing her bare skin. When her clothing was gone, he pulled back, letting his eyes devour her.

  His shirt came off, followed by the rest of his clothing. Brody stood before her in bronzed splendor, sculptured to perfection. She couldn’t resist the temptation to reach out and touch him, his hard stomach, the mass of dark hair below his waist and his thick, rigid staff.

  He pulled her roughly to him until her skin was melded against his. “I have waited so long for this.”

  The sensation of his hard cock against her stomach sent searing heat through her body, she wiggled against him, bringing a moan to his lips. His hands found her breasts. His fingers squeezed and twisted her nipples to bring her sweet pain.

  It was too much. She had to feel him within her. Jenna took him by the hand and pulled him down with her to the plush carpet. She felt his large, rough hands on the inside of her thighs, spreading her legs. With his thumbs, he spread her swollen woman’s lips to reveal her throbbing clit. His darting tongue massaged it slowly.

  Gasping, she arched her hips to force his tongue along her hot slit. He obliged her, licking and lapping up her hot juices. He stopping, rearing up to gaze down at her with smoldering eyes.

  The head of his staff rested gently against the lips of her love channel. Her body trembled with the need to have him plunge into her.

  “Is this what you really want?”

  “Yes!” she screamed.

  When he entered her, she felt her pussy stretched to the limit by his huge cock. There was pain in accommodating such an enormous man, but it was luscious pain, the kind of pain that you can’t get enough of.

  He moved within her, gently at first but his need was mounting and he was losing control. His movement became erratic, hard, demanding. He would pull almost all the way out and then slam into her harder each time.

  The tingling heat was too much and she sensed her flesh tighten around him as she felt a flood of release. He groaned in response to her swollen cunt cradling him even more tightly. Her screams of ecstasy filled the room, driving him over the edge. There was no stopping it as he erupted, filling her with his hot love.

  Brody collapsed against her and Jenna’s hands went up to caress his back. When he had time to catch his breath he stood, lifted her in his arms and carried her to his bed.

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  CHAPTER FOUR

  Exhausted, Jenna slept well past the time when she would have normally risen. It was the birdsong outside the bedroom window that finally brought her awake. Leaving the comfort of the huge, king size bed was difficult but she forced herself to do it.

  Brody was nowhere around so she assumed he must be in the kitchen and wouldn’t mind if she jumped into the shower. A door led right from his bedroom into a large, black and gold colored bathroom.

  Turning the water on, she stood under the shower and let the water run over her body. The sensation of the hot water against her tired muscles was like heaven.

  Leaving the shower, Jenna wrapped in an oversized towel and went in search of her clothes. She found them in a heap on the living room floor.

  “Coffee is done if you want some,” he called to her from another room.

  Jenna put off gathering her clothes and pattered barefoot into the kitchen. He smiled at the sight of her in a towel, hair still wet and dripping.

  “Apparently you had no intention of leaving here this morning,” he told her as he handed her a cup of coffee.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “You look far too tempting to let you escape so quickly.”

  Before she had a chance to answer, he had reached beneath her towel to squeeze her ass, his hand slowly traveling around to the front to massage her clit. She was still sore from the night before, but that didn’t stop the sweet sensations his fingers gave her.

  “Brody, I have work to do,” she protested.

  Groaning, he backed away. “You’re right, we do have work to do. It’s time to put the ghosts of the past to rest. We’re going for a ride so I can show you something.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To Eerie Mountain.”

  Jenna looked at him nervously. “Do you think that’s such a good idea?”

  “I want to check that cave and see for myself if it’s been disturbed.”

  Less than an hour later they were traveling on a dirt road, deep in the Wind River National Forest. Eerie Mountain loomed up ahead. The peak was shrouded in shadows, preventing the sunlight from reaching most of its timber-covered face. Jenna had to admit the sight unnerved her.

  “What exactly are we supposed to be looking for? Where’s this opening?” Jenna wanted to know.

  “By most accounts the cave is located just halfway up the mountain, on the west side. They say you can’t miss it because all the trees around it are dead.”

  “Oh, how inviting.”

  Brody gave her a wry smile. “If we want to beat this thing, we may have to go to its heart.”

  “If you were so convinced it was this Soul Eater that’s killing people, how come you haven’t come up here long before now?”

  “It would have done me no good. You’re the only one with the power to beat this thing.”

  Jenna glanced at him sharply. “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t you know the power that is within you?”

  “I haven’t the slightest idea of what you’re talking about.”

  Brody stopped the truck abruptly and looked over at her. “Jenna, you’re psychic. I saw it in a vision years ago. You were the real reason I was hanging out with your sister’s group of friends. I had to stay close to you. The Soul Eater wanted you more than all others.”

  “You’re kidding right? Me psychic!” Jenna’s laugh died in her throat when she saw how serious he was.

  “Do you ever have feelings that warn you about something, feelings that come out of nowhere? Do you sometimes see things that you know cannot be there?”

  Jumping into her thoughts was the dream she’d had about her sister and the vision of her father in the hall. She remained silent, neither confirming nor
denying his claim.

  “I knew it,” he said as he put the truck in gear and they started moving.

  “If that is true, then it must still want me.”

  “Yes,” he told her.

  “That’s comforting,” she said as she stared out the side window.

  Again the truck came to a sudden halt and Jenna moved her attention to what was in front of them. A mass of dead trees covered the area ahead of them. Dark shadows blanketed much of the area, giving one the impression that phantoms waited just beyond the light. The bare branches of the trees appeared to be reaching their ghostly limbs to the sky, as if calling out to some heavenly entity to rescue them from their torment.

  Jenna shivered as a chill traveled down her spine. “This is it.”

  Brody nodded. Killing the engine, he opened the door and got out. Jenna followed close behind him. A small trail, overgrown with weeds led them into the trees. They hadn’t been walking for long before coming on what was left of the mining operations. It had obviously been abandoned for years.

  “Fools, they were mining right here. They opened that cave on purpose.”

  “Makes you wonder if something didn’t compel them to open up shop right here,” Jenna put in. She was amazed that she was actually beginning to believe that there was something to Brody’s theory.

  “There’s no doubt it has been opened,” Brody said with a deep frown.

  “So now what? How do we stop it?”

  He didn’t answer but motioned for her to follow him back to the truck. Once reaching the truck, they climbed into the cab and Brody turned it around. Not until they were well down the mountain did he answer her question.

  “You will have to use your light, your aura to force it back into the earth. Then we will have to seal the cave.”

  “Just like Spotted Eagle?”

  Brody nodded.

  “Do you think it was possibly looking for me when it got my family?” Jenna asked him with a new sense of guilt.

  Brody cast a sympathetic look in her direction. “I do think it was looking for you, but you must remember it would have, and in fact did, know where to find you. I think that your father was a threat for another reason, and not just to the Soul Eater, but to those who have been touched by its evil.”