She shook her head and opened her eyes. They were brown rather than green.
"Don't think — " The rest of her words were lost to a bout of coughing that left her shaking.
He swore under his breath and did a quick but careful check. He couldn't see anything resembling a bite and relaxed a little. But she was still cut and bleeding, and he had to treat both wounds as soon as possible. He stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around her. "Let's get you out of here."
"Soul sucker," she gasped. "Outside."
"Kat, you can't go after it like this — "
"No. But it may — " She stopped and coughed so hard her face went red.
"Attack?" he finished, and she nodded.
Given the commotion they'd raised in the last ten minutes, he very much doubted it. This thing, whether it was human or something else entirely, was smart, and hanging around in a place about to be invaded by cops wasn't smart. With any luck, by now it was halfway back to the hell that had spawned it. He just had to hope it wasn't taking Janie with it.
He took a business card from his wallet, scrawled the cabin's address on the back, then slipped his arms under her and carefully picked her up.
"Tell me if you sense it," he said.
She nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head against his shoulder. Coarse blonde hair scratched at his nose. The wig didn't suit her. It made her look brassy, cheap, and she was neither of those. But at least it might prevent her from being recognized by anyone later. He wasn't going to be so lucky.
And Benton was going to be furious.
He carried her out of the restroom and stopped near the security guard. "Call the sheriff, then call this number." He handed the man the card and pointed to the department's phone number. "Get hold of Detective Johnson and tell him Detective Morgan has found another suspect." The sheriff and Benton weren't going to be happy about his interference, but right now, Ethan didn't care.
"Is the lady all right?"
"Yeah. If they want to talk to me, I'm staying at the address on the back."
The guard flicked it over and nodded. "And the lady?"
"Will be with me."
He headed for the door. The night outside was cool, unfettered by the odors of sweat and lust and curiosity. He took a deep breath, clearing his head as he walked toward the car. Kat's sweet scent surrounded him, stirring his blood once more. Even bloody and bruised, she still smelled good. Still felt good.
He unlocked the car and placed her upright on the back seat. She stirred, blinking rapidly. Her breathing had evened out, but her mouth was still pinched with pain.
He squatted down next to her and opened up the small first aid kit. Inside there was antiseptic, swabs, bandages and a small pouch of dried herbs. Obviously, they were a cure-all for all manner of wounds. But they'd worked almost miraculously on the wound in her arm, and he wasn't about to gainsay the benefits when she was bleeding all over the seat.
He touched a hand to her cheek, and she opened her eyes. He hated the contact lenses. On her, plain green was far prettier. "I'm going to have to take off your shirt to clean the wound properly." The collar was brushing the thin line around her neck, irritating the wound and making it bleed again.
"Don't need excuses." Her voice was little more than a husky whisper. "Just ask."
A mischievous smile played about her mouth, and heat shot to his groin. "I'm afraid even the thought of asking is out of the question tonight." It was just as well he'd sated the worst of his desires last night, otherwise restraint would not be so easily offered.
"Tomorrow," she said, closing her eyes again.
"Maybe."
"Definitely."
He eased the jacket off then undid her shirt buttons and peeled that away. Her creamy br**sts were smeared with blood and showed signs of heavy-handed bruising. Anger rose inside him, swift and sharp. He swallowed it. The berserker was dead, and as much as he wanted to go back and kick the bastard's body, it wouldn't achieve anything.
After soaking a swab in antiseptic, he carefully cleaned her wounds then applied the herbs and bandaged them. She bore it all without comment, even though he saw her wince. She was undoubtedly braver than he was — straight antiseptic would have had him screaming. He put his jacket back on her and zipped it up as far as he could to keep her warm.
"Home, James," she murmured as he did up her seat belt.
He smiled and brushed a kiss across her lips, then rose before he gave in to the desire to taste her more fully. Once they were on the road, he called Gwen to let her know everything was okay. Even so, she was waiting outside when they got back to the cabins.