Don't Dare the Devil Read online

  Don’t Dare the Devil

  by Erin Wade

  © May 2018

  Edited by Susan Hughes

  Don’t Dare the Devil

  By Erin Wade

  ISBN-13: 978-1719415187

  ISBN-10:1719415188

  Copyright 2018 Erin Wade

  www.erinwade.us

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright 2018

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—mechanical, photocopy, electronic, recording, or any other, except for brief quotations in printed reviews—without prior permission of the author.

  DEDICATION:

  To the one who has always supported me in everything I have ever undertaken. You have encouraged me and have always been my biggest fan. I thank you.

  Erin

  Recognition

  Thank you to my wonderful Betas Julie Versoi and Laure Dherbécourt who keep me from embarrassing myself.

  Chapter 1

  Eden Daye fidgeted in the hard, uncomfortable chair across from Detective Wayne Rose’s desk. She watched as two officers discussed the information she had just given them. She could tell they thought she was demented or, at best, high on some new designer drug.

  Eden thought about the information. Maybe they were right. Maybe she was hallucinating or crazy.

  Across the room, Rose and his partner spoke in hushed tones. “We need to get the chief involved in this,” Rose insisted. “This is too coincidental.”

  “He’ll send us all to the shrink,” Rose’s partner, Dozer Davis, barked. “Remember how he reacted when we filed that report on Marian Lewis?”

  Rose hesitated. “This is … look, Eden Daye isn’t some nut case off the street. She is the Eden Daye, Fortune 500 Daye, heiress to the Clayton Daye oil and gas fortune.

  “It has only been six months since her father was brutally murdered. Something’s not right in that family.”

  “The others were ladies of wealth too,” Dozer pointed out. “Marian Lewis was also an heiress. We spent six months trying to track her down. You know what we found.” Dozer shuddered, as if the memory was too horrific to revisit. “We got nothing—no clues, no suspects.”

  “I say we call in Knight,” Rose said with the kind of reverence one would use to commemorate the dead.

  “You know the commissioner has to approve that.” The look of fear in Dozer’s eyes was unmistakable.

  “Gentlemen,” Eden said, raising her voice over the hum of their heated discussion. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”

  “I’m calling the chief,” Rose said as he headed out the door.

  “Can I get you a bottle of water or soda?” Dozer asked Eden.

  “No, I’m fine. I just need to know what you’re going to do about the abduction of my sister.” Eden appraised Dozer Davis as one would scrutinize a new employee.

  Dozer was easy on the eyes. At six feet six and two hundred fifty pounds, he certainly fit his name. Thick blond hair curled over his head, making him look much more angelic than he was.

  “Could you go over the abduction one more time?” Dozer encouraged her, trying to kill time.

  “Why don’t you simply replay the recordings from the first six times I told the story?” Eden glared at him.

  Dozer breathed a sigh of relief when Wayne Rose entered the bull pen. “Chief wants us to escort Miss Daye to his office.” Wayne motioned for Eden to follow them.

  In silence, they rode the elevator to the top floor of the Fort Worth Criminal Building that housed the Special Investigations Unit of Central Texas. The elevator opened directly into a huge area that housed the chief and his staff.

  Chief Frank Canton rose to greet Eden and the detectives. “I’m sorry we must meet again under such dire circumstances,” he said as he shook hands with the woman.

  “I suppose you want me to retell my story.” Eden scowled.

  “No, that won’t be necessary. Detective Rose has provided me the details,” Canton said.

  “I would appreciate it if you could describe your sister’s abductor to me. Please try to recall everything you can. Even the minutest details will help us.”

  “It was dark.” Eden closed her eyes, visualizing the event. “There was a full moon. I was watching my sister from the second-floor window as she walked in the garden. I thought I saw a movement in the shadows. Then there was nothing. I decided I had imagined it. The security around our home is state-of-the-art, impenetrable.

  “Suddenly something darted from the shadows, threw Sharon over its shoulder, and jumped the garden wall. Just like that, Sharon was gone. No alarms went off, nothing.”

  Chief Canton frowned as he made notes. “How tall is the garden wall?”

  “Eight feet,” Eden answered. “Whatever took my sister was only a little shorter than the wall.”

  Silence fell over the room as everyone digested Eden’s story. Even she was beginning to wonder if her eyes had deceived her.

  “You said, ‘whatever took my sister,’” Canton reiterated. “You couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman?”

  “I’m not even certain it was human,” Eden whispered.

  Canton looked at his officers. “Detectives, you may return to your office. I’ve already assigned this case to Special Agent Knight.”

  As Rose and Dozer turned to leave, the elevator doors whooshed open.

  Eden was certain a cold wind blew into the office as the woman stepped from the elevator. She was tall and incredibly beautiful. Her mane of thick dark hair billowed around her face as if battling for a place to rest on her shoulders. Piercing blue eyes and perfectly shaped red lips completed the look of beauty and power.

  “Here’s Agent Knight now.” Canton nodded in deference to the woman who dominated the room. Without taking their eyes off the brunette, Rose and Dozer slipped into the elevator and punched the button to close the doors.

  Agent Knight arched perfect brows as she scanned Eden Daye from head to foot. “He took your sister?” Knight’s sultry voice hummed. “It seems he left the best one behind.”

  Eden couldn’t break the gaze of the mesmerizing blue eyes—now an emerald green—that seemed to pierce her soul. Agent Knight was spellbinding. She had the face of an angel but everything about her screamed power. Her black jumpsuit hugged a perfect body. The knee boots she wore looked as if they could be lethal weapons under the right conditions. Nine-millimeter Glocks rested in the holsters strapped to her hips. Agent Knight was both breathtaking and terrifying.

  Only when she stepped forward did Eden realize a huge black dog accompanied the agent. “Is he a wolf?” she asked.

  A slow smile played across Knight’s face. “She is. Thank you for recognizing that and not trying to pet her.”

  Though she had been beautiful when somber, Knight was gorgeous when she smiled. Red lips framed perfect white teeth, and dimples kissed the corners of her mouth. Her eyes sparkled. As Eden gasped for breath, she wondered how long ago she had stopped breathing.

  Chief Canton broke the silence. “Agent Knight will be your constant companion until we sort this out.”

  “My constant companion?” Eden fought back the terror that overtook her at the idea of being in constant contact with Agent Knight.

  “Constant,” Knight cooed and raised a salacious eyebrow.

  “I … I don’t think that’s necessary,” Eden said.

  “Suit yourself,” Knight said in a huff
as she whirled back toward the elevator.

  “Agent Knight, I need you on this case,” the chief said. He narrowed his eyes at Eden and got to his feet.

  Knight turned around to face the two.

  “I’m happy to help, sir, but I won’t babysit some spoiled brat with a death wish.”

  Eden blushed from head to toe. No one had ever called her a spoiled brat. “Who the hell do you think you are?” she snapped at the agent.

  “I’m all that stands between you and certain death,” Knight said. “Do you want my help or not?”

  The truth almost made Eden throw up. She knew she was in danger from something.

  “Yes, please,” she said.

  Chapter 2

  As they rode the elevator down, Knight stood beside Eden. Eden was five-eight and the agent towered over her. She must be six feet tall, Eden thought. Knight shifted from one foot to the other, and a soft, pleasing fragrance filled the elevator. She smells good too. Eden studied the woman beside her from the corner of her eye.

  As the elevator door opened, Eden realized that once again she was holding her breath in Knight’s presence.

  “Where’s your car?” Knight asked.

  “I … I don’t have it with me. The police picked me up at my home and brought me here.”

  “I have mine,” the brunette said. “Is that okay with you?”

  Eden nodded. She was surprised Knight had asked her approval. They walked to the parking garage, where an unbelievable-looking car backed from its parking space and pulled to a stop in front of them.

  Knight approached the car, and the front doors opened automatically. The back falcon-wing doors lifted, and the wolf glided into the back seat. The car looked like a giant hawk preparing to take flight.

  Eden took her seat, and the seatbelt locked around her as the door closed on its own. Knight slipped into the driver’s seat and all the doors closed. “Address?” she said, one brow cocked at Eden.

  Eden recited her address and watched as the information appeared on the car’s computer screen. Without making a sound, the vehicle moved forward.

  “What kind of car is this?” Eden inquired.

  “Electric,” Knight answered. “Tesla prototype, test vehicle.”

  Eden watched as the agent steered the car out of downtown Ft. Worth and onto I-30 West. With all her wealth, Eden had never ridden in a car as smooth and luxurious. The eerie silence of the vehicle was almost unnerving.

  “I’m surprised you drive an electric car,” Eden said. “I expected you to be more the hopped-up speedster type. You know, like a Bugatti Veyron SS .”

  Knight glanced at Eden and smiled. “Tess will go from zero to sixty in 2.5 seconds and tops out at speeds over a hundred and fifty miles per hour. I figure that’s all the car I need.”

  “You call your car Tess?”

  “I name everything that is important to me, Miss Daye.” Knight narrowed her eyes and looked at the blonde.

  Eden glanced over her shoulder. The sleeping wolf lay on her stomach and covered the entire seat. Eden guessed her weight at over a hundred pounds.

  “What’s her name?”

  “El Cazador. I call her Caz,” Knight replied.

  “The Hunter,” Eden said.

  Knight cast an approving glance at the blonde next to her and nodded.

  “What about you? Do you have a name?” Eden said.

  “You may call me Agent Knight.” The brunette smirked. “K-n-i-g-h-t.”

  “I bet you’re no one’s white knight.” Eden’s caustic tone made Agent Knight look at her again.

  Agent Knight didn’t respond.

  ##

  The GPS system led them around a beautifully manicured golf course. Knight recognized it as River Crest Country Club. Her family had belonged to the elite club for more years than she could remember. Tess eased to a stop in front of an imposing set of gates. Knight waited as Eden dug through her purse for a remote device.

  “I … I’m sorry. The gates automatically open when they recognize my car. I’ve never used the remote before.” She finally pulled the small box from her purse and pushed the button. The gates swung open to allow the car admittance and then closed behind it.

  Agent Knight surveyed the grounds as far as she could see. A winding road ducked behind tall shrubs and trees, hiding the gate and entrance road from sight. They were in their own little world.

  “Follow this road to the back,” Eden instructed. “You can park Tess in the garage.”

  Knight chuckled. “Thank you, Miss Daye.”

  ##

  Agent Knight pulled the Tesla into the garage, and the car doors opened on some unseen command. Caz leaped from the back seat and stretched. Knight watched the wolf as the animal slinked into the woods around the Daye mansion.

  Let me know if you find anything unusual.

  The wolf stopped and looked back over her shoulder as if acknowledging her master’s thoughts before disappearing into the woods.

  “I need to go home and get a few things,” Knight said as she walked into the library of the mansion. “If I’m to stay here, I’ll need clean clothes and a toothbrush.” Her glorious smile captivated Eden. “I assume you’ll take me out in public.”

  “Probably not,” Eden huffed. “I don’t even know your name. How can I introduce you to people? Do you want others to know you’re with the police?”

  “Darke,” Agent Knight said.

  “You’ll be back before dark?” Eden snorted. “That’s reassuring. What if that … that thing comes back for me?”

  “D-a-r-k-e,” Knight said. “My name is Darke Knight. I’ll leave Caz to protect you. You’ll be safe, and I’m not exactly with the police.” Knight turned on her heel and headed for the door. “Don’t leave the house until I return.”

  Eden walked to the door. Her mouth hung open as she watched the dark beauty getting into her car.

  “Darke Knight?” Eden said. “Who the hell names their daughter Darke Knight?”

  Eden jumped when Margaret, her estate manager, entered the room. “Miss Eden, there’s a huge black dog lying on the back terrace. Should I call security?”

  “No, Margaret. That’s a guard … dog. Her name is Caz. Please inform the rest of the staff of her presence.” Eden started up the stairs to dress for dinner. “Oh, and Margaret, a tall brunette will be here in an hour. Please put her in the gold room. She’ll be staying with us for a while.”

  Eden wasn’t certain how long she could stand Darke Knight. The woman made her uneasy. Knight was too smug, too self-assured. Eden had been on edge from the moment Knight stepped from the elevator.

  Of course, she’s confident and at ease , Eden thought. She’s been in her element. She has the police wrapped around her little finger and a wolf and a car—Tess—that do her bidding. Eden chastised herself for using the car’s name. Only children named inanimate objects.

  A soft knock on her door drew Eden from her thoughts. “Come in.”

  “Miss Eden, are you attending the dinner at the country club tonight, or do you wish to dine at home?” Margaret inquired. “It’s the beginning of the holiday celebrations.”

  “I’ll dine at home. No, on second thought, I’ll attend the dinner.”

  Eden walked to her window overlooking the mansion’s courtyard. Yes, dinner at the club will be interesting. Let’s see how at ease Agent Darke Knight is in my world.

  ##

  Eden surveyed her image in the full-length mirror. She had selected a burgundy dress with long sleeves and a scooped neck. Pearl earrings and necklace complemented the dress. Her long blonde hair fell freely around her shoulders. She examined her reflection and wondered if Agent Knight would approve of her appearance. It troubled her when she realized that what Knight thought mattered to her.

  Eden located Margaret in the kitchen. “When Miss Knight arrives, please ask her to join me in the clubhouse for dinner,” Eden said.

  The evening was pleasant with a slight breeze whispering thr
ough the trees. Eden decided to walk to the clubhouse. It felt good to get outside, and the exercise would do her good. She’d been cooped up in the mansion since her sister’s disappearance.

  ##

  Eden was nursing her second drink at her table in the back of the dining room when a hush fell over the merrymakers. She looked up to see what had caused the stillness and watched as Darke Knight glided toward her table. Eden realized that every eye in the room was on the ravishing brunette.

  Darke wore an amber-colored floor-length dress, plunged low in the front to reveal perfect cleavage. A floor-to-thigh slit provided a fleeting glimpse of the woman’s long, toned legs.

  Darke stopped at Eden’s table and waited to be invited to sit with her. Her gaze locked with Eden’s as she stood across from her.

  Eden cleared her throat. For some reason, she couldn’t make her lips move. She nodded at the chair.

  Darke’s lips twisted into a half smile. Eden knew the woman wasn’t going to make this easy. She gulped the rest of her drink and cleared her throat again. “Please join me.”

  Darke nodded and reached for her chair. A man appeared from nowhere to assist her. “Please, allow me.”

  Darke smiled and thanked him as she took her seat. Suddenly, a waiter arrived with a bottle of wine and another glass.

  The sommelier joined them and bowed as he uncorked the wine. “It is a privilege to have you with us tonight, Miss Knight.” It was obvious Darke was no stranger to those who worked at the country club. He waited as Darke sipped the wine and gave her approval of the selection.

  Eden was surprised to see that Darke was as at home with the country club set as she had been with the law enforcement officers.

  Darke waited until the waiter took their order and left the table before she spoke to Eden. “I told you to stay in your home.”

  “You can’t order me around,” Eden muttered through clenched teeth.