Page 15 of Wicked Succubus

Anticipation courses through me at the thought that we might finally be getting somewhere. My pulse quickens, and blood pumps faster through my veins. I shift restlessly, the energy buzzing under my skin, begging for release. This chase has my predatory instincts flaring up. I’m a hound catching the first whiff of a fresh trail, even if it isn’t the trail we were sent here to hunt.

My fingers tap impatiently on the receipts as I imagine the tech team hunting down more clues. I’ve never been one for sitting around waiting. I want to act, to move, to hunt. My inner demon stirs, drawn by the promise of confrontation.

“Don’t you think they’ll ask questions?” Rhett’s voice snaps me from my swirling thoughts. He eyes me knowingly as he finishes copying down the names. He senses the shift, the awakening inside me. And he’s right, I need to be smart about this, but the rising thrill of the chase is too intoxicating to ignore. It feels like one step closer to that irresistible scent.

“They’ll believe it’s part of the case. It’s the logical thing to do.”

If there’s a Succubus out there, and she’s been hiding this long, there’s no way she’d be dumb enough to give out her real name and real address. This is only because we need the person the smell belongs to. The techs won’t know that it’s not related to the mission we’re on.

“I guess you’re right.”

I grab my phone from my pocket, dial the number, and go back into the room. The scent is so faint but so alluring. I have to know who it belongs to.

“Hey Jerry, I’m going to send you a list of names. Can you find their addresses for me?”

“Sure thing,” he says before I hang up the phone.

I grab a room key while the clerk is still dreaming, and Rhett and I walk into an empty room. I lay the pieces of paper down on the bed, take a picture of every single one of them, and send them to Jerry. We wait for a while, and Rhett keeps an eye on the window to make sure no one shows up.

I’m sprawled across the end of the bed by the time my phone pings. I open my message and smile.

“Got a place!” I yell out.

Rhett comes back in from the bathroom looking hopeful. “We shouldn’t go on this side mission,” he argues, though it sounds like he’s trying to convince himself too.

“Are you able to resist the call?” I ask. Rhett shakes his head, confirming what I already knew. “Yeah, me either.”

“So what, we go, and then what happens?” He leans against the front door.

“I have no fucking clue. Maybe we can fuck whoever it is and hopefully get it out of our system.”

He rubs his chin in thought before it looks like he makes up his mind. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

We walk back to our rental car. I put the address in the navigation while Rhett releases the clerk from his hold.

“The first place isn’t too far.” My excitement is through the roof right now.

What is it about the scent that draws us in? That makes us halt our assignment just so we can go out looking for it? In all the years we’ve been hunting together, this has never happened to us before. I look over at Rhett. He’s staring out the window in deep thought. He probably has the same questions running through his mind. What will happen once we meet her? Is she or he nice or a horrible person? What will that person think of us?

“There are ten locations for people who have rented room 105 in the past month,” I say as I pull up to the first address. “Jerry in tech managed to track every guest based on receipts and records.”

Now Rhett and I have to investigate each one, following our noses to find the source. I know it’s a long shot, but the smell has us hooked. We have to pursue it, even if it derails Tanner’s pointless mission.

We get to a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. I stop when we arrive at the dilapidated house matching the first address. Rhett and I assess our surroundings before breaking into the place. As soon as we enter, I know it’s a bust. No trace of that tantalizing aroma, just the stale air of abandonment. One down, nine more potential places to check. I’m hoping we discover the origin soon. Not knowing is keeping me on edge. Who does that scent belong to? And what will we do once we actually find them?

We get to a sketchy neighborhood and pull to a stop in front of the next address. It doesn’t look like anyone is home, but we check the area before slipping in through an unlocked window in the back. One whiff and we know this isn’t it.

“Thank the goddess they’re all fairly close together,” Rhett says as he glances at the message from Jerry.

He enters the third address and we’re on our way. The next six don’t pan out either. It’s already late, but we’re determined to find the scent.

“One last address,” Rhett says, and he sounds a little less hopeful.

“It’ll be the one,” I reassure him.

We’ve finally made it to the apartment.

“This is it?” Rhett asks as I double-check the navigation. I nod, taking in the worn-down building. Chipped stucco clings desperately to the structure, while most of the windows are either shattered or hastily boarded up with weathered plywood. The walls that were likely vibrant and welcoming decades ago are now faded to a sad palette of yellow with streaks and grime, evidence of years without care. It’s clear this building has seen better days.

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