Death was the only option for escape.
The final note of the song echoed through the rafters of the hall. A moment of silence hovered before the applause began. She bowed her head, scanning the assembled audience. She didn’t know why she searched; it wasn’t as if she recognized any of them. The people she sang to were nameless, faceless entities. She rather liked it that way.
Then she saw him. He sat at one of the high tables, his hand resting on top of another woman’s. The woman with dark hair was laughing at something he said and made no move to pull away.
The Mistress was right. He had gotten over his lost love.
She wanted to scream about the injustice of it all. Scream about how much of a heartless bastard he was. All she could do was stand there in silent agony. Her jaw hardened. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. She pivoted back toward the band and silently told them to start the next song. She faced the crowd again. The first guitar lick came over the speakers. Never Again by Kelly Clarkston. She blinked away the tears and focused on the couple hidden behind the veil of darkness.
Her heart was shattered. The bastard who did it would pay dearly.
Jared started to say something to Alex when the next set started. He let out an aggravated breath. She’d never be able to hear him over this. Tapping her hand to get her attention, he mouthed a question about finding somewhere quieter to talk for a bit. She nodded and gathered her bag to follow. Alex stopped by his side, watching the stage with him.
No way. There is no way it’s her.
Alex nudged him with a shoulder.
“Jared?” She yelled over the music, but he barely heard her.
Jared shoved his way to the front past a group of people who didn’t want to budge. They pushed back, and he ended up right back where he started. He was a boat against the tide -one step forward, two steps back.
Jared ran a frustrated hand through his hair. This is ridiculous, it can’t be her. But the voice.
As the song came to the end and the last chord was suspended in the air, Jared made his move again. This time the crowd parted easily for him. Alex followed his lead.
Lance fell in step not far behind the pair. An uneasy feeling settled in his gut. He caught Alex’s arm and held her back. Watching Jared slip through the curtain to the backstage area, he held her back. “You may be safer out here. This doesn’t look good.”
“What happened? We were about to leave, suddenly he just…changed. Does he do this a lot?”
“Jared? No. Something is definitely wrong. Hang back while I check it out.” Lance winked at her and vanished behind the curtain.
Not a moment later, she heard a muffled curse from Jared’s friend and the slam of a fire door. Alex hesitated. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching and slipped backstage. All she got was an empty room with the fire door cracked open. Pushing the door open all the way, Alex froze.
The blonde singer was running from Jared. He yelled for her to stop. Alex swore he called her Giovanna. It was impossible. His fiancée’s name was Giovanna. She was dead according to Gene’s story.
Jared reached out to grab the woman’s arm. A leather-clad man stepped from the shadows and leveled a gun at Jared. Alex screamed while sprinting toward him. He spun at the sound of her voice. The gunman took advantage of the confusion and fired his weapon. The shot caught Jared in the neck. His hand covered the wound. Blinking, he staggered back. Alex had just enough time to wrap an arm around him before he collapsed, leaning into her. They both fell to the ground. The blonde glanced back briefly, anger and hatred glowing in her eyes before running back inside.
Alex held onto Jared, rocking slowly. The man in black leather came closer and leveled the gun on her. His curled lip exposed a set of fangs. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she was sure this was the end. He was going to shoot her. Closing her eyes, she began to pray for it to be over quickly.
A vicious growl cut through the night air to her left. Alex’s eyes shot open. She watched a wolf slink from the shadow of a dumpster and step between she and the gunman.
The wolf’s fur stood on end. Its lips rolled up in a feral snarl before launching at the gunman. The gun flew from his hand and skidded across the pavement. The wolf snapped at the assailant’s exposed throat, clawing through his clothes and leaving deep gouges in the man’s chest and abdomen.
The gunman flipped the wolf and pinned him to the pavement. He brought his head back with a hiss, exposing deadly fangs poised to rip the wolf’s throat out. Alex scrambled to retrieve the gun and aimed it at the struggling pair. Her hands shook. She tried to get a clear shot, but every time she thought she had one, they moved. Finally, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and pulled the trigger, hoping for the lesser evil to fall. The gun went off and kicked back, knocking her head into the brick wall behind her.
Bleary-eyed, Alex watched the man crumple to the ground. The wolf morphed into Jared’s friend, Lance. She shook her head, rubbing her eyes. She must have hit her head harder than she thought.
Lance pulled a dagger from the small of his back and stabbed the man in the chest. There was a blinding flash of light, and the gunman was gone. He replaced the dagger in its sheath and came toward her slowly, his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat. Alex lifted the gun and aimed it at him. She had no idea what she had witnessed and was terrified he would change again and turn on her.
“It’s ok. It’s over. No one is going to hurt you,” Lance said softly.
Slowly he reached out to take the gun. Alex was reluctant to give up her only source of protection. His fingers wrapped around the barrel gently tugging it away from her. She held tight for a few moments more before releasing her grip. Her hands continued shaking once the gun was gone. She rolled Jared’s head in her lap, fully expecting to find blood coating the both of them, but there was nothing.
Lance reached over and plucked a small dart from Jared’s neck, holding it up in the dim light of the alley. “He shot him with a tranquilizer dart. They had no intention of killing Jared here. We have to move him, or they’ll be back.”
Alex was on the verge of hysteria. She watched the impossible happen, and now he was telling her that she had to move quickly? She was lucky if she could stand on her own two feet. Never mind the fact he wanted her to book it out of there with the comatose lump on her lap. “Can’t you poof us out of here or something?”
Lance chuckled. “No, sweetheart, I can’t. I wasn’t blessed with those powers. I’m only able to shift my form. But we have to get him somewhere safe. The next time it’s not going to be a tranquilizer loaded in their guns.”
Alex nodded slowly. He lifted Jared off of her. Lance settled him across his shoulders and offered her a hand to help her up. “How far is your apartment from here?”
“What do you mean my apartment? Can’t you take him home?” There was no way the two of them were going to her place, none at all.
“Look, I understand you’re hesitant about this. I can smell your fear from here, but you have absolutely nothing to worry about where either of us is concerned. I’d be more worried about who that woman was on her way to meet.” He pointed his thumb in the direction the blonde disappeared. “I’m nothing in comparison to what will be coming through the door in a matter of minutes.”
“How do I know the two of you aren’t going to kill me when this is over? You were a dog, for crying out loud!”
Lance sighed and shifted uneasily, keeping an eye on the door. “A. I was not a dog, I was a wolf. Let’s get it straight. B. Whether you believe it or not, Jared and I are the good guys here.” He paused and tilted his head. “I hear them coming across the dance floor. Can we go now?”
She saw the fear in his eyes and decided to trust him, for now. “Okay, but I’m going to hang on to this,” Alex plucked the gun from his hand, “to make sure neither of you get any ideas.” She stuffed it in her purse. They hurried out of the alley to hail a cab.
Thirteen
MIK
HAIL TOOK A SLOW LONG SIP FROM HIS drink. His eyes traced over the crowd below. Tonight would be a good night. With the amount of revenue pouring in since the drinks began to flow earlier this evening, he would be able to make sure his employees received a little extra this week. He didn’t need the cash, but it was nice to have a fat bank account just in case.
He lowered the glass in his hand. A presence moved behind him. His dark brows drew together. Her cheek came into contact with his back, and Mikhail inhaled sharply. She wrapped slender arms around his waist. The skin beneath the black silk of his shirt smoldered at her touch. If he wasn’t positive her skin couldn’t scald him, he would have expected to smell burning flesh.
“You created quite a stir down there tonight, love. You have done your Mistress proud, I’m sure.” His thick Russian accent was warm and inviting. It belied his true demonic nature.
He patted her hands linked around his waist and took one in his, lifting it to his lips. Mikhail placed a gentle kiss across her knuckles. She had no idea he would do absolutely anything for her, even make a deal with the devil for her freedom. Which he had tried to do but her keeper denied him at every turn.
Mikhail Lyoshka was as fierce as they came where demons were concerned. Women were instantly seduced by his wavy jet-black collar-length hair and chivalrous charm. He held the regal bearing of a Czar and commanded the respect of everyone in his presence. His black-as-sin eyes were soulless, empty pits of pain and agony. He was the devil incarnate. No one wanted to find themselves on the receiving end of his wrath, which was exactly why Giovanna went to him the moment he called.
“I had no idea he would be here tonight, let alone with her. What will happen to him now?” She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears stinging her eyes.
“My men will handle the rest. Don’t you worry, pet.” Giovanna stiffened against him at the sound of her Mistress’ voice. She hadn’t noticed her sitting in the leather chair behind Mikhail’s desk. She was foolish to believe she had a slight reprieve from the woman’s presence. Giovanna let her arms slip from around Mikhail and faced the person who held her fate in her hands.
Absinthe leaned back in the black leather chair and propped her spike-heeled boots on the streamlined glass desk before her. She placed her fingertips together and regarded Giovanna quietly. “You did your part and will be rewarded well. I will personally make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone like he did you ever again. You have my word. Jared will feel pain unlike anything he has ever felt before.”
Giovanna wasn’t worried Absinthe wouldn’t be true to her word. She had seen the woman in action, and while she didn’t agree with her methods all the time, she couldn’t wait to see Jared pay. Giovanna had grown from the naïve fiancé he threw away fifteen years ago. She had been inducted into his world violently. Not once did he come home to see she was here waiting for him. He wrote her off as dead. Absinthe saved her and took her in the night of the attack.
Mikhail placed his drink on the corner of the desk and wrapped his long elegant fingers around her shoulders. “Why don’t you get yourself a drink and relax some, love? I’ll be along in a while. Your Mistress and I have some business to attend to, and then I’m all yours for the evening.” His breath was warm against her ear. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She despised him for the way he made her feel, but loved him for the exact same reason. Never in her life had she imagined that she’d care for someone so evil. Malevolence oozed from every pore in his body, making her body a molten lake of need. That was something Jared never succeeded in doing.
Giovanna diverted her attention to Absinthe. Her mistress inclined her chin in agreement. “You’ve earned a short break, pet. Go get your drink.”
Bowing her head, Giovanna retreated from the room quietly, making sure to close the door.
“She’s something else, Highness.” Mikhail leaned back on the desk and folded his arms across his chest. “It makes me wonder what plans you have for her once you destroy Bonatelli. By then she will have outlived her usefulness. Will she become another casualty of your little war or will you allow her to live her life freely?”
Absinthe laughed. “Have you known me to let any of my pets have their own life, Mikhail? She is mine to do with as I please.” She raised a delicately sculpted brow at the demon. “Why the continued interest in her fate?”
Mikhail shrugged. “No particular reason. It would be a shame to waste such a talented and beautiful woman.”
“Just spill it, Lyoshka. I’m not here to play games with you. You want her when all of this is done, don’t you?”
“You read me so well, Princess. Yes, I’d like to make you an offer you can’t resist, again.” He leaned over her and pressed a button on his desk phone. A few minutes later, the bouncer who had been guarding the velvet rope below stepped through the door. The UFC wanna-be stood a good six foot four and boasted a set of guns which would make any heavy-weight green with envy.
“You called, boss?” His eyes darted to the petite blonde sitting at Mikhail’s desk. Everyone here knew Absinthe, and none of them wanted to be in her presence alone. She had a sadistic streak a mile wide and was not afraid to show it on any occasion. For him to be called to the office with her here couldn’t be a good sign at all.
“Yes I did, Drew. I need you to keep the Princess company for a few moments while I check on our star. Think you can handle it?” Mikhail came around the desk and slapped a hand on the big man’s shoulder.
Drew’s voice cracked. “Yes sir, it would be my honor.”
Mikhail clapped his hands together, grinning. “Good. I shall return shortly.” He gave Absinthe a slight bow. “Bon Appétit.” He retreated from his office, locking the door behind him.
LANCE TOSSED JARED UNCEREMONIOUSLY ON the bed. He groaned and cracked open one eye before growling, rolling over to his side and burying his face in a pillow.
“Just like Sleeping Beauty, isn’t he? Only when he finally wakes, he’s going to have a hangover the size of Alaska.” He watched her hover uncomfortably at the bedroom door. “Let’s let the ogre sleep, shall we?” Lance gestured to the door. Alex stepped out, and he followed her into the living room.
Alex was still in shock over everything they’d been through tonight. She stepped into the living room, slipped her coat off and draped it over the back of a chair. Letting out a tired breath, she collapsed onto the couch and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. “How long will he be out? I’ve never dealt with someone hit by a tranquilizer dart before. It’s not in my job description, at least the last time I checked.”
“Not sure.” Lance removed the dart from his pocket and sniffed it. “But if he wakes up before the drug is completely out of his system, you’re in for a bit of fun. They hit him with Ketamine. He might be, shall we say, a little enamored of you.”
Alex opened her eyes wide. “You said I was completely safe with him here. Now you’re telling me that I have a guy strung out on Special K in my bed. This is just great!” She rubbed her brow. “What if he changes in to something else like you did? Tell me he’s something bigger and scarier than a wolf.”
“No, Alex. You are in no danger from him. He is an ordinary human who happened to get his ass drugged while chasing a ghost. No more surprises. At least not tonight, I promise.”
She was about to give Lance a piece of her mind when she realized he was heading for the door.
“Where do you think you’re going? You’re not leaving me here with Mr. Irresistible in there, are you?” She shot up and ran after Lance, latching onto his arm and dragging him back inside.
“You’re safe, trust me. Even in the state he’s in, Jared would never do anything you didn’t want him to. It’s not in him. He’s the noblest guy I know. Just make sure he drinks plenty of fluids when he wakes up, sometimes the drug can dehydrate a human. Oh, and Tylenol, give him plenty of Tylenol. He’s going to have one hell of a headache when he wakes up. I’ll make sure no one sends out the alarm that he’s gone missing and come bac
k tomorrow to pick him up. I covered our trail. The big bad guys won’t come searching for him here.”
Lance brushed a stray lock out of her pleading chocolate eyes and sighed. “I understand what he sees in you, Alex. Do me a favor and heal him. He’s been broken long enough.” He ducked out of her apartment and headed for the elevator. When the doors opened, he gave her a wave and stepped inside.
Alex stared after him in disbelief. Silently, she closed the door and slipped the bolt home. She leaned back on the door and gazed down the hall toward her bedroom. This is going to be a long night. She should gather some pillows and a blanket and camp out on the couch. It would be the much safer thing to do, but her heart kept tugging her toward the bedroom. What if he wakes up and needs help? What if he wakes up drugged, remember what Lance said?
She nibbled on her thumb and walked down the hall. Alex stood in the doorway, watching him sleep. He was so serene and peaceful. Alex tiptoed over to the bed and sat down. The back of her hand brushed the hair out of his face, testing for any rise in temperature. He was warm to the touch, but there was no trace of a fever. A good sign, at least. They didn’t need to complicate matters even more. She let her hand slip down and rest on his cheek. Jared nuzzled it in his sleep. The roughness from his dusting of beard growth scratched her palm.
He eased open one eye and watched her groggily. “Hi.” His voice came out like a purr. He kissed the heel of her hand.
Alex pulled away quickly and scooted to the edge of the bed with a gasp. “You’re awake?”
“Mmhmm.” His arm circled her waist and pulled her down beside him. Jared buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. “You smell so nice. I love the way you smell.”
He rubbed his face against her neck. Goose bumps erupted all over her body. Having him this close to her was a ticking time bomb. Alex wrapped her hand around his arm and tried to pry him loose, but even drugged, he was strong enough to hold tight. She let out a frustrated breath. This wasn’t going to work. She was just going to have to hope he passed out again before things got out of control.
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