What the fuck. I stood taller. “I don’t take orders. I give them. You have a vampire problem, so let’s deal with it. We’ll go in and flush out the suckers, and you and your … pack will cover the exits and nab them as they make a break for it.”
The corner of his mouth hooked up. “Nab?”
Was he mocking me? Annoyance flared hot in my chest. “Grab, pinch, wallop, whatever.”
Several more figures stepped out of the alley. Seven in total. Paired up with us four, that was eleven against … “How many vamps do we think are in there?”
“They’ve been banding into claves,” Grayson said, his voice a deep rumble that seemed to vibrate through me. “Anything from ten to fifteen in a clave, and their numbers are growing.”
In other words, we had no idea. “Why this place? Why are they attracted to Killion’s as a hunting ground?”
Grayson’s lip curled. “Bliss.”
I gave him a blank look.
He arched a brow. “You have no idea what that is, do you?”
I offered him an uncertain smile. “Happiness?”
He let out a surprised snort. “In a sense. Bliss is a drug created by outliers for outliers. A nice little relaxation pill that loosens inhibitions, but when consumed by humans, it makes them doubly prone to suggestion. Word on the street is that they deal it here. A lot.”
“A vampire can simply ask a human to leave with him or her,” Sariah said. “Or ask them to slit open their vein, and they’d do it.”
Like when Peiter had asked me to forget what I’d seen, or maybe more like Mal when he’d made me want to touch his—Nope, not thinking about that. But I’d learned a thing or two about suggestion.
Oh yes. “Doesn’t the person have to want to do the thing, or be open to it for suggestion to work?”
“Not with Bliss,” Sariah explained. “With Bliss, a human will literally do anything they’re asked to by the first person they set eyes on after the drug hits their system.”
Like imprinting in baby birds. “I don’t get it. Surely a human would see a vampire and run the other way before they could be drugged. I mean, they have those dark-pitted eye sockets …”
Grayson’s smile was wry. “Human minds rationalize what they see up to the point that they can no longer do so. And trust me, they rationalize a lot. Vampires look human, aside from their pallor and their eyes. Up until they unsheathe their fangs and strike, a human would be unaware, and after that … well, it’s too late.”
Mal, Conah, and Azazel looked human. They drank blood because they were demons who needed it to survive, but they didn’t kill to get it. These bastardized versions were straight-up murderers.
The Loup Garou to Grayson’s left stepped forward. “Are we going to stand out here, giving the new Dominus a fucking lesson on outliers, or are we going to—Argh.”
The Loup who’d spoken dangled a foot off the ground, eyes bugging as Grayson’s hand tightened on his throat.
The alpha looked calmly up at his pack member. “Speak out of turn again, and I will rip out your throat.”
Heat rushed through my veins, not disgust, not fear, but something else. Something that was almost like excitement. Grayson’s actions excited me, and there was that clawing in my belly again.
Man, I was one sick puppy.
Grayson turned his head slightly as if listening and then inhaled deeply. I don’t know why, but I took a step back instinctively. But Grayson’s pale gray eyes were on me now, not impassive, not assessing, but blazing with a hunger that matched the swirling need in the pit of my stomach.
I needed to look away. To break the connection, because my body was doing shit it shouldn’t, like tightening and softening and throbbing as blood rushed to all the right places that would usually make for a rollicking good time. But I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
The Loup Garou suspended in the air made a gurgling sound and then sagged in Grayson’s grasp, and only then did the alpha release me with a blink. The Loup Garou dropped to the ground, suddenly free. His eyes flashed silver in the moonlight, and his lip curled, but he didn’t say a word.
“O-okay.” I smiled tersely. “Let’s get this show on the road.” I focused on my team. “Blend in. Buy a drink. Look like the furniture.” I looked over at Grayson. “You get your men to cover the exits.”
The Loup Garou, who’d only a moment ago been suspended in the air, glared at me, and I could feel the tension radiating off him. No need for shields to be down to know that this guy didn’t like the way I was speaking to his alpha. But Grayson himself didn’t look offended.
He nodded. “Cover the exits,” he ordered his men.
They scattered. I stared at him, just standing there. “Um, okay, good luck.” I was about to turn away when he started walking toward us.
What was he doing? My body went into high alert, not wanting him close and craving it at the same time.
He stopped a couple of feet away from me. “You’ll be my date. I know the bouncer, so I’ll get us in quickly.”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Without him, we’d have to queue. Wait, did he just say date?
He closed the distance between us until we were almost chest to chest, and I was forced to look up to see his face. My gaze snagged on the smooth masculine column of his throat, lingered on his stubborn chin, skated over his full bottom lip, and finally locked on his. Damn, those eyes were like magnets pulling me closer.
I tensed up to prevent myself from leaning into him. I wanted to argue with him, but that would be telling him that he bothered me, that he affected me. Like fuck was I doing that.
I kept my tone light. “Fine. Let’s just do this.”
I spun on my heel and strode away from him, putting distance between us. Needing to breathe, but he was by my side in a blink. I bit back a gasp as his hand branded the small of my back. He’d slid it beneath the hem of my jacket and placed it over the thin material of my halter neck. The cheek of him! Heat swirled and radiated out from the point of contact, and the clawing inside me started up again. I walked faster, wanting to get away from his touch, but he kept pace, that damned hand continually pushing heat into me.
“Relax,” he said. “We’re on a date, remember.”
“I’m perfectly relaxed.”
“I can smell your nerves, among other things.”
Other things? What did he mean by that? No, I didn’t want to know, and then we were at the entrance and getting glared at by the people in the queue because they knew we were about to cut in.
The bouncer took one look at Grayson and raised the red rope. No conversation. Nothing. Just a look.
Who was this guy?
A Loup Garou. A shifter. A wolf? Was his fur soft? What would it feel like to rub up against him when he was in his wolf form? Why the hell did I care?
We slipped into the darkness of the club, surrounded by vibrations of the thudding music. It beat against my skin and traveled through my bones. Strobe lights painted the room in rainbow hues and made the humans inside look like multi-colored smurfs.
Sariah came to a stop beside me. “We’ll take the ground floor of the club, you two scope first floor. Alert me with the comm when you spot them.”
I looked up at Grayson’s profile as he scanned the room. The lights made his eyes flash dangerously, and when he dropped his hand from the small of my back, relief and disappointment swirled in my chest. But then he took my hand and laced his fingers through mine, and my lungs forgot their function for a moment. Warm tingles melted up my arm and settled in my belly. My gaze shot up to meet his, and my pulse thudded hard in my throat at the look of raw hunger in his eyes. But then his brows came down as if he was pissed off. He blinked sharply and looked away.
“Stay close,” he ordered.
Hard not to when he was tugging me along. Fuck. Focus, Fee. Look for bad guys. But it was hard to concentrate on anything else but my hand and the feel of his fingers against mine. I blew out a breath, ignoring the dumb flutter low
in my stomach, and focused on faces.
We were looking for dark pits for eyes and pale skin. Heck, with the damn lights in here, pallor was going to be hard to check. Eyes it was. We reached the stairs that led to the upper floor and began to climb. I used the vantage point to look down on the masses. The dance floor was already heaving.
“Not down there,” Grayson said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“My senses don’t lie.” His jaw tightened, and he flicked a gaze my way.
It was a predatory glance, and something primitive in the back of my mind whispered run. But his grip on me tightened as if he sensed my intention, and then we were on the first floor. It was quieter here. A small dance floor, a bar, sofas, and booths. People lounged, kissed, and probably did more in the shadowy nooks. The smell of sex was potent in the air.
“You can let go of my hand now.” I tugged, and he released me.
We walked toward the bar, scoping out everyone. There were no vampires here.
“It’s still early,” Grayson said. “What would you like to drink?”
“Drinking on the job?” I cocked a brow at him.
“Blending in,” he replied.
“Just a Coke.”
I was not putting alcohol in my system around this guy. Reducing my already tenuous inhibitions was not a good idea.
The bar wasn’t busy, and we got our drinks and were about to step away when a wiry guy with a receding hairline joined us.
“Grayson.” He smiled, showcasing too much gum. “What brings you to my humble establishment?”
Grayson blinked down at the man. “Just a little leisure.” He slid an arm around my waist and tucked me into his side a little too possessively.
Shit, he was a total hard muscle beneath that shirt, and it was all pressed up against me. I inhaled, and my head was filled with the scent of pinecones.
Focus.
The man glanced at me but only briefly. “I assumed you were checking up on me.” He shrugged. “I don’t blame you. I did some research of my own on the murders. I was shocked to discover that many of the victims were last seen here.” His mouth tightened. “It’s why I installed extra security cameras and hired more security staff. I won’t allow those filthy vermin to use my club to hunt.”
“What I want to know, Killion, is how they get in,” Grayson said smoothly. “Your bouncer is an outlier. He should be able to see them for what they are.”
“I have no idea,” Killion said. “Trust me, if I did, those bastards would be dead.”
Grayson offered him a small, tight smile. “Well, let’s hope your security cameras help. Although I’m not sure how they would when vampires can’t be picked up on camera.”
He didn’t wait for Killion’s reply before steering me away from the bar and toward one of the shadowy booths that had an awesome view of the whole floor.
I glanced back at Killion, but the lights made it difficult to read his expression. “You think he’s lying?”
“I know he is,” Grayson said.
“You think he’s in on it.”
“Yes, but without proof, there’s little I can do.”
Except catch the fuckers himself. He was protecting his territory, keeping it safe, and it was my job to help him.
The booth was the perfect spot to watch for vampires, but my mind kept wandering to Grayson’s thigh pressed to mine, and the way his shirt hugged his bicep or how his throat bobbed when he took a sip of his whiskey. He smelled of pine and woods and sex. Fuck, he smelled of sex. I couldn’t help it. I cracked my shields and almost bit my tongue as my clit went into meltdown, throbbing and aching. Crap. I slammed the shields down and took a gulp of my Coke. How was he sitting there so calmly when he was so turned on? Wait … was I turning him on? I was still throbbing even with the shields back up. I couldn’t work like this. This was insane, and there had to be a reason for it. But right now, I needed to focus on vampires.
I nudged him. “I need to get out.”
He turned his head. “No vampires yet.”
“I know. I need the ladies’.”
He chuffed and then slid out of the booth. He didn’t move far, so I had to brush past him to get out. He cupped my elbow to steady me, and I swear the heat from his hand penetrated the material of my jacket. Penetrated … Oh, get a grip, Fee.
“Have you not heard of personal space?” I pulled away, suddenly annoyed, and strode off before he could answer.
What the fuck was he doing crowding me with his abs and his pecs and all the fucking pheromones? It had to be a Loup thing. Maybe it was like a wolf period or something where they just leached sex.
Or maybe it’s you, the annoying little voice in my head said. Maybe you’re just horny.
Yeah, me and Errol were going to have a nice night in after this was over. The neon light for the ladies’ was up ahead. I was almost there when my attention was pulled to the left. A couple stood up against the wall. Guy with his palm braced just above the woman’s head, chin tucked in while she peered up at him. Red light splashed across her face. Her blank, slack face. Shit. Behind them, two guys hovered by the sofa with pits where their eyes should be. Where had they come from? I scanned the floor and spotted another set of stairs leading up.
Another floor?
The guy by the wall pushed off and took the woman’s hand. They headed up those stairs, and the other two guys followed.
Vampires.
I’d found some vampires.
Chapter Fourteen
We crowded onto a narrow corridor that lived at the top of the stairs. Grayson hadn’t doubted what I’d seen, and neither had the crew, thank goodness. So maybe we were in time to save the human woman. But caution was key. We had no idea how many vampires were up here.
There was a turn up ahead, and I strained to listen for sounds of activity.
“You didn’t really need the ladies’, did you?” Grayson asked.
I frowned. “Hush.”
Sariah made a strange sound. I glanced at her, and her eyes were wide. She looked from me to Grayson.
Grayson slipped ahead of us. “Hang back,” he ordered. “Let me scope it out.”
He went ahead and paused at the turn to glance back at us. Our gazes locked, and a frisson of awareness shot through me right down to my toes, but then he was gone.
Sariah grabbed my arm.
“What?” I mouthed to her.
She leaned in. “You can’t tell the alpha of the Regency Pack to hush.”
“I was trying to listen for activity. Besides, he isn’t the boss of me.”
She blinked slowly at me, her cat’s eyes assessing as if she wasn’t entirely sure what she was dealing with. “This is his territory. There are protocols and etiquette. We’re here because they allow it.”
“Well, he hasn’t ripped her throat out yet,” Nix said dryly. “So that’s a positive sign.”
Nox chuckled. “He wants to have sex with her.”
Sariah made a choking sound.
Nox rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, you can smell the pheromones too.”
Grayson wanted to have sex with me, and I wasn’t sure the feeling wasn’t mutual.
“Loup Garou do not have sex with demons,” Nix said. “Our scent repels them.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t get the memo,” Nox said. “Did you not see him sniffing Fee earlier?”
I didn’t have time to focus on their theories. Grayson hadn’t returned. How long did it take to scope out the corridor? Worry prickled my scalp. “I’m going to check on him.”
“He said to wait,” Sariah reminded me.
“And he is not in charge of this operation.” I skulked up the corridor and paused at the turn. Back to the wall, I slid forward and peered around the corner. An empty cream corridor with light brown laminate flooring and an intersection up ahead. No sign of Grayson.
I turned to call to the reapers and bit back a yelp to find them right behind me.
Nix grinned. “You d
on’t get to go solo, Dominus. We’re a team.”
“Grayson’s gone.” Sariah looked worried.
Foreboding itched at the back of my mind. “So let’s go find him.”
* * *
What the fuck was this place? A maze? Corridors melted into one another as we took turn after turn and not a single door in sight. And that smell, sharp and acrid, hitting the back of my throat made me want to cough.
“Can you smell that?” I rubbed my nose with the back of my hand.
“Smell what?” Nix asked.
“It smells like a dying bonfire.”
Nox cursed.
“It’s magic,” Sariah said. “This floor is spelled.” She looked at me strangely.
“What?”
“How can you smell that?”
“How can you not?”
“Vampires don’t do spells,” Nix reminded us. “They must have paid a witch to do it.”
“Fuck,” Nox said. “We are so fucked.”
Sariah chewed on her bottom lip. “The vampires are probably using this floor as a portal to their hideout, grabbing humans and taking them to another location via this floor, but anyone who shouldn’t be up here gets stuck.”
“They probably nabbed Grayson,” Nox added.
Great. “Then how do we get out?”
All three turned to look at me, mouths turned down as if to say, we don’t.
No. I refused to accept that. “If there’s a way in, there’s a way out. Think about it. The spell can’t make this place bigger than it is, right? I mean, it can’t literally manipulate matter.”
“Some spells can,” Sariah said. “But you’d have to be an extremely powerful witch.” She pondered for a moment. “I doubt the vamps would have access to anyone like that, let alone the money to pay them.”
“So, it’s an illusion, a manipulation.” I sniffed the air. “Magic. I couldn’t smell it before, so maybe if we head in a direction where the smell is weaker …”
“Backtrack …” Nox nodded. “We can’t smell it, though,” he reminded me.
“Then we utilize my nose.”
I closed my eyes and focused on my olfactory sense. “Sariah, take my hand.”
Reaper Uninvited: Deadside Reapers book 2 Page 9
