by Trina M. Lee
“Wherever Sinclair is, he can take care of himself. You have more important things to do right now. Like stay alive.” With a shake of his dark head, Arys steered me inside with a hand on my waist. “You have this tendency to taunt death, my love. It’s frustrating.”
“I do no such thing,” I protested, enjoying the spark that jumped between us. “What you see as reckless behavior is me following my instinct. Give me some credit for not being dead yet.”
“Maybe just a little.”
I smacked him playfully, choosing to keep the conversation light. An argument about Kale was not on my agenda but finding him was. Sooner rather than later. I would give both Kale and Arys the benefit of the doubt for now. A vampire as old as Kale didn’t need me to babysit him.
The crowd had thinned considerably since we’d left. I saw a lot of regulars littered about, both human and vampire. One lone woman occupied the dance floor. With her head thrown back, long brown locks flowing, she spun in slow, lazy circles. High as a kite.
People got off on a vampire bite in different ways. The pain and the rush of being bitten, screwed or both by a vampire was enough for most people. However, the real euphoria came from the bite of a vampire with power. They could manipulate the experience on a metaphysical scale as well as physical. It was bliss. Deadly, dangerous bliss.
Two female vampires and the array of human men falling all over them had claimed the cozy little lounge area tucked in beside the bar. Bodies littered a chaise lounge and love seat. I had to do a double take to make sure they weren’t pushing the boundaries. This part of the club was public. Rules were rules.
A few jock guys sat around a table near the door loudly arguing sports. At first glance, they seemed to be in the wrong bar. Then I saw the bite one of them was trying unsuccessfully to hide with the collar of his jacket.
The rest of the crowd was made up of people mingling, drinks in hand, seeking to be or to have a playmate that likes to bleed. I had looked down on them once. Sometimes, I still did. I had no right; I was just like them. Power and blood were my drugs of choice, too. I just didn’t have the shameless courage to flaunt it openly.
Shaz sat alone at the bar, nursing a beer, watching us make our way toward him. Jez was nowhere in sight. That left the back rooms. Would she go so far as to take a vampire back to a private room to get some answers for me? That couldn’t possibly end well.
“Something is definitely up,” Shaz greeted me with a grim smile. “I didn’t get much, just that someone has the vampires in this city riled up. They’re afraid of you. But, they’re afraid of the one that wants you dead, too. After what you did to Bianca, I think they’re feeling trapped.”
Her name on his lips was like nails on a chalkboard. I wanted to cover my ears and scream. Instead, I pondered what he’d just said.
“So they’re being forced to choose which one of us they’d rather live with. Me or the one who wants me dead. Rock and a hard place. I bet I made that choice really easy for them that night.”
Several vampires had been present the night I attacked Bianca. They had felt what I’d done to her. That wasn’t going to win me any votes.
Arys nodded knowingly. “They should be afraid of you, Alexa. But, they know the benefits of having an ally in someone like you. You’ve never done a thing to any one of them without reason.”
“No,” I trailed off, lost in thought. “I have been a known hunter of vampires. I have a bond with the most powerful vampire in the city. There is no reason for them to trust me.”
My mind raced as I tried to put it together. I knew the one who was after me. I was sure of it. I thought back to a few months ago when a vampire had tried to stake me here in the club. What drove him to it was the belief that I would have power over him, something Shya had confirmed. I felt like I was missing a piece of the puzzle. So close.
“Let’s go through potential suspects.” Shaz held up a hand, ready to tick each one off on a finger.
Zoey? Only a year ago she had gone on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge on her father. Raoul’s abandonment had left her crazed and broken. Murdering his lovers, she had put me on her list. The night it all went down, the night Raoul died, Zoey made herself my enemy. I spared her life only because of the twisted teenage love for her father that I still held buried deep inside. After calling an informal truce with her, she’d killed an innocent man, proving she couldn’t be trusted. Still, I was certain she wasn’t involved in this.
No, it had to be a vampire. I ran through a small list in my head, dismissing each one. What was I missing?
“Then perhaps we should start with your uh, friend, pup,” Arys chimed in with a smirk that added sting to his words. “I’d think if anyone has a good reason to want Alexa dead, it’s her.”
Shaz locked his fierce green gaze on the brazen vampire. “It’s not her. And if it was, I would kill her myself.”
“Are you sure about that? It’s not always easy to kill someone once you’ve gotten close to them. In fact, it can put you in an awfully bad position. Think you’re ready for that?” Arys leaned on the bar, just close enough to Shaz to taunt him.
Tension flavored the atmosphere with something bitter and hot. Shaz wouldn’t take his eyes from Arys. The two of them stared into each other, sharing a wordless exchange that I recognized from past conflicts. This wasn’t the right time for them to go at each other.
“I get it, Arys,” Shaz snarled. “We’ve already gone over this. I said I would deal with it. Now back off.”
I cut Arys off before he could open his mouth again. Holding up a hand between them, I glowered. “This isn’t helping. Can we stay on track? Or, should I just bash your skulls together and get it over with?”
“I think I’ll pass on the skull bashing.” Shaz turned a smile on me, and I melted just a little.
Before I could voice my own speculation, Jez appeared in the doorway separating the back hall from the club. Her golden curls were in disarray. With wide green leopard eyes and blood spatters from head to toe, she seemed to have stepped straight out of a horror movie.
The sight of her shocked me. I scanned her for injuries, unable to tell how much, if any, of the blood was hers. “What the hell happened to you?”
She glided towards us with feline grace. Her bright red lips twisted into a crazed smile. “So um, is it bad if I accidentally killed him?”
Arys laughed, a low, devious sound. I gaped at Jez, not sure what to make of the situation.
“Who?” That seemed like a good place to start.
“You know, I never thought to get his name.” She shrugged and examined her bloody nails. “I got a little out of him before he got grabby. Once his hand landed on my ass without an invite, it was all over.”
I was flustered but encouraged. “You got something out of him?”
Jez busied herself smoothing down her tousled locks. Now that playtime was over, the finicky cat came out to regain its composure. “Yep. It’s a woman. He let it slip. He said that she put the hit out a week ago. A lot of vamps aren’t biting. They don’t want to get involved.”
Now that was interesting and not at all what I’d expected. Whether it was fear, respect or indifference keeping the majority from getting involved I didn’t care. I was happy to hear it.
“A woman. So, it could be Bianca.” Arys tilted his head thoughtfully and gave me a pointed look.
“It’s not!” The heat of Shaz’s anger was sudden and scorching. It seemed to slap and tickle all at the same time. Potent with that heady werewolf energy, I couldn’t help but react to it.
I watched Arys’s gaze fall to the pulse beating steadily in Shaz’s throat and realized I was reacting to his bloodlust. It rolled through me but didn’t grab hold of my weak will. Arys may have been easing my burden, but I didn’t like what he was thinking.
“I don’t think it’s her,” I interjected. I succeeded in drawing Arys’s attention my way. I shot him a warning look. “Seduction seems to be her thing. Not murder.
”
Shaz flinched at my words. His beer bottle suddenly dominated his interest. I knew he hated himself for getting involved with her. I wasn’t going to add to that.
“No way. Definitely not her,” Jez joined in with a laugh. “Not after the way you dropped her.”
“What about you, Arys?” I couldn’t help but speculate. “Are you sure one of your many ex-lovers isn’t on some kind of revenge kick? It’s happened before. And, trust me, that’s getting old.”
Arys tried to hide a smile but failed. “I can’t help the effect I have. I’m like a drug, you know. I can’t be held responsible for those who can’t handle the high.”
If Shaz didn’t fit that description, it would have been funny. I ran through every female vampire I knew, eliminating them as I went, until I got to one that I had been quick to dismiss. Too quick perhaps.
I met Jez’s gaze across the table, and we shared a thought. Maybe it should have been obvious. I didn’t want to believe it.
Simultaneously we said, “Lilah.”
Chapter Twelve
I waited for some semblance of shock to hit me. It didn’t. All I felt was the certainty that my hunch was right. I searched for a reason to rule her out, anything to discredit what my instinct insisted was the ugly truth.
Lilah had never openly threatened me or indicated in any way she saw me as a problem. In fact, she’d saved my ass in the past and even imparted a friendly warning about Shya. But, we had never been more than acquaintances. I knew very little about her other than the fact that she was a demon cursed into the corporeal form of a vampire. She still had power over other demons, though to what extent, I didn’t know. So why me?
“What the hell did you ever do to her?” Jez gave voice to my thoughts. “You killed Veryl because he was blackmailing her. She should be one of your biggest fans.”
“From what I know of Lilah, she isn’t anybody’s biggest fan,” I mused. “Maybe she thinks I know too much about her. Or, maybe there’s something in the files I swiped from Veryl that she doesn’t want me to see.”
We could speculate until we were blue in the face, but it wouldn’t do a damn bit of good. No matter what the details, there could only ever be one reason she would want to get rid of me or anybody else.
“Power,” Arys announced. “It’s always about power. Especially with demons.”
“Why wouldn’t she just kill Alexa herself?” Shaz asked, holding up a hand to signal the nearest waitress for another beer. “Why send vampires that haven’t been able to do the job?”
Nobody had an answer for that. I felt a desperate need to eliminate Lilah as a suspect. There was only one way to do that.
“I have to see her.” I reached for my keys, an idea forming fast. “Chances of her being at the office are slim, but if she’s not there, I may be able to find something there that I can use in a locator spell. Plus, she was asking me the other day about a missing item from Veryl’s office. I wouldn’t mind a chance to snoop around.”
“I’m coming with you.” There was a warning in Arys’s eyes. He wasn’t going to like this.
“You can’t. If I go in there with you and she’s there, it will be instantly suspicious. She may not even try anything if I’m alone. Not if she doesn’t want me to know she’s the one behind this.”
“I can go in with you, Alexa,” Jez volunteered almost gleefully. “You shouldn’t go alone. Just in case.”
Shaz shook his head and shoved his empty beer bottle aside. “Don’t do it, Lex. Wait it out. Gather more information first. You can’t just walk up to her and expect to chat it out.”
“I can’t just sit around waiting for the next attempt on my life either.” I looked to Arys, expecting him to side with Shaz. To my surprise, he appeared to be contemplating it.
“Alright, go.” It looked painful for Arys to spit the words out. “But, Jez goes with you. And, Shaz and I won’t be far away. I want an open link to you the entire time.”
I had expected a bigger fight from him. I was pleasantly surprised and relieved. Now that I understood more about our twin flame connection, I was able to understand our relationship in a new way. Our constant conflicts were often about the struggle for control. We both wanted it. We had the same need for it, and now I knew why. If what they say is true about the twins always being in conflict, then I guess we’d better get used to it.
Arys wasn’t a fan of my tendency to rush into something. He wasn’t so different though. If I didn’t determine whether or not Lilah was the one behind the hit, it would eat at me until I did. Coming to her was something she wouldn’t expect from me.
By the time Jez and I stood outside the office, I was buzzing with excitement. My goal was to come away from this confirming that it either was or was not Lilah. Walking around with a target on my back was stressful. The sooner I could put an end to it, the better.
Arys was half a block away with a less than enthusiastic Shaz. My pulse quickened as I pulled my power close, holding it ready. With Arys so close and the mental link between us wide open, the power flowed strong and plentiful. I didn’t expect to find Lilah here, but I planned to be ready for anything.
I’d gotten pretty good at cloaking in recent months, but I had yet to cloak the presence and energy of another person along with me. Still, I was confident I could cloak Jez, too, with Arys’s power blasting through me.
I held out a hand to Jez. “I hope this works. If anyone is inside, we can’t have them sensing us.”
Jez placed her hand in mine. Excited energy trickled from her to send a strange tickle up my arm. “I always thought Lilah was pretty sketchy, too detached, and her lack of emotion is scary.”
“She’s a demon. It just gets scarier from there. Ready?” I waited for her nod before pushing my energy out around us in a circle, cloaking us with a keenly focused thought. Jez gave a little gasp as my power encased her.
The main door to the office was locked, nothing the key wouldn’t open. I hesitated, feeling for the heavy demon magic I’d seen Lilah surround the place in before. Nothing. Not hitting a demon barrier was a good thing, but it also meant the chances of her being inside were slim. I couldn’t probe for her energy unless I dropped my circle and opened my energy up to her as well. Not happening.
An advantage to being a predatory animal was our innate ability to move silently. Hand in hand, we eased the door open just enough to slip through. My eyes easily adjusted to the dark. There wasn’t a single light on inside, but the thin rays of light that crept through the windows kept it from being absolute black. Slow and cautious, we rounded the corner from the entryway into the hall.
Noise drifted toward us. It took me a moment to realize it was the sound of two people in the throes of passion. Um, shit. I glanced at Jez with my eyebrows raised, and she shrugged, urging me on.
The sound was coming from Veryl’s office, or what had once been his office. The door was swung shut but not latched tight. About six inches of space allowed us a view into the room. My jaw dropped.
Lilah was sprawled on Veryl’s fancy old desk. Her copper colored hair was in disarray and her head thrown back in pleasure. Standing between her legs, groaning with each thrust, was Falon.
I sure as hell hadn’t expected this. I could feel Arys’s questioning touch on my mind, wanting to know what was going on. I let him see what I was seeing, and his grim amusement came in response. Jez’s expression revealed that she, too, found it funny. If she laughed and gave us away, we were screwed.
Too late. My power could hide me from a vampire, but it couldn’t fool an angel, even a fallen one. Falon turned his head, finding us in his line of sight. Our eyes met, and my stomach dropped.
I pushed Jez backwards, toward the door. All we could do now was attempt to leave as if we’d stumbled upon them by accident, which in a way we had. That would have been easier if I hadn’t cloaked our presence.
Falon never let us reach the door. The air rippled, and he was just there, his large silver wings iri
descent and shimmering. How he’d managed to make himself decent so quickly was beyond me. His wingspan allowed him to easily and effectively block our exit. With arms crossed over his chest, he scowled at us.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” I shot back. “But, I don’t need to. I saw what you were doing.”
Jez piped up, indignant. “I came to get something from my office. Got a problem with that?”
With a huff, she spun on her heel and marched down the hall to her office, following through with the bluff. I stood there staring at Falon, finding guilt in his pale eyes. I was willing to bet Shya didn’t know his sidekick was sleeping with Lilah. From what I could tell, Falon wasn’t happy with me discovering it.
“You didn’t see anything,” Falon warned, his tone low with menace.
I couldn’t resist the urge to taunt him. “Oh, didn’t I?”
I was keenly aware of Lilah’s approach. I stepped back so I could keep both her and Falon in my sights. I didn’t trust either of them.
She was as unkempt as I’d ever seen her. Her clothing had been hastily put together, and she wrestled her messy hair into a ponytail. Her flame colored gaze landed on me, and I could see her searching for the right words to explain away what we’d interrupted.
“Alexa, I’m sorry you walked in on that. Falon and I should know better than to allow such an indiscretion to take place. I’m sure you understand why this should be kept private.” Lilah did a great job meeting my eyes. For a woman that was just caught with her pants down, she was smooth.
I squelched the urge to laugh bitterly. I wasn’t keeping any secrets for her. “Honestly, I don’t give a crap who you fuck. But, when you send people to kill me, that’s when what you do becomes my business.”
I was disappointed by her lack of surprise. Lilah nodded as if she’d expected me to know. Her neutral expression didn’t change though her eyes darkened.
