by Trina M. Lee
“Hold your fire, boys. Coming through.” Juliet pushed through the men until she stood before us. She did a double take on Falon but smoothly recovered. Her gaze landed on me, cool and calculating. “Alexa, I wish you hadn’t come.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Yeah well I’m not real thrilled to be here,” I replied. “The haunted house from hell to get up here was a blast though. That’s a heck of a way to keep people out.”
“It usually works.” Juliet gave my male companions a once over. She wasn’t comfortable with Falon’s presence if her furtive glances in his direction were any indication.
“I just want Kale,” I announced, drawing her gaze back to me. “Just let me leave with him, and I’ll go without any trouble.”
Her dark curls bounced when she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Lexi. I can’t do that. He murdered an agent. We can’t let him get away with that. How would that make us look?”
“He murdered a double agent,” Falon spoke as if he were already unbearably exasperated with the situation. “He did you a favor. Now if you’ll just scamper along like a good little wolf and fetch him, we’ll be on our way.”
Juliet flinched and more than a few men present exchanged a questioning look. Had Falon just revealed something about her they didn’t know? The FPA must be run by idiots.
“I’m not authorized to release him to you or anybody else.” Her tone was flat, her expression hard. “I suggest you all leave. Don’t come back.”
I laughed in disbelief. “Not a chance. I’m not leaving without him.”
“Please, don’t make this difficult. It’s out of my hands.”
“Then let me speak to someone with a little more clout than you.”
I faced off with my sister, seeing a stranger instead. We had been birthed by the same woman, raised in the same house as children, yet none of that mattered now. The world had taken us away from each other, molding and shaping us. Now we were alike in DNA only. I didn’t know her anymore. Our utter estrangement was so hard to swallow.
“Please,” Juliet repeated, a trace of desperation in that one word.
“I’ll take it from here, Agent O’Brien.”
The man’s voice cut through the strained silence. The cluster of armed agents parted to allow him through. He stepped up beside Juliet with the air of one who was used to being in charge.
Tall with dark brown skin and piercing brown eyes, he was clad in a grey suit. His hair was cropped short, and he didn’t bother to hide the gun on his hip. He jacket was open to reveal the holster. If it was supposed to intimidate me, it wasn’t working.
Ignoring Juliet, he thrust a hand at me. “I’m Agent Thomas Briggs. Nice to finally meet the infamous Alexa O’Brien.”
I accepted his hand, hoping that playing nice would get me farther than starting out with a scathing remark. “Nice to meet you, Agent Briggs. I trust we can come to some kind of amicable understanding.”
Placing a hand on each hip, Briggs surveyed the situation. “There is no need for conflict. Especially between family.” His gaze strayed from me to my sister. “Please tell me, Ms. O’Brien, what can the FPA do for you?”
I found his choice of words odd. “I just want Kale Sinclair.”
“Out of the question. Anything else I can help you with?”
Dismissed, just like that. Hell no. “No. I’m here for Kale Sinclair, and I am not leaving without him.”
“I’ll have my men escort you out then.”
Falon snapped his fingers and every FPA agent present was frozen in place where they stood. “I don’t think so. The vampire is one of ours. We are entitled to him regardless of his so-called crimes. The next move I make will be to blind every human in this building. Care to reconsider?”
Briggs strained for his gun. He was fixed in place, held by Falon’s sheer will. Despite how much I loathed the fallen angel, I was developing greater respect for his abilities.
“Let’s not be hasty.” Briggs regarded the angel with venom in his eyes. “There is no need for violence.”
“There is also no need for your human government meddling in affairs that are none of your concern.” The air around Falon grew warm with his pulsating power. It was low, subdued, but heavy enough to alter the atmosphere.
Briggs had the decency to look wary as Falon walked a slow circle around him. He wasn’t ready to give up control just yet though. “We have ways of dealing with demons.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not a demon.”
Juliet and I shared a look. She shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Falon’s power had only been projected at the humans.
“Alright, Falon,” I said. “That’s enough.”
“Not until he tells me something I want to hear.” Falon shot me a dirty look. “Besides, I’m the one calling the shots. Not you.”
That was a fabulous united front to show the FPA. I rolled my eyes and weighed my options. Fight, bargain or leave. I didn’t see any other choice. Falon was readying for a fight, but I wasn’t yet willing to take that path.
“Agent Briggs, I’m not leaving without my friend.” I shoved Falon aside so I could meet the agent’s gaze directly. “So either this can get nasty, or we can come to some kind of agreement. Choose carefully.”
Briggs glared daggers at me but seemed relieved that I wasn’t allowing Falon to blind them all. Yet. “You can’t just walk in here demanding things of the FPA. I don’t give a damn who or what you are. There is nothing you have that we want badly enough to grant Sinclair his freedom. He’s a menace.”
“Wrong answer.” I shrugged and motioned for Falon to do whatever he wished.
He never so much as moved, but every man surrounding Briggs began to cry out as they were struck blind. Briggs remained unchanged. He was steadfast in his decision, I had to give him that.
“Do what you will. It won’t get you any closer to the vampire. He’s behind lock and key that even you won’t be able to get through.”
Panic seeped from Juliet. She wasn’t as calm and cool as her superior. “Sir, surely there is some way we can reach a compromise.”
I gestured for Falon to release the agents from his hold. He resisted at first, giving me a strange look I couldn’t read, but then he freed them.
A few men pointed their guns at him. That was pointless. A bullet wouldn’t harm an angel. Surely, the FPA wasn’t so poorly informed. Men that frightened so easily when faced with the supernatural should not be trying to police it.
“Trust me, Ms. O’Brien,” Agent Briggs directed his comment to me. “You wouldn’t want him now. Cut your losses and move on.”
I lunged at Briggs, finding myself immobile as Shaz held me back. “What did you do to him?” I shouted, my voice echoing throughout the vast hall.
Though the top floor held far less ghost activity than the rest, I felt a surge of electricity crackle around me as several spirits drew close, lured by my outburst. They didn’t scare me now. All I could think about was what had happened to Kale.
Agent Briggs smiled the smile of a man that fears nothing. Bastard. “He’s still alive. If such a thing can be said about a vampire. His sanity isn’t holding up as well as his body during the interrogation process, I’m afraid.”
“Where is he? I want to see him.” Seething, I felt the power wash over me with my anger. I knew when my eyes changed color; I could feel the rise of vampire power within me. The hovering ghosts pressed closer, and I lashed out at them with a push of energy to drive them back.
Briggs rested his hand on the butt of his gun in warning. “You’re not stepping foot inside this facility without being cuffed.”
“Fine.” I held my wrists up in offering. “Cuff me.”
Briggs gestured for Juliet to do the honors. She looked uneasy as she pulled a set of cuffs from her back pocket and approached me.
“Don’t be a damn fool,” Falon snapped. “Sinclair is on his own from here on out.”
I ignored him. Nobody was asking him to st
ay. He was here on Shya’s orders. Not my problem. Shaz released me, but he stood ready to grab me again if necessary.
“I’m sorry, Lexi,” Juliet whispered as she locked the magic-enforced cuffs onto my wrists. “I have to.”
“In case you’re thinking about pulling anymore tricks,” Briggs warned. “I should inform you that I have men on the ground with your two lady friends. Let’s all be on our best behavior so we can all go home alive. Shall we?”
The FPA had another way in and out of the building. Of course. I was willing to bet it involved more powered elevators and less poltergeist activity. I should have left Arys with Jez and Brogan. I knew both ladies could hold their own, but it was my fault that they had to now. If anything happened to either of them, I’d be coming back for Briggs.
The cuffs locked into place, and my eyes widened. They acted as a metaphysical mirror, reflecting my power back at me. To use it would only bounce it back at me. So, they weren’t such idiot humans after all. Impressive. And, a little frightening.
Briggs waited until the agents had covered my companions and me on every side before turning to lead the way down the hall to where the light was brightest. “I’ll show you that Sinclair is still alive. Then, I’ll have you escorted out. Unless of course you are really willing to negotiate?”
“You had to get me in cuffs to spit that out?” I sneered. “Can’t help but notice I’m the only one wearing them.”
Briggs pointed at Falon and Shaz each in turn. “He can’t be held by them, and he’s not a threat that a gun can’t take care of. Humor me, Ms. O’Brien.”
The agent oozed confidence though remained respectfully wary. He was likely a man that was damn good at his job. Devoted to the cause, whatever that was. I suppose I should have been honored the FPA found me threatening enough to require precautions, but I was just a little disappointed that I wasn’t as threatening as Falon, one they could not hold.
I followed along like a cooperative little wolf as Briggs took us to a door marked Sector One. Inside was a large office complete with a wall of monitors and a lengthy desk filled with computers manned by various agents. They didn’t so much as glance up at our entry.
I scanned the monitors mounted on the wall, finding shots of various parts of the hospital. Every entry and several main halls on other floors were covered. The stairwells were curiously without coverage. A blind spot. Somewhat careless of the FPA, but I’d retain that info for later should I need it.
They had watched our arrival obviously, waiting for us to blunder our way through the haunted maze below. Meanwhile they’d been sending men down to Jez and Brogan. Big Brother had been one step ahead. Like usual. The fact that my sister was one of them really made it sting.
Beyond the control room lay a hall to the right and one straight ahead. We turned to the right and passed several small personal offices before reaching a series of several larger rooms. I was willing to bet the rooms were soundproofed.
“So,” I said, feigning casual. “Why the top floor? Is there a particular reason? Seems like secret ops is more of a basement thing.”
Briggs ignored me, striding along like a man on a mission. Juliet dropped back to walk beside me. She kept a carefully neutral expression, but I could feel her discomfort.
“The basement is where the morgue is,” she said. “Everything from the ground floor up is child’s play compared to what’s down there.”
I was both intrigued and wary. “Interesting. I’ll bet you don’t get a lot of unwelcome visitors in a place like this.”
“Not usually. Curious civilians occasionally.”
We stopped outside a door where two agents stood guard. Briggs exchanged a few words with them, and they stepped aside. Briggs turned to me before opening the door.
“Only you. Your friends wait here with my men.”
I shook my head and met his dark eyes directly. “I’m bringing my wolf in with me. Trust me when I say he’s the only thing keeping me sane while I’m in this building.”
I stared at the agent with vampire blue eyes and hands humming with power I couldn’t use. Since parting from Arys, my control had been slipping. It wasn’t the building though; it was the cocky suits that thought they could govern my actions.
I had a stare down with Briggs. Neither of us blinked or looked away. I wasn’t sure what he saw in my unnatural gaze, but finally he nodded. “Only the wolf.”
As Briggs opened the door, I cast a warning glance back at Falon. He leaned back against the opposite wall and crossed his arms. His response was a big phony smile. Bastard.
Agent Briggs led the way into a large, dimly lit room. Shaz and I followed with Juliet and two other agents at our backs. The room was relatively bare, housing only a table with a coffee pot and Styrofoam cups. Three chairs sat lined up before a large pane of glass, which I quickly realized was a two-way mirror.
Apprehension filled me as I feared what I might see on the other side. It was dark now, but I knew Kale was in there. I saw no access to that room from the one where we stood. The agents standing guard outside closed the door, sealing us into the tiny room.
Briggs reached for a light switch on the wall but stopped mid-motion. “I trust you know this isn’t going to be pretty. I must warn you, if you try anything or hurt any of my people, you’ll never make it out of this building alive.”
“Spare me the Hollywood movie dialogue. I’m not here to read from a script.” I was snappy and anxious.
Shaz gravitated closer to me, not quite touching but ready for anything. I motioned for Briggs to get it over with. I was ready to wrestle him out of the way to flip the switch myself, cuffs and all.
I wasn’t ready though. Not by a long shot.
Briggs flipped the switch, bathing the room on the other side of the glass in bright fluorescent light. I heard a gasp, unaware it was me. The interrogation room beyond the glass was so white, the walls, the floor, even the table and chairs off to one side. What wasn’t bright white was stained crimson. Blood painted the floor in places. Splatters decorated one wall like crude abstract art. In the center of it all was Kale.
He hung suspended from the ceiling by heavy-duty shackles, and his head fell limply. From where I stood, I could see that those shackles dug painfully into the flesh of his wrists. His feet touched the ground but just barely. Bruises and cuts decorated every inch of his body. One eye was swollen shut, the other badly bruised. The side of his face was caked in dried blood.
He was naked and beaten. And, I was livid. The rage that filled me was like nothing I’d ever known. The need to kill was fierce, and I threw myself at Briggs without thinking.
Like the amazing partner he was, Shaz wrestled me back before I could make a huge mistake. I couldn’t do the damage to Briggs that he deserved. Acting rashly wouldn’t help Kale. I knew it logically, but the wolf within didn’t give a damn about logic. She just wanted to kill Briggs.
“Hold her back if you want her to stay alive,” Briggs warned, drawing his gun.
“How could you treat him like that?” I shouted, my voice rough with wolf. I didn’t fight Shaz, instead letting him hold me tight. An accusatory glare at Juliet was wasted. She wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Lex, chill out,” Shaz’s voice was calm and soothing. “If you lose it now, you won’t be able to help him.”
Kale’s head came up suddenly as if he sensed me. The soundproofing ensured he couldn’t hear my tirade. Did he know I was here?
“If anything, we’ve gone easy on him, considering what he did to Abigail Irving.” Briggs shrugged. Kale was nothing to him, not a person with feelings or several lifetimes of knowledge. Kale was just a piece of meat to treat as such.
“You have your head so far up your ass you can’t see the light,” I growled. “You can’t employ anyone linked to the supernatural and expect them not to betray you. Abigail, Shya and anyone else.” I looked pointedly at Juliet out of spite. “There is no harnessing the supernatural.”
Agent Briggs
and I exchanged a long look. He knew there was truth in my words. I could see it in his eyes. Like so many others here, he was following orders and not about to argue that with me.
“What’s he worth to you, Ms. O’Brien?”
There it was, the million-dollar question. So many ways I could answer. I felt Shaz’s tension as he waited for my answer.
“I’m willing to negotiate. Name your price.” I watched Kale through the glass, aching to go to him, aching from seeing him like that. His abuse lit a fire inside me that would not be extinguished until I made the FPA sorry they had fucked with someone I cared about.
“There’s only one thing we’d be interested in receiving from you.”
Everyone present was dead quiet, watching the exchange. Shaz’s hold on me loosened just slightly.
“And what might that be?”
“Your service.”
Laughter broke the silence. My laughter. Was he just fucking with me?
“You’re kidding, right? I just told you the supernatural can’t be trusted. Why should I be any different?”
Briggs found no humor in the situation. His eyes narrowed, and he waited for me to quit cackling before replying. “Because we have your sister.”
I hadn’t expected much from the FPA, but this was a new kind of low. “Seriously? You’re threatening my sister? The sister that I believed was dead for ten years? The sister who came into my club and took Kale?” I laughed bitterly. “Try again.”
Juliet flinched. A pang of guilt shot through me, but I shoved it aside. I would always love Juliet, but I couldn’t let them think they could use her against me. If that meant giving her the cold shoulder, so be it.
“What do you really want from me?” I cut to the chase, refusing to play games. Looking at Kale’s battered form was beginning to weigh heavy on me.
Briggs cleared his throat. “Information.”
“On Shya,” I filled in the blanks. “I can’t help you. He doesn’t tell me a damn thing.” My mind raced as I rushed to find something that would appease him. “But, I do have some files I swiped from Veryl Armstrong. They’re heavily encrypted, and I haven’t been able to get into them. I imagine that means there’s something worth finding in them.”
