by Trina M. Lee
“Files that belonged to Veryl Armstrong?” Briggs was intrigued. That was a good thing. “And, you’d be willing to hand them over without even knowing what’s on them first? That could be risky.”
“It could,” I agreed, “but I’ll do it.”
“Of course, you could be lying. You may know there’s not a damn thing on the files worth having.”
“Ask Juliet if I’ve spoken anything but the truth. A werewolf can smell a lie.” I dared him to call my bluff. Briggs was stiff and hard to read. I hated him.
“She’s not lying, Sir,” Juliet confirmed. She still wouldn’t look at me. It hurt as much as it ticked me off.
I pulled away from Shaz and made my way closer to the pane of glass. Raising my cuffed hands, I touched the cold, smooth surface, wishing I could reach through to the other side. Kale’s gaze swung my way, landing on the mirror on his side. He knew I was here. I was sure of it then.
“He’s not the vampire you share power with,” Briggs asked curiously, “so why’s he so important to you?”
I didn’t turn to face him. I couldn’t take my eyes off Kale. “It’s irrelevant.”
A door on the far side of Kale’s prison opened. I caught a glimpse of guards outside that door and a familiar face caught my eye. Bianca. The bitch worked for the FPA. Unreal.
A look at Shaz revealed total shock. He hadn’t known. Good Lord, I hoped he hadn’t revealed anything to her about me that he shouldn’t have. She’d be wise to stay far away from my club. Next time I faced her, she would die.
The door closed, cutting off my view. A scantily clad brunette strutted her way through the room to stand before Kale.
“What the hell is she doing?” I demanded, staring in shock as the woman began to slip out of what little she wore.
A knife was strapped to her stocking covered thigh. A few thin cuts marred her wrist and stomach. When she stood half-naked before Kale, she pulled the knife from its sheath and slid it across her forearm. A thin line of blood welled up. She dipped a finger in it then rubbed it along Kale’s lower lip. He couldn’t resist licking the tiny smear.
She sauntered away, her bare breasts bouncing provocatively. After fetching a chair from the table, she sat down ten feet away from Kale and taunted him. Making shallow cuts, she played in the blood, rubbing it over her breasts and down her stomach. It didn’t take long for Kale to bare fangs and begin uttering threats. This was vampire torture at its finest.
I was a twisted combination of horror-struck and enticed. My bloodlust awakened, driven by my desire to make someone hurt. I turned to face Briggs with a wicked glare.
“Make her stop. Now.” My tone was quiet, almost a whisper, but it was deadly.
Whatever Briggs saw on my face must have been enough. He hit the intercom and shouted, “Sylvia, that will be enough for tonight.”
Silvia hesitated, staring at the mirror even though she couldn’t see us. Maybe she hadn’t known she was being watched. One of the agents in the room with me leered openly at her nudity. She took her sweet time slipping back into her bra.
Just when I thought she’d exit the room, she glided up next to Kale and pressed her cut arm to his lips. When he bared his sharp fangs, she pulled away so he snapped at empty air. Her arrogant laughter filtered through the wall intercom.
I pounded both fists against the glass in anger. The pane didn’t budge beneath the force. Sylvia didn’t know it yet but she had just guaranteed herself a date with a vampire that wouldn’t go easy on her. I’d seen horrific things in Arys’s memories, but all of them were better than she deserved. My wrath demanded to be sated.
My sanity slipped. The cuffs were keeping a lid on my power, but they couldn’t keep my four fangs hidden or muffle the snarl that spilled from between my lips. I eyed the three humans each in turn, trying to decide whom I wanted to taste first. The need to feel warm human blood dripping on my tongue was overwhelming.
An image flashed behind my eyes, sudden and startling. The bright red of my Charger beneath the streetlights, a flash of golden hair, an angry shout. Then blood, pumping hot from the artery.
I watched through Arys’s eyes as he slaughtered the agents outside. Somehow, he’d escaped Falon’s hold, unless the angel had simply released him.
I fought back the image and the hunger it drove crazy within me. Knowing it was Arys’s bloodlust feeding my own made it easier to regain control. Regardless, it was time to go.
“I’ll bring you the files on a flash drive,” I told Briggs, forcing my gaze away from the pulse beating steadily in this throat. “You and your people will then leave me and my people alone. We are not your enemy. Keep me on your watch list if it makes you feel better. I assure you, I have no interest in interacting with the FPA as either an enemy or an ally. Understood?”
Agent Briggs appeared undecided. Information was the most valuable tool these organizations possessed. He was taking a gamble and so was I. Neither of us knew what those files could mean to either of us. I was taking a chance that no matter how bad it was, it would be worth Kale’s life. Briggs now had to decide if he felt the same way.
“Certainly,” he said at last. “We will arrange a time and place to exchange Sinclair for the flash drive. It’s best that you don’t come back here.”
“I’m not leaving him here like this.” I gestured angrily to bloodstained room. “I can have the files for you in a matter of hours. Tonight even.”
Briggs was stony faced, his eyes emotionless. “We’ll be in touch within seventy-two hours. Take it or leave it.”
I felt helpless. I’d never believed I would be leaving here without Kale, but with Arys running amok outside and no access to my power, I had very few options.
“You’re making a mistake, Agent,” I warned.
Briggs banged on the heavy-duty door, and the agents standing guard outside opened it. “The only mistake I’m making, Ms. O’Brien, is allowing you to walk out of here at all. My men will escort you. We’ll be in touch.”
It took all my strength to turn my back on Kale and walk out of that room. Briggs disappeared down an adjacent hall, but Juliet remained. Falon was gone.
Several agents ushered us to an elevator. I observed carefully as an agent provided both a voice and fingerprint sample to a scanner before the elevator began to move. Juliet waited until we had stepped out a secure exit at the rear of the building onto the grounds outside. Then, she pulled me aside and removed the cuffs from my wrists.
Low and hushed she whispered, “I’ll do everything I can to make sure they don’t hurt him anymore, Lexi. I promise.”
The emotion I’d carefully concealed in front of Briggs erupted like a volcano. “Don’t call me Lexi. That’s what my sister called me. You are not my sister.”
I shoved past the agents with Shaz at my side. Without a backward glance I added, “Tell Briggs that if he has a problem with the dead agents you’ll find out front, he can take it up with me. Nobody else.”
I walked away to the sound of agents on cell phones, calling for back up. Useless. Arys was long gone. I couldn’t sense him anywhere. By the time Shaz and I reached the car, I was fighting back tears, screams and maniacal laughter. This had not gone as I’d anticipated.
Jez and Brogan sat on the hood talking in low tones. Three dead agents lay sprawled near the car. Thankfully, both ladies were unharmed.
“I don’t know about you, but we had a blast,” Jez greeted us sarcastically. “Your vampire is long gone, by the way.”
“Are you two ok? Did anyone try to hurt you?”
“Nah. Arys went after them. I thought he may try for us, too, but he didn’t stick around long once they were dead. What the hell happened inside? Where’s Kale?”
“Let’s get out of here, and I’ll fill you in.”
I reached out to Arys, flinging open that mental door between us. ‘Have you lost your mind? Where are you?’
He felt distant. His thoughts were scattered and rushed. He resisted my presence in his
head. ‘Go home, Alexa.’
He shoved me out with an abruptness that left me feeling dizzy. I was never letting Arys near that old hospital again. This did not sit well with me.
The drive back to The Wicked Kiss wasn’t a happy one. My sister was now my enemy. The FPA was a menace I didn’t feel would go away after one transaction. I needed to stay alive for the next three days if I wanted to see Kale again, but to do that I had to successfully bind a demon during the full moon.
I was so screwed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I paced the length of Arys’s house like a caged animal. From the kitchen, through the living room and down the hall, and then back again.
After exchanging a few words with Brogan regarding the possibility of Veryl’s files being magically secured, I had parted ways with my companions. Shaz had strongly insisted on coming back to Arys’s with me. My insistence that he go home to Coby had been stronger.
The clock ticked down the minutes until dawn. It wasn’t far off now. Where was my vampire?
I spent a restless half hour at my new laptop fighting with the locked files. I made a few backup copies, which I stored online before copying them to a flash drive. I also emailed a copy to Brogan who had promised to take a look at them. Handing the files over to the FPA may come back to bite me in the ass, so I had to find out what was on them, preferably before they did.
I didn’t have the patience to stare at the computer screen. The closer sunrise drew, the more uneasy I became. Arys was more than capable of taking care of himself, but I was still worried.
To stop myself from pacing an indent in the carpet, I occupied myself with a shower. I stood beneath the hot spray for a long time. It was so hard to relax lately. I was wound tight and fearful of when I would break.
The sound of my phone had me rushing to turn the water off and grab a towel without slipping. With my hair dripping, I clutched the towel to my chest and reached my phone seconds before it went to voicemail.
“I can’t stop thinking about you.” The sound of Shaz’s voice coaxed a sigh from me. “Has Arys shown up?”
“Not yet.” Securing my towel in place above my breasts, I returned to the living room and peered out the window. “That place did something bad to him. I’ve never seen him like that.”
“Is he going to be dangerous when he turns up? Should I come over?” The hopefulness in his tone was crushing.
I understood his desperation to make things right with us. If only it were that simple.
“It’s alright. I can handle him. Stay home and get some rest. I think we both need it.”
I could sense his disappointment on the other end. I was disappointed, too. I kept waiting for a chance to mourn the destruction of the good thing we had once shared. Already, our relationship was in shambles, and we were left to pick up the pieces. Still, I felt we could salvage something eventually.
“Thank you, Shaz, for being with me tonight. You were there when Arys failed me. When I would have failed myself.”
There was silence on the line as he gathered himself. When he spoke, it was thick with emotion. “It confirmed what you both said about me. The role I play. I’m starting to understand how we all fit together.”
“I’m glad. I’m still trying to do that myself.” The towel began to slip as I made my way down the hall to get dressed. I almost fumbled my phone when I grabbed for it.
“I don’t want to leave you. I feel like I have to.” The misery in his words was gut-wrenching. “Tell me not to go, Lex.”
I sat heavily on the edge of Arys’s bed, a hand over my mouth as I bit back the anguished cry that threatened to break from me. One deep breath, then another. What I wanted and what I felt had to happen were two different things. I owed him honesty. I owed it to both of us.
“I wish I could, babe, but I think you should.” I couldn’t believe I was saying this. “It will be good for you to get away for a while. To do what you have to do. I want you to be happy, and to do that, you need to make peace with yourself.”
Abandoning the wet towel, I slipped into a pair of pink cotton panties and pulled my robe on. The menial task did nothing to take my focus off the somber man on the phone.
Shaz swore softly. “I feel like I’m abandoning you. Like I’m running away from the things I’ve done.”
“If you were running away, you wouldn’t have stuck around long enough to tell me. You’re a good man, Shaz. You just made a few mistakes, and they pale in comparison to mine. If getting out of Dodge is what you need right now, then you should do that.”
Did I want him to leave town? Hell no. But, this wasn’t about me.
“You know, Lex, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t head over heels in love with you.” He laughed softly, and the sound of it warmed me. “I was a smitten kid happy just to be your friend. I never thought I’d be yours.”
I had many fond memories of my friendship with Shaz over the years. It had always meant so much to me. “You weren’t much of a kid. You were eighteen when we met. Only three years younger than me. So wise beyond your years.”
“What we had then, that friendship, I don’t want to lose that.” He stifled a yawn. It made me yawn in turn.
“We won’t. I promise.” Returning to the living room, I peered out the window at the sky. The stars had disappeared from sight. “Get some sleep. You sound tired. We’ll talk later.”
“Don’t do anything crazy without me. I love you.”
“And, I love you, wolf boy. Sweet dreams.”
After ending the call with Shaz, I stood there staring at my phone longingly. I would never forget the things we’d done recently to hurt one another, but I could forgive. And, I would move forward.
Try as I might to remain calm, each minute that brought sunrise closer increased my worry. Arys should be back by now. I padded into the kitchen and rummaged through the pantry until I found the chocolate bar I’d stashed for a stressful moment. Maybe the taste and sensation of chocolate and caramel melting on my tongue wouldn’t change anything, but it was a special joy all its own.
A cold wave crashed through me seconds before I heard a sound at the front door. Relief quickly followed. My dark vampire was home.
Abandoning the chocolate on the counter, I moved quietly toward the front porch. I hung back just inside the kitchen, waiting with building trepidation. The last time I saw Arys, he wasn’t functioning at full sanity. I let my power flow forth to fill my hands with the crackle of raw energy.
Arys entered with the silent stealth of a true predator. A human never would have known he was there. I took a few steps back, placing me in the middle of the kitchen. When he crossed the threshold, there was fire in his eyes and an arrogant smirk on his handsome face.
“Alexa,” he practically purred my name. His energy ran high. It felt thick with blood, darkness and hunger. Hunger for me.
I stared at him, wide eyed and cautious but also curious. I never saw him move from the doorway, but he was suddenly there, pulling me against him with a forcefulness that both alarmed and excited me. The power I held ready fell flat; he’d extinguished it as simply as blowing out a candle.
His tongue plunged between my lips to explore my mouth. Demanding and insistent, he kissed me with such aggression that his fangs cut my bottom lip. Trying to err on the side of caution, I placed a hand on his chest and gave a gentle push. He refused to be budged.
“Arys,” I pulled back from his kiss and tried to get him to meet my eyes. “Where have you been?”
He didn’t answer me. Instead, he stared at me with a deep, drowning desire. He moved fast. Grabbing my wrists, Arys spun me around so my back was to his chest and pushed me against the table. With one hand, he pinned me in place, the other reaching beneath my robe.
I gasped when he hooked two fingers in my panties and jerked them roughly down my legs. My robe easily slid aside for him to expose me. A strange concoction of fear and arousal sprang forth. The wolf within me was excited by his fierce
aggression, but the human side of me was afraid of death at the hands of my lover.
The heat of his mouth against the back of my neck starkly contrasted with the cold drops falling from my damp hair. Arys slid a hand into my wet hair, holding my head so I couldn’t turn to look at him. His teeth were sharp against my skin, scraping along my neck but not yet puncturing.
It was all happening so fast. Was I going to let him take me like this? By force like an animal?
A shiver crept through me. He fumbled to free himself from the confines of his jeans. Despite my apprehension, a surge of heat pooled between my legs.
I couldn’t move because of the way he held me pinned. I struggled to turn around to face him, but he held firm. With one strong hand, he grasped both of my wrists, crushing them together as he forced them above my head. He was hurting me, dominating me like a possession rather than a person. Not so different from the way he’d treated the victims he’d taken to his bed before killing them.
Memories flashed through my mind, surfacing from the depths of my subconscious. Arys’s memories surfaced in bursts of blood-stained images, visions of Harley and Arys terrorizing faceless, nameless men and women.
Unease gripped me. Maybe I shouldn’t allow this to happen.
I gasped as Arys buried himself inside me. Something awoke within and I snarled. The dark laugh that spilled from him taunted my desire. I was drawn to the darkness in Arys, always drawn in. He held me down on the table, completely at his mercy, and against my will, I loved it.
Arys’s powerful thrusts forced me to cry out. The free hand he stroked along my hip slipped down between my thighs to the sensitive place there.
The power overtook us, growing to catch us up in the dizzying flow. A sinister element tinged it. It called to me, tempting me to look further into the abyss, to step closer to the edge.
The act that consumed us had nothing to do with love. It was downright rough and dirty sex.
