by Trina M. Lee
Izzy shook her head, her tight curls bouncing. “I don’t know how we’re going to take on the FPA. I’ve been in there. It’s bad. Really bad.”
“Maybe it’s not about taking them on. Maybe we need to convince them that we’re not to be fucked with.” I cast a glance at Hanna’s closed office door. She had yet to come out. I wasn’t looking forward to the awkwardness that would ensue when she did.
“All I know is that I can’t ever go back inside that place. I don’t think I’d survive it again.” Izzy tensed up, grimacing as she flashed back to something I knew nothing about.
“What did they grab you for anyway?” I asked, curious. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
Jaw clenched, Izzy looked away. “Someone I trusted reported me to them as a shifter, as a danger to the public. Someone I thought I could trust with that secret. My mistake.”
Harsh. Well, I guess we all have a story.
Those mingling closest to the door fell silent. The sudden quiet alerted the rest of us to the newcomer. Wolves separated like the Red Sea as Willow passed. There wasn’t a werewolf present, Bastian included, stupid enough to tell a demon he was unwelcome.
Willow walked with purpose. His first stop was the bar. Many sets of eyes followed him. I hated that they all regarded him as they would any other demon. As if he were pure evil. Maybe he was now. But he hadn’t always been. There was something to be said about the sacrifice he’d made for Lex. Willow was genuine. The real deal.
When he headed my way, he held a tequila sunrise in one hand and a beer in the other. He set the beer in front of me and gestured to the empty chair across the table. “May I join you?”
“Of course.” I accepted the beer with a nod and sat up straighter, eager to hear what he’d come to say.
Izzy slid off her seat with a mumbled, “I’ll catch you later, Shaz.”
As it became clear to the others that Willow was there in peace to see me, they gradually resumed their chatter. I could see the wheels turning as Bastian glowered in our direction. He must have just loved that not only was I tight with vampires, but a demon as well.
“I should have come to you sooner,” Willow began, ignoring the curious gawks and outright glares shot his way. “I suppose I owe you an explanation.”
“So it was you.” I nodded. “I know you were trying to help Alexa and Arys. I’m just not sure why you didn’t tell me.”
Willow’s red eyes were intense upon me. Little speckles of gold shimmered within them. There was something entrancing about it. “Yes, I made you a keystone for the two of them. I did it soon after they bonded, hoping to buy them more time before their inevitable self-destruction. They will one day end up much like Lilah and Salem. Prisoners of the power and misery, and of each other. I thought that for at least your mortal lifespan perhaps they could know some freedom from what lies ahead.” Willow scrubbed a hand over his face and up through his dirty blond hair. Even in darkness his concern for Lex weighed upon him.
Just as I’d suspected. It had been to their benefit.
“I’m not going to ask why you chose me,” I said. “I think it’s pretty obvious. But how does it work exactly? Brogan and I were able to figure out the gist of it, but I’m not sure we have all the facts.”
Willow’s brows rose. “You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad? I love her. I’d do anything for her. You know that.”
This seemed to be enough for him. He smiled, although it barely left his lips. Willow’s face was devoid of emotion. “You hold them together. The closer they are to you, the more anchored they are. As the distance between you all grows, so does the level of conflict and twin flame madness they face.” Willow leaned forward on the table, looking grave. “You keep them from being as far gone as the others. As bad as they are now, it will be so much worse. Sadly, it’s temporary. Should anything happen to you, it will all quickly come apart for them.”
So that explained why the A-team was such a mess while I was away. Too bad the rest of what I’d just heard was so damn depressing. “Is there anything else that can be done for them? I don’t understand why two people with a bond like theirs have the odds stacked so firmly against them.” I traced a finger over the cold, wet exterior of the beer bottle.
“Such is fate,” Willow said, like it was that simple. “It’s not meant to be easy. Otherwise, it wouldn’t mean shit. I wish there was more we could do. There isn’t. I’ve done what I could. You’ll do what you can. And the rest is in their hands.”
The ice-cold beer went down smooth. It wasn’t strong enough though, not for what I was feeling. I supposed it was good news, all things considered. We’d known things would get worse for the A-team. Now they had some time, some hope, before it all went south.
I didn’t want to ask but had to know. “So does this keystone thing have anything to do with why I’ve become a bite junkie for the two of them? Or is that just me being an addict?”
Sipping his drink, Willow appeared perplexed. “I’m not entirely sure. I suppose that could have something to do with it. It’s hard to say for sure considering their bite tends to be addictive to others as well.”
Great. So I was just a friggin’ addict. “Never mind,” I muttered, wishing I hadn’t brought it up at all. Shame warmed my face. “Well, thanks for coming by. How’ve you been?”
Probably a bad question. Still, someone had to ask. It was no secret that Willow hadn’t been himself since going full dark. Lex worried about him, but she was reluctant to tell him just how much.
“Evil.” Willow gave the one word answer with a half shrug before taking a big gulp of his drink. “I know Alexa is concerned, and she should be. She might have to do something about it. And I’d like to take this opportunity to ask you to make sure that she does what she has to do if… when the time comes.” His gaze intensified as he stared at me, awaiting a response.
I was dumbfounded. What he was asking, it was heavy. I couldn’t help but feel he should’ve been asking it of someone else. “Alexa has a soft spot for you, Willow. What exactly do you think she’ll have to do?”
Willow’s pensive stare was intimidating. “Whatever she can. Possibly something similar to what she did to Shya. She won’t want to do it though. That’s why I’m asking you to keep her focused on the greater good. I’m no longer part of that. So when it comes, she needs to be able to see me for what I am now.”
I didn’t want to accept this. “You chose to sacrifice yourself for her. Free will. Don’t you still have it?”
“Of course.” Willow spared me a small smile in response to my dumb question. “I wish it were merely a matter of choosing now. The dark lives within me. I am it and it is me. And unlike Alexa, there is no light to keep me from being consumed.”
“Fuck.” A sympathetic headshake wasn’t enough, but it was all I had to offer.
“Do I have your word?” Willow wasn’t letting this go.
What choice did I have? I understood where he was coming from. And because I knew Lex so well, I also knew she wouldn’t want to be the one to lock Willow away. But she might have to.
“Yeah,” I said, having to wrench the word free. “You have my word.”
Willow extended a hand, and though inside I was wary, I didn’t hesitate for a moment as I accepted. We shook on it, and it was a done deal. Though I was aware I’d technically just made a deal with a demon, I was hopeful that this couldn’t backfire on me in some way.
“You’re a good man, Shaz. And even though you didn’t ask, I chose you because you are her heart. Alexa loves you more than anything. It had to be you.” After sucking back the last of his drink, Willow gave a nod and promptly disappeared.
His words rang in my ears, reverberating deep inside me. I wanted nothing more than to sit alone beneath the darkened sky and ponder what he’d just said.
I checked my phone for the time, discovered Hanna and I were supposed to meet Lex in twenty minutes, and decided I was done waiting. Pondering would have to
wait. Abandoning the rest of the beer, I went to bang on Hanna’s office door.
“Hanna, come on. You have to go.”
The door swung open. Hanna stood there, thankfully sober, but looking frazzled. Her ponytail was a mess, and the bags beneath her eyes revealed how little she’d been sleeping. “Sorry, I’m almost ready. Just let me grab my purse.” She had a hard time meeting my eyes. “Shaz, I have to apologize for last night. I was a mess. I can only imagine what you must think of me now.”
Yep. Awkward.
Trying to play it cool, I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms. “I think you’re struggling to deal with a lot of shit right now. Anyone in your position would try to numb out for a while too. No judgment, ok?”
She grabbed her purse from the couch in the corner and slung it over one shoulder. “I should probably tell you, I used to have a problem with alcohol. Without Dayne here, I just lost it. I panicked at the thought of life without him. I made a mistake and I feel like an idiot. I hope you can forgive me.”
Little did she know how well I understood. “We’ve all done it. I’ve got some moments I’m not so proud of either. Hanna, really, let’s just forget it happened.”
That was putting it lightly. I had many regrets, all of them because I couldn’t deal with a tough situation. Even though Lex and I both had regrets, we’d agreed to move on. That was all I wanted.
“You’re a good guy, Shaz. Thanks.”
I really wished people would stop saying that. Just because I wasn’t a loud-mouthed asshole or an outright dick didn’t mean I was this good guy they seemed to think I was. Killer. Cheater. Addict. I was all these things and more. It wasn’t that I wanted to forever wear these labels. It was that I didn’t want to be seen as something I wasn’t: the good guy.
Perfect didn’t apply to any of us. Lex. Arys. Me. We were all messed up. That was how life went. People fucked up. The pressure of being the good guy made that harder. Fucking up was so much worse when people expected you to never do it. I couldn’t live up to that kind of pressure. Nobody should have to.
“Alright, take me to see the woman you have such confidence in.” Hanna smiled and pulled keys from her purse. “And when we get back, I’m announcing to the pack that you’re taking Owen’s position officially until he gets back.”
Bastian was going to love that. Had to admit, I was kind of looking forward to seeing his expression. As we headed for the front exit, his expression was a sneer on a face full of bruises. I couldn’t take too much joy in that. I sported my fair share. He watched us go, and I knew we hadn’t yet had our last encounter.
On our way out we passed Jett, the wild-child wolf with purple hair and a reputation among the pack as a supreme bitch. Her band played at Alexa’s club, so if she was cool with Lex, she was cool with me. Jett gave us both a smile and nod. She too wore the marks of a recent fight. Busy time for us supernatural types.
The drive to the twenty-four hour coffee shop Lex had chosen held some tension, though with a little careful small talk and innocent jokes, we were able to avoid awkward silence.
I kept asking myself if I should tell Lex about Hanna’s drunken faux pas. Hiding something like that from her wasn’t my intent. Keeping her from clawing Hanna’s eyes out was. They needed to work together now. I didn’t want to start unnecessary shit.
“She’s not bringing the vampire, is she?” Hanna asked with some uncertainty as we pulled into the small parking lot.
God, I hoped not. “I don’t think so. She knows better than that.” Fucking Arys. Screw him for putting me in a position where I felt I had to make excuses for him. “Please don’t judge Alexa by anything Arys does. It all blows back on her, but she doesn’t deserve the blame for his actions.”
Hanna laughed. She watched her mirrors as she backed in between two vehicles. “Trust me, Shaz, I know what it’s like to be with a man who acts first and thinks later.”
“That’s the problem with Arys. He’s always thinking. Everything he does is calculated. Until it isn’t. He’s as deadly as you think he is, and the shit he’s done is unforgivable, but we need him. This city needs him. So as crazy as it sounds, I hope you can somehow accept that he and Lex, they’re a package deal.”
She turned the SUV off and turned to me with a question I saw often in the eyes of many, though most never dared to ask. “So the three of you, are you in a polyamorous relationship or something? Not that it’s any of my business of course.”
I wanted to say, “Or something.” But instead I said, “Yeah, we kind of are. We’re both with her, but not with each other.” There. That was good enough. No point denying it. It was what it was. And I sure as hell wasn’t about to tell her about twin flames and cosmic keystones.
Hanna shrugged. “Not sure I could do it myself, but if it works for you guys then all the power to you. But we’ll never all be able to work together if he keeps that shit up.”
“I know. Lex and I will deal with him. Well, we’ll do our best.”
Because Lex liked to be ahead of the game, she was already there. Her red Charger Daytona was parked in the back corner of the lot. When we entered she glanced up from her phone. A steaming cup sat on the table before her. She pushed it in front of me when I took the seat beside her.
“It’s a vanilla latte,” she said by way of greeting. “I just wanted to smell it. But it’s making me feel gross now.”
She extended a hand to Hanna who was visibly tense but otherwise steady. The two exchanged pleasantries while I sipped from the too sweet coffee. I wasn’t as big a coffee drinker as Lex used to be.
As I observed the two women, I took note of how my hybrid love eyed Hanna’s jugular before meeting her eyes. Nope, definitely not telling her about the illicit offer from the previous night. It was just safer for everyone that way.
“Please accept my apologies for the recent confusion and conflict. I’m so sorry for the loss of your wolves. I only wish I could take it all back. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it never happens again.” Alexa frowned as she tried to fix what Arys had broken. There wasn’t much else she could say.
“My husband is the grudge holder,” Hanna replied with a forced smile. “All I care about at this point is getting him back. We’ve taken enough shit from the FPA. It’s time to turn the tables.”
Lex nodded, her blonde locks tumbling about her shoulders and down her back. “Agreed. It’s not going to be easy, but if we work together, I think we can get your wolves back. It may be a long shot, but I have an idea.”
Content to listen to my lady talk, I sat back in my chair and sipped her abandoned latte. Whatever she had planned, there was no doubt in my mind that it would be as badass, dangerous, and crazy as she was.
Just how I liked it.
Check out www.TrinaMLee.net for information on the eleventh book in the Alexa O’Brien Huntress Series, SINISTER PRETTY.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I live in Alberta, Canada with my bass player husband, fierce teenage daughter and three annoying but super cute cats. I have a Venus Fly Trap that loves baby talk (she does, I swear) and a Dodge Charger named Delilah.
I love to hear from readers so don’t hesitate to drop me a line.
For news and book information please visit:
www.TrinaMLee.net
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
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