by Trina M. Lee
Son of a bitch. Briggs locked up my little sister. Arys’s bite was going to pale greatly in comparison to what I would do to him. “No, but you might be murdered by someone like me.”
“Listen, O’Brien, I didn’t take this call to argue with you and throw barbs back and forth. I have two fucking holes in my neck, and I’m not looking to add any more. If you want to help Juliet, shut up and listen.” He paused, giving me a chance to bark back at him. When I didn’t, he continued. “We should meet. It’s not safe to discuss this over the phone.”
I snorted a laugh. “Come on now. I’m not that fucking stupid. Do you expect me to walk into a trap you’ve set by using my sister as bait?”
“I can see why you’d think that. But you’re just as dangerous to me, maybe more so. Why not meet in a very public location? Somewhere safe for both of us.”
There were ways he could twist that to his advantage, but if I didn’t give him a chance, I’d never know what happened to Juliet. I chewed my lip, considering his proposal.
“Where?” It didn’t matter what he said. There would be no place safe to both of us. Things could happen anywhere.
“How about the sports bar down the street from you? The Druid. It’s always busy. Very human. I come alone, and you come alone.” Briggs sounded shaken up. It could’ve been an act, but it frightened me. If he was concerned about Juliet, things could be worse than I realized.
“You know, when people say that, they pretty much never really come alone. We can’t trust each other, Briggs.”
There was no background noise. He grew so quiet that for a moment I thought he’d hung up. “We might have to. This isn’t about us. Try to remember that. I’ll be at the Druid in an hour. Hope to see you there.”
He did hang up then. I stared at my phone as if that would clarify the situation. What was going on here? Briggs had sounded worried, like he needed my help. Either he was a damn good actor or Juliet was in deep.
I turned to Jez who lounged on the car beside me. “You’re not going alone,” she said.
“Jez, I think I just ruined my sister’s life.” I waited for the emotions to overwhelm me, but I just felt hollow.
She pulled me in for a hug. Despite the stink of cigarettes, her embrace was comforting, calling to my wolf. I hugged her back, terrified of what my vampire antics had done to my sister.
“Juliet made her choice, Lex,” Jez said, pulling back to search my eyes. “She chose to work for the Feds, and she chose to lie to protect you. This isn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it is.” I shot a glance at The Wicked Kiss. “Stay here with Kale, ok? I can handle Briggs.”
She stomped on the butt of her smoke, ignoring my frown. “Screw that. Nobody ever comes alone to these things. You need back up.”
My skin prickled, and I became keenly aware of a familiar vampire energy. I already knew who it was.
“I’ll go with you.” Jenner’s voice came out of the darkness. “She’s right. Nobody goes alone to these things. I’m the only one here who can help you stay in control. So I’ll be your back up.”
“I thought I told you to leave,” I said.
Jenner ambled over with his hands shoved in his pockets and a half-assed shrug. “Yeah, well I’m not really the taking orders kind of guy. Besides, with Arys and Shaz having quality boys’ time, I’m in need of some entertainment.”
“So go entertain yourself,” I said, annoyed that he hadn’t obeyed my command to leave but also intrigued by it.
“Boys’ time?” Jez repeated.
“Just let me back you. It’s not like I have anything else to do in this city. It’s either that or stay here and indulge on blood and sex until I can’t see straight.” Jenner edged toward the door, having piqued his own interest. “Actually, maybe I’ll do just that.”
With a shake of my head, I blew a strand of hair out of my face. “Fine, Jenner. Come with me. But you better stay out of sight unless I need you. After what you and Arys did last night, any sight of you, and Briggs will lose his mind.”
Jez studied me for a moment before nodding. “Be careful, ok? I feel like I just got you back. If the FPA does anything to you, I’ll gut Briggs with my bare hands.”
We shared a laugh that excluded Jenner, leaving him puzzled. Only a shifter knew how it felt to plunge claws deep within the belly of deserving prey. Nothing else felt quite so satisfying.
“Don’t let Kale come after me,” I said as she walked away. “Tell him I’ll meet him at his place by sunrise.”
I turned to Jenner, ready to give him a pre-trip scolding. He was already grinning as if expecting it. So I held my tongue instead. I hoped like hell that Briggs wasn’t setting a trap for me in retaliation for the one Arys had set for him. But with my sister’s freedom on the line, I had no choice but to find out.
Chapter Twelve
I sat in the Charger staring at The Druid. Nothing appeared to be amiss.
“So that’s it?” Jenner asked. “You just want me to stay here and watch the place?”
“Yep, that’s it. I know you thrive on action and drama, but let’s try to keep things quiet here tonight.” I watched a group of guys come pouring out of the bar, laughing and shouting over one another.
“Boring.”
Jenner’s remark reminded me of Kale. He used to thrive on excitement, seeking it out in every hunt. Before I made him crazy. Maybe the two of them would get along ok in Vegas with Arys and me out of the picture. Ouch. That hurt. I was so not ready for this.
“Jenner, when is your flight home?” I didn’t want to know how much time I had left with Kale, didn’t want the torment of a countdown to goodbye. But I couldn’t not ask.
“The night after tomorrow. I suppose I should call and book another ticket.” He looked at me, but I avoided his gaze. “You’re not ok with this, are you?”
“No,” I said. “I’m very much not ok with Arys making these kinds of decisions for Kale and me.”
Jenner nodded and fiddled with the radio dials. “I get that. He’s a stubborn motherfucker. But he wants what’s best for you. You know that, right?”
I killed the engine and swung a vicious glare his way. “Well, here’s the problem with that. Arys doesn’t get to decide what’s best for me. I’m done with having that fight with him. Either he gets it, or we have a problem.”
The moment grew tense as I found myself confessing a deep, inner need to someone I had little to no emotional connection with. As weird as it was to talk this way to Jenner, it felt good to say it to someone outside my personal circle.
“You two already have a problem,” Jenner finally said. “I’d start by working on the maniacal impulses you both seem to have while apart. Although I doubt that being together would curb that at this point. Anyway, I can’t watch your back from here. I need to get closer.”
His flippant remarks coaxed a rueful grin from me. “Don’t you dare let Briggs or anyone he brings catch a glimpse of you. I mean it.”
“Not even you will see me. I’ll be stealthy. Like a fox.” He chuckled, somehow entertained by himself.
With an eye roll, I got out of the car without another word. I slipped into my long leather jacket, pausing to ensure the dagger sheath was hidden beneath it. Then I strolled inside, producing my driver’s license when asked by the doorman. I wondered how long I could get away with using my real I.D. before it just became ridiculous. Briggs wasn’t there yet, so I took one of the few seats available at a small, round table near the bar.
At the approach of a waitress, I ordered two beers and cast a longing glance toward the whiskey shelved behind the bar. It was going to take some time to get used to this blood only diet. I had no hunger for food, no thirst for water or even my precious coffee. But I missed it. Much of the comfort of food and drink had been mental. I saw that now.
Briggs appeared almost immediately, which meant he’d been watching, waiting for me to enter first. That meant he’d probably seen Jenner in my car. Ah well.
&n
bsp; He was dressed in his usual black suit, his dark hair cropped short as always. The white bandage against his deep brown skin drew my gaze to his neck. The last time we’d been face to face, he’d brought a small army to kill me, and I had left him with the promise that, should he ever try it again, he would die at my hand and I would make him love it.
It was a dark promise, one I intended to keep. Still, it made this little reunion a tad on the awkward side. He sat down across from me, eyeing the beers on the table with unveiled suspicion.
“Relax, Briggs. I sure as shit wouldn’t poison you. Where’s the fun in that?”
“You didn’t come alone,” he said, though there was no accusation in his tone.
I scoffed. “And you did? Trust me, my back up is here for your safety. Not mine.”
Those dark, watchful eyes bore into mine. He looked me over while trying to appear as if he wasn’t. Even amid the heavily populated sports bar, the scent of his injury reached me. Arys’s bite lay beneath that white gauze bandage. A strange itch began in my fangs. I was very tempted to have a taste of Briggs myself.
Briggs grabbed the beer closest to him and took a long swig, downing half the bottle in one go. The energy he gave off was tight and bitter with stress. Well good. I didn’t want him to be happy about locking up my sister.
“Can I ask you something?” In agitation he picked at the label on the bottle, but his invasive gaze was fixed upon me. At my nod, he continued. “What the hell is going on with you and Arys?”
I frowned. That wasn’t what I’d expected. “He killed me, Briggs. And he liked it. A lot. So we’re having a little time out right now. Unfortunately, time apart isn’t so good for our mental health. But I didn’t come to talk about him. I want to talk about Juliet. Where is she?”
He slid a covert glance around the bar, ensuring nobody was trying to eavesdrop on our conversation. Satisfied, he said, “She’s in lock up at headquarters. In a cell that should be occupied by you.”
Fair enough. I couldn’t really argue that after the past few days of mayhem. “And? What’s going to happen to her?”
“It’s hard to say. If she were human, she’d be given a fair trial with a fair punishment. Since she’s not, it can go down a number of ways. She could be locked up for life, or worse, end up in the lab.” He held up a hand to ward off the explosive rage he could see in my eyes. “I won’t let that happen to her. I understand that she feels she had no choice. Naturally she wants to protect you. But she didn’t think this through.”
“And what about you?” I countered. “Are you thinking this through? Being here right now. The last time we spoke, you tried to kill me.”
His jaw clenched, and his fist tightened around the beer bottle. “I’m here because I care about Juliet. According to Arys, you’re the good one of the two of you. I really don’t see it. But I’m willing to give you a chance to prove it. I can’t spring Juliet out of there on my own.”
It was my turn to study him. From the taut way he held himself to the pulse beating in the side of his neck, I looked him over like he was candy. I wanted a taste. Having years of experience under his belt, he didn’t flinch or cringe.
“You care about her? What does that mean? You care because she knows things about you, because she’s been in your bed and you feel obligated, or do you love her? Because if all she is to you is a fuck buddy, I’ll hurt you in ways you can’t even dream of.” The wolf crawled up inside me to pin him with a deadly stare. Nothing would stop me from protecting my sister, my poor, stupid, easily misled sister. Nobody pissed me off like she could, but nobody incited such territorial rage in me either.
Briggs drank back the last of his beer and reached for mine. Obviously I wasn’t going to drink it. “If she was just a fuck buddy, then why the hell would I be sitting here with you of all people?”
“This could be a trap. For all I know you could be luring me into something.”
Briggs leaned in close, smelling of beer, cologne, and shame. “I thought werewolves can smell a lie. You’re still a wolf, aren’t you? Juliet is in trouble, and we have to work together to help her.”
No trace of a lie on him. Feds could be trained to be adept liars. However, my sister was M.I.A. so I needed to trust him this time.
“And how are we supposed to do that?”
“Jail break.” He made it sound so simple with just those two words, but they were loaded with so much uncertainty and danger.
“Are you joking? How will that help her? Won’t they just hunt her down?” I had to question the logic of his plan. This sounded like a great way to take things from bad to worse.
“Sure, but they’re at the head office down east. I’m in charge of this district. I just need to divert attention from her to something else. I bet you can help with that too.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw, covered in the faintest stubble. “Unless you want to give yourself up in her place. That would be the easiest way. She might even get to keep her job.”
He didn’t have to say it again. He believed that I should be locked up anyway. He wasn’t wrong. I deserved it.
Juliet didn’t.
Breaking Juliet out had never really been his plan. He’d thrown that out there to make turning myself in seem like the logical choice. Playing head games with me wouldn’t work. I was too far out of my mind for that but not so far that I didn’t know what I had to do.
“I’ll give myself up to free Juliet if you can arrange a jail break for me. I’m not going to be your prisoner, and I sure as shit won’t be your lab rat. But if you lie or try to fuck me over in any way, I’ll destroy you, Briggs. You’re not exactly the most trustworthy person either, you know.”
He stared thoughtfully at me over the beer bottle as he took another drink. I hadn’t guessed he’d be a stress drinker. He seemed so clean cut.
“You do know that you deserve to be locked up, right?” He pointed at me with the bottle. “Or killed. You’ve taken the monster game to a whole new level.”
I thought about the frat house and the demon who had cleaned up my mess for his own gain. “You don’t know the half of it. But I’m not what you think I am, regardless of how it looks. I have a job to do that involves helping those who can’t help themselves. If I walk into your facility again, I am walking back out on my own free will. Got it?”
Stress crinkled his brow, and he swore softly. “I never thought I’d be a dirty Fed. Making deals with the monsters has never been my style.”
I didn’t feel bad for him. If anything, I wanted to kick him under the table. “You know what your problem is, Briggs? You think you know who the monsters are. But you don’t. Because the real monsters all wear the same face: human. I had a youth worker come to me this week and ask for help because the system you speak so highly of won’t do a damn thing to help underage kids being bought and sold like cattle on the streets. So get the fuck off your high horse and open your eyes, man. I may be a killer, but I’ve never hurt a child. So fuck you and your holier than thou opinion.”
I got up to storm out, knowing that if my temper continued to rise I might do something ugly before Jenner could stop it. Briggs rose too and grabbed my arm to stop me. We both froze. My gaze dropped to where his hand clutched my arm. Slowly he released me, one finger at a time.
A familiar vibe resonated within me as I sensed Jenner. He was close. A scan of the crowd revealed nothing. Wherever he was, he was doing a good job of staying out of sight.
“If you walk out on me, then my hands are tied, and Juliet pays the price for your crimes. Is that what you want?” He sat back down, gesturing for me to do the same.
“What I want is for you to stop judging me. You don’t know the first thing about what it’s like to be me.” I did sit down then, albeit with some reluctance. Leaning across the table, I bared my vampire fangs in a warning. “Would you like to? Maybe instead of killing you, I should just bring you over to the dark side. I’m willing to bet that your tune will change pretty fast once you have to walk in
my shoes.”
Briggs chuckled. It quickly grew into a full out laugh that my frown only seemed to encourage. “Christ, O’Brien, you sound just like your darker half. He threatened me with the same damn thing. That’s where this came from.” He pointed to the wound on his neck and chuckled some more.
I sat there with a sour expression, unable to find the humor in uttering the same threat as Arys. “Fine. I’ll just kill you then. Fuck it.”
His laugh fest didn’t last long. As quickly as it came on, it disappeared. Briggs resumed his stiff upper lip. “Let’s make a deal. You turn yourself in. I break you out quietly, and I find a way to keep you off our radar and leave you alone for a while. In return, you make yourself available for that favor you owe me when I call it in. And stop with the public kills already.”
My initial reaction was to tell him to fuck his favor, but he was right. I did owe him one for helping me track Jez when she was missing in Vegas. After his attempt to kill me, I’d decided not to honor that favor. However, owing him one measly favor would be worth it to get the FPA off my case and to do right by my sister.
“Fine,” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket. “But I want to record this deal. Let’s just call it my safety net so if you try to back out on me or leave me in lock up, I can show your superiors that you’re not quite who they think you are.”
Briggs furrowed his brow, and I could see that he wanted to protest. His gaze dropped to the sheath nestled against my leg. “Are you carrying a weapon in public?”
“Are you?” I retorted. “Don’t try to change the subject. Go ahead. Repeat your deal.”
I opened up the voice memo on my phone and hit record, motioning for him to repeat what he’d said. At first he simply stared at me. When I continued to stare right back, he began to speak. Once he was finished I saved the recording and smiled, satisfied.
I stuck my hand out, pretending not to notice how good he smelled. So human. Being in such a heavily human-populated place was starting to get to me.
“Looks like we have a deal,” I said. “Please don’t give me another reason to kill you. I don’t want to hurt Juliet that way, but I’m done with being fucked around by you.”
