by Trina M. Lee
I chuckled, enjoying his underestimation of me. “Haven’t you been paying attention, pup? I don’t need much of a plan.”
“All right. Whatever you say.” Shaz’s tone didn’t match his words, but he dutifully headed for Jez’s Jeep.
She paused with her hand on the door handle, her lips pursed in thought. “What happens if the FPA just happens to grab us? Just saying, hypothetically.”
“Then we come for you.” There was no room for compromise. The FPA would not get any damn one of us into their lockup if I had anything to say about it. “They’ve been doing some weapon upgrades. Be careful.”
Swiping the keys from Jenner’s hand, I slid into the driver’s side of the Jag. It was a nice car for the most part. Typical of what a guy like Raoul would drive, it was pricey, fast, and sleek.
Jenner got in on the other side and turned to me, excitement causing his pale blue eyes to glow. “And here I thought you’d never leave the house. It’s about time you did something. So, did you see Alexa?”
“I did.” After adjusting the mirrors, I put the car into gear and settled back against the seat. “She’s afraid of me and afraid of herself. But otherwise, she’s ok. Or she will be anyway.”
“And Kale?”
“I had a chance to suggest that leaving town might be best for him and for her. It’s not like I’m wrong about that. I guess we’ll see what he decides.”
It would have been easy enough to grab a random person off the street in order to send Briggs to a real murder scene. However, seeing Alexa had awakened the spark of light within me that was all her. Knowing she wouldn’t want me to kill a so-called innocent, I chose instead to fake it.
Seeking a relatively private place to lure Briggs and his team to, I headed for the river valley. The walking trails there would be perfect. Foot traffic should be minimal at this hour, and the surrounding trees and brush would prevent witnesses.
We parked the car and walked the trails until we came to a spot where we could easily ambush approaching agents from the trees. I called Jez who informed me that the FPA building was surrounded by armed guards. They couldn’t get very close. From what she could tell Briggs was already gone. He’d gotten an early start. I asked her to call in the false attack report, and then we waited.
“I can see why you like it here,” Jenner mused as we listened to the sound of the nearby river. “Definitely a lot greener than Sin City. Not quite as fun though.”
“Are you kidding me?” I laughed. “You were almost roasted by a dragon and now you’re hunting Feds. How much more fun do you need?”
Jenner leaned back against a tree, gazing up at the sky. “I’m starting to miss my nightclub. The orgies in the den, the swooning women on stage. Hell, I actually miss the sound of all those damn slot machines. I didn’t realize how loud they were until they were gone.”
“And you say that I need to get out more,” I scoffed. “Shit, Jenner. When was the last time you left Vegas?”
“I’m not sure. Back in the 80s I think. Who needs to leave though when you have an all you can eat buffet in a city that never sleeps?” There was a glimmer of nostalgia in him when he looked at me. “Don’t tell me you don’t miss it. We made a hell of a lot of memories there.”
“Of course I miss it. There are nights when I crave that desert air and the non-stop flow of human traffic down The Strip. But I was just biding my time there. Waiting. I belong here now.”
Jenner’s laugh came out sounding more like a hiss. “I never thought I’d see the day when you were more in love with a person than with that city. It’s unnatural.”
Las Vegas meant a great deal to me. It was where I’d really come into my own, taking a stand against the one who sired me. It was where I was when I knew with absolute certainty that Alexa lived. It would always be home, in its own bizarre way.
We sat there shooting the shit and reminiscing about the good old days and some of the not so good old days. It wasn’t long before I sensed the approaching human task force. They were loud. Even as they tried to be stealthy I could hear their breathing, the beat of their hearts, and the occasional scuff of shoes.
Briggs was smart enough to have his team approach from both sides. He’d sent nearly a dozen agents in total, all of them with weapons drawn. I waited until I saw Briggs himself. He brought up the rear of one group, hissing orders at his team. I didn’t see Juliet.
I laughed silently to myself. Briggs thought a dozen humans were enough to take Alexa down?
Meeting Jenner’s gaze, we shared a look and a nod. One benefit to knowing someone for several decades is the ability to read so much in a look. Words weren’t necessary.
When every agent was gathered at the place that I’d told Jez to describe in the report, we converged on them. We didn’t leap out of the trees with a loud display of violence. No, we slid from the brush with soundless steps and grabbed the closest agents first. Clapping a hand over the guy’s mouth, I bit deep into his carotid before tossing him aside and grabbing another. Jenner mirrored my actions, taking it a step further by also breaking his victim’s neck. We dropped four of them in just seconds. That’s when the first shout rang out.
With our presence revealed, we abandoned stealth in favor of a savage attack. Briggs shouted orders that included the command to take us out. Laughter poured from me as I spilled their blood. Shots went off, and I held one agent in front of me as a human shield. The crossbow bolts meant for me embedded in his chest, and he screamed in agony. I silenced him quickly with a twist of his neck.
“Not him,” I shouted when Jenner went for Briggs. “That one lives. But only that one.”
With a shrug, Jenner slammed Briggs with enough power to take his feet out from beneath him. The Fed went down hard on the paved walking path, and I took the opportunity to relieve him of his weapons and his phone.
“You’re making a big fucking mistake here,” he snarled through teeth clenched in agony.
I whirled around in time to take a bolt in the shoulder. “Cocksucker,” I swore, retaliating with a psi ball big enough to tear the guy’s head off his shoulders.
The bolt lodged in my flesh hurt like a bitch. I tore it free and plunged it into the neck of the nearest agent I could get my hands on. Blood spurted from the puncture, and the guy went down grabbing uselessly at the wound.
A wolfish growl rumbled in my throat. The walking path was littered with bodies. The remaining two agents surrendered, hands held high and guns on the ground. There would be no mercy for them. Despite their pleas, we killed them. I threw one guy down in front of Briggs. His wide, gaping eyes stared at his superior as the life faded from them. Briggs looked about in horror, trying to take in what he’d just witnessed. It had all happened so fast.
“Now, who were you saying made a mistake here?” I asked, standing back to allow him to get to his feet. Blood stained my face, and I knew by the disbelief on Briggs’s face that Alexa’s wolf was showing in my eyes.
“You’re not doing anything to help her with a display like this,” Briggs said, meeting my gaze head on. “Why stop there? Why not kill me too?”
“Because they’ll just replace you with some other douchebag. And I kind of like you.” My smile was met with a scowl. “You’ve got balls. I can respect that. But I can’t let you hunt Alexa.”
Briggs stared at the carnage, his face incredulous. “These people didn’t deserve to die like this. I can’t imagine how you thought slaughtering innocent men serving their country was the best way to prove either of you shouldn’t be hunted.”
“Serving their country? I see you’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid, Briggs. I thought you were smarter than that.”
“You won’t get away with this, Arys. I know you think you’re doing the honorable thing by defending your woman, but you’re wrong. You’re just another fucking monster that deserves to die.” Briggs was uneasy but he wasn’t afraid. It was admirable. It was also stupid.
“Give me a break, Briggs. I killed several
of your men outside your own building, and you didn’t do fuck-all. Alexa barely scratches the surface of trouble, and you launch a hunt?” Shaking my head, I got close enough to the Fed to hear his heart rate increase. Maybe he wasn’t immune to fear after all. “I’m on to you, Briggs. I know what men like you are after. You call it justice, but I call it control. You always wanted Alexa to join the FPA. I’m willing to bet you haven’t given up on that. Have you?”
He stared past me to the bloody mess Jenner and I had made. His expression was stony, his silent refusal louder than words.
When he refused to speak, I continued. “You think if you get her back into that building you can warp her mind, turn her into one of your weapons. It was always her that you wanted. You settled for Juliet, but it never really ended there in your mind, did it? You tried to take Alexa in for the Abigail Irving hit, and when that didn’t work, you had to dream up something else. This was what you were waiting for. An opportunity to cage her and program her.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. I’d nailed the truth.
Jenner sidled up to sneer into Briggs’s face. “You’re a clever piece of shit, aren’t you? Too bad. You chose the wrong vampire to fuck with. I’ve known this guy a long time, and nothing makes him as ruthless as messing with his girl does.”
I shot Jenner a dark look, seeing that personal blow for what it was. Leave it to him to choose a time like this to remind me that though we were brothers, we were also frequently rivals. Evidence suggested that Jenner was still pissed about what went down between us all in Vegas.
“So what then? You kill me now?” Agent Briggs had accepted that fate. His resignation showed in the hard set of his shoulders.
“I don’t think so,” I said, studying him closely. “Perhaps we should perform some experiments on you. I can’t help but wonder what the FPA would think of one of their star agents becoming a vampire. I’m sure they would love to pick you apart if that were to happen. What do you think?”
Sweat broke out on Briggs’s brow. His energy stank of fright. My words had touched the place where his fears lived.
“What the hell do you want from me?” he demanded. “I won’t negotiate with a supernatural terrorist.”
Jenner laughed long and hard at that. “Terrorists,” he gasped between chuckles. “Oh man, that’s rich.”
“I want you to stay away from Alexa. She is off limits to you and your people.”
Briggs was stubborn and headstrong despite his predicament. “She’s a menace. She’s been killing. If I turn a blind eye to that then I wouldn’t be doing my job.”
“So you would rather become your job?” Jenner taunted, baring bloodstained fangs.
Turning Briggs had never crossed my mind until now. A man like him would make a formidable vampire. Though having Alexa enthrall him would make him controllable to an extent. It would serve him right to be enslaved to her.
“Is there any right way to answer that?” Briggs glared, knowing I had him trapped.
“Probably not,” I admitted with a grin. I was close enough to smell his aftershave. It wouldn’t take much to bridge that gap. “You’re not making the best decisions these days. That’s how many FPA agents dead now because they followed your command?”
“It’s just part of the job.” He refused to be budged. Holding his ground was all he had left.
“I can respect that. Or at least, I would if you had a legitimate job. So I’m sure you understand that there are things I must do as well.”
Without giving him a chance to reply, I grabbed him by the shoulders and bit into his jugular. It was a small nip, nothing he couldn’t walk off. His blood was warm and rich. It hit my tongue, and I had to remind myself that killing him hadn’t been the plan. At this point, I wasn’t sure what my plan was. Running on instinct was more my style.
Once I’d taken enough to instill a sense of terror in him, I reluctantly released him. It hadn’t been enough to turn him, but I bit my wrist and thrust it at him anyway.
“Last chance to make me happy, Briggs. Tell me what I want to hear.” I grabbed the back of his head and shoved his face toward my bleeding arm. “I know you’re used to dealing with Alexa, but I’m running the show right now, and I’m just not as personable as she is.”
“You’re a goddamn maniac,” he grunted, fighting me off as I pressed my bloody wrist against his face. My blood smeared across his lips, and he bellowed, “You win. I’ll call off the hunt for Alexa. Just get the fuck off me.”
I patted his head like a dog who’d just performed a new trick, then gave him a shove. “Well done. I knew you had it in you.”
“Obviously I’ve been hunting the wrong vampire.” Briggs used his sleeve to wipe the blood from his face. His glare held the promise of revenge.
Crooking my fingers in invitation, I encouraged his anger. Retaliation would come. I would be expecting it.
“I’m flattered. Do remember that I’ve survived three centuries of human bullshit. You’re just one of many, and there will always be more where you came from. Think carefully on that.” It was good advice, though I doubted he would take it.
Briggs stooped to retrieve his phone, which I allowed. He was smart enough to avoid making a play for his weapon. “I thought the two of you were supposed to be some kind of good guys, according to Alexa. Twin flames. I read up on it. From what I can see, they got that all wrong. You’re nothing but a cold-blooded killer.”
I held a hand to my heart in mock anguish. “Well, you can thank this cold-blooded killer for stopping Shya. In case you weren’t aware, I had to kill Alexa to do that. Because of us, you’re not groveling at that demon’s feet right now as a slave in his hell-born empire. You’re welcome.”
I had nothing more to say to Agent Briggs. It was good of him to try to understand what Alexa and I were. Of course, I doubted there was a soul alive that really understood it.
With Jenner at my side, I walked away, leaving Briggs standing there surrounded by the bodies of his fallen comrades. In just over a week, he had successfully destroyed three teams of his own people. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do to him that he wasn’t already doing to himself.
I paused to add one last parting remark. “Alexa is the good one here. It may not look that way right now, but it’s true. She’s the hero. I’m the villain. Don’t forget that.”
The FPA was not about to disappear any time soon. Hopefully I’d shaken him up enough to question his tactics from here on out.
Cold-blooded killer. His words echoed in my thoughts. It wasn’t the first time such an accusation had been flung at me. It was unlikely to be the last. There was a fine line between who I am and what I am. Cold-blooded killer? Perhaps. Monster? Sure, why not? Sorry? Not a chance in hell.
Chapter Nine
“That was bullshit, Arys. You sent us over there knowing damn well there’d be nothing for us to do.” The feisty leopard was all fired up. Jez flung accusations at me, her eyes flashing an angry green.
Shaz nodded his agreement, letting his scowl speak for him. The two of them were upset with me for sending them on a pointless errand. I offered no apology. Risking two of the mortal people that Alexa loved most in this world hadn’t been an option. It had been easier to just get rid of them for a while.
“I hadn’t expected Briggs to launch his hunt so early in the evening. Don’t blame me.” It was the best they were going to get out of me.
Jez pointed a long finger at me, tipped with red, claw-like nails. “You suck. If you have nothing else for me to further waste my time with, I’m taking off.”
“You’re not going in there, are you?” I nodded toward The Spirit Room. We were back in the parking lot where Jenner and I had filled the two shifters in on the events of our encounter with Briggs.
“What’s it to you?” Jez demanded, though there was a softness in her gaze that didn’t match her tone.
I mustered a shred of a shrug and waved a hand dismissively. “Nothing at all. I just happen to know
that there are people who would never get over it if you OD and die in that place.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she quipped sarcastically. “I appreciate the concern.” She stubbed out her cigarette and stared at the building that vibrated with heavy bass tones. I was reminded of what Alexa had told me about Jez’s true father and the darkness she’d inherited from him.
“Jez, if you need anything, even if you just want to talk, give me a call. Ok?” Shaz, the ever generous, caring soul that he was, followed her to the Jeep where they spoke in low tones.
After she’d gone, Shaz turned to me with a look on his face that I had come to know was his pre-fight look. “I want to see Alexa. You can’t keep shutting me out of everything. I have just as much a right to be part of this as you do.”
He expected an argument. The hard set to his jaw and the square of his shoulders gave his stance an air of menace. The young wolf was certainly a virile creature.
“You do,” I agreed. “When the time is right.”
“Oh for fuck’s sakes. Are you kidding me?” Shaz’s fist clenched, revealing how pent up his frustration was.
“Come on, pup. Let’s go talk about this somewhere else. Preferably somewhere relaxing. Low key.” To Jenner, I said, “I need some time with Shaz. I’ll see you back at home. Be careful with that car.”
A gleeful smile lit up Jenner’s face. “But of course.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere with you unless it’s to see Lex.” The stubborn wolf stood his ground. “You owe me that much.”
“I don’t owe you a damn thing. Let’s go to Lucy’s Lounge. It’s been a while. We’ll shoot some pool. You’ll drink some beer. We’ll talk.”
Suspicion marred Shaz’s face. The protests were there, waiting to be delivered. After a moment of consideration, he gave in, much to my delight.
“Fine. But you’re buying.”
Lucy’s Lounge was the only decent place in Stony Plain to hang out socially after dark. Getting Shaz out of the city and back into the small town was better for everyone. The city was teeming with violence and unrest. He was already so wound up due to the events of the last week that I saw no need to feed that fire.
