The Monster Ball Year 2

by Heather Hildenbrand

  I glanced to the gun grip poking out from Bash’s belt. “Now isn’t the time for this, Bash. We have a job to do—”

  “Ask me again.” He demanded with iron-clad conviction.

  “What?”

  “If I had anyone in particular in mind. Ask me again.”

  Swallowing hard, I croaked. “Did you have any—”

  That’s as far as Bash let me get. Hand encircling my wrist, he tugged me to him with gentle insistence. My body molded to his, and a small gasp escaped me as he claimed my mouth with his. Tongue flicking between my swollen and eager lips, his hands traveled over my back, sending shivers down my spine. It should have felt odd… two friends crossing that forbidden line. But it didn’t. A hypnotic magnetism drew us together with a white-hot intensity that burned through my core. Weaving my fingers into his hair, I enjoyed the feel of the silky strands.

  His hand trailed down my leg, and hooking my knee, he eased it up to his waist. I rolled my hips in response, my pulse pounding as I ground against his growing desire. Guiding me back, he pressed my back against the rough face of the brick wall. Palms planted on the brick, he pinned me in the cocoon of his arms. I won’t lie; I wanted to unzip his pants and claim every inch of him in a rush of passion that left us both panting. With him kissing and nibbling his way down my neck, it would have been insanely easy to lose myself in his touch. To let the tips of his fingers brush over the curve of my breast, and let those ugly lingering thoughts of Lannister fade away.

  Flesh on flesh.

  Passion met with passion.

  It would have been so easy… had my own stubborn streak not swooped in with the cock-block.

  Filling my lungs to capacity, I pulled back and dropped my chin to my chest. My left hand curled around the gun grip, lifting it from its hiding place.

  As he squeezed his eyes shut, Bash’s forehead found mine. “Don’t do this, Teigen. Please.”

  “He killed someone, Sebastian. I can’t let him get away with it or risk him hurting anyone else. Please, I need you to understand that.” Tears of regret burning behind my eyes, I pressed the tip of my index finger to the warm bow of his lips. “But when this is over—”

  “Don’t,” Bash interrupted. Shoving off the wall, he injected an icy distance between us. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You go back in there with that gun, and you are one slip up away from being declared public enemy number one among every single member of the supernatural community.”

  “I need you to understand.” Pacing the width of the tunnel, I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “My entire life… I haven’t fit in. Not passable as a human. Not strong enough to be a vamp. To have it used against me by someone like him…”

  Spinning on me, Sebastian threw his hands in the air. “What the hell does it matter? Why does he matter? The guy is a criminal! Our S.I.A teams are in position, and loaded with enough evidence to bring him down. Take yourself out of the equation, and let’s do this right!”

  For a beat, I weighed the gun and all of its repercussions in my palm… then tucked it into my own belt. “I bring him down at The Monster Ball, and I expose him as the fraud and murderer he is to the entire supernatural community. They deserve to see him for the vile monster he truly is.”

  Dragging his tongue over his top teeth, his stare drifted down the darkened tunnel he had emerged from. Somewhere in the distance, water dripped in a melancholy chorus. “If you go back in there, I can’t go with you… in any way. We know I can’t get in, but I won’t listen to you die. I can’t. So, you go back in, and you’re going in alone.”

  With a lump forming in my throat, I closed the distance between us in two wide strides and gently pressed my lips to his. “This isn’t goodbye,” I breathed the words into him, meaning every syllable with an intensity that made my heart ache. “It’s an I’ll see you soon.”

  Sniffling back a wave of emotion, I gritted my teeth to the point of pain and dipped my head in a brief nod of understanding. Not another word passed between us. With one foot on the wall, I hoisted myself back up into the duct work. Pushing on, I tried to convince myself this was all about the job. With his family’s money, there was a chance Lannister could buy his way out of trouble if I went for the arrest. But here, at this extravagant gala, I could ensure justice for him. The wolves would hear a vampire killed one of their own, and the earth would tremble with the drums of war.

  Was that what I wanted? To risk more innocent people getting hurt?

  It seemed I had run out of time for that particular introspection.

  A square of light beckoned up ahead, welcoming me back to the bathroom I tunneled my way out of. Grabbing the edge of the opening, I curled myself into a tight tuck and flipped to the ground.

  Wiping the sweat from my brow on the back of my hand, I stepped back into my skirt and snapped it back into place. Taking time to fluff the fabric first, I made sure the gun was carefully hidden beneath it. Tossing a rogue curl from my eyes, I squared my shoulders and marched out of the stall. While I was fairly certain I was alone, I kept up appearances by stopping at the sink to wash my hands. I was flicking the water from my fingers and reaching for a paper towel when a female voice—as decadent as warm molasses—sliced through the silence. “I’ve heard the expression ‘love will find a way,’ but this may be taking it to new extremes.”

  Chapter Six

  It wasn’t off-putting to run into another woman in the ladies room; that was apropos to the purpose of the space. What was a bit curious was that she seemed to be waiting there… for me.

  Her dark hair pinned up in a crown of messy curls, and her eyes were the color of dancing flames. The bodice of her gown molded to her curves in a second skin, its capped sleeves jutting from her shoulders like raven wings lifting into flight. Back against the stone countertop, her porcelain arms were folded over her midsection with her long legs elegantly crossed at the ankles.

  Lifting one brow in my direction, the stranger glanced from me to the vent and back again. “While I appreciate your dedication to good air flow, I’m quite certain we could have found a professional to handle our heating and cooling needs.”

  “I… uh,” Am a friggin’ spy and should be able to lie better. Clearly, Bash and his salty-sweet lips were to blame for my stuttering brain. “Thought I heard a mouse. Last thing I wanted was an infestation of rodents to ruin the party.”

  Lips, painted a brilliant crimson twisted to the side in a sardonic grin. “A mouse? Really? That’s the excuse you’re going to go with? And was it this mouse that brought that brilliant rosy blush to your cheeks?”

  Mouth opening with a pop, I prayed brilliance would just tumble out. No such luck. “What can I say?” No, really. What the fuck can I say? “The heat was really blasting out of that vent.”

  Head tilted, she narrowed her eyes as she prompted me. “And..?”

  “I … snuck out to feed on a human?” My voice rose just enough at the end to make it a question, if for no other reason than blind fear that I was digging my own grave. There were so many rules attached to The Monster Ball, and I was fairly sure I just admitted to breaking like three of them.

  Oblivious to the fact that I was so nervous even my ass was sweating, the stranger inspected her ruby red nails. “You were ravenous all right. But it’s not blood I smell on your lips, dhampir. It’s something far more primal. You positively reek of the pheromone perfume of desire. Yet, here you are, hiding from it in the heating and cooling system. Is it safe to say, then, that you have no interest in happiness? What is it? You long to embody that overplayed brooding vampire stereotype? I am the darkness and all of that nonsense? How shockingly unoriginal.”

  Jerking as if she slapped me, I fought to find my place in this topsy-turvy conversation. “No, it’s nothing like that. I just have stuff to do.”

  I have stuff to do? I mentally chastised myself. You are trained in covert ops, and you sound like a teenager caught out after curfew. It’s a good thing Bash isn’t listening.
You’d never live this shitshow down.

  “Stuff?” Feigning a shocked gasp, she clasped both hands over her heart. “Well, why didn’t you say so sooner? That is absolutely a viable reason not to love and be loved in return.”

  Shoulders sagging, I blinked in her direction. “I don’t know what species you are, but it would seem sarcasm is your primary form of communication.”

  Pushing her hip off the counter, she closed the distance between us with a graceful glide. “Only when dealing with those too blind to see the truth that’s as obvious as the nose on their face.” A boop to the tip of my nose ensured I was listening. “Not all who attend The Monster Ball find what they are looking for. Others find a truth far more valuable.”

  “What’s that?” For reasons I couldn’t explain, I found myself afraid to blink. As if taking that risk might make the mysterious woman disappear and take her pearls of wisdom with her.

  Sure, it was as oddly deep thought to have about a random chick I ran into in the ladies room, but there we were.

  “Sometimes, that which we seek—that burning sensation deep in our core, screaming for us to claim what we want—isn’t what we truly need. You won’t find happiness out there, Teigen,” she jerked her head in the direction of the music thumping outside the door. “But you already know that. To take a chance on the future, you have to let go of the past.”

  There were a million questions I should have asked, starting with how the hell she knew my name and every little bit of my business. Even so, I didn’t question a word of that but focused on the dark cloud shadowing my heart. “What if I can’t? What if this latest in a lifetime of grievances is the one I can’t move past?”

  Something that resembled sorrow darkened her features, somehow making her even more lovely. “If that’s the case, you’re already lost. And what might have been never stood a chance at all. I truly hope that’s not the case because there are some actions that cannot be undone. Ones that hit like a meteor strike and resonate out in a rash of destruction to all those unfortunate enough to be caught in the wake. You hold the power to cause that kind of impact, Teigen, as well as the poise and control to prevent it. May you have the strength and resolve to do the right thing.”

  With those as her parting words, she sashayed out leaving nothing but a trail of perfumed elegance in her wake.

  “Bash?” I asked the walls. With my pulse pounding in my temples, I prayed he was still listening. That I hadn’t driven him away and ruined everything. “Please, tell me you caught that? I think I just ran into my fairy godmother. Sebastian?”

  Nothing.

  No crackle of static.

  Not a huff of laughter.

  It was too late.

  I chose vengeance, and Sebastian was gone.

  Chapter Seven

  Stepping out of the restroom, I felt the gun pulsing beneath the fabric of my gown like a tell-tale heart eager to weave a sinister story painting me as a villain.

  I was fast.

  I was strong.

  I was expertly trained.

  I might make it out of the building alive, but I wouldn’t make it much longer if anyone believed I was tied to the lupine murder.

  My stirrings of regret were whipping and churning into a storm cloud of doubt. I wanted to run from the building. To sprint out, find Sebastian, and scream my apologies to the rooftops.

  But, there was one obstacle in my way. He was roughly a five-foot-eleven undead American with a blood drunk smirk… and he was heading straight for me.

  Lannister stumbled his way over to me, all the while watching his hand move in front of his face with fascinated interest. “That was a fangtastic idea to feed!” He slurred. “That darling young thing must have been on ecstasy or some other wonderful hallucinogenic, because I can feel every cell of my body. It’s quite spectacular really. Except, my tongue feels swollen.” The couth and distinguished vamp stuck his tongue out for me to inspect. “Dahds it ook eird? It feels uge in mah mouf.”

  “Nope, perfectly normal.” I managed, forcing the words through tightly gritted teeth. “Looking suave as ever.”

  Where was that rapid-vampire rejuvenation that prevented the undead from staying drunk or high? Stoned Lannister would not work for my rapidly crumbling plan. I could have slapped the gun in his palm in that moment, and he would have flung it around and made pew-pew sound effects instead of seeing it as his unraveling as intended.

  Translation?

  I was fucked.

  Catching Lannister by the elbow, I steered him towards the door. “We still need to get you out of here, remember? There was talk of a torch and pitchfork wielding crowd.”

  “He’s not going anywhere,” a deep voice rumbled from behind us.

  I didn’t want to turn around. Knew all too well nothing good would come of it.

  With the hair on the back of my neck rising, I battled to keep my expression an impassive neutral and turned in the direction of the booming face.

  There stood McStudpuppy with his hands balled into fists at his sides and his chest rising and falling in angry heaves. Daggers of hate stabbed from his glare, his top lip curling into a menacing snarl.

  “Fan-fucking-tastic,” I muttered under my breath and forced a tight smile. “Good evening. Was there something we could help you with?”

  “Your boyfriend, here, is Lannister Collum. Isn’t he?” Wolfie’s tone was more animal than man, his pupils contracting to dangerous lupine slits.

  “Playing it fast and loose on the term boyfriend,” I snorted. “I’d call him more a mistake of colossal proportions.”

  “Suuuuuuuuure! She says that now,” Lannister chortled with a naughty wink. “But you know how these dhampir sluts are. She won’t stop ‘til she gets enough if you know what I’m sayin’!”

  “Just talking to him leaves a bad taste in your mouth, doesn’t it?” I exchanged matching cringes with the equally disgusted wolf. “But you get the good end of this deal. You get to leave here and never have to talk to him again. While I will be haunted by the fact that at one point, he had his tongue crammed down my throat.”

  “My condolences, truly.” Wolfie’s stare traveled down the length of me, taking his time to round the curves. “However, while what you mourn is your wasted time and… unfortunate taste in men… mine is one of a great family loss. My cousin in Chicago was killed by a bullet… just… like… this.” Pulling the casing I planted from his pocket, he held it up between cracked and peeling fingers. “Mr. Collum has a bit of an unsavory reputation, and he was seen in Chicago at the time of the murder. I’m guessing he had something to do with this. Or, he knows who did.”

  Fuuuuuuck. This was just getting better and better.

  “Really? You think this guy,” I jabbed a thumb in Lannister’s direction, “would be capable of something that nefarious?”

  Both arms stretched out in front of him, Lannister wiggled his fingers. “Hands are weird. I can’t feel them, yet they feel everything.”

  “What’s the matter with him?” The wolf pulled back as if worried whatever Lannister had was contagious.

  “I have no idea. Maybe he bit a unicorn and is tripping on their Lucky Charms. Regardless, I think we can both agree that this guy is no stone-cold assassin.” The gun burned against my back, scorching its warning that if anyone caught a glimpse of it, this whole scene was going to unravel faster than any of my sleight of hand talents could fix. Out of options, I had exactly one choice: save the ass of the dickhead ex I came there to destroy.

  Oh, karma, you vindictive bitch.

  “I am an assassin!” Lannister waved his hands in front of him, demanding all the attention. “I slay all day! Go ahead, ask me. Ask me what I slay.”

  Filling my lungs to capacity, I felt a rush of annoyance cause my fangs to press against my gumline. Raising one finger, I halted what was sure to be his off color proclamation. “I swear to God, if you say pussy, I will stake you right here and now—Monster Ball rules, be damned.”

&n
bsp; “Puuu-tang. ” Erupting in peals of laughter, he bent in half and slapped his knee.

  “I fucking hate you,” I grumbled under my breath.

  “So, you’re saying your boy wasn’t in Chicago a couple weeks back?” As he dragged his tongue over his top-teeth, the smoking-hot shifter’s pecs strained against the fabric of his button-down shirt.

  That question… was a loaded one. One he wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t already know. Which meant lying was pointless.

  “He was.” I met Wolfie’s gaze directly, knowing he would pounce on any show of weakness. “And so was I, along with thousands of other people, if we’re keeping count. But what does that matter? I mean, I went to the monkey house at the zoo last week, and poo was flung while I was there. Still, it’s safe to assume the culprit was a primate, and not me.”

  “What?” Wolfie winced, not even remotely following along.

  “It makes no sense to put the blame on a random, dirt-ball vampire who happened to be in town when the murder occurred.”

  Chest puffed, Wolfie hitched one brow my way. “You’re laying it on pretty thick that you’re not a fan of this guy.”

  “In short and deliberate words? No. Not even a little bit.”

  Lannister’s lips parted with a pop, his head swiveling in my direction. “You don’t like me? But, I’m delightful.”

  Wolfie’s eyes narrowed with predatory intrigue. “Yet, you’re willing to admit you were with him on his trip to Chicago?”

  “She was there for the V-D!” Lannister crowed, and gestured to his pelvis with both hands. “That made it sound like I meant venereal disease. No one goes in search of that. I was referring to my penis. V-D; vampire—”

  Raising one hand, I tried to silence him. “I beg you to stop talking. Forever if possible. Yes, I was with him in the Windy City. Though for the life of me, I can’t explain my motives as to why.”