by Emma Shade
“I know, Al, but doesn’t it seem odd?” Paige asked.
I blinked in surprise. Al?
“I wouldn’t think too much into this whole thing. Jeremy’s a good man. An impatient one, yes, but a noble guy. If you let this stew on your mind, you’ll just be wasting valuable time you could be searching for the bad guy,” Alistair said, shrugging as if it wasn’t a big deal.
I let it drop for now. There wasn’t a point in a heated debate. But, even still, Paige’s eyes betrayed her doubts as she swung them in my direction. She believed something hadn’t made sense either.
I lied, bordering on sarcasm. “You’re right, Alistair. I’m probably just being paranoid for no good reason.”
He smirked and stood. “I think it’s genetic for women. I get it.”
“You get what? That just because we’re women that we don’t have valid points?” Paige snapped.
The smirk turned into a grimace in an instant. “That’s not what I said, Paige.”
“But you implied it.”
Strolling to the door, I held it open and interrupted the fight before it began. “You know what? I’m tired. I’ll call Sam and then head to bed. We’ll start fresh in the morning. Goodnight, Alistair.”
Poker-faced, Alistair sauntered out the door without so much as a goodbye, goodnight, or a go fuck yourself. The man had more mood swings than a pregnant woman. He was the poster child for Katy Perry’s song “Hot and Cold”.
Watching his retreating back, and making sure he was well out of vampire earshot, I shut the door and rotated to confront Paige. “Al? When did you start calling Mr. Cranky Pants ‘Al’? And where the hell have you been this whole time?”
“Oooh! Mr. Cranky Pants. I like that. Have to use that next time I see him.”
“Paige, quit avoiding the subject.”
She huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine. I went out to clear my head and ran into Jamison. We played some cards, drank, and then Alistair came along to ruin the fun. He’s seriously a freakin’ party pooper.”
“You realize he’s jealous of Jamison, right? And you avoided my question about the nickname.”
“Pfft. Pa-lease. Alistair could care less who I hang out with or what I call him. He just likes to be in control of every situation, and was pissed because he wasn’t. That’s it.”
I chuckled. “If you say so, Paige.”
“Oh!” She exclaimed and snatched her purse of the bed were she’d tossed it. “Speaking of obnoxious men, I was asked to give you this.” She removed a small box about the size of a deck of cards from her purse and held it out in front of her.
As if the box held a snake coiled inside ready to strike, I took a few steps back and eyed the box with mistrust. “Who gave it to you?”
She wobbled the box, and said, “Just open it.”
Taking it gingerly from her fingers, I heaved a sigh. I wasn’t sure who it was from. Well, okay, it was either from Ashton or Blake, but gift giving wasn’t playing fair. It played on my guilt like a fine tuned instrument.
Opening the box, it held a note in scrawled writing that said “open first”. It wasn’t written in Ashton’s looping script, and my shoulders sagged in relief...until I read the note.
Lily,
Even though it doesn’t make up for what I’ve done, enjoy the bracelet. I miss you, and I’m sorry.
XOXO,
Blake
Paige bounced on her heels, and exclaimed, “Open it already! I’m dying to know what the jerk got you.”
I handed the note to Paige, and carefully opened the box from one of the well-known jewelers. Inside rested a bracelet that almost matched my necklace. Except this infinity design was a looped figure eight instead of two interlocking rings. I pulled it out to inspect the beautiful design and the round brilliant diamonds throughout the emblem. It wasn’t the infinity symbol or the bracelet itself that split my face in to a grin from ear to ear. A charm on the toggle clasp had. A shimmering lightning bolt dangled near the closure, catching the light.
From the moment we met, Blake got me. He said the right things, listened intently, and never doubted me. If things in life made more sense, I would’ve fallen for Blake and no one else. Life wasn’t fair, though. Or was the whole reason I questioned whether I was meant for one man versus the other destined to be a test of resolve? This swaying back and forth between the two men hadn’t gotten me anywhere thus far. Then again, maybe I wasn’t meant to be with either one of them.
Paige snatched the bracelet from my loose grip, yanking my attention back to her and away from my wayward thoughts. “This had to cost a fortune, Lily. Nothing like an expensive piece of jewelry to say ‘I’m sorry’. Not that I’m a jewelry girl, but it’s awesome. And the lightning bolt?! Did you see it? How fucking cool is that?”
“Pretty cool. I’ve never seen anything like it,” I admitted with a soft voice.
A knock interrupted our admiration of the bracelet, and our heads swiveled in the direction of the door. We both stared at it in silence, frozen in place, speculating who was on the other side and if we should pretend nobody was home.
“Guys, it’s me. You don’t have to pretend to be out on the town,” Sam said, voice muffled by the door.
A short time later, after Sam oohed and aahed over the bracelet, we sprawled out on the bed watching reruns of a sitcom on TV for a while. Paige surprised me by cackling with the audience at the expected jokes, her humor clearly not lost. I laughed just as hard at her as I did the show.
Sam, in the middle of the two of us, suddenly straightened as if he were a frightened animal, listening intently. If his ears were on top of his head, they would’ve twitched back and forth as he took in the surroundings.
I wrinkled my brow. “What’s wrong?”
Cocking his head to the side, he muted the TV, disregarded Paige’s protest, and clasped a hand over her mouth to shush her.
Nobody moved and our increased breathing the only sound echoing through the room. My heart thundered in my chest as butterflies fluttered in my gut, frightened by Sam’s unexpected alertness.
With a sharp inhale through his nose, Sam’s wide eyes met mine. “Enforcers are here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
BLAKE
Sitting alone at the sports bar inside Mirage, I haphazardly watched a baseball game on the big screen in front of me. Beer already warm, my foot bounced against the foot rail and my fingers strummed against the glossy wood bar. A jumbled ball of nerves, I impatiently hoped to hear from Paige or Lily about the bracelet. Had she liked it? It wasn’t like me to buy extraordinary gifts such as these. By staying put, and not running away at the first sign of trouble, I went out on a limb and hoped that said limb wasn’t chopped off in the process.
Between the Enforcers, Lily, and now Leslie, I was tempted to take a nice long vacation someplace tropical. But if I left, I’d never forgive myself. No way was I leaving Lily behind to deal with the aftermath. Not when part of this was my fault.
A ringing phone propelled me out of my thoughts and back into reality.
“Are you going to answer that?” the bartender probed and indicated my phone placed on the bar.
I shook my head to clear it, and glanced at the caller ID. Leslie. No way in hell. She was the last person I wanted speak with.
I pressed the ignore button on the touch screen, and apologized, “Sorry, I was in my own little world.”
“Want another beer?” he asked and pointed to my now room temperature beer.
“Sure. Thanks, man,” I said, and ignored yet another call from her again. She was a persistent little bitch.
The guy placed the cool beer down in front of me and I took a swig, letting the cold, bitter liquid roll down my throat.
“Blakey, are you going to purposely ignore my calls every single time?” a velvety, smooth voice said behind me.
My throat constricted and I choked on the beer, showering the bar in the process
Wiping my mouth with the back of my ha
nd, I gradually swirled in the bar stool. “Leslie. What are you doing here?”
She flipped her highlighted, dirty blonde hair over her shoulder. Pursing her glossy, pink lips, she put a hand on her hip and her light brown eyes skimmed me from head to toe.
She’d tracked my phone and that pissed me off. It was the only way she’d knew where I was.
As her eyes inspected my location, I knew she arbitrated and criticized everything. From my clothes to my styled hair. The spot I chose to spend my time and the beer bottles sitting on the bar. That’s just who she was. Always judging, always dissatisfied. Her delusional expectations of everything in her life had been the curse of my existence for most of my life.
Through narrowed eyes, she scoffed, “Is that anyway to greet your sister after all these years?”
“What are you doing here?” I asked again, my hackles up.
Leslie inspected a fingernail, and said, “Oh, you know. Business. Although Las Vegas does have a certain appeal to it, doesn’t it?”
I removed myself from the barstool in point five seconds. Getting as close as I could to my sister, I towered over her and tried to instill my dominance. Energy crackled along my forearms, barely held back so the patrons of the bar wouldn’t see anything they shouldn’t. But I knew she felt it and the satisfaction of her slightly widened eyes filled me with pride. However, fury overshadowed it.
I growled through gritted teeth, “You better not be doing what I think you are.”
“I gave you plenty of time to fix this with adequate warnings. I can only delay the inevitable for so long.”
“You know I love her. You can’t do this.”
Leslie gave me a sad smile, shaking her head. “It’s already begun, Blake. I’m sorry.”
Fuck! I snatched my phone off the bar and dialed Sam. I didn’t have Paige’s or Lily’s new numbers, but Sam had to be close by.
“What?” Sam demanded as he answered. “We have a bit of a problem here. Enforcers found Lily.”
“Yeah, I know. Get them the hell out of there and meet me in the lobby,” I ordered, heart roaring in my chest.
“What about Ashton and the rest of the crew?” he asked, a pounding knock on the door echoing in the background.
“I’ll text them. And Sam? Be careful. They’ll kill you to get what they want. And just because you’re a vampire,” I said, and hung up the phone, leaving Sam to take care of the girls for now.
I was pissed beyond recognition. My nostrils flared and I scowled at my sister. “Leslie, you have no idea what I’m capable of. Just because I don’t want to be a part of the family anymore doesn’t mean I don’t have the right to protect what’s mine.”
At that, I stormed out of the sports bar and left her speechless. I didn’t give a shit. Lily, Paige, and Sam needed me now. Not my stupid sister. This whole thing was partly my fault, but I tried not to dwell on it. I just didn’t want the life my family offered me, no matter the perks involved.
As I walked, I prattled off a short mass text to the rest of the crew, making sure they knew it was life or death.
Technically I outranked my younger sister, Leslie. If I wanted to press the issue, I could step up and do so. To me, it wasn’t even an option worth considering. Not every vampire breathed evil and deserved to die.
Even though I’m conjurer royalty, I stepped down from my position as leader over the entire race once Ashton saved my life. After years of disappearing to only God knows where, my sister returned a bitter woman and gladly took my place. Now, I was certain that my family was delivering their punishment for my decision. Expecting each blow to mow me over into submission. They had another thing coming if they thought I’d ever give up fighting for what I believed in.
Caught up in my anger and determination to keep the ones I loved safe, I hadn’t noticed the Enforcers waiting for me at the exit of the hotel. It was a rookie mistake and somebody who’d once ruled over these soldiers should’ve seen it coming, but desperation clouded my judgment.
A tall, lean man grabbed my arms from behind, the phone was knocked from my hands, and the other Enforcer crunched it under his foot with a stomp. I struggled to throw the jerk holding my arms and inclined forward to propel him over my shoulders. A well placed kick to the back of my knee forced me to the floor instead. Propped up on my knees, arms back at an uncomfortable angle, I cussed and taunted the man holding me. I twisted my upper body back and forth to loosen his grip. The other man who was a big, muscular Enforcer halted my struggle with a swift punch to the gut.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LILY
The pounding of a fist on the door rattled the chain lock. I jumped. As Sam spoke on the phone, Paige pulled a large, plastic tote from under the bed and rounded up an arsenal of weapons that would make a warrior on the battlefield envious.
I blinked in surprise. How had I not realized Paige carted this around?
Handing me a handgun and dagger, she said, “I don’t know how this is going to go, but we aren’t going down without a fight.”
I glanced at the handgun and dagger in my hands, flashing back to the time I shot Conrad Steele until the chamber was empty. His body was lifeless by that point, but each bullet thumping into his dead flesh triggered a somber release. Though the Enforcers that pounded on the hotel room door was a sobering reminder of the pain and anguish he still generated, even in death.
Sam disconnected the call, rummaged through Paige’s cache, grabbed a sword, and sheathed a large handgun in the waistband of his jeans.
He spoke as he hefted the sword through the air, testing its balance, “That was Blake. He’ll meet us in the lobby with the rest of the crew. We just have to get past the jerks in the hallway first.”
“And how are we going to do that?” I breathed, power roaming through my bloodstream. Sparks crackled along my hands and into the weapons I held.
Sam stared at me in awe. “You learned a bit of control. You’re sizzling with energy and the lights aren’t even blinking.”
“You can thank me for that,” Paige added.
“No, I don’t think it was all you, Paige.” Sam grinned and winked at me. “Lily is tougher than we give her credit for. She’s coming into her own, and even though her emotions are fractured into a million pieces because of who’s behind the door, she’s not causing a power failure. I’m proud of my little glowstick.”
“Glowstick? I don’t think I want to be called a glowstick,” I said, confused on whether to be insulted or complimented. Just because I could develop lightning, I wasn’t all too fond of the new nickname.
Sam, sword still in hand, pulled me in for a hug with his free one. After a kiss on the cheek, he explained, “Hey, nothing wrong with it. It’s totally all right to be a glowstick. From time to time we need to break before we can shine.”
I gaped at his words. Even though Sam could’ve been a comedian at times, his words of wisdom never ceased to amaze me. I don’t know if he used his insight from something he’d read and put his own twist on it, but it hadn’t mattered. It came from Sam’s mouth, which mattered more than something he’d seen or read.
“Come on, glowstick, we’ve got to start kicking ass and taking names,” Paige said, creeping up on the door.
The beating on the door unexpectedly stopped and she carefully edged up the wood to peek through the peephole, gun at the ready. That’s when everything went to hell.
Paige stumbled back, fell on her backside, and then crab walked away from the door as though the devil himself waited on the other side, gun still gripped in her hand. The door rattled like a bomb exploded on the other side, splintered, and fell in on itself similar to an imploded building being demolished.
Enforcers filtered in as though a S.W.A.T. team descended on us, yelling ‘Go! Go! Go!” Dressed in all navy blue, their eight sided star tattoos prominently displayed on their cheeks as they rushed into the room.
Sam roared and swung the sword, disemboweling the closest attacker. Finally removing hers
elf from the floor, Paige fired her gun with expert aim, taking down one Enforcer after another. Blood soaked the carpet like a sponge and splattered against the walls.
I gagged a bit at the carnage and littered bodies, but that was all it took for a man to catch me off guard.
I thrashed with the young man to the best of my ability. His blonde hair and freckled face caused me hesitate, because he looked like a teenager. Probably was.
Unable to break free after he gripped my wrists, electrical energy buzzed down my forearms and into his hands. Eyes wide in panic, he shuddered unable to let go as though he held an electric fence. I shoved him off me and onto the floor, kicking him in the balls to make sure he stayed down. The gun and dagger forgotten in my hands, I hadn’t even thought to use them.
Sam and Paige held the majority of the men at bay, slaughtering anyone who tried to push past. That was until a small, lithe body rolled past Paige, who was unable to stop her while wrestling with a large, muscular man.
“Incoming, Lily!” she cried as a warning, oblivious to the fact I spotted the intruder.
A blonde woman uncurled herself from the floor, cheeks bare of any tattoos, and held a gun in my face.
I stumbled back in surprise, whipped out my gun, and shoved it in her face as well.
“I’ll shoot you,” I warned, pressing the gun against her cheek for emphasis.
To be honest, I wasn’t too keen on shooting her. Hell, I was lucky my hand didn’t tremble as I held the gun. If it came down to her life or mine, I’d bet on mine. But once my gun had touched her skin, the shockwave that barreled through my body confirmed her to be a conjurer. A very, very powerful one.
She laughed, pushing the barrel closer. “And if I pull the trigger first?”
“Then you’ll die anyway. My friends fighting the goons won’t let you get far.”
“True, although I’m not here to kill you, Lily. I’m here to make a deal with you,” she said, brown eyes gleaming with conspiracy.
