Blonde and Blue (31 page)

Stunned didn’t even begin to describe what I was feeling. It was hard, but I maintained a steady poker face. “No. If you were worthy of taking Harley’s place in Vegas, you wouldn’t need me.”

“Your loss.” Unable to affect me, Maxwell targeted Shaz.

The yelp that my white wolf emitted hurt to hear. I concentrated to keep from turning my back on Maxwell to go to him. Brogan’s soft tread could be heard on the hardwood floor as she ran to him. I wasn’t going to get my answers. Not today.

I plunged the Dragon Claw into Maxwell’s guts with pleasure. My only regret was that it had been too soon. For a moment he simply stared at me like I was an idiot for missing the heart. I held tight to the handle and watched as realization sank in.

Panic caused his eyes to widen, and he reached for the dagger, clawing at my hand. It was too late. It happened slower than it had with the young one. His body began to collapse in on itself as he crumbled to dust. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. Jerking the dagger free, I stepped back and watched him fall to pieces at my feet.

Warmth spread from the dagger’s handle up my arm as it thrummed with demon magic. It was dizzying and a little frightening. I gazed at what was left of Maxwell and wished I’d made him suffer. Dead wasn’t good enough after what he’d done to us and to Lena.

Shaz padded over to me. He was fine but winded. Brogan stood hugging herself near the doorway.

“Stay here,” I told her before following the sound of commotion in the living room at the back of the house. She gave a slight nod, her gaze transfixed on what remained of the vampire.

A gunshot rang out, deafening in the confines of the house. Two fierce snarls followed. I ran down the hall and skidded to a stop when I almost tripped over Zak’s fallen form. His sides heaved as he struggled for air. Blood seeped from an ugly wound in his chest.

Kylarai and Julian were engaged in a face-off with Claire, who shook violently as she grasped the shotgun. It came as no surprise that a farm family would keep a gun around. If Claire had had any real power, she wouldn’t have needed it.

She whirled to face me, the barrel of the gun drifting from me to the two wolves baring deadly fangs at her. A pile of dust in the corner indicated what was left of the remaining lackey. I’d have never guessed that a woman with a gun would have been the biggest threat we’d face here.

“Back the fuck off!” Claire’s voice was high and desperate. She waved the gun wildly, and I braced, expecting an erratic shot to go off. She didn’t know how to use that thing.

I held up a hand and concentrated on tranquil energy, hoping to calm her. “Take it easy, Claire. We don’t all have to die here.”

“Tell that to your wolves. I’m not letting those bastards tear me apart. I won’t die like that!” She swung the gun back to Ky and Julian, aiming at Julian’s face. Whatever they’d done to kill her vampire minion, it must have been ugly for her to react this way.

I felt Shaz tense beside me as if bracing to leap. I angled my body to block him. We faced supernatural threats every night of our lives. It was not going to be a friggin’ gun that killed him.

“Come on, Claire. You’ve lived how many lifetimes, and now you want to go down fighting with a gun as your defense?”

In my head came Arys’ worry. ‘Let her go, Alexa. She’s not worth taking a bullet.’

I ignored him. He was right, but I couldn’t let her just leave, not after what she did to Shaz and Lena. If I hit her hard and fast with a solid strike, it might be enough to disable her before she could get off another shot.

‘Are you willing to lose Kylarai or Shaz over this? Don’t take stupid risks.’ Arys was growing angry. I was relieved that he wasn’t physically present to fight me for control of the situation. ‘You don’t have control of the situation! You have a wolf dying on the floor.’

‘Stop distracting me!’

Claire emanated fear, a tantalizing scent that instilled the need for the kill in every one of us. I had to make a move quickly. I couldn’t be certain that I could take her down faster than she could pull the trigger again. Arys was right. It wasn’t worth any of our lives if I tried and failed.

Before I could make a decision, Julian snapped. He lunged, his strong hind legs launching him swiftly straight at her. The gun sounded, and he dropped in a heavy thud that shook the floor beneath my feet. It all happened faster than I could blink. My hands vibrated with the power I held ready. Taking advantage of Claire’s momentary distraction, I hit her with enough metaphysical force to drop an elephant.

It was more than I’d anticipated. It flowed through me like a wave that could be neither seen nor touched, forcing me to my knees. I could feel Arys behind the massive wallop, guiding it when I ceased to have control. For a split second my skull felt like it might blow. The pressure eased, and blood dripped from my nose.

Claire hurtled through the air to crash through the draped window in an explosion of glass. I scrambled to my feet and rushed to the gaping hole. The wail that came from her was horrifying, so inhuman I quaked. Yet, watching her burn was harder than hearing her die.

Her skin sizzled audibly, blackening at the sun’s lethal touch, but death didn’t come immediately. The sickening stench of burning flesh was overwhelming. My stomach turned, and I fought the urge to vomit.

I turned away, unable to watch anymore. A quick look at Julian’s destroyed face was worse. He was dead. I couldn’t save him. Tearing my gaze from the brown wolf’s corpse, I rushed to Zak, finding him struggling to hold on.

‘Help me,’ I begged Arys. The high level of power we’d raised would be enough to heal Zak, I knew it. I just didn’t have the mental clarity and calm needed to do it. Killing was easy. Healing was hard. One might think it should be the other way around.

Kylarai’s high-pitched whine was mournful, and my heart broke for her. Scumbag or not, she’d loved Julian. Shaz went to her, nuzzling her face with wolf kisses. I focused on tuning out everything but Zak and what he needed from me.

‘Concentrate.’ Arys’ guidance was stern but gentle. ‘Make him all that you see, all that you feel. Envision the brokenness inside him. Push the energy into him as you would in an attack but direct it. Give it a purpose. You can do this.’

He fell silent, leaving me to save my wolf on my own. I didn’t ask much of my pack. I did all that I could to leave them out of stuff like this. They’d proven their loyalty by being there when needed, even Julian. My wolf rose to the surface, straining for release, seeking a way to comfort her own. It hurt to deny the need to shift. Right now, I had to be the vampire.

Closing my eyes, I held my hands over Zak’s wound, close but not touching. The harsh sensation of pain rolled off him. I could feel him slipping away.

Tuning out my surroundings was near impossible, but once I fell into him, aligning Zak’s broken energy with my own, it came together much smoother than I expected. I honed in on the wound, seeing it in my mind. With a deep sigh, I pushed my positive, vibrant energy into Zak, seeing his wound as healed. I held that vision as the current connecting us grew strong and warm.

I felt disoriented, as if the room was spinning and I didn’t know which way was up. A roar of white noise filled my ears. It was exhilarating.

The power fell away, and I opened my eyes to find Zak lying naked beside me on the floor. He’d shifted back to human form. The wound in his chest was healed, only a faint trace of pink scar tissue remained. A handful of buckshot lay beside him.

He blinked up at me with glazed eyes. “Alexa?”

I exhaled slowly, realizing at some point I’d held my breath. I felt drained. Good thing I’d killed Maxwell when I had because I didn’t have the energy to take him on now.

“Come on.” I helped Zak to his feet, supporting his weight when he leaned heavily on me. “Let’s get you out of here.”

I didn’t want him to see Julian. They were best friends. Zak had been through enough. I cast a glance back at Shaz and Kylarai. Shaz was nudging her along, urging her to follow me out. She resisted, her gaze locked on the body of her fallen former lover. After a few moments, I heard her paws pad along behind me.

Brogan looked up in shock when we appeared. She took in the naked werewolf at my side and averted her gaze. I would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so somber. Werewolves got used to being naked around other people. It came with the territory.

Once I got Zak settled in the backseat of Shaz’ blue Cobalt, I turned to go back to the house, but Zak grabbed my arm and held on. “Alexa. What happened? Did Julian make it out?”

His jaw was clenched, and he studied me knowingly. I wasn’t going to insult him by lying or sugar-coating the truth.

“He’s dead, Zak. I’m sorry.”

With the barest of nods, he turned away from me and began to pull his clothes on. I tossed the Dragon Claw into the trunk of my car before turning to Kylarai who was doing her best to hide her tears as she slipped into a long blue summer dress. I felt awful for her.

Before I could say as much, she waved me off. “I’m not ready to talk about it, Alexa. Sorry.” Falling heavily onto the passenger seat of Shaz’ car, she stared out the window at the field beyond.

“Hey, don’t look so defeated.” Shaz was a hell of a vision. His face was bruised, and he winced in pain as he tugged a black t-shirt over his head. “Julian was an idiot to attack her the way he did. What happened to him wasn’t your fault, Lex.”

“I’m not sure they’d agree with you.” I ran a hand over his bare ribs as he pulled the shirt down. “Are you ok? You didn’t break anything, did you?”

“A cracked rib, I think. No worries. Really. It’ll be fine.” He captured my hand in his own and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “So what do we do with the remains? I imagine the bodies of the home owners are in there somewhere, too.”

I nodded absently, studying the property. “There’s got to be some gasoline in the shed or the garage. You guys take off, and I’ll deal with the rest.” My voice dropped to a breathy whisper. “And please, don’t leave Kylarai alone, no matter what she says. Stay with her a while.”

“Of course.” Shaz kissed me softly, a brief but tender touch. I was reminded instantly why he meant so much to me. Too much to let anything, even The Wicked Kiss, come between us. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, babe.”

I watched until his car disappeared from sight. Then I turned to Brogan who stood uncertainly near my car. “So, how do you feel about arson?”

Chapter Nineteen

I stood outside The Wicked Kiss for a long time before mustering the nerve to go inside. I smelled faintly of smoke from the fire, and my hair was a mess. Neither of those were good enough reasons to put this off.

The club was deadly quiet, foreign. I rarely saw it empty and silent. The back hall felt eerily calm. I could feel the energy of those occupying the rooms. There weren’t many of them.

Following the hall to room thirteen, I grew increasingly edgy with each step. Was he sleeping? Would he feel my presence? My pulse quickened.
Steady breaths.

After taking care of things at the farmhouse, Arys had silently slipped away, closing the mental door between us. I was grateful for that because it saved me from having to do it. I knew he was upset with me for pumping Maxwell for information. However, I could only deal with one vampire at a time.

I hesitated outside Kale’s door. I could feel him in there. What if he was sleeping? Maybe it was better not to disturb him. I reached out to knock, but before I could, the door swung open.

Kale stood in the doorway, casually dressed in track pants and a plain white t-shirt, a rare look for him. I liked it. He regarded me with an expression of relief and intrigue. I gazed into his mismatched eyes and felt myself falling.

Tearing my gaze away, I glanced nervously at the floor, my feet and finally past him into the room. “Did I come at a bad time?”

“Not at all.” He swung the door open wider and stepped back to allow me in. “Come on in.”

“I think we need to talk.”

“How did everything go? I assume by the soot in your hair and the fire in your eyes that you kicked some ass.”

“I guess you could say that. I lost a wolf. Julian, to be precise.”

Kale swung the door shut, locking it as if he expected an interruption. “Can’t say I’m sorry to hear that. How’s Kylarai taking it?”

“Not so well.” I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. I could either sit on the bed, bad idea, or at the small bistro table in the corner. I chose to stand.