Darker (17 page)

Exiting the Charger, I darted across the street and blended into the shadows beyond the glow of the street light. I cloaked my energy, hoping I hadn’t been detected yet if she was in the vicinity. I held the Dragon Claw in a white-knuckled grip. If I had it my way, its blade would soon taste Lilah’s blood.

I reached the lobby door without incident. With the stealth of the wolf, I slunk into the building. The fluorescent light inside hummed loud in the otherwise quiet entry. I focused on the lock, willing the deadbolt to turn. It was much simpler than the heavy-duty locks the FPA used. Just when I began to grow frustrated, there was a loud click, and I was in.

I took the stairs two at a time until I reached the second floor. The building was oddly quiet, not so much as muffled TV noise. I stepped into the hall and paused. Empty. I sprinted down the hall to Jez’s door with the dagger held ready.

Hesitating with my hand hovering over the doorknob, I listened. Eerie silence greeted me. The raw energy of fear and death crept near. My stomach dropped, and holding my breath, I shoved the door open.

The scent of blood assaulted my nose. Fear mingled with it to produce a sickly sweet aroma. I was too late.

I moved through the small but immaculate kitchen toward the glow of light coming from the living room. There I found Jez huddled on the floor, shaking violently. She was wrapped in a throw blanket from the couch. Her face was wet with black streaks of mascara and tears. Her golden hair was a tousled mop of curls atop her shoulders. With blood smears on her hands and a cigarette clutched between her fingers, she gazed up at me as if unsure whether or not I was real.

“
Jez?” I said tentatively, my gaze straying to the darkened bedroom. “Are you hurt?”

She took a long, shaky drag off the cigarette. Jez hadn’t smoked in a year now. She must have had a pack stashed away. It took several attempts for her to get the words out.

“
She killed Zoey.”

“
Where is she?” I was dumbstruck with disbelief. This couldn’t be happening.

“
Lilah? She’s gone. Zoey? In there.” Jez pointed to the bedroom and a fresh flood of tears emerged. She made no attempt to wipe them away.

A sick feeling gripped me as I made my way to Jez’s room. I didn’t want to see this, but I had no choice. The thick scent of blood grew as I drew closer. The faint light shining through the open blinds cast a silver glow on Zoey’s prone form. My keen eyesight was more than good enough to see in the dimness, but I reached for the light switch anyway, needing the false comfort of the overhead light.

Pale yellow illumination bathed the room. I held my breath, unwilling to breathe in that sweet hybrid blood. What I saw was horrifying, and though he’d been dead for more than a year, my first thought was of Raoul. Because I had loved him despite what a pompous, selfish ass he was, I had promised myself I’d keep Zoey safe, for him.

Zoey lay sprawled on the bed. Two sets of vampire bites marred her carotid artery. Blood stained the pillow beneath her. She had bled out quickly. Her bright blue eyes, now dimmed in death, stared off toward the ceiling. Jez had thrown a blanket over her to hide her nudity. Otherwise, the scene was untouched.

I’m sorry, Raoul
. Zoey had never been one of my favorite people. She had killed her father and hurt both Kylarai and Arys as well as an innocent man. Perhaps I should have left her in the woods as wolf, but I’d felt it my duty to restore her to human form. Not once did I see her as anything other than a liability I was forced to accept. That didn’t mean she deserved to die.

Returning to the living room, I sank to my knees beside Jez. I laid the dagger on the carpet and pulled her into my arms. She sagged against me before throwing her arms around me and sobbing. I plucked the cigarette from her fingers and tossed it in a Coke can on the coffee table. The sizzle as it hit the contents was loud, poignant, accompanied by Jez’s heartbreaking cries.

Tears filled my eyes; rage filled my heart. Two of my wolves had now died at Lilah’s hand. She wasn’t going to stop, not until I stopped her.

“
I’m so sorry, Jez. I’m going to make her suffer for this. Somehow. I promise.”

“
It happened so fast,” she said between sobs. “She didn’t come alone. She brought some guys. They made me watch. I thought I was next, but she just killed Zoey and left.”

Another flood of tears cut off her words. I glanced around the apartment, wondering what to do with Zoey. Ideally, I’d call Fox and have him bury her beside her father. Fox was a city wolf that provided medical services to werewolves. He would normally help me with the safe and proper burial of a wolf, but involving him in any way might jeopardize his safety. Vampires would have to take care of this.

“
Why didn’t she kill me, too?” Jez sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “She barely looked at me, except to tell me it wasn’t personal. It’s fucking personal now.”

I released my hold on Jez to fetch her some tissue and a glass of water. I felt absolutely useless handing them to her. It was a poor substitute.

“
Jez, I’m sorry. This is my fault. She’s doing this to force me to come to her willingly. To give her my blood.” I sniffed back the tears that threatened. Pulling my phone out, I called Arys who didn’t answer. Great. Not only had he let me go off alone tonight, he had also made himself unavailable.

“
No, Alexa, this isn’t your fault.” Jez moved from the floor to the couch and promptly lit another cigarette. “It’s Shya’s fault. He made the dumbass decision to bind her instead of driving a stake through the bitch’s heart.”

“
I know,” I sighed, infuriated. “He’s also the one who told Lilah my blood would break her curse. Manipulative son of a bitch.”

Unable to force myself to drag Zoey’s body out of there, I concentrated on reaching Arys through our mental connection. His resistance wasn’t what I expected. I took that to mean he didn’t want me to know what he was doing, but I didn’t have time to worry about him. Kale would have normally been the next person I’d call. So much for that. Hoping Shawn or Justin would be able to help, I called The Wicked Kiss.

“
Justin is coming,” I announced after hanging up. “You should get dressed. Want me to get you something?”

She looked forlornly at the bedroom and nodded. I didn’t want to go back in there, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to make Jez do it. I longed to ease the pain she exuded. Knowing that was impossible, I fetched some things from her closet, grabbing enough to last her a day or two. I wasn’t leaving her here alone.

I paused to look at Zoey a final time. It was terrible what happened to her. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Lilah had saved me from one day having to kill Zoey myself. With her mental instability and irrational, sudden fits of violence, it was bound to happen eventually.

“
Here.” I handed Jez the pile of clothing and went to the bathroom to gather her toothbrush. “Anything you need in here? You’re coming to my house for the day.”

“
I can do this. It’s ok.” She appeared in the doorway, clutching her blanket like a lifeline in a storm. With her smeared makeup and tear-stained cheeks, she looked like a lost little girl. I’d never seen Jez so fragile.

“
Is there anything I can do?” I felt helpless and I hated it.

She shook her head slowly. “Just don’t let her be dumped like some random victim. Please.”

“
I won’t. I promise.”

The bathroom door clicked shut, and I took the opportunity to slip out onto the balcony for some air while she got dressed. Sucking in a lungful of night air, I stared out at the traffic that went by. The city continued to move and thrive despite the horror that had gone on here tonight. It was so unfair.

I was jittery and uptight. It took a lot of concentration to focus on the earth so that I could balance my energy. I needed to be calm and collected for Jez; she needed me. The essence of murder and death sought to get past my shields. I wouldn’t be manipulated by it. I refused. I was stronger than that. I had to be. Other people were counting on it.

It wasn’t long until there was a soft knock on the door. I let Justin in, quickly briefing him on what happened. I led him to the bedroom where we wrapped Zoey completely in a sheet.

“
That sadistic bitch just isn’t going to stop, is she?” he asked, a sense of knowing in his dark eyes.

“
Not until she gets what she wants from me.” I wrinkled my nose at the pungent odor of cigarette smoke. “Or, until I send her to hell.”

“
Well if anyone can do it, you can. Especially if even half the rumors about you are true.”

“
I appreciate the vote of confidence. I’m not sure I want to know what they’re saying about me.”

Justin forced a strained smile. “Probably not.”

“
Look, I need you to take care of her.” I nodded toward Zoey. “As proper a burial as possible outside the city. Marked grave. Please.”

“
Sure thing. No problem.” Justin hoisted Zoey in his arms. His massive frame made her seem so much smaller than she was.

It was late. The chance of him running into someone was slim, but I accompanied him down to the back door of the building just in case.

“
Be careful. Make sure you’re not followed. And Justin, thank you.” I had no words. He was going out of his way to help me. Though I knew he might be helping for no other reason than self-preservation, I was still grateful. Just because Justin believed me to be the bigger bad in the city didn’t make it true, but I was thankful someone thought so.

When I returned to the apartment, Jez was standing in the doorway to the bedroom. With her green eyes fixed on the bloodstained bed, she hugged herself tight. I gave her a gentle squeeze.

“
I’ll clean this up. You don’t have to.” Before she could protest, I got busy gathering the remaining bloody blankets. It was the least I could do.

She watched me in silence while I scrubbed down the crimson spots and smears with bleach. The blankets, I would take home to burn. When the sharp bleach aroma had burned away the last trace of blood along with my sense of smell, I called it done and washed up.

Nearly two hours had passed since I received Lilah’s message. Time still moved despite Jez’s heartbreak. I coaxed her away from the bedroom and the many memories within it. Memories she would no doubt replay many times tonight.

“
Come on.” I tugged gently on her hand. “We should let this place air out. We’ll head to my house. Unless you don’t mind making a stop at Shya’s.”

For the first time all night, she looked at me with the spark of emerald fire I was used to seeing in her eyes. “Shya’s? Let’s go.”

I was happy to escape the chemical laden, death-riddled confines of Jez’s apartment. Wary and alert, I scanned the street for anything suspicious, including a double check of my car itself. Depositing the bloody bedding in the trunk, I got into the driver’s seat with a hunger for vengeance.

“
Are you sure you’re up to this?” I asked. “We don’t have to go.”

“
Oh, I want to go. I have a few things I’d like to say to him.” Jez stared straight ahead, her expression stony.

Taking Jez to Shya’s house might not be the best idea. Seeing the hard set to her jaw, feeling the hatred running hot through her, I knew it could get ugly. However, she had every right to face the demon she blamed for the death of her lover.

I filled her in on Gabriel as we drove through the city. She nodded here and there to show she was listening, but I knew she was a million miles away.

Pondering where to begin with Shya, I fell silent. Between his utter failure with Lilah and tonight’s kidnapping of Gabriel, I was at the end of my rope with the demon. Shya had saved me from the FPA, something I was grateful for, but he’d done it for his own reason, whatever that was.

Lilah might be my current priority, but it was only a matter of time until whatever Shya was hiding came to light. If I wasn’t ready, I’d be sorry.

I began to have doubts when I turned into the tree-lined driveway. Shya’s modern style home was a sprawling display of luxury and sharp angles. Nothing good ever happened when I was here. I didn’t expect that to change now.

“
Are you sure you want to come in?” I glanced at Jez, finding her surprisingly focused and intense.

“
This bastard has been the one behind the scenes all along,” she mused. “I thought we were all working with Veryl, keeping a lid on things to avoid public exposure. But, I think it means something more. We were all recruited. Something about each of us sets us apart from other supernaturals. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“
It’s not. I think Veryl’s files will shed more light on that.” I parked the car and killed the engine. I was afraid of what we’d find inside. If Gabriel had been harmed, I would blame myself.

“
I’ve been thinking about those files, what they said about me. I think that’s why I was recruited. It’s obvious why you were. So what about Kale? And, how many others does Shya have running around, doing his bidding?” Jez rubbed her eyes and stifled a sigh. “We need to figure this bastard out. Before more of us die.”

“
Maybe we shouldn’t be here right now—” I started to say, but she was already getting out of the car.

Jez lit a cigarette on our way up the front steps. She took a few big drags before dropping it in the nearest flowerpot. I raised my hand to ring the bell. Before I could make contact, the air rippled, and Falon appeared.