Darker (2 page)

He took advantage of my stunned silence. Slipping away with Lilah’s remaining minions in tow, he left me there staring down at what used to be one of my wolves. Hot, angry tears filled my eyes. I clenched my teeth, gripping the side of the box with clawed fingertips.

I’d taken enough shit from manipulative vampires and demons. The time had come to cut the puppet strings that held me. I wasn’t like them, wasn’t one of them. As a creature of the light, I intended to hold tightly to that. Lilah thought she could play me, but she didn’t know me. She had no idea what I was capable of doing. In many ways, neither did I.

We were both going to find out.

Chapter Two

“
Close the doors for the night. Don’t let anybody else in.” I gazed around at the mess.

At least half a dozen bodies littered the floor. They had all been taking a risk by coming to The Wicked Kiss. Still, not one of them deserved this. Lilah had her goons kill them for no other reason than to hurt me. Same with Zak. It had worked.

It did hurt to see that these people were dead because someone wanted to take a shot at me. Lilah needed me alive. What better way to stick it to me than to start picking off those around me?

Justin approached with anger sparkling in his eyes. Tall, dark skinned and built like a football player, he was as mean as he looked. “They never should have made that demon bitch a vampire. I’d die before I’d play lapdog for her.”

“
That makes two of us.” I closed the box, unable to look at Zak’s remains. I regretted each of the casualties of the night, but Zak was special. He was my wolf. Mine to protect. I had failed him. I couldn’t let it happen again.

“
What’s her deal with you? Or, is that something that will get me killed if you tell me?” Justin shook his head and bent to pick up an overturned table. “Never mind. Forget I asked.”

“
She needs my blood to break her curse,” I spilled the truth. There was no sense lying. “She wanted to kill me because she felt threatened by my power. Then, she discovered that I could set her free. Now, she wants to force me into giving my blood willingly.”

Justin glanced at me with a thoughtful frown creasing his brow. “I’ve seen what you can do. Why not just kill the bitch?”

“
I’m gonna have to. If only it was just that simple.”

Together we tidied up the broken glass and furniture. The place was empty other than the remaining staff. My vampires waited for me to throw cash at them to have the bodies removed. I wasn’t sure we could just dump them in the river or wherever else the vamps might have in mind; we were dealing with several bodies. If the FPA caught wind of this, they’d be all over me like shit on a blanket.

Everyone lost in the throes of wicked ecstasy in the back of the building were either clueless to what had happened here or entirely apathetic, Arys included. It didn’t sit well with me that a demon had been in here, and he’d been unaware or, worse, merely more concerned with the woman bleeding for him. Was existing night to night for the pleasures of blood and violence really so exquisite that it was worth blinding oneself to true danger?

No sooner had I finished the thought than a cold wave crashed over me. Arys swept through the door from the hall with the grace of the undead. He exuded the amped up energy of one who had just drained his victim dry. A devilish smile lit up his features in a macabre light.

He paused, taking in the disastrous surroundings. “What happened here? Did one of the self-neutered vamps finally lose it?”

I turned on him with an ice-cold glare. “Brook was here. Lilah sent him. He didn’t come alone. I guess you were too busy playing to notice.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me?” Curiosity drew him to the box sitting atop the bar. He opened it before I could respond. There was no sense of surprise. The things that shocked me were merely shrug-worthy to Arys.

“
I considered it,” I admitted, fetching a broom from behind the bar in order to sweep up the broken glass. “I figured adding you to the mix would make things worse, not better. Her goons trashed the place, killed innocent people and then left. After promising me that Zak was just the beginning. If I don’t strike a deal with her for my blood, she keeps killing my wolves.”

Arys’s grin faded. “She’s smart to start with your wolves. She knows how deep that cuts. And, she won’t quit there. The angels built a cage for her for a reason. It’s time she goes back.”

Broken glass clinked loudly as I swept the shattered remains of a vodka bottle into a pile. Shya hadn’t wanted to send Lilah back when we had the chance. He thought she’d break free of the cage the angels had made for her and come back for us with a vengeance. Apparently, she was getting an early start on that.

“
And, if it doesn’t hold her?” I questioned Shya’s motives in keeping Lilah here with us, but what if he were right?

“
That’s the angels’ problem.”

Justin interrupted. “I’m going to take care of those bodies. Do you want me to do something with that as well?” I followed his pained gaze to the box containing Zak’s head.

I swallowed hard.
Shit
. “No. That’s fine, thanks. I’ll deal with it.” Zak was mine. The least I could do was properly bury his head, seeing as I’d likely never see the rest of him again. “What will you do with them? There’s got to be six bodies here.”

“
Make that seven,” Arys added, looking chagrined, but it was forced. Remorse wasn’t one of his personality traits.

“
Arys, what the hell? You promised.”

“
Oops.” It was as close to an apology as he was likely to get. “You shouldn’t have left. I got carried away.”

“
Of course. It’s my fault that you killed someone.” I rolled my eyes and sighed. Why did I bother arguing with him?

Looking uncomfortable, Justin edged away. “It’s no problem. I can handle one more. It’s really not hard to make them disappear.” He hesitated, glancing from Arys to me. “For what it’s worth, the last thing I want is trouble. But, if I have to choose sides, I’m on yours.”

“
Thank you,” I murmured. I didn’t expect the vampires of the city to start proclaiming their loyalty; however, Justin’s declaration meant a lot to me.

He and Arys exchanged a look. Arys nodded his thanks, a brief but expressive action. Justin left the two of us alone and set to work giving orders in regards to the cleanup. I couldn’t watch. I didn’t particularly want to turn my attention to the gruesome box contents either but had little choice.

I tried to picture telling Kylarai and the rest of my wolves about this. My stomach turned. Arys was silent, watching me stare at the box. I wished he would spit out whatever he was thinking. So, when he didn’t speak up, I did.

“
You shouldn’t come in here anymore.” I rushed on before he could reply with something that matched the dark frown he suddenly wore. “You’ve always hated this place, Arys. You come here out of obligation, and then you do things like kill willing victims and intimidate the staff. I don’t need you hovering over me, though I do appreciate it. I like it better when I don’t know what you’re up to and who you’re killing.”

“
You don’t need me here? This place is a disaster waiting to happen. If anything, it’s you that needs to stop coming here.” He inclined his head pointedly toward the array of death and destruction. “Besides, I only account for a small percentage of the missing person reports in this city. I don’t kill nearly as often as you assume I do.”

“
How often is that?”

Our eyes locked. The smoldering heat in his gaze promised wonderfully wicked things. I tried to ignore that familiar flicker of vampire energy low in my core. It whispered through me, enticing me to fall into his eyes and abandon the annoyance I felt. It almost worked.

“
Not often enough,” he said with a flirtatious smirk. “Give me some credit. I can restrain myself.” At my harsh laughter, he added, “I’m doing it right now.”

He pulled me close and kissed my neck. The telltale sting of his fangs followed as he dragged them roughly across my skin. Against my will, I quivered.

“
Cut it out.” I shoved him away before he could get inside my head again. I had another role to play before I could play the role of smitten lover.

The vibration in my back pocket alerted me to an incoming call. Hoping it would be Shaz, I still grabbed the phone with a trickle of anxiety. Fan-fucking-tastic. It was the FPA, or more specifically, Agent Briggs, who had already decided he didn’t like me. I was bad news, valuable only for the information I might have.

“
What?” I answered in a short, clipped tone. The anxiety didn’t leave me, but the reason for it changed.

“
O’Brien? We’ve got a body here that we think you should take a look at. Pretty sure it belongs to you.” Crime-scene background noise accompanied Briggs’s snide remark.

So, they found the rest of Zak.
Thanks, Lilah, you bitch
. “Care to elaborate?”

“
Headless werewolf. Strange markings on the torso, possibly ritualistic in nature. Prints match with a Zachary Benz. His home address is in Stony Plain. Any of this mean anything to you?”

Since the Federal Para-Intelligence Agency had introduced themselves to me by accusing me of murder and revealing that I was on their watch list, they had been a real thorn in my side. Discovering my dead sister was actually alive and employed by the covert government sector really rubbed salt in the wound.

After surviving the wolf attack that turned us both, a vampire recruited me to hunt supernaturals that risked public attention. I later learned it was a front for Shya, a demon who sought people with power for his own agenda. The government had lured in my sister, Juliet. Now, we worked for opposing sides, or at least, that’s how the FPA chose to see it.

I wasn’t naive enough to believe I wasn’t one of the bad guys. However, that didn’t make the FPA the good guys. I’d definitely done my share of shady things I wasn’t proud of, but that didn’t define who I was.

“
What’s the address? I’m on my way.”

Briggs rattled off a south side address, demanded I hurry my ass up and then promptly disconnected the call. I locked eyes with Arys who regarded me thoughtfully. Keen senses and the absence of regular club noise allowed him to hear the conversation.

“
Don’t let him know about that.” Arys pointed to the box containing Zak’s head. “The less they know about any of this, the better.”

“
Easier said than done. He’s going to have Juliet there to sniff out a lie.” I shook my head and stared at the mess. That Vegas vacation Jez had been talking about lately was starting to look tempting.

The entire drive to the scene was painfully tense. I had to pry my fingers from the steering wheel and drag myself out of the car. Arys appeared perfectly composed, but his energy hummed with excitement.

Voices drifted to us, coming from behind the old warehouse located at the address Briggs had given. With no flashing lights or sirens, a whole lot of suits were taking pictures and asking questions.

“
Let’s get this over with,” I muttered as we made our way around the building.

A dark suited agent stopped us with one hand held up in an unspoken command; another reached for the gun at his hip. “Are you Alexa O’Brien?”

“
Yeah, that would be me.”

“
I.D. please.”

“
Seriously?” I stared at his outstretched hand. “Where’s Briggs? Or Juliet. They know who I am.”

He opened his mouth to refuse, but Briggs cut him off. “Let them by, Agent James.”

The man I dreaded seeing stood behind a line of caution tape with several other agents. He watched our approach with a narrowed gaze, scrutinizing our every move.

Briggs was a tall, black man with a taut physique that bragged of hours in the gym. With his dark suit and government agent persona firmly in place, he was both a bit of a cliché and a tad scary. I wasn’t entirely sure what he and the FPA were able to do, but from what I’d seen so far, it wasn’t good.

I ducked under the tape, followed closely by Arys. I scanned the area for Juliet, finding her over by the body. Our eyes met across the distance, and she quickly averted her gaze. Nice to see you, too, little sister.

“
Thanks for coming,” Briggs drew my attention back to him.

“
It’s not like you gave me a choice,” I said pleasantly, beaming a phony, see-through smile.

“
You had a choice.” Turning his dark gaze on Arys, Briggs stuck out a hand. “I’m Agent Thomas Briggs. Nice to meet O’Brien’s other half. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“
Arys Knight.” Arys accepted the other man’s hand, and they took a moment to size each other up. “I’m sure whatever you’ve heard is only scraps of the truth.”

Briggs lingered on Arys as if he didn’t dare take his eyes from the vampire. Finally, he extended a hand toward the cluster of agents gathered around Zak’s remains. “Well, have a look. Tell me what you think.”

He led the way, the agents dispersing like flies at his approach. When only Juliet remained, we shared a look, brief but poignant. A spark flickered in her dark eyes revealing a remnant of the girl I remembered.

“
Hey, Lexi. Sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances.” Juliet gestured to the headless corpse. “Do you know him?”