Entangled (Guardian Academy Book 2) (13 page)

I frown, realizing why he looks so calm.

Because he just had sex … with Layla.

“I drank some of her champagne and opened the trunk with the giggling sprite in it,” I admit through a squeaky laugh. I cover my mouth with my hand and shake my head in horror. “Jax, I think there might be something wrong with me.”

“How the hell did you know it was a sprite in there?” Layla asks me with suspicion. Then her attention zones in on Jax. “What is she?”

Jax massages the back of his neck tensely. “I already told you she’s a Guardian.”

“Don’t lie to me,” she snaps, inching around me toward Jax. “If she knew there was a sprite in there, then she can hear the fey realm, which means she’s at least a descendant of some fey bloodline.” She gets in Jax’s face and pokes him in the chest. “Why would you bring her here with everything going on? Why are you really here?” She aims a shaky finger at me. “Is she a rogue?”

He gapes at her. “A rogue? What? No, she’s just a Guardian.”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” She pokes him in the chest again, more roughly this time, and he stumbles back. “I know you have a rogue currently hiding in your school right now. You know what they are.”

“Layla, I swear to God, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He sounds calm, but his curled fist and stiffened stance reveal he’s nervous. “I’ve never heard of a rogue before.”

She rolls her eyes in disbelief. “Rogues are creatures who escaped those stupid experimental facilities we just talked about.” She inches toward him. “They live among us, but they’re not with us. They’re only observing.”

“Observing what?” His nervousness shifts to curiosity. “What are they looking for?”

She shrugs. “I have no idea. Nor do I care.” Her eyes narrow to slits as she zeroes in on me. “But that doesn’t mean I trust them.”

He blows out a gradual breath and places his hands on Layla’s shoulders. “Look, Alana’s not a rogue or a faerie. I can promise you that.”

The muscles in her jawline spasm as she sucks in a breath through her nose and steps away from Jax, causing his hands to fall from her shoulders. “Fine, I believe you. But I want her out of here right now. The last thing I need is some strange creature trying to get into the fey realm through my entrance.”

“Of course,” Jax says with a nod. Then he crouches down beside me. “Let’s get you out of this house so your head can clear.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” I agree with an exaggerated head bob. “But why’s my head not clear?”

“Because you just tried to dive head first into the fey realm, and you’re running on a magic high right now.” He slips his arms underneath me and scoops me up. “Plus, you drank champagne for God knows what reason.”

“Because I was irritated,” I divulge as he carries me toward the front door.

He maneuvers the door open without putting me down. “With what?”

A cool night breeze kisses my flushed skin as we step outside, and I shiver. “Like you already don’t know the answer.” When he doesn’t deny it, I glare at him. “Wait. Was this all part of your revenge plan? To go have gross sex with a succubus just to make me jealous?”

His boots lightly thud against the steps as he descends the stairs. “How do you know it was gross? Have you had sex with a succubus before?”

“No,” I say indignantly. “But I bet it was gross … with her pretty eyes and her perfect body … Wait, what was my point again?”

He chuckles under his breath. “Before you say anything else, why don’t you give yourself a few minutes to get some fresh air?”

“That’s a very smart idea.” I reach up and gently pat his cheek. “How come you’re so smart?”

He shakes his head, fighting back a laugh. I don’t know why, though. What does he think is so funny?

After five minutes of driving in the car with the window down, I start to understand.

“Oh, my God.” I lower my head into my hands and slump back in the passenger seat. “I feel like the biggest idiot.” I shake my head from side to side. “Why did I have to drink that champagne and open the trunk? What’s wrong with me?”

“Why did you open the trunk?” Jax asks as he drives toward the center of town.

“I don’t know. At first, I was just curious, but then I felt like it was … calling to me or something.” I peek through my fingers, trying to assess him. Soft light from the lamppost lining the road outside filters into the cab and emphasizes the sheer glee in his eyes. “You’re so enjoying this, aren’t you?”

He wavers. “Honestly, yes and no.” A small smile pulls at his lips. “I mean, it was great to hear you were jealous.” His smile evaporates. “But I hate what happened with the trunk. And now Layla probably doesn’t trust me.” I don’t know what kind of expression crosses my face, but it makes Jax react with a pleased grin. “And, for the record, I didn’t sleep with her.”

I eye him over, trying to tell if he’s lying or not while I lie to myself, pretending it doesn’t really matter.

“Then what were you doing in the bedroom for twenty minutes?”

He gives a nonchalant shrug. “Looking at that photo and debugging your phone.”

“Then why did Layla make it seem like you were going into that room to have sex?”

He fiddles with the keychain hanging from the keys in the ignition. “She was playing along with me, mostly for her own benefit. She loves stirring up trouble.”

“Oh.” I feel ridiculously silly, but maybe something good can come out of it. I twist the end of my braid around on my finger. “So now that we’re even, can we just let this whole revenge thing go and try to be friends?”

He looks at me, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth. “Friends, huh?”

I raise my hands in front of me. “Or you can just remain the trainer, and I’ll be your trainee if that’s what you want.”

He releases his lip from his teeth. “No, we can be friends.”

“And that puts your friend quota up to what? Three?” I aim for a light joke to ease any remaining tension.

He struggles not to grin. “Actually, it’s four if I include myself.”

“Aw, you’re friends with yourself.” I press my hand to my heart. “That’s so
adorable
.”

Trying not to smile, he digs a stale fry out of the carton and chucks it at me. I try to do what he did earlier and catch it in my mouth, but the fry ends up nailing me in the nose.

Jax snorts a laugh. “That was attractive.”

I grin. “Thanks. I tried my best.”

We exchange a smile, but then any amount of humor in his eyes goes kerplunk.

“We need to talk about what I found out.” He reaches into his pocket to retrieve my phone. “Whoever bugged your phone did a damn good job, and Layla couldn’t trace it. But she did put an anti-charm encryption on it, so whoever was listening shouldn’t be able to listen anymore.”

I take the phone from him. “Good. That’s one less thing I have to worry about.”

“Don’t get too excited yet.” He pulls out onto the main road and steers the car toward the center of town. “Layla was able to translate some of the code in the painted mark.”

My fingers fold tightly around the phone. “And what did it say?”

Worry overflows from his eyes as he looks at me. “It’s says they’ll be watching you until it’s time, and then they’ll come for you.”

Chapter 15

I clutch the phone so tightly I nearly pop the back off. “What are they waiting for, exactly?”

“I don’t know.” He swallows hard. “But I think we need to keep this thing going on with you a secret for now … until we know for sure.”

“I wasn’t planning on telling anyone.” I drop the phone onto my lap before I end up breaking it. “The last thing I want to do is put someone’s life at risk. I probably shouldn’t have even told you.”

“Yes, you should’ve,” he replies firmly. “You need to tell me everything. I can’t protect you if you don’t.” His silver eyes smolder. “Promise me you will. Promise me that, no matter what, you’ll tell me what’s going on with you.”

A shaky exhale fumbles from my lips. “All right,” I agree. “But only if you promise me to do the same with me.”

He nods then focuses on the road. “I just wish I knew why they’re sending out their experimental subjects into the real world. This whole time, I thought they were killing all of them. I mean, why kill some and let others go?”

“They’re not really letting them go, though,” I point out. “They’re using them to watch for something, at least according to Layla. And it sounds like they brainwashed those vampires into killing the fey. Maybe that’s the difference. Maybe some are useful and others aren’t. Maybe some experiments are failures, and those are the ones they kill.”

He looks at me with pride in his eyes. “You’re getting good at this.”

I shrug nonchalantly. “I guess I must have a good teacher.”

He starts to smile at me, but the look vanishes as he makes a left turn into a gravel parking lot crammed with old cars and motorcycles. The area appears vacant except for a few guys loitering in front of a brick building with a neon sign that reads:
Try our special. It’s to die for
. I’m sure most of the people wander in there, thinking they’re going to get some amazing drink. Little do they know that they
are
the special drink.

Jax parks toward the back near a row of motorcycles, silences the engine, and takes the keys from the ignition. “I want to start here. I know a lot of vampires hang out here. Maybe we’ll stumble across one from the territory clan. Or, if all else fails, we can pry some information out of one of them.”

“Now you’re speaking my language,” I say, stuffing my phone into the pocket of my plaid jacket that is still tied around my waist.

He points a finger at me. “I want you to be careful. No doing anything irrational.”

I laugh wickedly. “Ha, me? Irrational? Never.”

Jax wears his infamous annoyed expression. “Alana—”

“I was just kidding,” I interrupt the lecture I know he’s about to give me. “I promise I’ll behave and won’t get into any fights.”

“Don’t overdo it,” he says. “You can protect yourself if you need to. Just don’t do anything without a cause.”

I nod, reaching for the door. “That, I can do.” I open the door and duck my head to get out.

Jax captures my arm. “Are you sure you want to do this? Because I can just go in.”

I nod. “And for future reference, you never, ever have to double-check with me when we’re about to take down the bad guys.”

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” he says, releasing my arm.

“You have no idea.” I climb out of the car, bursting with excitement as I meet him around the front of the car. “I’ve missed this.”

“Missed what?” he asks distractedly as he checks his phone.

“Doing this kind of stuff.” I gesture at the bar across the parking lot. “Going into these places and taking the bad guys down.”

He puts his phone away and focuses on me. “Have you done this a lot?”

“Not as much as a Keeper.” I tighten the knot on my jacket, securing it around my waist. “But I’ve been in my fair share of bar fights.”

“Really?” he says, his voice thick with sarcasm. “That’s shocking.”

“I know. It’s crazy,” I retort, loop my arm through his, and tug him toward the entrance of the bar.

He stumbles, obviously shocked by my move, and I smile in satisfaction.

The gravel crunches under our boots as we walk side by side across the parking lot and toward the building.

When we near the door, Jax warns in a low tone, “Keep your guard up.”

The few guys hanging around outside stop talking and fix their attention on us. I don’t have to see their mark to know they’re vampires; I can smell the foul stench of blood oozing off them.

The taller of the three men steps in front of me as I’m about to walk through the door, moving so quickly I just about crash into him. Jax steadies me by the shoulders as I trip and nearly run into him.

Vamp dude folds his bulky arms across his broad chest, his skin strikingly pale underneath the florescent lighting of the sign. “There’s a cover charge to get in.”

I mentally roll my eyes, already seeing where this is heading, but I decide to play along … for now.

“And how much is it?”

He grins, flashing me his set of sharp, white teeth. “Well, that all depends on how good you taste.” He breathes in deeply, his chest expanding. “My bet is you taste as delicious as you look.” His hands shoot out, and he folds his fingers around my arm. Gripping tightly enough to leave a bruise, he jerks me toward him and dips his head to bite my neck.

I lift my knee, planning to knee him in the balls, but he suddenly gets jerked away from me. I turn around just in time to see him sail across the parking lot and collide with one of the bigger motorcycles.

Jax dusts off his hands and flashes me a cocky grin before he focuses on the other two guys who are moving in on us.

His eyes glow silver as he snarls, “So, which one of you’s next?”

My heart does this stupid fluttery thing as I get a brief glimpse of his werewolf side. But even more shocking is how easily the other two vampires back down and run away, disappearing into the darkness of the parking lot.

Turning toward me, he reaches behind my back and opens the door. “Ready?”

I nod, too stunned to find my voice. I mean, holy fiery, hotness, that was hot.

He must read my turned-on expression because he lowers his lips to my ear. “I don’t think that’s how a
friend
is supposed to look at their
friend
.”

I gently push him back, stifling a shiver. “Friends can find their friends hot when they do hot things like kick a vamp’s ass.” Not bothering to watch his reaction, I whirl around and march inside.

The second my feet land on the other side of the threshold, my senses are assaulted by the scent of sweat and blood. The muggy air causes my skin to dampen as I make my way deeper into the club, weaving around groups of vampires and the occasional human. While Jax chats with a vampire guy wearing leather pants and a black shirt, I keep going, searching the room for my first target.

The hypnotic beat of “Bad Blood” by Bastille begs me to join the crowded dancefloor, but I resist the desire and push my way toward the bar where three vampire guys are sitting. They look around my age, although they’re probably way older, conversing and sipping from glasses filled with a thick, red liquid.