The Wicked Kiss (3 page)

“I don’t expect you to understand everything I do. I know how utterly insane this must look to you.” His usually melodic tone was listless and dull. “This has been a hard week for me. I think it’s the target I killed for Veryl last week.” He paused and glanced around the untidy room.

Veryl Armstrong was our go-to guy for the nasty targets that we get paid to take out.

Most of what we do involves policing our own supernatural society as it co-exists alongside human society. If sunrise came and some numb-nuts vampire hadn’t exposed us all with his thoughtless actions, then we’d done our job. Being touted as fictional has its advantages, and we’d like to keep it that way. The few humans that knew the truth, like the ones here, were clearly little threat: disposable and not likely to be believed by anyone they were dumb enough to tell.

“What do you mean?” I was disturbed by the haunted glow behind his eyes. I was more than ready to leave, but I didn’t want to rush him.

The power rolling off him was steady and natural but stronger than usual. It was chipping away at what remained of my self-reserve. All of this vampire energy was stirring the vampire magic that lay coiled like a snake within me, bonded to my very being.

Kale did a final sweep of the room before striding to the door, stopping when his hand hit the cool, solid metal knob. “This vampiress I hunted, she just looked so much like … her.”

His voice trailed off, but I knew whom he was talking about, the one who had turned him. She’d almost broken him. I knew enough of his past to know that it was a miracle he’d come out the other side of it with his sanity intact. His inclination to slake his blood hunger with willing donors had a lot to do with the things she’d made him see and do.

“She wasn’t though, Kale. You should have gone to Kylarai.” I imagined the predatory look in his eyes when I’d come in and thought better of that suggestion. “Or me or Lilah. But, I do understand why you do this.” I gestured to the room before laying a hand on his arm. “I’m the last person in the position to judge.”

I laughed lightly in hopes of relaxing the strained mood. It managed to get me a smile out of him, which I took to be a good sign. Kale and I are friends, but we don’t share the level of intimacy reserved for extremely close friends. I have that with Ky and sometimes Jez. I was more than a little uncomfortable in this situation.

“I do love her, Alexa,” he said suddenly, the door open just a crack as he held it.

“Kylarai has come to hold a very special place in my life.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that he didn’t owe me any explanations. Before I could get a word out, he continued in a rush.

“I just want you to know that. Because I know you only came in here for her.” He shook his head slightly, as if searching for a thought.

A loud bang followed by a shriek came from the room next door, and I jumped.

Everything about this place was getting creepier by the second. Kale was completely unfazed by it.

“Kale,” I said, wanting to get straight to the point. “Don’t think for a minute that I think badly of you. I know you’re one of the good guys. Trust me when I say, you don’t even come close to comparing with some of the assholes out there. Now, let’s get the hell out of here before I lose my mind.”

It bothered me that Kale worried about my opinion of him. Maybe he needed to do a little soul searching, examine his opinion of himself.

He was absolutely adamant that we leave through the back exit. I can’t say I was especially fond of walking through the club again, but his resistance piqued my curiosity.

When we left the room, the first thing I noticed was the horror movie-style quiet in the hall. There was no sign of Shawn or anyone else for that matter. I followed Kale back the way I’d come. Instead of turning to the door with the velvet curtain, he went all the way down to the other end of the even numbered hall.

We had almost reached the exit door at the end, when door number sixteen burst open and a giggling mid-forties woman came out followed by a large African Canadian vampire.

The guy was large enough to bench press my petite frame with one arm, I was sure. I caught his attention immediately as he identified what I was. His dark eyes went from me to Kale, and a grin revealed white teeth, his fangs drawing my eye.

“Kale, buddy. How did you get so lucky?” He winked and nodded at me as if I wasn’t listening. “Prime pickings, my friend.”

Kale appeared flustered, eyeing the exit door. “Indeed, Justin. However, those pickings are most certainly not mine.” He looked embarrassed, and I started to feel my patience slipping.

The big vampire studied me; the brunette at his side, now quiet in speculation. I met his eyes evenly, unafraid.

“What are you?” He asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

“What?” I gaped at him. “You know what I am.”

He didn’t move, just continued to stare at me. I had the sensation that he was analyzing my energy, much the way one would slowly pick apart a sip of fine wine.

My mind was reeling. I needed out of this moment, now. Nobody had asked me what I was in months. The last man to do so had been my former Alpha, Raoul Roberts. The same night that he’d said it, I had watched as his daughter killed him.

Raoul had been the first man I’d ever fallen in love with. He had also been the first man to break my heart. If that was all he’d done, I could have gotten over it. I'd learned soon after his death that he had been the one that murdered my family after having an affair with my mother. He was directly responsible for the attack that infected and turned me.

Those same words, “What are you?” they haunted my dreams. That question was one of the last things Raoul had said to me before he died. Now, here was this big, scary vampire asking the same thing.

He was looking at me with a mix of interest and confusion. “Oh, I know what you are Huntress.” He gave me a wink and a chuckle that made my spine tense. “But, there’s something else there. Something undead.”

His words almost caused my heart to stop. Shawn hadn’t had a clue until I had thrown a little power around. Justin was clearly more perceptive and a lot more intimidating.

I smiled and shook my head. I wasn’t going to be coerced into giving up my secret.

Kale cleared his throat and said, “We really should be going.”

We made as if to move, and Justin held up a hand. “Tell me.”

I did not like the commanding tone he used. Who the hell did he think he was to demand from me?

“Come on, Justin, lay off.” Kale reached to draw me closer in a protective gesture.

The hallway was stifling, and I began to crave some fresh air. Justin glared at Kale, and I sensed the unspoken challenge. With an exasperated sigh, I held up a hand, forming a perfect psi ball with little more than a thought. It glowed with swirling traces of my gold and Arys’ midnight blue energy.

Justin’s eyes widened, but his lady friend didn’t react. Only humans with an incredible sixth sense can see energy. I’d been one of them once. It was much the same with Weres. Vampires were the exception, as increased psychic abilities came as part of the package, though it varied by vampire.

I made no further motion, simply showing him the ball and then allowing it to drop.

Kale stiffened as the vampire and wolf energy buzzed around us. Together, it created something much bigger than either Arys or I was on our own.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Kale breathed the words in my ear. His nervous glance at the occupied rooms around us set my heart to racing as I realized how stupid what I’d just done was.

“Arys Knight,” Justin said, nodding as if he’d known all along and had just wanted confirmation. “You’re prettier than he let on. I can see why he’s been trying to keep your identity quiet. I wouldn’t let a tasty little thing like you become common knowledge either.”

Was that supposed to be flattering? And, how in the hell did all these vampires know one another? Small world.

“Um, thanks.” I frowned, unable to humor him.

“We really need to go.” Kale jerked into action, pulling me with him as he pushed open the door to the parking lot beyond. “Justin, have a lovely night.”

The bigger vampire watched us pensively but didn’t attempt to stop us. The look he wore was so curious, so eager that I felt the grip of panic tighten my chest. Was I safe from these vampires because of my bond with Arys? Or, was I in more danger than I realized?

I gulped in the fresh night air, feeling like I had just escaped prison. “How do these vampires know who I am? I’m sure I don’t have a reputation that precedes me.” If there was a slight tremor in my voice, it wasn’t a coincidence.

The parking lot was empty of people. The tow truck hadn’t come for Kale’s car yet.

The street noise carried to us as we walked toward it from the back of the building. I was so relieved to be out of there.

“That’s debatable, but I think you underestimate your vampire, Alexa. To you, he may come off as some small town vamp lurking in the alleys behind your local hangout.

But here in the city, he’s a bigger player than I think you’re aware of.” He looked at me almost apologetically, and it made me feel naïve. I had no idea what Arys was up to when away from me, but I had a feeling that I was in the dark on a lot.

“How so?” When he headed towards his car, I steered him away with a gentle hand, back toward the front street. “It’ll be towed. I’m taking you home. And, I didn’t know you and Arys ran in the same circle. Neither of you mentioned knowing the other before last summer.”

He made a noise of exasperation. “There was nothing to mention. Arys is notorious in this city for being the kind of guy you tiptoe around if you don’t want to get killed. He has a tendency of making sure everyone weaker than him knows it.”

That I could certainly believe. “So, who isn’t weaker than Arys?” His cocky attitude was nothing new to me, but it sounded like a recipe for trouble.

Kale fixed me with a serious gaze that betrayed the monster behind his eyes. “For a long time, very few. Since he has been bound to you, nobody.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Really?” We walked around to the front of The Wicked Kiss where we cut down half a block and waited for the traffic lights to change. “Why does that give me a bad feeling?”

The crosswalk light lit up, and we crossed to where my red beast of a car sat. I was itching to talk to Arys now. He was going to get us into deep shit.

“If it makes you feel any better, it’s not like he can hide it from the rest of us. Neither of you can. I was aware of it the moment I was in your presence after you forged your bond.” Kale paused to watch the tow truck that turned into the lot of the vampire club. I could see the concern etched on his fine features. “I don’t think it endangers you as much as it strengthens you.”

I was starting to think that my world wasn’t as broad as it needed to be. I didn’t know nearly enough about the goings on of vampire society despite my romantic and metaphysical entanglement with one. The fact that I was also bonded to nature as well as deeply involved with my fellow werewolf, Shaz Richardson, was keeping me immersed in the world of Were to the point of ignorance.

I unlocked the Charger and climbed in, Kale mirroring my action on the other side.

Worry nagged at the back of my mind. I’d been an idiot to think Arys and I had something we could keep under wraps like a superhero disguise.

Kale was quiet during the drive across the city to his south side home. I turned the radio up to break the silence because I really wasn’t sure what to say. We’d just come to a stop at a red light when he spoke, startling me in the quiet.

“The things that she made me do, Lex; I can’t stop flashing back to it. To how good it felt even as I hated myself for loving it.” His fingers gripped the door handle, and he stared out his window, but I don’t think he was seeing what lay beyond it. “All I can think about is stalking a pretty young thing, letting the hunger build to the breaking point, the need for release. It’s been so many years since I’ve savored the power of life filling that void deep down. But, sometimes it feels like just yesterday that I bled someone from a vein in every body part while they begged me to stop. And damn, it was good.”

I risked a glance at him but couldn’t see the expression he wore. Memories could be a powerful thing. Arys’ memories had caused me to attack Shaz. They had a tendency to turn up in my dreams more often than I’d like.

I cleared my throat, a nervous anxiety growing in my stomach. “Maybe you should talk to Veryl. Maybe he can help you deal with this.”

He laughed bitterly. “Veryl is the last person to go to when it comes to not being ruthless. The guy is a madman. He’s already told me what a fool I am for frequenting a place like the Kiss.”

Then maybe you should just kill someone and get it over with before you lose your
mind
, I thought. I refused to give voice to the thought though, knowing it was the predator in me talking, not the humanity.

I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that Veryl was currently out of town, along with a few others that we work with. They'd gone to look into some strange activity in a neighboring city, leaving us to pick up the slack and keep each other out of trouble.