Against the Dawn (7 page)

“He’s bound to pass out sooner or later,” I said with a shrug. Truth be told, I found Lorik incredibly entertaining. His presence was like a ray of sunlight compared to Azriel’s shadows. And whereas I was drawn to the darkness of the man beside me, everyone liked a little sunshine now and then.

I hopped up out of my chair, the fringe on my dress swaying around me. Lorik grabbed me by the hand and spun me around until I was dizzy. “Slow down,” I laughed as Lorik lowered me into a deep dip. Despite the fact he could barely stand, I considered the move quite a feat. “You’ve had way too much to drink and you’re going to drop me on my head.”

“Never!” Lorik proclaimed as he brought me upright. He pulled me close before spinning me away from his body, all the while keeping his grip on my right hand. I glanced at Azriel and his dark eyes smoldered as he watched us. A corner of his mouth curved upward and I smiled back. Perhaps I’d had a little too much to drink myself.

“When the old man dies, we’ll run this city,” Lorik proclaimed, his words a little slurred. “The three of us will be a force to be reckoned with. Those two-bit criminals in Chicago will have to ask us for permission to do so much as take a breath.”

I found Lorik’s bravado amusing considering the fact he regarded Capone as a two-bit criminal. It was the gin talking, but if anyone overheard his boastful claims, it would mean trouble. Even as far away as we were. “You’d be better to set your sights on San Francisco,” I suggested as he pulled me close once again. “Be the king of the west coast and leave the Midwest alone.”

“Pfft.” I leaned back as Lorik swayed forward, his nose nearly touching mine. “Capone and his cronies can suck my cock!”

I looked to Azriel, my eyes wide with warning. There wasn’t a faction of organized crime in the country that the Chicago mob didn’t at least have a finger in. Lorik was sloppy drunk and running off at the mouth. If Vasili caught wind that his son was three sheets to the wind and slinging insults, there’d be trouble and the blame would fall not on Lorik, but Azriel and me for our failure to keep him quiet.

Lorik was smart. Smarter than his father and twice as ambitious. But he had an overinflated sense of entitlement and lacked the good sense to act with caution. It made him a target. Vasili knew that. Azriel knew that. I just wished that Lorik would come to realize it too, before someone decided to shut his smart mouth for good.

“Come on, Lorik,” Azriel said as he came between us, placing a steadying hand on Lorik’s shoulder. “We’re leaving.” He released his grip on my hand and I stumbled back, nearly bumping into the couple behind me. A drunken chortle rumbled in Lorik’s chest and he leaned on Azriel for support. It was a wonder he was still standing with the amount of liquor in his system coupled with seventy-two hours without sleep.

“We’ll take this party on the road!” Lorik exclaimed, sweeping his arm in a grand gesture. “Bring me a chippy and a bottle of rye and I’ll be a happy man.”

Good lord, did he ever slow down? Entertaining or not, there were nights that I suspected Lorik was more trouble than he was worth.

“Find him a whore for the night,” Azriel said with a jerk of his chin. “We need something to occupy him and his fool mouth.”

I headed for the exit, hoping I could find one of Lorik’s regular girls to keep him company until he finally passed out.

It didn’t take long to find a girl who’d be more than happy to spend the night with Lorik. We took them both back to our place—Azriel didn’t trust the girl to keep Lorik out of trouble—which meant we’d be spending the rest of the night in our own living room while Lorik enjoyed our bedroom.

“I don’t see why we can’t leave.” The sounds of Lorik’s bawdy escapades were getting louder by the second and my eyes widened at the sound of the girl’s enthusiastic squeals. “He’s not going anywhere, and I imagine he won’t be conscious for long.”

Azriel’s expression darkened as he scowled toward the closed bedroom door. “No matter how harmless he might seem, Lorik is anything but. Given enough rope, he’ll hang himself and I’m not willing to risk Vasili’s wrath if he manages the feat. We can’t let him out of our sight, do you understand me? Never leave Lorik to his own devices.”

As the song wound down, I shook myself from my memories and sat up a little straighter in my seat. I cast a furtive glance toward the closed door that shut Ty and Levi from my view. Leaving Lorik alone might be more dangerous for me than tagging along. At least if I accompanied him to his meetings I’d know what sorts of trouble he was getting into. Besides, Tyler had my back. Right? I could keep an eye on Lorik while Ty would make sure nothing bad happened. The memory of Azriel’s warning echoed in my mind. Azriel was a lying bastard, but he’d never been a fool.
Never leave Lorik to his own devices
. I drew a deep breath and held it in my lungs. Was I ready to get involved in the undoubted cluster fuck Lorik would soon find himself in? I guess there was only one way to find out.

Apparently Lorik wasn’t a fan of the next song on the DJ’s queue because he reemerged from the dance floor with a scowl on his face. “One decent song all night?” he complained as he sat back down. “Unacceptable. Let’s hit Seven downtown. It’s by far more entertaining than this place.”

The idea of setting foot inside that cesspool of a bar caused a shudder to race down my spine. But it was the preferred hangout for Seattle’s supernatural criminal element, and if I was planning on keeping an eye on Lorik, I’d have to go along for the ride.
Blech
. “Fine.” I stood from my seat and flung my duster over one shoulder. “But no way in hell am I hanging out in the Lust section with you.”

“Suit yourself,” Lorik said with a shrug. “But if you ask me, Dariana, you could stand to get laid. It might loosen you up.”

From his lips to god’s ears. I cast a sidelong glance at the closed office door as we passed, hoping Ty would sense that I was on the move. Not that I expected him to follow me around—I knew he had better things to do—but I hoped that he’d at least stay close.

Damn it. When had I lost my edge? And how could I get it back?

Chapter Six

I collapsed on my couch four hours later, too tired for a shower even though I felt downright dirty. After the acts of debauchery I’d witnessed at Seven, I doubted that any amount of scrubbing would wash the grimy feeling from my skin, however. That place was just nasty. But Lorik absolutely loved it, and he cavorted well into the wee hours of morning, drinking, gambling and groping the female wait staff until the bouncers finally kicked us out at last call.

Thank god.

When we parted ways, I was confident that Lorik would spend the rest of the night passed out wherever it was he’d decided to put down roots, while I was reminded once again that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. The only thing missing tonight was Azriel. And I felt his absence tonight more than I ever had.

I honestly didn’t know if I could do this—work for Lorik, tag along after him, keep him out of trouble—without Azriel’s help. And it said a lot about my current state of mind that I wished his deceitful ass was still around.

My elevator cranked into gear, interrupting my doom-and-gloom thoughts. The security system Raif installed beeped from the control panel on the far wall, a warning to let me know the alarm would activate if I didn’t disarm it in fifteen seconds. And since Reaver’s wards hadn’t been tripped along with the motion detector, I knew that whoever was on his way up didn’t intend me harm. He’d been following me all night, after all. It figured he’d stop by.

“Someone needs to burn Seven to the ground.” I disengaged the alarm and hit the reset button. “I’d be more than happy to provide the gasoline if you’re interested.” I called toward the elevator as I headed back toward the living room.

Ty laughed as he stepped into my loft, though his amusement didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked as tired as I was and I felt bad that he’d tailed me all night. “Yeah, even by dive standards, it’s disgusting. Were you able to shake Lorik down at all?”

“I wish.”

In a few short strides, Tyler made it to the living room and sat beside me on the couch. “Careful, Darian.”

It took me a few moments to realize what I’d done. A sign of how exhausted I was. Usually so aware of what I said around Ty, I’d slipped and uttered the words that had a tendency to kick him into gear. “I’m sorry,” I said, sitting up straight as I turned to face him. “I wasn’t thinking. Don’t go into wish-granter mode and hang him off the edge of a building or anything. Not yet, anyway.”

Ty shifted, and as he settled down into the couch, his hand brushed mine. The contact was so innocent, and yet, it ignited something inside of me that made me flush with warmth and anxiety all at the same time. His eyes met mine, his gaze intense, as though he felt the tightening of each individual nerve in my body.

Ty sighed and combed his fingers through the tangles of his hair. My fingers itched to reach out and replace them, feel those silky soft strands. But he pushed himself off the couch and began to pace—probably not a good sign—before releasing a heavy sigh.

“Going against my better judgment, I might’ve found a job for you.”

I knew that he didn’t want me out in the field, but the fact that he was sending me out meant that maybe he’d acknowledged my feelings and knew I truly needed something to keep my mind occupied. A purpose. A cause. Anything that would make me believe I was serving the greater good. And I hoped that perhaps this job had to do with Ty wanting to keep me close. This awkwardness between us was killing me. If we had to start back at square one, with a simple working relationship, I could do that. We could earn each other’s trust back by small degrees.

“I’m ready,” I replied, sitting a little straighter. I was totally anxious to get back to work. Besides, I needed an excuse so I wouldn’t have to spend all of my time with Lorik. No way could I keep up with his fast-paced lifestyle. Working for Ty would be sort of an equalizer. “Who’s the mark?”

“Supernatural,” Ty said without making eye contact. “New in town and stirring up all sorts of trouble. He’s an arms dealer.”

“Name?”

“Mithras. I contracted the job through a human associate. His daughter’s an investigative reporter for
The Seattle Times
and she was looking into a terrorist organization with ties to Mithras. Apparently she got a little too close for comfort because she turned up dead two weeks ago.”

“What do the local cops have to say about it?”

Ty stopped pacing for about a half second and gave me a wry look. “Robbery gone wrong. She was killed in her apartment. But nothing was taken so I’m calling bullshit on the robbery angle.”

Agreed. I doubted the poor woman had interrupted a robbery in progress. Though Ty’s lack of actual evidence failed to implicate anyone at this point. “How was she killed?”

“Her throat was cut and she was left to bleed out.”

A gunshot wound would have better fit the M.O. of a common burglar, but still... “Humans use knives, Ty.”

“True,” he replied. “But her head was almost completely severed. I doubt a human with a knife could have done that. No prints, but her father let me into her apartment and I sensed a residual supernatural presence there. A powerful one. According to my sources, Mithras has amassed quite a following in the city. Devotees. A few weeks ago, one of my contacts said that Mithras had claimed responsibility for a reporter’s death. He wants it known that anyone who fucks with him, will meet a swift end. He takes the god complex to a whole new level. And he likes to brag about his kills. He’s not hiding the fact that he killed Macy. At least not in supernatural circles.”

I didn’t bother with asking about Ty’s relationship to the woman’s father. That was his business. Mine was delivering retribution. “All right, I’m sold. So we get the bastard and do something about that ego of his in the process. Any idea who he deals with? Any affiliation will help to point me in the right direction.”

“Here’s where it gets interesting,” Tyler said. He circled around the living room and sat back down beside me on the couch. “Word on the street is there’s a new player in town. One who’s courting Mithras for the opportunity to move some product for him.”

I gave Ty a look and he nodded his head as though confirming my thoughts. “No,” I said, disbelieving. “Seriously?”

“Yep. Looks like your boy Lorik is trying to jump into the mix.”

It made sense, really. Running guns would provide Lorik with everything he craved: danger, excitement, and plenty of cash. And crazy enough, Lorik’s ambition worked out perfectly for us. “Great. I’ll keep doing what I’m doing with Lorik and with any luck, he’ll take us right to Mithras so I can take him out. Lorik will be doing half of the leg work for us.”

“Exactly,” Ty didn’t sound too excited about using Lorik to get to Mithras, but whatever his doubts, he didn’t put them into words. “In the meantime, I’ll dig up whatever I can on him.”