Death Wish (5 page)

 “I haven’t even begun to torture Kale,” she scoffed. “It’s the least he deserves after what he did to me.”

I sighed, nodding in agreement. I understood where her anger stemmed from. Kale was one of few people Jez truly trusted, but he’d blown that trust to hell. Kale had recently returned to his old killing ways. Unable to control himself, his bloodlust had targeted Jez.

“You don’t have to do this, but you have to do something.” I glanced at the door as a trickle of anxiety crept over me. Jez wasn’t the only one nervous about Kale’s arrival.

The scowl on Jez’s pretty face looked out of place. A sultry smirk was more her style. “If he’s late, I’m out of here.”

I shook my head but didn’t bother replying. She just wanted to be snarky; we both knew damn well Kale wouldn’t be late. 

Butterflies took flight in my stomach as my anxiety shifted from one thing to another. I looked back and forth between the front entry and the doorway at the rear that led into the back hall. Lined with private rooms, the back hall was where vampires took their willing victims for some fun and games.

“Why are you so nervous?” Her green eyes narrowed, and she watched me speculatively while sipping from her pink cocktail. “You know he’ll try to fuck you before he kills you. Me… I don’t stand a chance.”

Frowning, I shook my head and leaned back in my chair. “Not cool, dude.”

“Sorry.” She shrugged but offered no real sense of apology. “It’s true though. You guys have a weird relationship. So complicated.”

I clutched my glass, seeking false comfort. My original intention had been never to drink at The Wicked Kiss. So much for that.

My nerves were getting to me; I was freaked out not just by Kale’s impending arrival nor even the hit out on me. I felt Shaz here, too, yet he was nowhere to be seen. Which could only mean one thing: he was lost in the role of blood whore. Again.

Things had gotten disturbingly twisted between me and my wolf mate in recent weeks. We had both made mistakes that apologies and regrets would not fix. Shaz and I had been through a lot together. We had known each other for years, since we were new wolves adjusting to life with a dual nature. So much had changed since then.

Nausea caused my stomach to turn at the thought of Shaz offering himself to a vampire. He got off on the rush. I knew firsthand how powerful it was. Most certainly addictive. One look around the place made that obvious. Because it was Shaz, his obsession was that much harder to swallow. I was the only reason that he’d ever experienced the wild ride of the vampire’s thrall, and I blamed myself.

Jez leaned across the table to touch the back of my hand lightly. “Don’t go getting all drunk on me now. I need you to fight Kale off if he’s developed a taste for leopard.”

Her gentle touch was a friendly gesture of support. I didn’t have to give words to my emotions. I appreciated her attempt at humor and forced a strained smile.

I stared into the golden whiskey. Lovely poison. I drank more often than I should, and though it didn’t affect me the way it did humans, it was still a source of escape. Of course, I’d much rather be losing myself in the promise of ecstasy found only in the kill. Tonight, whiskey would have to do.

Minutes before midnight, Kale swept through the front entry. With the grace and presence that five centuries had gifted him, he sauntered toward us. Dressed head to toe in black, complete with his trademark leather duster, he was painfully alluring. More than one human female sought his company as he made his way through the club.

I struggled not to choke on my whiskey when his sugary sweet energy reached me. “See, Jez. I told you he wouldn’t be late.”

Kale reached our booth and immediately slid onto my side, across from Jez. I pressed myself farther into the corner than was necessary, feeling awkward and nervous.

“Hello, ladies.” Kale’s gaze slid over me, lingering for just a moment before turning to Jez. No matter how many times I looked into his mismatched eyes, I was always enamored. The right one brown and the left a startling blue, heterochromia had endowed him with an eerily beautiful feature.

“You’re anxious tonight, Alexa.” Kale observed. “It’s enticing.”

Enticing was the last thing I wanted to be to a vampire whose control was precarious at best. “I just found out there’s a price on my head and my dead sister is actually alive.”

A frown creased Kale’s brow. “Seriously? That’s intense. Who would be stupid enough to think they can take you out?”

“Ahem,” Jez loudly cleared her throat, drawing our attention. “Can we play ‘Who wants to kill Lex’ later? This little shindig is supposed to be about me.”

Kale turned his attention to her, and I released the breath I’d been holding. They stared at one another, Jez with fire in her eyes. She was going to be stubborn about this.

“Jez,” Kale began, speaking loud enough to be heard over the music but keeping his tone gentle. “Thank you for agreeing to see me. I wanted to apologize to you, face to face. I have no excuses. I’m sorry. I wish I had never hurt you.”

 There was a dramatic pause as Jez considered his apology. She tossed her curls and twirled the little umbrella in her drink, all the while staring him down with that haughty cat gaze. I struggled to keep from rolling my eyes, but it wouldn’t be Jez without a little drama.

“That’s the best you can do? You almost killed me, Kale. You know, like dead. I trusted you.” Leaning back in her seat, she dropped the umbrella and crossed her arms. “And, you should know I don’t trust very many people.”

Unaffected by her attitude, Kale nodded. “I know. I’m honored to have had your trust, and I fully understand that I’ve destroyed it. But, I am sorry. You know you mean a lot to me.”

“Prove it.”

I sat in amused silence, a half-empty glass in my hand. Poor Kale. She was really intent on putting him through the ringer.

In part, he was humoring her, giving her what she wanted so this whole thing would blow over. But, I knew Kale, and if he didn’t genuinely care about their friendship, he wouldn’t be here. Being the amazing guy that he was, he was willing to do anything it took.

“What do you want from me, Jez?” His expression was playful, but his manner was serious. “Want me to get on my knees and beg your forgiveness?”

A slow grin spread across her lips. “Knock it off, Kale.”

However, he was already standing up. I was shocked. “Jez. Isn’t that a little much? You’re not going to make him do that, are you?”

 “No, that’s fine.” Kale rose and went to her side of the table. “If Jez wants me to beg, then begging she’ll get.”

“Hey now,” she protested with a giggle. “I did not ask you to beg. Don’t be ridiculous.”

He gestured for her to stand, and I cringed. I couldn’t believe he was doing this. Despite Jez’s protests, I could see the flash of pleasure in her eyes.

It was hard to sit there and bite my tongue when he knelt before her. He grabbed her hand, holding tight when she tried to pull away. A few people at the nearby tables turned to stare, but Kale paid them no attention.

“Jez St. Claire, you are the little sister I never had. You’re one of the only people on the planet I would do this for. You have no idea how filled with regret and guilt I am over what I did to you. I hate myself for hurting you. And, I am truly sorry.” With true repentance in his eyes, he gazed up at her.

The depths of Kale’s love for Jez captivated me. Not only was he willing to humiliate himself in public, he acted as if it were the least he deserved. I groaned inwardly, hating myself for swooning over this. I flashed back in my mind to a night of warm summer rain and Kale. It had been less than a month ago that we’d made love outside The Wicked Kiss, but it felt like forever.

Jez dragged out her response, staring at him until the tension hummed. After making him wait for what she felt was a reasonable amount of time, she nodded. “Thank you, Kale. I forgive you. If you ever try to kill me again, I’ll have your balls for breakfast.”

And just like that, Jez abolished the grudge she’d been holding for weeks. She pulled Kale to his feet for a hug, and the tension between them slipped away. He resumed his seat next to me, winking a puppy dog brown eye at me.

“I can’t believe you did that.” I laughed, shaking my head.

“Honestly, I expected her to really torture me, so it wasn’t too bad.” Kale shrugged it off as if he hadn’t just made himself her bitch.

“So, it’s been a while since the three of us did something. I mean really did something.” Jez leaped in like the last few minutes had never happened, let alone the last few weeks. It was mind-boggling. “We need to hang out. But, not in this place. It’s disgusting. We should go to a concert or a movie.”

I’d given up on figuring Jez out long ago. She was a firecracker alright. From being pissed at Kale to excitedly planning an outing, she was lively in a way that made her infectious. No wonder the vampires here were so drawn to her.

With my back to the corner of the booth, I nodded as necessary while she prattled on. There was a pleasant tingle in my limbs as the alcohol coursed through my bloodstream. My anxiety eased and I relaxed.

Kale was alluring at such close proximity. Just a year ago, he hadn’t set me off like this, but as my power had grown, so had my hunger for him. Some might say that the two weren’t related, that plain old, physical lust afflicted us, but I knew the source of my desire was something bigger.

“You know what we should really do?” Jez continued, pausing only to sip from her drink before going on again. “Road trip. Seriously. We have never done anything like that. Let’s go somewhere. Oh! Let’s go to Vegas! You have some ass to kick there, Lex. It would be a blast.”

“Vegas? Oh hell no.” I shook my head despite my mild intrigue. “I can’t begin to imagine the kind of trouble we’d find there.”

“Then let’s not imagine. Let’s go. Pick a date.”

Kale laughed and relaxed in the booth beside me. Just inches kept us from touching. “Knock yourselves out. Most road trips aren’t exactly vampire friendly.”

“They can be.” Jez shrugged off his protest. “We can hit hotels during the day. Really damn expensive ones. It would kick ass.”

What was she doing? Kale and I on a road trip together would be all kinds of bad news regardless of whether or not she was there too. Not to mention the fight with Arys that would ensue. I hadn’t considered leaving town at all recently, although a chance to get away didn’t sound like a totally bad idea.

Las Vegas had made me curious in recent months. Arys had ties to the city through his sire, Harley, the most powerful vampire in Sin City, or at least, he was.

“Besides,” the feisty leopard went on. “You guys need to spend more time away from this place. Both of you. It’s a menace to your mental health.”

“Can’t argue there.” I tossed back another mouthful of whiskey. A vacation from this place sounded like heaven.

Right on cue, the rear door separating the back rooms from the rest of the club opened, and Shaz strode through. My stomach plummeted in a nauseating free fall when
she
appeared at his side. They didn’t touch, yet there was an unspoken intimacy between them. I was going to be sick.

I knew very little about her, the vampire Shaz had become acquainted with. She was a tall, leggy thing with long black hair. I got the sense that she wasn’t an old vampire but not brand-new either. I didn’t even know her name, but I hated her more than I’d ever hated anyone or anything. Even Raoul.

It wasn’t just her. It was everything she represented. This world…my world. And now, because of me, it was Shaz’s world, too. He’d promised me that he wasn’t sleeping with her, but that had been weeks ago. Things change, and I didn’t have the guts to ask.

Besides, a sexual element always tinged such encounters; the absence of intercourse didn’t mean it wasn’t sexual. Of course it was. My own personal proof of that sat beside me, a dark dream in leather. The carnal tension had been running high between Kale and I long before our night in the rain. It was only a matter of time until Shaz made all of my mistakes.

  Worse than sexual tension was the chance of emotional entanglement. That was the fear that gripped me as I watched them from across the room. I held my glass in a white-knuckled grip, willing myself to react. I was frozen.

Feeling the weight of my stunned stare, Shaz met my gaze across the distance. We shared a moment of horror, and then he looked away. So, he hadn’t expected to see me. Should that make me feel better?

The chatter at my table fell quiet as my companions followed my gaze. I watched Shaz whisper something to the vampiress who immediately turned my way. He was trying to get away from her without making a scene. I could tell by the tension in his shoulders as he pulled away. She stopped him with a hand, ensuring I was watching before she slid a hand into his platinum hair and laid one hell of a kiss on him.

The glass in my hand shattered into several little shards. Whiskey splashed the table and covered my hand. Blood welled up from the cuts I’d sustained, but I barely noticed. I was already fighting my way out of the booth.

I snapped. Rather than throw Kale out of my way, I leaped across the table, hitting the floor at a run. Jez’s voice was quickly lost in the crowd as she called my name. The wolf inside me exploded in a territorial rage. I was suddenly all fangs and claws, ready to kill.