“Trust me, it’s better that you go now. If you think the vampires are bad you should see the FPA. If they knew you were…” I faltered, unable to even consider what I was about to say. “They can never know about the baby, Kylarai. This has to stay as secretive as possible.”
Worry filled her grey eyes, and she nodded quickly. Her lower lip began to quiver, and she bit it. I hugged her close before escorting her all the way to her Escalade. I only went back inside after seeing her safely leave the parking lot.
Returning to the scene of the action, I found not one but two piles of dust and ash. Jenner and Arys stood there proudly, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d high fived. Catching Arys’s eye, I gave him a pointed look and shook my head. This was not the way to show the vampire population that we weren’t dictators.
“Don’t even say it,” Arys said, proving how well he knew my thoughts. “Those two threatened a pregnant woman. No innocents. Ever. Remember? It had to be done.”
I glanced around at the remaining vamps present. They were either blissfully unaware and caught up in their own hunt, or they were very obviously watching us.
“You’re right. That kind of shit can’t be allowed. I just wish it hadn’t happened at such a delicate time.”
“Should’ve just let me rip their eyes out,” Jez insisted with a frown. “Some punishments can be worse than death. They leave a longer lasting impression as well.”
“Next time, Jezzy. Their eyeballs are all yours.” My promise was met with a ruby red smile.
“Thanks,” I said to Jenner, hoping he noticed the lack of sarcasm. I was genuinely grateful for his willingness to defend a wolf he didn’t even know merely because she meant something to me. Maybe he wasn’t such a jackass after all.
There was no time to recover from that little disturbance before Justin called my name. Even amid the pounding music and loud chatter of patrons, I heard it. Because I’d been expecting it.
I turned to find him beckoning me over. “Showtime,” I said to Arys.
The trepidation and anxiety that had plagued me since Briggs’s call faded. Now that he was here, I was ready.
“So that eyeball thing?” Jez asked, staying close as we headed for the door. “Is that still cool? I mean, the FPA, they’ve got to have it coming.”
“I’d like to settle this without bloodshed. Briggs needs to see things from my point of view. But if he draws first blood, then it’s on.”
Jenner and Willow accompanied us out to the parking lot. It felt damn good to have these people at my back. At least it did until I stepped out of the building and saw the small army Briggs had brought.
Two black vans full of agents sat in the parking lot, blocking my car in as if Briggs thought I was cowardly enough to flee. He hadn’t seemed to grasp my personality yet.
Agent Thomas Briggs stood beside one of the vans looking like he’d just stepped out of a Hollywood CIA movie. It was his usual look. Dark skinned with short-cropped hair, in a black suit, he had his hands on his hips, one of which rested on the butt of his gun.
I didn’t give him a chance to speak first. “You must have some seriously big balls to hunt down your lover’s sister, Briggs.”
His steely dark gaze remained unchanged, but the slight change in his energy gave him away. I had just revealed something his crew didn’t know. Good. It was a tiny victory, but it counted.
The vans had emptied. Briggs was surrounded by agents, both men and women, but none of them were Juliet. I did recognize one of them however. Agent Hunter, the biggest asshole on their team, stood smirking at me as if I hadn’t seen him almost cry the last time we’d met. He was a livewire, one to be watched, unpredictable and quick to break the rules.
“We’re not here to discuss my personal life, O’Brien. Trust me, this is not something I’m going to enjoy.” Briggs took in my companions with careful consideration. Willow was the biggest threat of us all, but I was willing to bet he didn’t know that.
I held up a hand that crackled with power unseen by most human eyes but readily felt. “Oh, I am definitely going to enjoy this.”
“There doesn’t have to be any innocent bloodshed here,” he spoke calmly, trying to appeal to my sensible side. Too bad for him. I didn’t have one. “We are on the same side. Let’s be rational about this.”
I laughed, a devious sound that was more Arys than it was me. “Rational, huh? You clearly don’t know the meaning of the word. I’m not going to lie down and die for you, Briggs. That’s just not my style.”
Briggs was quiet, regarding me with the silent contemplation of an intelligent man who thought he knew what he was doing. He probably did most of the time. But not this time.
“I thought you cared about this city. Over a million people call this area home. Would you really risk them just to prolong the inevitable?” He spread his hands in question before crossing his arms in an attempt to appear casual.
Briggs’s gaze traveled over Arys, and he frowned ever so slightly. I was willing to bet that he’d thought Arys was still out of town. His plan had been to take me out while we were apart. Sneaky bastard.
“Well now, Agent Briggs, you appear a little surprised to see me,” Arys said, picking up on what I’d just realized. “You weren’t by chance thinking about killing my wolf while I was away, were you? That kind of behavior seems beneath you. Doesn’t it?”
Briggs and Arys shared a moment. Whatever passed between them, it wasn’t good.
“What are we waiting for?” Agent Hunter interjected with a rude sneer in my direction. “Let’s take this bitch out.”
“You never learn, do you, Hunter?” I tsked and shook my head at his pathetic attempt to be a tough guy. “I guess I’ll have to break your other arm. But I doubt I’ll stop there. I made you a promise, remember?”
During a scuffle with the FPA, Kale had broken the man’s arm. It clearly hadn’t taught him a damn thing about keeping his mouth shut or knowing when to back down. The last time I saw Hunter I had promised him that he would die at my hand, and he would love it.
“Is there something I should know about you two?” Briggs shot a dark glare at Hunter who pressed his lips together in a refusal to speak.
“What’s to know?” I dared to saunter closer, stopping only when every agent had leveled their gun at me. “Hunter here threw me in with Kale after you guys drove him crazy. He almost got me killed. Oh, and he wants your job. But I’m guessing you already knew that. Better watch your back, Briggs. Your guys don’t know how to be a team.”
Briggs’s gaze narrowed. He chose to ignore my remark, but I was sure he’d have a word with Hunter later, if they left here alive.
“Come with us, O’Brien. You leave peacefully, and we can avoid a showdown in the parking lot. I’ll make sure you’re treated in a humane, fair way.”
I gaped at him as if he’d just spoken in tongues. “Are you fucking kidding me? A humane way? I’m not a dog going off to the pound, you self-righteous piece of shit. If you want me, you’ll have to take me the hard way.”
Hunter cocked his weapon. Several others followed suit. Briggs held up a hand, and they waited for his order.
“Stopping Shya has been our mission for a very long time. I can’t let a chance like this pass me by. Stopping him should be your top priority too.” His tone was smooth and steady, but there was a pleading glint in his eyes.
That should have been reassuring I suppose. Ultimately, I knew that Briggs didn’t really want to kill me. In a city where many people did, it was refreshing, and even somewhat flattering.
“It is. You just refuse to see that. Things have to happen, Briggs. Someone will kill me, but it won’t be you.” I couldn’t help the glance I shot Arys. I saw Briggs notice. Could his clever mind put it together?
For just a moment it appeared as if Briggs might give me the benefit of the doubt. His studious stare moved between Arys and me. Hunter shuffled his feet impatiently and received an unspoken rebuke from his superior. I smiled.
“I want to trust you on this. I do,” Briggs said. “Unfortunately, I don’t. You make your decisions based on what’s best for your people, and I do the same. I ask you one last time, please come with us. I’d prefer to keep this from being a public event.”
Damn. So he wanted to really do this. “You know I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Briggs gave a slight nod. A shot went off. It didn’t come from the agents before us though. It came from above. A sniper on the roof of the grocery store across the street took his shot. It never hit. Willow held the bullet in his hand before anyone realized he’d intercepted it. His great silver wings were flared wide behind him, and he hummed with power.
Before anyone could react, he threw the bullet with supernatural speed. It lodged in Agent Hunter’s thigh, and he fell to the ground with a shout.
All hell broke loose. The Feds fired their weapons, launching both wooden and regular bullets at us. Arys grabbed my hand and threw an energy wall up in front of us. The bullets bounced off as if hitting a brick wall.
The sudden surge of power streaming through me was overwhelming. Arys drew on our bond to hold the wall against the onslaught. It nearly drove me to my knees. Instinctively I reached out metaphysically for Jenner. He was our blood and, being mine as he was, my power drew on him.
Willow rushed the agents. Bullets bounced off him as if he were stone. Some of them dropped their guns and actually fled. Those that remained found themselves staring into the angry gaze of a very pissed off fallen angel.
With a snap of his fingers, Willow jammed their weapons. A flick of his wrist and several of them dropped, holding their heads as an unseen force tore pained cries from them.
“Shall I keep going?” Willow approached Briggs slowly, like a cat sneaking up on a mouse.
Briggs had his gun drawn, but he didn’t seem to know where to point it. He watched Willow with a growing horror as he realized his mistake in coming here.
“Call this off, O’Brien,” he barked. “There is no need for innocent men and women to die. That’s what we’re trying to prevent here.”
I laughed bitterly. “Your people are no innocents. Your definition of the word is clearly twisted. I’ve seen the things you all do. I’ve seen the basement.”
“This isn’t about the basement, goddammit.”
“No, it’s not,” I agreed. “Not yet.”
Despite the bullet in his leg, Agent Hunter lunged forward, flinging himself at Arys’s barrier. He hit the invisible wall and fell back, dazed.
Idiot.
I couldn’t resist. He was just so close. I risked breaking the barrier to get to Hunter. I all but fell on him in my haste. The scent of his blood was overpowering, taunting a side of me that I was beginning to finally accept. Straddling the injured man, I began feeding him punches that snapped his head from side to side. Blood poured from his nose and mouth, but still I didn’t stop. He squirmed beneath me, seeking to throw me off. I felt the Taser on his hip, very likely the same one he’d used to abuse me not so long ago. Pulling it free, I held it beside his face and grinned.
“Calm down, sweetheart. You’re going to like this. I promise.”
The intoxicating aroma of his fear tickled my senses. It was only the beginning though.
With their guns made useless, the Feds were left with stun guns and billy clubs, none of which would do them a damn bit of good here. Jez and Jenner jumped into the fray, happily bringing pain to any agent dumb enough to get in their way.
Arys stood close, preventing anyone from interfering with Hunter and me. When Briggs tried to go for his phone to call for backup, Arys plucked it from his hand with ease and crushed it beneath his heel.
The fight taking place all around me became background noise as I stared down into Hunter’s frozen gaze. For the first time perhaps ever, I very much wanted to make a victim suffer.
“I bet you thought you’d come here and get off watching me take a bullet to the head,” I said, stroking a hand down his bruised and bloodied cheek. Gripping his jaw tight, I forced him to meet my eyes. “I can’t wait to taste your death.”
I pushed a breath of heady sensual energy into him, encompassing him in my thrall completely. He ceased struggling and peered at me like I was the most wonderful thing he’d ever seen. I manipulated the force, seducing him with little effort. The desire rolled off him in waves that I greedily drank in.
In an act that was pure vampire, I rubbed my groin against his, just enough to feel the evidence of his growing lust. With one hand on his face and the other caressing the throbbing vein in his neck, I sucked in a deep breath and groaned from the strength it took to keep from ripping his throat out. He didn’t deserve to go that fast.
I was vaguely aware of the dead agents piling up in the parking lot. Jenner and Jez had cut down almost half a dozen already. A few of them had acquired crossbows and stakes from the vans. Willow and Arys were quickly parting them from their weapons. Briggs was shouting orders at a crew that was no longer listening. It was chaos.
“Do you want me, Hunter?” I purred. “Tell me how you want me.”
He drew a shuddery breath and moaned. “Just kill me and get it over with.”
“Now what fun would that be?” My fingernails lengthened into deadly claws and I knew if I scratched him I’d have to kill him. There was no way an asshole like Hunter would make a good wolf. “Tell me what you want.”
He gave a strangled sound as he fought the command. Betrayed by his body and his will, he had no choice but to comply. “I want to fuck you. But it ain’t real. I know it’s not, you vampire whore.”
I laughed, enjoying his tortured state of want and hate. “Oh, it’s real all right. Your hard on feels pretty real to me.”
Another push of power and Hunter was almost crying in his attempts to pull free of my manipulation. I wanted to take my time with him, but time wasn’t something I had a lot of.
I looked up in time to see Arys and Briggs locked in battle. Briggs fought hard with several well placed hits. He was well trained, and it showed. When he slid a stake from inside his jacket and whirled around to plunge it into Arys’s chest, I gasped.
Arys caught his arm before the blow could land. He gave it a twist, and Briggs twisted with it, trying to avoid a broken arm. The move put his back to Arys who slung an arm around his neck and jerked him close. Fangs bared, Arys was about to go for Briggs’s artery.