Death Wish (25 page)

I sat alone at the bar though Shaz was in the building. He was taking security detail a lot more seriously since we’d discovered who was behind the hit. Arys was prowling the city for the vampire who had set fire to my house. He wouldn’t be deterred despite my protests.

I was starting to feel more comfortable in The Wicked Kiss than I did anywhere else these days. Funny considering not so long ago it scared the hell out of me. That was before my definition of scary had been redefined.

I never saw her heading my way. Not until she was almost upon me. I swung my gaze away from the entryway in time to see Bianca closing in on me. I tensed, ready to get up and face her. At the last moment, I decided to stay seated. She wasn’t a threat. That didn’t mean I wanted to hear what she had to say though.

Bianca didn’t dare take the barstool next to me. She stood a safe few feet away, forcing a cool, collected demeanor. She was nervous. Good.

“I know I’m the last person you want to see right now,” Bianca began, meeting my eyes with the false confidence of a woman who knew damn well she was playing with fire. “I just wanted to tell you that for what it’s worth, there’s never been a time I’ve fucked him when he hasn’t called me by your name.”

Her brazenness ticked me off, but her words were like water on the flames. I couldn’t help but feel a grim sense of satisfaction.

“Why the hell are you telling me this?” I stared into her with the intensity of the wolf. “I didn’t kill you. Why make me reconsider?”

“I’m not your enemy. I just wanted to make that clear.”

She stalked away before I could correct her. Vampires were always working an angle. If hers was to state that she had no loyalties to Lilah, she could save it. If the vampires in this city were forced to take sides, I sure as hell didn’t want Bianca on mine.

A small smile played about my lips. I sensed the truth in what she said about Shaz. It didn’t make his actions any less painful, but it added some sweetness to the sting.

Smirking to myself, I turned on my stool and found myself face to face with Shya. I jumped, spilling coffee on the bar in front of me.

“Goddammit, Shya!” Heat crept up my cheeks as I reached for napkins and furiously wiped up the mess.

The demon looked me over with crimson snake eyes, taking in my long loose locks and simple jeans and t-shirt attire. He appeared no different than he ever did. Clad in a pricey suit, his jet-black hair slicked into place, the only things missing were his wings.

“I don’t have much time.” Like usual, he wasted no time on small talk. “I trust you wish to discuss Lilah.”

“I do.” I nodded, glancing about to ensure nobody lingered close enough to eavesdrop. “Were you aware that she put out a hit on me?”

“I was. And, I forbade her from killing you.” Shya shrugged as if he couldn’t see the big deal.

I sipped my coffee, wishing it were blood or whiskey. “That hasn’t stopped her from sending others after me.”

“I knew you could handle them. You’ve proven me right.”

“They burned my fucking house down! With me inside.” I wasn’t impressed with Shya’s flippant attitude.

He watched me closely, noting the rise and fall of my tone, the tight grip on my coffee cup. “Yet here you sit. Alive.”

“Fine, forget it. I’m not talking in circles with you tonight. I just want to know why Lilah wants me dead and what I can do about it.”

Shya’s gaze dropped to the dragon etched into my flesh. It began to itch and burn. I sat stiffly, refusing to scratch it like I wanted.

“Lilah wants to break the curse that holds her in a corporeal form. With her power angelically bound, Lilah, a goddess of the underworld, becomes a run of the mill vampire.” The demon scanned the vicinity curiously. “A vampire. A creature that you have power over. You can keep her from breaking the curse, so of course she wants you dead.”

I chewed on that for a minute, letting my gaze wander over the crowd on the dance floor. Lilah was desperate. I had seen it in her eyes the night she gave me the Dragon Claw. Desperation would drive people to do crazy things. Demons, likely more so.

“Makes sense,” I acknowledged. “Where do you stand on all this?”

Shya’s lips twitched. The haughty way he held himself and the amusement perpetually dancing in his eyes made him appear entertained and disaffected, yet a subtle shift in his energy betrayed his unease. Despite always surrounding myself with my best shields around Shya, I could feel it.

“Lilah’s curse is best left intact.”

A man of few but effective words tonight; I could respect that. “Why exactly do we not want her to break it? Give me something here.”

“Brush up on your demonology. Lilah is the firstborn granddaughter of Lilith, the first human to become a demon, a powerful bloodline. Free of that curse, she’d resume her rightful place as a dark goddess.”

Shya tapped his fingers on the counter. He spoke as if he were in a rush, the white rabbit realizing he was late.

“I know who Lilith is,” I replied, watching him anxiously pick at an invisible thread on his sleeve. “I thought that story was a myth. So, why don’t we want Lilah to reclaim her throne? Stop being such a damn demon and spit out something I can work with.”

Shya’s eagerness to leave was obvious and annoying. The bastard had burned his mark into me, yet he couldn’t give me ten minutes of his uninterrupted time? Bullshit.

“Goddess of Chaos.” He slammed a fist down on the bar. “Should be self-explanatory.”

“You have more power than she does. Right now. You want to keep it that way.” I wasn’t asking; I saw one of those opportunities Arys had warned me to watch for, and I took it.

 The demon eyed me suspiciously, one finely sculpted brow raised. “Yes.”

“Then tell me how to kill her.”

A frown marred Shya’s smooth features. “Killing her would only destroy her physical body.”

Oh hell, I groaned inwardly. Demons never ceased to astound me. Something came to me then; Lilah had handled Shya’s dagger gingerly.

“That’s something she doesn’t want either. She was wary of the Dragon Claw.”

“No, if her body is destroyed, she would return to her angelic cage.”

I was confused. “I don’t get it. That sounds like a pretty good place for her to me. So why don’t we just send her there?”

Shya leaned in close, invading my personal space. He smelled like cinnamon and sulfur. “No. Eventually she would manipulate a weak angel; she would return to destroy us.  Do you understand? Even angels cannot destroy a demon as powerful as Lilah. They can only contain her. We should bind her here, where we have control.”

“A weak angel,” I whispered, more to myself than to Shya. “Like Falon?”

“Falon?” Shya repeated, his eyes on the front entry behind me. He didn’t get another word out before a commotion broke out in the lobby.

Shouts rang out, and the atmosphere became chaotic and frenzied. Several patrons stopped to see what was going on, but more continued to dance in oblivion. I got to my feet to check things out at the same moment my sister appeared in the doorway.

Two heavily built men in dark suits flanked Juliet. Each of them wore a gun at the hip. One carried what looked to be a heavy-duty taser. Shaz was at Juliet’s side, speaking in low tones. She ignored him, striding toward me while he kept pace with her. One of my other security guys lingered in the entry, blood streaming from his nose.

I turned to see what Shya made of this, but he was gone. The stool where he’d sat was empty. Only his fading scent remained.
Figures.

“Nice to see you again, Ms. Fitzgerald,” I greeted her with a brittle smile. “I trust this is not a personal visit.”

So, the FPA had sent my own sister to bring me in for Abigail Irving’s death. Nice move. Very well played. I knew it had been too much to hope we could resume a familial relationship. We had been dead to one another since that night over a decade ago.

“I’m sorry, Alexa.” Juliet held her hands out in an apologetic gesture. In tight jeans and a cropped leather jacket, she looked both trendy and dangerous. “I thought it best if I came for this. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Shaz stood off to the side, looking helpless and angry. I knew this was going to get ugly. Besides, I wanted no part of any organization that would send one sibling after another. I was suddenly grateful Shya and Veryl had gotten to me first.

“I’m sorry you thought this was a good idea.” I crossed my arms and waited calmly. I was not going without a hell of a fight.

“We know you killed Abigail. You and Kale Sinclair.” Juliet held a hand up to her companions who were looking eager to get the ball rolling. “We’re here to officially detain you.”

“Sorry, little sister. I’m not going to make this easy for you.” I reached out with my power, feeling for Kale’s energy in the building and finding it. He shouldn’t be here.

One of Juliet’s partners stepped forward, threatening to get too close. He slapped the taser against his open palm and glowered down at me from his six foot five height.

“We don’t have to take you alive,” he barked. “One wrong move, and I will take you out.”

I laughed then and gestured for him to come closer. I’d slash his throat open before he could blink.

“That’s enough out of you, Agent!” Juliet snapped. She was clearly the one in charge here, and she wanted her people to remember that. “Back up and shut your mouth, or go wait outside.”

Agent Asshole stepped back beside the guy who was smart enough to stay quiet. Juliet shot him a dark look before turning back to me.

“Alexa, this doesn’t have to get violent or ugly. I don’t want that.” Her dark eyes were pleading. I’d seen her turn that same wide-eyed expression on our parents to get what she wanted, and it had usually worked.

“Have you stopped to think for just a second that maybe Abigail Irving wasn’t such a team player after all?” I asked. “She was a double agent, Juliet.”

A flicker of doubt crossed Juliet’s face. She was following orders without asking questions. Definitely the Juliet I remembered. I had always been the rebellious one. She’d been Mom and Dad’s perfect little princess.

“I have to bring you in, Lexi. If what you say is true, we’ll find out. We’ll get to the bottom of it. Nobody has to get hurt.”

“Stop saying that. If you really came here thinking I’d come quietly, then you don’t remember me at all. I haven’t changed that much.” I gathered my power tight, ready to use it if I had to.
Please don’t make me,
I prayed silently.

“Where is Kale Sinclair?” Ignoring my firm refusal to co-operate, Juliet continued as if she were in charge. But, she was forgetting that she was in my club. “We know he’s here. I’ve got men on the back exit. There’s no escape.”

 “He’s busy right now. I’ll get him.” Spinning on a heel, I strode toward the back hall, gritting my teeth.

Agent Asshole made as if to come after me. Juliet stopped him with a hand, indicating that the other agent should accompany me. Without a second look at him, I crossed through the back foyer and down the hall, headed for Kale’s room. When we were a safe distance down the hall, I slammed a foot into the side of the agent’s knee as hard as I could. He let out a scream that I quickly silenced with punch to his throat.

He crumpled immediately, sliding to the floor unconscious. I swiped the gun from the holster at his hip and checked the chambers. Wooden bullets. They had definitely come prepared to take on a vampire. Or, a werewolf that would rise as a vampire upon death. Crap.

I sprinted the rest of the way to Kale’s room and banged on the door. I would have burst in if I hadn’t been afraid of what I’d find inside.

I kept up the incessant banging until the door swung open suddenly; I almost fell inside, into Kale’s arms. The scent of blood and sex was overwhelming. Kale’s robe did little to hide his nudity. The three naked brunettes huddled in his bloodstained bed didn’t help. If the FPA hadn’t just stormed my club, I’d be more actively disgusted at what I saw in Kale’s room.

“Alexa, hello. Come to join the party?” Kale snickered and reached for me. His pupils were huge. He was high as a kite.

“Oh for fuck’s sakes.” I slapped his hand away and punched a hole in the nearest wall. It didn’t help, but I needed to blow off some steam. “The FPA is here for us. Because of Abigail Irving. You need to get dressed right now and pull yourself together.”

To Kale’s credit, he sobered noticeably. “The FPA? Here? Son of a bitch.”

“They’ve got wooden bullets and people at each door. I’m not sure how long we should play along. We’re going to have to take them on; I’m not letting them take me out of here.”

Kale picked up his pants off the floor and let his robe drop. I turned away with an embarrassed blush but not before catching an eyeful. This was no time for unwelcome flashbacks, but they came unbidden.

I left the room, unable to take Kale’s nudity or his giggling playmates a second longer. He caught up with me when I was halfway down the hall. The FPA agent I’d knocked out was struggling to get to his feet, and I threw another punch followed by an elbow as we passed.

I emptied the gun of bullets and dropped the empty weapon beside its owner. I considered killing him and every person Juliet brought with her. But, sending her back to her boss with that kind of news wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want to harm my sister. I just wanted her to go away and leave me alone.