Death Wish (33 page)

“Let’s go,” I said to Shaz, jerking a thumb toward the exit to the stairwell.

Arys remained where he was, outside the door to the room of terror. He watched us ease away. Amusement danced in his eyes. “I’ll give you a head start.”

“Is he fucking serious?” Stunned horror filled Shaz’s face. He was all fangs and claws as the wolf surfaced in response to the threat.

“Come on.” I didn’t waste time. I knew a crazed vampire when I saw one. I ran for the stairs with Shaz hot on my heels.

The sudden and total absolute black as we ran up the decrepit staircase was blinding. I tripped before reaching the first landing. I fell down on one knee in the glass, dirt and hospital debris. A spider web brushed against my face, and I fumbled to get it off me. Shaz grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet. Wearing heeled boots had been a bad idea.

We were rounding the corner of the landing when Arys caught us. He grabbed me from behind, jerking me off my feet. My hand slipped from Shaz’s, but I shouted at him to keep going.

Never in all the time I’d known Arys had he ever treated me so viciously. He slammed me back against the wall, causing broken plaster and drywall to rain down around us. Something thumped into the side of my head, but I was too busy fighting off the power drunk vampire to pay it any attention.

Pinning me to the wall, Arys went for my throat. A burst of power went out from me. It threw him off his feet, and he crashed into the stair railing before tumbling down the steps to the floor we’d just escaped. It didn’t slow him down for long. He got right back up, lunging up the stairs.

I threw an energy barrier up between us. He hit it hard enough to stumble back, but it held. I stared at my lover on the other side, wondering what had happened to him. Arys had always proven to be the stronger of the two of us, the rock. I had never seen him manipulated by a force bigger than he was. This building housed things darker than I had imagined, things dark enough to affect my vampire.

Arys sneered at me from the other side of the invisible barrier. Gliding his hands over its surface, he smiled. “This is amusing.”

Gripping the railing, I backed up the stairs toward Shaz, keeping my eyes on the vampire. I knew we could turn our shared power on one another, though I didn’t know to what extent.

Arys dissolved my barrier by simply pulling my power into him, making it his. Like a rabid animal, he came at us again. Before he reached us, there was a bright flash of light. It stopped Arys in his tracks.

Falon appeared on the stairs, separating Arys from Shaz and me. With a small gesture, the angel effectively held Arys frozen in place.

“Twins,” he sighed dramatically. “Always their own undoing.”

“What are you doing here?” I lacked the ability to sound annoyed with him. Much as I hated to admit it, I was glad to see the asshole angel right then.

“Saving your ass from your other half, apparently.” Falon marched past me to the upper landing where the secrets of the top floor awaited. “His power is rooted in darkness. The evil here seems to like him. It’s probably better if he doesn’t come any further.”

Falon pulled open the heavy door at the top of the stairs and motioned for me to hurry up. Shaz didn’t need to be told again. He ushered me up without hesitation. I glanced back at Arys.

“I can’t just leave him.” Splitting up didn’t seem like a great plan. It never worked out well for people in the movies.

“Spare me the romantic drama and get your ass moving,” Falon snapped with a loud flap of wings for emphasis. They settled in against his back to hug his body tightly. “I have better things to do than babysit Shya’s prized werewolf. Let’s get this over with.”

Just that fast, I was no longer glad to see the cocky prick. The remnants of my fear melted away in the face of my sudden rage.

“Better things to do? Like the woman who’s trying to have me killed? I’m aware that Shya doesn’t know about your fuck buddy.”

“Are you going to blackmail me, Alexa? You’d better be careful.”

Shaz tensed beside me but he remained silent. He had never dealt with Falon before, and he didn’t need to start now either.

The only thing that kept me from slapping Falon’s smug face was the ghostly apparition that appeared behind him. It was a soldier. He moved to block the doorway, as if he would keep us out. The FPA set up their base on a floor haunted by military mental patients. Fitting.

“Your vampire will be fine.” Falon walked through the soldier without so much as acknowledging him. “I’ll get him on the way out. How many vampires is that in your collection now? Just two?”

I followed him, shuddering as the soldier’s ice-cold energy passed through me. I clenched my teeth. “What’s your problem with me, Falon? Really.”

Being stuck with Falon hadn’t been part of my plan for the evening. Of course, not a damn thing that had taken place so far had been part of the plan. I hated leaving Arys in the stairwell, but he was out of control. Still, I felt secure with Shaz at my side; we could handle this.

Falon seemed taken aback by my serious question. He’d been expecting more vulgar language. Frankly, so had I, but I wanted to know. He’d had a problem with me from the moment we’d first met.

The seventh floor was much quieter metaphysically than those below. The wing we were in was without electricity, but I could see the glow of lights far in the distance. The hallway was clean and empty. It was like stepping into a whole new building, though I could still feel the murky promise of evil far below my feet.

We made our way toward the light, passing through several sets of large, heavy double doors along the way. When I’d given up on getting a response, Falon said, “Nothing personal, O’Brien. I just don’t like your kind.”

“What kind is that?” This from Shaz who was watching the angel the way a cat watches a bird seconds before it pounces.

“The kind that walks the line. Those who exist in between. Vampires. Werewolves. Even some lesser demons. Those who were once human but have been changed. Unnaturals.” There was bitterness in Falon’s tone.

“Got a reason for that?” I couldn’t keep the snarky edge out of my question.

“Don’t need one.”

Oh, he had one. That much was clear. Actually, I didn’t need him to share; it really made no difference to me.

 As we pushed through the next set of double doors, an ear splitting alarm went off. The hall immediately filled with men in uniform, guns drawn. Several of them shouted in surprise as they took in Falon’s silver wings. I raised my hands to show I was unarmed. Shaz did the same. Falon merely smirked.

“Hold your fire, boys. Coming through.” Juliet pushed through the men until she stood before us. She did a double take on Falon but smoothly recovered. Her gaze landed on me, cool and calculating. “Alexa, I wish you hadn’t come.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Yeah well I’m not real thrilled to be here,” I replied. “The haunted house from hell to get up here was a blast though. That’s a heck of a way to keep people out.”

“It usually works.” Juliet gave my male companions a once over. She wasn’t comfortable with Falon’s presence if her furtive glances in his direction were any indication.

“I just want Kale,” I announced, drawing her gaze back to me. “Just let me leave with him, and I’ll go without any trouble.”

Her dark curls bounced when she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Lexi. I can’t do that. He murdered an agent. We can’t let him get away with that. How would that make us look?”

“He murdered a double agent,” Falon spoke as if he were already unbearably exasperated with the situation. “He did you a favor. Now if you’ll just scamper along like a good little wolf and fetch him, we’ll be on our way.”

Juliet flinched and more than a few men present exchanged a questioning look. Had Falon just revealed something about her they didn’t know? The FPA must be run by idiots.

“I’m not authorized to release him to you or anybody else.” Her tone was flat, her expression hard. “I suggest you all leave. Don’t come back.”

I laughed in disbelief. “Not a chance. I’m not leaving without him.”

“Please, don’t make this difficult. It’s out of my hands.”

“Then let me speak to someone with a little more clout than you.”

I faced off with my sister, seeing a stranger instead. We had been birthed by the same woman, raised in the same house as children, yet none of that mattered now. The world had taken us away from each other, molding and shaping us. Now we were alike in DNA only. I didn’t know her anymore. Our utter estrangement was so hard to swallow.

“Please,” Juliet repeated, a trace of desperation in that one word.

“I’ll take it from here, Agent O’Brien.”

The man’s voice cut through the strained silence. The cluster of armed agents parted to allow him through. He stepped up beside Juliet with the air of one who was used to being in charge.

 Tall with dark brown skin and piercing brown eyes, he was clad in a grey suit. His hair was cropped short, and he didn’t bother to hide the gun on his hip. He jacket was open to reveal the holster. If it was supposed to intimidate me, it wasn’t working.

Ignoring Juliet, he thrust a hand at me. “I’m Agent Thomas Briggs. Nice to finally meet the infamous Alexa O’Brien.”

I accepted his hand, hoping that playing nice would get me farther than starting out with a scathing remark. “Nice to meet you, Agent Briggs. I trust we can come to some kind of amicable understanding.”

Placing a hand on each hip, Briggs surveyed the situation. “There is no need for conflict. Especially between family.” His gaze strayed from me to my sister. “Please tell me, Ms. O’Brien, what can the FPA do for you?”

I found his choice of words odd. “I just want Kale Sinclair.”

“Out of the question. Anything else I can help you with?”

Dismissed, just like that. Hell no. “No. I’m here for Kale Sinclair, and I am not leaving without him.”

“I’ll have my men escort you out then.”

 Falon snapped his fingers and every FPA agent present was frozen in place where they stood. “I don’t think so. The vampire is one of ours. We are entitled to him regardless of his so-called crimes. The next move I make will be to blind every human in this building. Care to reconsider?”

Briggs strained for his gun. He was fixed in place, held by Falon’s sheer will. Despite how much I loathed the fallen angel, I was developing greater respect for his abilities.

“Let’s not be hasty.” Briggs regarded the angel with venom in his eyes. “There is no need for violence.”

“There is also no need for your human government meddling in affairs that are none of your concern.” The air around Falon grew warm with his pulsating power. It was low, subdued, but heavy enough to alter the atmosphere.

Briggs had the decency to look wary as Falon walked a slow circle around him. He wasn’t ready to give up control just yet though. “We have ways of dealing with demons.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not a demon.”

Juliet and I shared a look. She shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Falon’s power had only been projected at the humans.

“Alright, Falon,” I said. “That’s enough.”

“Not until he tells me something I want to hear.” Falon shot me a dirty look. “Besides, I’m the one calling the shots. Not you.”

That was a fabulous united front to show the FPA. I rolled my eyes and weighed my options. Fight, bargain or leave. I didn’t see any other choice. Falon was readying for a fight, but I wasn’t yet willing to take that path.

“Agent Briggs, I’m not leaving without my friend.” I shoved Falon aside so I could meet the agent’s gaze directly. “So either this can get nasty, or we can come to some kind of agreement. Choose carefully.”

Briggs glared daggers at me but seemed relieved that I wasn’t allowing Falon to blind them all. Yet. “You can’t just walk in here demanding things of the FPA. I don’t give a damn who or what you are. There is nothing you have that we want badly enough to grant Sinclair his freedom. He’s a menace.”

“Wrong answer.” I shrugged and motioned for Falon to do whatever he wished.

He never so much as moved, but every man surrounding Briggs began to cry out as they were struck blind. Briggs remained unchanged. He was steadfast in his decision, I had to give him that.

“Do what you will. It won’t get you any closer to the vampire. He’s behind lock and key that even you won’t be able to get through.”

Panic seeped from Juliet. She wasn’t as calm and cool as her superior. “Sir, surely there is some way we can reach a compromise.”

I gestured for Falon to release the agents from his hold. He resisted at first, giving me a strange look I couldn’t read, but then he freed them.

A few men pointed their guns at him. That was pointless. A bullet wouldn’t harm an angel. Surely, the FPA wasn’t so poorly informed. Men that frightened so easily when faced with the supernatural should not be trying to police it.

“Trust me, Ms. O’Brien,” Agent Briggs directed his comment to me. “You wouldn’t want him now. Cut your losses and move on.”

I lunged at Briggs, finding myself immobile as Shaz held me back. “What did you do to him?” I shouted, my voice echoing throughout the vast hall.