Sunset to Sunrise (8 page)

“Right, no worries.”

“It’s what you do though, isn’t it? You put yourself in danger to save those you love.” My voice cracked, and I cursed inwardly. What was it about this woman that made me so easily come undone?

She heard the emotion I wished I could hide. It was painfully evident when she said, “Kale, I’m sorry about what happened with the FPA. I went in there for you, twice, and I failed. It’s because of me that they drove you so crazy.”

“They didn’t drive me crazy, Alexa. Somebody else did that long ago. Your blood opened a door I’d thought was closed forever. The FPA just made me feel ok with it again.” I shrugged even though she couldn’t see it. Dredging up the events involving the FPA didn’t help either of us now.

“You sound fine right now. Like the Kale I first met.”

“That’s because there’s fourteen hundred miles between us.”

“Is that what it takes for you to talk to me without wanting to kill me?” She blurted the question, as if unable to withhold it.

“You don’t want to know what it takes.” I shook my head, staring at Lily splayed out on the floor. That wasn’t what I wanted for Alexa. Not really. “If only it was as simple as merely wanting to kill you.”

“And here I thought you called because you cared,” she said, her tone snappy and snide.

“Oh, but I do care.” I don’t know what it was about that woman that made me so crazy. From one end of the spectrum to the next, I went from emotional sap to mischievous predator in a split second. “In fact, I care so much for you, Alexa, that I dusted a vampire to defend your baby sister’s honor when she passed through looking for you.”

There was stunned silence for a moment before she said, “Don’t touch my sister, Kale. I know you want to get to me and make me take you out, but that is not the way to do it.” She was right. A thinly veiled threat was beneath me. I owed her better than that.

“I’m hurt that you would immediately jump to such a conclusion,” I said a little more dramatically than necessary. Pausing, I wrestled with myself. I hadn’t called her to be a dick. I had called because I cared. I needed her to know that. “I said I’d make you crazy. I never said I would break your heart.” For a moment she didn’t reply. I could almost feel her weighing her response. I decided not to give her the chance to form one. I rushed on, saying, “I’m glad you made it through the night in one piece. You sound tired. Go get some rest.”

Then I hung up before she could tell me to go fuck myself.

For a long time, I lay there staring at the ceiling. I waited for the inner conflict to start again. It didn’t. I knew what I had to do.

There were many reasons for me to want Arys dead. So many reasons. And not one of them mattered. It wasn’t going to happen. Not on my watch. Alexa no longer trusted me. That was fair. I’d earned it. This was an opportunity for me to show her that somewhere inside me, I was still the person she had trusted to have her back in the face of danger. I was still someone she could count on.

Maybe that was all a lie. My mood shifted so quickly. I could go from loving her desperately to loathing her viciously with merely a thought. Both emotions came from the same place, the part of me that belonged solely to her.

“Fuck,” I muttered. “Who am I kidding? She can’t fucking trust me.”

I punched a fist into the mattress, but it did nothing to ease my frustration. Sitting here alone in this godforsaken room in this shit show of a nightclub made it easy to convince myself that things weren’t as bad between Alexa and me as they seemed. When in fact, they were worse. It was too late to go back. Too much had happened. We had both made mistakes though mine were much greater.

Nothing I could ever do would repair the damage done. I might never even be able to stand in the same room as Alexa without wanting to hurt her. But that wasn’t her fault. And regardless of how screwed up I was, I couldn’t stand back and watch Phillip’s crew take a shot at Arys. I could never do that to Alexa.

Making that decision felt like a small breakthrough. Maybe I wasn’t too far gone yet. I laughed, a harsh sound that caused Lily to stir.

With a groan, I got up and grabbed the naked woman, lightly slapping her face. The sooner I got her up and in a cab out of here, the better. I needed some time to quiet my thoughts before nightfall when I would hunt down Phillip and his rebel crew.

Shya had given the order, but I wasn’t doing it for him. Letting him think so was fine with me. If I was being completely honest with myself, I wasn’t even really doing it for Alexa. I was doing it for me. Because somewhere inside me, I still wanted to pretend I was the man she had once thought I was.

* * * *

The party hadn’t stopped while I’d been locked away inside my room. When I emerged after sundown freshly showered in clean clothes, I found the club to be exactly the way I had left it. Vampires and victims littered the place. Clothing lay scattered about. I could barely take ten steps without stepping on somebody’s undergarments. Blood scented the air. The doors were not yet open to the public, which was a good thing considering my doormen were happily partaking in the blood orgy madness.

This wasn’t good. Eventually the FPA would discover what was going on here. If they shut the place down, I’d never hear the end of it.

“Justin.” I tapped the big guy on the shoulder, interrupting his enjoyment of two blondes that appeared to be twins. “Everyone needs to be cleared out. I want the place empty before we open. These people need to go home.”

He looked up with a malicious glint in his dark eyes. It took him a moment to focus on me there. Blood dripped from his mouth, and he licked it away with a grin.

“The boss lady isn’t back already, is she?” He asked.

“No. But she will be eventually. As much as I enjoy the club with a little extra entertainment, it’s going to land my ass in hot water. It’s got to stop.”

Justin didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded in agreement. “Just let me finish up here, and I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you. I’ll be in and out tonight. I have something to take care of.” I turned to go but paused, adding as an afterthought, “Don’t let anyone from the FPA in here tonight. Not even Alexa’s sister.”

I lingered to ensure things were getting done. The staff did a great job cleaning up empty glasses and bottles, mopping up and generally making the place look as close to normal as it ever did. Now if we could just keep it that way…

Phillip got my attention the minute he strode in through the backdoor. If he was here, that meant the rest of his band of merry men and women were without their fearless leader. Sitting ducks. I didn’t wait around to see if he stayed. Alexa wouldn’t be gone long. A week at best, though I didn’t find that likely. I needed to take care of this before she returned.

As I made my way across the parking lot to my car, a woman I didn’t recognize called my name from her place in the lineup waiting to get in. I gave a slight nod before getting in the car and slamming the door. Revving the engine, I tore out of the lot before she could pursue me.

Being a hell of a good lover earned me many female admirers. I wasn’t one to boast—the ladies did more than enough of that for me—however, throughout the years I had earned a reputation among them. At least, I had among the ones who had left my bed alive. It wasn’t all that flattering really. Having women throw themselves at me had at one time been an exciting stroke of the ego. Now it was tedious and shallow. They viewed me much the way I viewed them, as a fun means to an end. There was no risk of that when I killed.

I headed for the Clover Bar Cemetery. Dialing Rebecca’s number, I tapped a finger impatiently on the steering wheel. It would come as no surprise if she avoided my call or told me to fuck off. She was the easiest way to find out where the rebel group might be.

No answer. Just as I thought. I knew her regular haunts. I could track her down.

It was early yet. I expected the cemetery to be unoccupied, but it wasn’t. About a third of the vampires from the previous night were gathered. Easy enough.

A body lay on the ground. It appeared to be one of the local homeless. It didn’t matter much to me either way, but I knew a kill like that would piss off Alexa. She didn’t believe in hunting the helpless. I hoped that when she became one of us, that part of her would never change.

“What are you doing here?” Rebecca sneered at my arrival. “You think you can call me after all this time and pretend we’re old friends so you can get in on our action? Take a hike, Kale. You’re not welcome here.”

I shut her up with a flash of power that knocked her back several feet. She went down, grasping her chest. Without waiting for a reaction, I turned on the rest.

Pulling a stake from the inside pocket of my jacket, I plunged it into the heart of the vampire daring enough to take a run at me. In quick succession, I took out the rest until only Rebecca remained.

Standing over her, I stared down into her frightened eyes. “Tell the others that the plan is off. There will be no assassination attempt on Arys Knight.”

I walked away, leaving her there in the dirt. She didn’t sling a parting barb at me though I could feel her bristling with growing ire. I didn’t think it would take long for Phillip to hear about my attack. I had lived far too long to waste time plotting. I preferred to leap in swinging.

So I headed back to The Wicked Kiss to finish what I’d started. The excitement for the fight ran hot in my veins when I turned into the parking lot with a squeal of tires. I was counting on Phillip to still be there. He should be just getting started. The night was young.

I found him enjoying the party. Couldn’t blame him for having a pretty thing on her knees already. Too bad he wasn’t going to get a chance to finish.

Jerking the woman up by the arm, I shoved her away. “Go. Now.” She started to protest, then thought better of it and with a shrug, disappeared into the throng.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Phillip hastily put himself back together. Anger flashed in his eyes.

“Settling a score you haven’t had a chance to really begin yet. I promise to make it quick though, which is more gracious than Arys would be.” I followed up with a punch that snapped Phillip’s head back. I got in a few more good ones before he came back at me with a few of his own.

“Motherfucker,” Phillip spat. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted. All that crap about loving the wolf. It sounded like bullshit.”

I smiled, a tight grimace of a grin. “Nope, that was true.”

We danced, Phillip and I, a thrilling back and forth of blows, each deadlier than the last. His power paled greatly in comparison to mine, leaving him heavily reliant on physical strength.

I was aware of the vampires that drew closer, ready to jump in. Phillip’s guys. Being powerful didn’t mean I could withstand a group attack. Of course, I would go down fighting.

“What the hell is your problem, man?” Phillip grunted as I jabbed my elbow into his face. “It would benefit all of us. Especially you if your bullshit story is real.”

“
That’s just it, my friend,” I replied with another elbow followed by a punch that sent him stumbling into a table, which overturned beneath him. I stood over Phillip, waiting for him to get up. “I can’t allow you to take this demented plan any further because I love her too much to allow anything to happen that might hurt her.”

Phillip stared up at me, uncertainty in his hard gaze. He seemed reluctant to get up, suspecting me of a potential cheap shot. I motioned with both hands for him to stand. I was a fair man. Usually.

His gaze darted from me to his waiting companions. “Coward,” he uttered, the word a command.

He rolled to his feet, coming up before me in the same moment his friends rushed in. Our small scuffle grew by half a dozen. Fists flew along with the occasional burst of power, all of it directed at me.

Producing the stake from my jacket, I moved quickly, lashing out at my attackers. The stake hit its mark, plunging into the heart of one who dared to get too close. A flash of power threw another, causing an uproar on the dance floor as he struck several other patrons.

I tasted blood as the fists kept coming. A chuckle made them hesitate but only for a second. My lack of fear made them fight harder, determined to beat me into submission. It took much more than a group beating to frighten me.

Grabbing the arm of one coming from behind me, I whirled to smash my fist into his face. I was surprised to find Willow there, plucking vampires away like they were helpless children.

Not many knew Willow and even fewer knew what he was. With great amusement I watched a few of them find out. He threw punches like a man who would never tire of taking his inner rage out on someone else. There was fire in his green eyes as he beat a vampire’s face to a bloody pulp.

I was distracted long enough by Willow’s sudden angry zeal that Phillip succeeded in smashing a chair over my head. I staggered forward, momentarily stunned. It didn’t last long enough for him to get in another blow.

I caught the broken chunk of chair leg before he could shove the jagged end into my chest. Slamming a burst of power deep inside him, I watched with a growing smile as his mouth dropped open and he fell to his knees.

There was a bright, blinding light as Willow set one of them on fire. The sensation of his immortal power was heavy and overwhelming, disrupting my concentration. It freed Phillip from my attack, and he fled for the door.

His remaining companions tried to follow, but they didn’t make it very far. Their dust and ash soon joined that of their friends. Phillip wouldn’t get far. His followers were down to almost nothing.

The patrons who had stopped to gawk and shriek at the fight wasted little time resuming their illicit activity. They didn’t spare any extra attention for either Willow or me. Humans. Such strange creatures.

“Thanks for having my back.” I offered a hand to Willow. He shook it with a nod and a smile.

“No problem. Happy to help.” He was very casual about it, but I could see there was more to it. Before I could question it further, he returned to his place at the bar and resumed drinking tequila as if he’d never left that spot.