Smashed (12 page)

I patted his head like a dog who’d just performed a new trick, then gave him a shove. “Well done. I knew you had it in you.”

“Obviously I’ve been hunting the wrong vampire.” Briggs used his sleeve to wipe the blood from his face. His glare held the promise of revenge.

Crooking my fingers in invitation, I encouraged his anger. Retaliation would come. I would be expecting it.

“I’m flattered. Do remember that I’ve survived three centuries of human bullshit. You’re just one of many, and there will always be more where you came from. Think carefully on that.” It was good advice, though I doubted he would take it.

Briggs stooped to retrieve his phone, which I allowed. He was smart enough to avoid making a play for his weapon. “I thought the two of you were supposed to be some kind of good guys, according to Alexa. Twin flames. I read up on it. From what I can see, they got that all wrong. You’re nothing but a cold-blooded killer.”

I held a hand to my heart in mock anguish. “Well, you can thank this cold-blooded killer for stopping Shya. In case you weren’t aware, I had to kill Alexa to do that. Because of us, you’re not groveling at that demon’s feet right now as a slave in his hell-born empire. You’re welcome.”

I had nothing more to say to Agent Briggs. It was good of him to try to understand what Alexa and I were. Of course, I doubted there was a soul alive that really understood it.

With Jenner at my side, I walked away, leaving Briggs standing there surrounded by the bodies of his fallen comrades. In just over a week, he had successfully destroyed three teams of his own people. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do to him that he wasn’t already doing to himself.

I paused to add one last parting remark. “Alexa is the good one here. It may not look that way right now, but it’s true. She’s the hero. I’m the villain. Don’t forget that.”

The FPA was not about to disappear any time soon. Hopefully I’d shaken him up enough to question his tactics from here on out.

Cold-blooded killer.
His words echoed in my thoughts. It wasn’t the first time such an accusation had been flung at me. It was unlikely to be the last. There was a fine line between who I am and what I am. Cold-blooded killer? Perhaps. Monster? Sure, why not? Sorry? Not a chance in hell.

“That was bullshit, Arys. You sent us over there knowing damn well there’d be nothing for us to do.” The feisty leopard was all fired up. Jez flung accusations at me, her eyes flashing an angry green.

Shaz nodded his agreement, letting his scowl speak for him. The two of them were upset with me for sending them on a pointless errand. I offered no apology. Risking two of the mortal people that Alexa loved most in this world hadn’t been an option. It had been easier to just get rid of them for a while.

“I hadn’t expected Briggs to launch his hunt so early in the evening. Don’t blame me.” It was the best they were going to get out of me.

Jez pointed a long finger at me, tipped with red, claw-like nails. “You suck. If you have nothing else for me to further waste my time with, I’m taking off.”

“You’re not going in there, are you?” I nodded toward The Spirit Room. We were back in the parking lot where Jenner and I had filled the two shifters in on the events of our encounter with Briggs.

“What’s it to you?” Jez demanded, though there was a softness in her gaze that didn’t match her tone.

I mustered a shred of a shrug and waved a hand dismissively. “Nothing at all. I just happen to know that there are people who would never get over it if you OD and die in that place.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she quipped sarcastically. “I appreciate the concern.” She stubbed out her cigarette and stared at the building that vibrated with heavy bass tones. I was reminded of what Alexa had told me about Jez’s true father and the darkness she’d inherited from him.

“Jez, if you need anything, even if you just want to talk, give me a call. Ok?” Shaz, the ever generous, caring soul that he was, followed her to the Jeep where they spoke in low tones.

After she’d gone, Shaz turned to me with a look on his face that I had come to know was his pre-fight look. “I want to see Alexa. You can’t keep shutting me out of everything. I have just as much a right to be part of this as you do.”

He expected an argument. The hard set to his jaw and the square of his shoulders gave his stance an air of menace. The young wolf was certainly a virile creature.

“You do,” I agreed. “When the time is right.”

“Oh for fuck’s sakes. Are you kidding me?” Shaz’s fist clenched, revealing how pent up his frustration was.

“Come on, pup. Let’s go talk about this somewhere else. Preferably somewhere relaxing. Low key.” To Jenner, I said, “I need some time with Shaz. I’ll see you back at home. Be careful with that car.”

A gleeful smile lit up Jenner’s face. “But of course.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you unless it’s to see Lex.” The stubborn wolf stood his ground. “You owe me that much.”

“I don’t owe you a damn thing. Let’s go to Lucy’s Lounge. It’s been a while. We’ll shoot some pool. You’ll drink some beer. We’ll talk.”

Suspicion marred Shaz’s face. The protests were there, waiting to be delivered. After a moment of consideration, he gave in, much to my delight.

“Fine. But you’re buying.”

Lucy’s Lounge was the only decent place in Stony Plain to hang out socially after dark. Getting Shaz out of the city and back into the small town was better for everyone. The city was teeming with violence and unrest. He was already so wound up due to the events of the last week that I saw no need to feed that fire.

It had been quite some time since I’d been to the small town bar. Back when Alexa and the younger pack wolves had spent a substantial amount of time there, I too had frequented the place. Playing poker with a small group of humans had allowed me to keep an eye on her back in the days before she knew what we were to one another.

The bar had seen better days. It was rather unkempt, making no attempt to be anything other than what it was: a place to drink without any unnecessary frills.

“It feels different,” Shaz observed. “It’s all wrong without the others.”

By others I knew that he meant the young wolves who had once frequented the place along with him and Alexa. Two of those wolves were dead. There was just one wolf present now, other than Shaz, a middle-aged guy who was already shooting ugly glances our way.

“What’s that all about?” I asked, nodding to the watching wolf.

Shaz studied him, boldly meeting his gaze. “I’m not sure. I thought I left on good terms. Maybe I was wrong.”

“Fuck him.” I headed for a pool table, ignoring the watchful wolf gaze upon us. The loud, raucous calls of my former poker buddies drew me to their table where I made small talk, careful not to flash them any fang.

I made up a few excuses to explain my absence. It was easy enough. Humans love to complain about anything and everything. Once I mentioned the business and stress of daily life, they were quick to take that topic and run.

I disentangled myself, joining Shaz at the pool table where he racked the balls. As I rubbed chalk onto the end of a cue, I scanned the vicinity for signs of anything amiss. Other than one testy wolf, the place was all human.

The sense that something was missing was strong. Shaz wasn’t wrong about that. It felt strange to be in a place where I had once so looked forward to the moment Alexa would walk in the door, knowing that it would not happen tonight.

A waitress was quick to discover that Shaz hadn’t been served. In no time she’d supplied him with a beer. When she asked me if I wanted anything my gaze slid to her neck.

“No,” I lied. “Nothing for me.” It wasn’t the need for blood that made such thoughts flit through my mind. It was merely the constant want of it.

“So,” Shaz said when we were alone again. “Why did you really bring me here? I doubt it was so I could kick your ass at pool.”

I watched him break the carefully racked balls. The muscles in his arms and back moved with fine definition as he smacked the balls with the cue. He was a fine creature, well formed and built with the intensity of a wrecking ball.

“I thought we could talk. And I really mean talk. No fists and foul words.”

He eyed me with a glimmer of a grin. “Yeah, right.”

“Well, it’s worth a try.” When he lined up his next shot, I tapped the end of his cue with my own, knocking his shot off course.

“You son of a bitch,” he said with a laugh. “I knew you were going to do that.”

I took my shot, keeping him in my vision to avoid any retaliation. “Let’s try some of that male bonding stuff. Tell me about when you first met Alexa.”

His smile vanished, and he stared off across the bar, remembering. “One of my first memories of her was on a full moon pack run. I’d just been initiated into the pack here in town. I was this awkward teenager, and she was head over heels for the pack Alpha. But she was so nice. Welcoming. She made me feel less like an outsider. She was a friend from the start. Right away, I was attracted to her. The wolf, my wolf, it wanted her from day one.”

His face lit up as he talked. It fascinated me that we both knew her in such different ways. As he spoke his smile returned.

“That must have been hell,” I commented. “Having to watch her with Raoul.”

“You have no idea. It was torture to see them together. It was even worse to hear them in his bedroom.” Shaz shuddered visibly at the memory. “But the absolute worst was when he tossed her aside like yesterday’s news so he could move on to his newest conquest. I watched him break her heart, and I wanted to fucking kill him.”

With grim amusement, I noted that we shared more than our love for the same woman. We shared the desire to protect her. “I had that same fantasy, my friend. Many, many times.”

“I’ll bet.” Shaz’s gaze was pensive upon me, seeking the answer to a question he hadn’t yet asked. “Why did you wait so long? I mean, you came to town years before you and Alexa even…got together. Why not tell her everything right away?”

I smiled. Shaz was more intuitive than I’d given him credit for.

I used lining up my next shot as a way to break eye contact. My answer would be truthful, but I didn’t want to look at him when I revealed it.

“I came because I needed to see her. I needed to know she was alive. That she was real.” I took the shot, sinking the eight ball early and losing the game. “I almost didn’t stay. When I saw her with you, I knew there was something there. I knew that if I stayed, that would change. And I didn’t feel that it was my right to do that to her.”

Shaz was quiet, thinking. His jaw twitched. Something like anguish trickled from him. Then it was gone.

“You did that on purpose,” he said gesturing to the game. He began to gather the balls, placing them back inside the rack. “We were just friends then. Alexa and me. How did you know? And what changed your mind about leaving?”

Ignoring his accusation, I spun the cue lightly between my fingers. “I knew the way I always know. Because she’s part of me. Even before our first night together, I knew her. As for why I didn’t leave…that’s a good question. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. We had a mission together, and I had waited so long.”

Shaz took his sweet time racking the balls, moving them and then moving them again. Finally, he stopped and said, “And here we are.”

“Yes. Here we are.”

There was a tense silence as Shaz took a large drink of beer. Then he pointed at the table. “You break.”

Aware that he was wrestling with himself about something due to our discussion, I stayed quiet and lined up to take the shot. This time I sunk the eight ball right off the break.

“Now that I did not do on purpose,” I laughed, feeling some of the tension lift when he chuckled. “What can I say? Pool just isn’t my game.”

“It’s better that you stayed,” he said, surprising me with his candid claim. “Who knows what might have happened if you hadn’t? She could have gone crazy without you and never known why.”

“She’s going crazy without me now.” It was a statement probably best left unsaid. We exchanged an awkward look that made me feel pressured to share with Shaz what he had shared with me. “It’s not just about me though. You know that, right? You’re the one who keeps her from being consumed by her dark side. The balance between. It’s always been you.”

He ducked his blond head, avoiding my gaze when he muttered, “Don’t bother, Arys. If Alexa thought she needed me, she wouldn’t be pushing me away.”

His flippant tone was meant to mislead, but it didn’t work on me. Regardless of all that both Alexa and I had dealt with over the last year, it was perhaps Shaz who had suffered greatest of all. He was no victim of circumstance though. His role was vital.

“Shaz,” I paused, turning the pool cue, choosing my words. “Alexa loves you more than anything. She thinks the only way to give you a happily ever after is to push you into finding it with someone else. I, however, think that’s a mistake. She needs you. Don’t give up on her.”

His platinum head snapped up, and there was confusion written all over his face. “Are you serious right now? Wouldn’t you love a chance to get rid of me?”

I snickered and shoved him aside so I could rack the balls for another game. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do. If you want to move on, build a fairytale life with someone else, then I wish you all the best. But if you want her, and you can accept her as she is now, then I ask only that you cut her some slack. Give her some time.”

“Why me?” He asked suddenly. “Why are you only willing to share her with me?”

I motioned for him to take a shot. He resisted at first, as if he might hold out until I’d answered. When I stayed quiet, he let out his breath in a huff and hit the cue ball. Then he held up his hands in a demanding gesture.

“I told you before, pup. She was meant to love you whether I lived in her lifetime or not.”

“And?”

“And I trust you to protect her.” Admitting it felt like showing him a vulnerability. It made me uncomfortable.

Shaz scoffed and signaled the waitress for one more beer. “I’m pretty sure Alexa can protect herself just fine.” He laughed until he saw my expression and then sobered immediately. “Oh. You mean if…hey, Arys, nothing is going to happen to you. I’m pretty sure you’re unkillable. Besides, I’ll die of old age long before that.”