Sunset to Sunrise (5 page)

She wasn’t new to The Wicked Kiss. That much was apparent by the way she rubbed herself against me. No words were needed as we went through the motions.

I pulled her off the dance floor, against the wall, where I pinned her. Her pulse sped up when I kissed her. I could hear it, feel it, beating just for me. Taking her to my room would be ideal though keeping her here would keep her alive. Would Alexa mind my breaking the rules if she knew that?

I dragged my fangs over the throbbing pulse in my victim’s neck. Her breath caught, and she froze in anticipation. Keeping her here, excited and eager, would keep her from screaming in the back hall where nobody would respond to her cries.

Telling myself it was best for her kept me from believing the truth. I was as bad as any vampire I’d hunted in the past. It was easy to put a lot of that onto Alexa. It had been tasting her blood that awakened the part of me that I thought I’d laid to rest. However, it was not her fault. It was all me. I was the monster.

The woman threw her arms around me willingly, and something about that caused my hunger for her to die. The thrill faded when they wanted it.

I bit lightly, opening up her vein just enough to coat my tongue with her tangy blood. She groaned and pressed closer. My body responded to her, but it was purely physical. I ultimately didn’t want her.

Before I could delve deeper into my personal conflict, I became keenly aware of a new werewolf presence in the building. I searched the thick crowd for the wolf. It wasn’t Alexa, but it felt like her. Since the wolf didn’t wear power like a perfume the way Alexa did, it had to be her sister.

Juliet O’Brien was standing near the bar talking to Willow when I spotted her. He was shaking his head. She must be looking for her sister.

I left the quivering woman and disappeared into the throng. My first stop was the door where I gave orders for more security on the floor. Public sex and feeding was certainly going to be frowned upon by the uptight federal agent. Juliet had already thrown her weight around in here. I didn’t need an altercation with her. Not now.

“Can I help you, Agent O’Brien?” I asked, suspicious of her presence here. Didn’t she know Alexa was out of town?

Juliet’s dark brown eyes sparked with a lively inner fire, much like Alexa’s, which made it difficult to look at her. The fact that she’d been the one to drag me into FPA lockup didn’t help.

“I just stopped by to see if Alexa was here. She’s not answering her phone.” Her gaze flicked around the busy building. “I didn’t know she’d already left for Las Vegas.”

“Yes, well, she’s not here. I’d be happy to tell her you came by.” I glanced over her head to Willow, hoping he accepted that it wasn’t just my manic obsession for Alexa that made me so sure she was in danger. If she wasn’t answering calls from her sister, something bad was definitely going on.

Getting Juliet out of my club became my priority. She might have been Alexa’s sister, but she was a Fed, one who worked in a top-secret government sector that not only tried to govern the supernatural but also to harness its powers. I hated everything about who they were and what they stood for.

Sensing that I was trying to get rid of her, Juliet stood her ground. “Well, maybe I’ll hang out and have a beer.”

“Suit yourself.”

I wanted nothing to do with this O’Brien sister. Putting distance between us was best, all things considered. I headed back the way I’d come, looking for the woman I’d left hanging. When I couldn’t find her, I slipped into the men’s room for some quiet and called Alexa. Like Juliet had said, there was no answer.

Unwilling to believe the worst, I called back a few times before giving up. When I emerged from the restroom, Willow was gone and Juliet sat in his vacated place at the bar, sipping a beer.

What was she up to? There was no way in hell I’d believe she chose this dive to hang out alone in and drink beer. The FPA must have sent her. But for what?

Whatever. She could do whatever she wanted, as long as it didn’t involve me. Since she had led a team to come for Alexa and me, I didn’t trust her. I would never trust her.

One might say she was in some way responsible for what had occurred between me and Alexa in the FPA basement lockup. One might also say I’m a crazy asshole blaming others for my fucked up actions.

I wanted to leave. Taking a stroll through some of the shadier neighborhoods for a fast and easy, but gloriously violent, kill was what I needed. And yet, I didn’t go. Because as much as I detested the FPA and disliked Juliet, I couldn’t leave her alone here.

More than one vampire sauntered up to her, looking for a nip of that intoxicating werewolf blood. She turned them all away. Then one of them refused to take a polite no for an answer, even after she flashed her government badge at him. I watched in amusement as the hungry vampire tried to grab her hand. Juliet glared at him with a fierceness I’d only seen matched on one other woman. It brought a knowing smile to my face.

They exchanged words. Whatever was said had encouraged her hungry admirer. He grabbed her arm and leaned in close, his lips moving in a threat or, perhaps, a promise.

Refusing to be cowed, Juliet pulled back her free arm and threw a fist he never saw coming. She followed up by smashing her beer bottle over his skull. With the broken and jagged bottleneck clutched firmly in hand, she rushed him.

Those O’Brien women certainly didn’t take any shit. I considered, albeit briefly, that if Alexa couldn’t be forced to end me, maybe the sister could be convinced.

But no, this wasn’t merely a suicide mission. If that were the case, I would simply walk out into the sun. This was about cutting the tie that held me to Alexa and finding freedom from this tortured longing. There was only one way to do that, and she should be the one.

As badass as Juliet was, she wasn’t used to fighting alone and it showed. Many wolves had gone toe to toe with a vampire and lived to tell the tale. Still, it felt like it was time to step in when he succeeded in pinning her against the bar, a hand around her throat.

I hadn’t planned to kill him. A beating should have been enough. However, he took it too far. Before I reached them the guy’s hand connected with Juliet’s face in a brutal backhand. He sealed his fate with that one wrong move.

I grabbed him by the back of his jacket and spun him around. My fist met his face a few times before I repeated my earlier act and punched into his chest. It was one of my favorite ways to kill a vampire. It took strength, precision and the right focus.

Ripping his heart free, I let it fall to the floor along with the rest of him. More dust for the cleaning crew. Hmm, I wasn’t even sure that we had a cleaning crew. If we didn’t, we definitely needed to get one.

“I can handle myself,” Juliet said, glaring at the dusty remains of the one who manhandled her. Then her face softened. “But thanks.”

“Not a problem. Guys like that aren’t welcome here anyway. I can guarantee that Alexa doesn’t condone that kind of behavior.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Juliet laughed and, for just a moment, the uptight air about her disappeared. “I’m not here as FPA. Just a casual visit. Ok?”

My gaze narrowed in on her throat. A faint bruise was already forming in the shape of fingers. Her pulse beat beneath the surface, and I wondered what she tasted like. That train of thought led me down a dark path. I would never forget the taste of Alexa’s blood. They might have been related, but there’s no way Juliet would be so satisfying.

I met Juliet’s eyes to find her watching me closely. There was no chance she’d missed the way I had just ogled her jugular. “Anything you want is on the house. Please, enjoy the rest of your night.”

The only way to ensure this ended without temptation making me its bitch was to walk away. That would have been easier if Juliet hadn’t reached to stop me from doing so.

“Hey, Kale, can I have a few minutes of your time?” She pointedly looked around the noisy bar. “Is there somewhere quiet we can talk?”

Was this bitch fucking with me? I didn’t trust her. That didn’t mean I wasn’t curious though. “We can talk in the back corner there. That’s about as quiet as it gets in this part of the club.” I led the way to the row of tables in the back behind the bar. It was as far from the dance floor and the music as we could get without leaving.

There would be no leaving with Juliet. Entertaining that thought scared the hell out of me because I wanted it so damn bad.

After we were seated at a booth and Juliet had been brought a new beer, she propped her elbows on the table and said, “Would I be correct in stating that you care very much for my sister?”

I held her gaze, unflinching. My first instinct was to tell her to get the fuck out of my bar. “I suppose you could say that she is someone I work closely with. We’ve established a genuine friendship over the years.” Was that evasive enough for her? Whatever Juliet was driving at here, I wanted no part of it. “Why?”

Juliet didn’t pull any punches. She was blunt and straight to the point. “You and I both know Alexa is as guilty of Abigail Irving’s murder as you are. I know you were both at the crime scene together that night. You plead guilty to protect her.”

“Is that a question or a statement?” I gave her my best arrogant smile. She seemed awfully proud to have it all figured out. She didn’t know the half of it.

“It’s an observation,” she quipped, giving her dark tresses a toss. She was a knockout alright. Smooth skin, a hint of cleavage and thick curls that taunted my self-control. She would most definitely be a fighter and, I was willing to bet, a screamer too.

“I’m not saying shit about Abigail Irving. If that’s what you want to talk about, I’m done here.” I had wondered when or if the FPA would come after me again. They could try. And again, if I had to, I would do anything to keep them from targeting Alexa.

Juliet held up a hand and shook her head. “It’s not. I didn’t come here for that. I also didn’t come here to have you drool over my blood. So stop gawking at me like that.” She pursed her lips and fixed me with a serious stare. “I want to offer you a job.”

Chapter Four

I stared at her for an uncomfortably long time. I kept hoping eventually she’d squirm, but she waited patiently, sipping her beer. Laughter seemed the best response. I mean, she had to be kidding. Either that or she was fucking with me.

“This is a joke, right?”

“Not at all.” Her full lips wrapped around the mouth of the beer bottle, drawing my attention. With a flick of her tongue, she captured a stray drop before it could escape. “We need someone to take Veryl Armstrong’s place as our informant.”

“And?” I prodded. This wasn’t the first time the FPA had approached me. It probably wouldn’t be the last.

“And we’d like that person to be you. Think about it. You feed us info on Shya, possibly others as well, and we pretend Abigail Irving never happened.” Juliet half shrugged, her intense gaze watching me closely for any sign of consideration.

Well wasn’t that a neat and fucking tidy little scenario. My mood swung, and I was immediately pissed. Again I let my gaze wander over her throat, down to the swell of her breasts and back to her eyes.

“What about the time I spent in lockup being starved and tortured? Did you know they threw Alexa in there with me? I tried to fucking kill her. I guess that never happened either.” I forced myself to meet her eyes. She wasn’t a victim. She was Alexa’s sister. The many fantasies playing out in my head could never happen.

Juliet had the grace to look apologetic. She stared at the label on the beer bottle and sighed. “I’m sorry. That never should have happened to either of you. Alexa told me about the basement lockup. I didn’t believe her at first. Then I saw it for myself. I can’t explain away that shit. I wish I could. There’s nothing I can do about it. I just take orders there.”

“Then why stay?”

Her hard features softened. Her youthful naivety was very much apparent. It was unfortunate that she had been manipulated by the FPA, but I was grateful that it had not been Alexa instead.

I would never forget the first time I met Alexa. Young and feisty, with a liveliness to her that always brought a smile to my face. I enjoyed her company, and it didn’t take us long to become friends. Shya and Veryl had been adamant that I keep an eye on her. She was to be protected though it hadn’t taken long for her to prove that she could take care of herself. It didn’t occur to me that I was protecting her so that Shya could kill her later.

Looking back now, I think I always loved her. But as her power grew, things changed. What was a friendly affection morphed into a bizarre obsession. All because we are creatures of darkness.

“I could ask you a similar question,” Juliet said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “You work very closely with a notorious demon. I suppose we both have our reasons. So let’s not go there. Are you willing to hear me out?”

The longer I sat there looking at her the more I thought about Alexa. The similarities they shared, the dark eyes and the curve to their lips when they smiled, it was driving me crazy. She wasn’t even here, and she was still haunting me.

“Go for it.” I gestured for Juliet to continue. Whatever she was trying to sell me, it had better be good. “Just know that the chances of me taking you up on this are pretty much non-existent.”

“Fair enough.” She gave me a look then that spoke volumes. She was uneasy and doing a damn good job of hiding it. Only the subtle increase in her heart rate gave her away. Juliet was afraid of me.

“Veryl was our informant. He kept us informed of certain supernatural happenings. We need a reliable link to that kind of activity. Since our organization is predominantly human, you can understand why that can be difficult.” She paused. When I didn’t comment, she continued. “We are prepared to offer you more than freedom from the Irving case. We’re willing to give you the dreamwalker Shya wants. The one Alexa needs to have her demon mark removed.”

The pause that followed was dramatic, entirely for my benefit. I sat stiff, my expression unchanged. It seemed that both sisters had a flare for drama. Juliet had successfully stunned me with that one.