Death Wish (18 page)

She paused at the door and set her deep orange gaze on me. Regret shone in her eyes. “I really didn’t want it to have to be this way.”

I watched her go, feeling a swell of mixed emotion rise within me. Not only did I have to stay two steps ahead of Lilah, now I also had to keep her from getting to Juliet. Dammit. Why couldn’t it have been someone else? Why Lilah?

What made it worse was that I really believed her. It wasn’t personal. There was something about Arys and I that threatened her. Why exactly, I didn’t know. I intended to find out.

Chapter Thirteen

The early morning sun was blindingly bright. Even with sunglasses, it was too much for my sensitive eyes. I squinted behind my shades, listening as a fireman explained the extent of the damage to my house.

The frame was still standing. It was strong enough for me to go inside and look around, but otherwise, there wasn’t much left to salvage. Oh well. At least I still had the property.

I nodded to indicate that I was ready to enter what was left of my home. The fireman led the way, and I followed with my hopes up. I didn’t expect much to have survived the fire, but I was keeping my fingers crossed on a few items.

The stench of smoke was thick. My lungs grew heavy as I tried to take shallow breaths. Everything was covered in a thick layer of soot. Every single surface was layered in black.

I walked through the house feeling numb. Numb was good. I had reached my emotional capacity for the week.

Everything was ruined. The television was a melted mass of crap along with every other electronic and appliance on the main floor. The framed picture of Shaz and me was shattered on the floor, burnt to oblivion. Logically, I knew the photo could be reprinted. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like it was a bad omen.

My bedroom was what I wanted to see the most. I hurried down the stairs as fast as I could safely go. My clothes were soot-stained garbage. I didn’t care about that. What I really needed to see was the locked box I kept in the bottom drawer of my dresser. I yanked the charred drawer open, fearful the box would be ruined or missing.

It was right where I’d left it. I easily found the key on the ring with my car keys. I could have wept with relief when I saw everything inside it safe and untouched.

I ran my fingers over the smooth surface of Kale’s cross. I was ecstatic to see it was ok. Alongside it was the small velvet bag that contained an amulet from Lena. Through the bag, I could feel it, a little piece of stone that vibrated with deep earth energy, calling to my wolf.

I relocked the box and shoved it into my shoulder bag. Other than the picture of Shaz and me, these two things meant the most. Everything else could be replaced.

A brief look in the garage revealed a Jaguar that stunk to high heaven of smoke. A detail job might not be enough. Raoul’s car spent a lot of time in the garage; I didn’t drive it much. It had still smelled like him. His scent had clung to the interior, sealed inside because the doors so rarely opened. I hated that I liked it. That scent was gone now, burnt away with the rest of what had once belonged to Raoul.

A conversation with the fireman revealed that they couldn’t determine where or how the fire had started. I knew, of course. Supernatural fire wasn’t so easy to trace. He gave me some information about what my options would likely be in this situation. Rebuild the house starting with the salvageable framework still standing or tear it down and sell the property. I needed some time to think about it.

* * * *

A few days had passed since the fire. I had been lying low at Arys’s house, pondering possible outcomes of both the Lilah predicament and the FPA investigation. If the FPA discovered Kale and I had killed Abigail Irving, what was I going to do about it?

There was also the matter of Kale’s disappearance. I had yet to hear from him. He had been known to lock himself away with random women at The Wicked Kiss for days at a time, but this was different. I could feel it.

After leaving the remains of my house, I ventured out on a two-hour trip to the store. I was exhausted and looked forward to the escape I would find in sleep, but I needed to start reorganizing my life. New underwear was a good place to start.

Arys had been faced with the reminder that, though I was nocturnal, I was still a daywalker. He’d paced the house like a cat in a cage, spouting several reasons why I shouldn’t go out alone even though the sun was up. Vampires and demons were trapped as long as the sun was in the sky. Lilah posed no threat.

I returned to Arys’s house in the early afternoon. Dropping my bags in the kitchen, I abandoned them and headed for the bedroom. It wasn’t going to be easy to stay with him. I adored every moment I spent with the man, but I was used to having my own space. A pang of sadness had me feeling sorry for myself. I missed my house.

Arys was buried beneath a mass of bright red sheets. It was too hot for anything heavier. His brow was creased in a frown, and he clutched the pillow tight in one hand. I hadn’t been having the greatest dreams lately either.

I stripped down nude and climbed between the sheets. My dark vampire lay next to me, deep in the strange slumber of the undead. I stroked a hand absently through his silken hair, hoping to find comfort in touching him.

The window was so well covered that it was impossible to tell visually that the sun was up. I stared around the dark room, seeing nothing, my thoughts on overdrive. I contemplated what I should do with the remnants of the house. Selling the property and moving on was the best option, yet letting go of it was too hard to imagine.

I waited for sleep, begged for it. I slipped into that hazy in-between state and floated in limbo. Soon enough, I descended into a deep slumber, then my phone rang, jarring me awake. Arys stirred, and I rushed to silence it. I was hopeful that it would be Kale.

“Alexa, I’d like to see you tonight.” Shya was the last person I had expected. He didn’t waste time on phony pleasantries. “Midnight.”

“This is about Lilah, isn’t it?” A glance at the time on my phone indicated I had two hours until midnight. I didn’t feel like I’d slept that long.

“Should it be?”

“No?” I wanted a chance to talk to him about Lilah but didn’t think this was it.

He directed me to an old abandoned church a few miles down the road from his sprawling modern home. It sounded sketchy to me.

“Oh and Alexa,” Shya stopped me before I could hang up. “Don’t be late. Kale is depending on you.”

He ended the call before I could respond. Well that answered one question. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Fuck.”

Arys rolled over and opened his eyes. “What did you do now?”

I couldn’t even be offended, so I growled and punched a pillow before hurling it against the wall.

“I made the mistake of giving a shit about the dreamwalker. I didn’t do anything though. Not really. I think Kale did something. I just don’t know what yet. Something has Shya’s panties in a twist.”

“You underestimate the power you have over any man who is in love with you.” Arys held tight to his favorite pillow in case I planned to snatch it, too. “Clearly he intervened on your behalf. The fool. He’s just dragging you down with him.”

I scoffed. “If I have that much of an effect on a man, then why is Shaz so detached lately?” It was unrelated. I wasn’t sure why I said it.

Arys put his head in my lap and gazed up at me. “Shaz is confused and afraid. And, if he didn’t love you the way he does, he wouldn’t be either of those things. He’s got to process what his role in this really is. Now,” he sat up and threw off the blankets, exposing his glorious nudity, “let’s get ready to go.”

My gaze was riveted to him. Arys was beautiful. It was hard not to stare stupidly. “You’re coming with me?”

“I’m not letting you go alone. That bastard demon is going to use Sinclair against you. Sorry, Alexa, but I don’t think you always see so straight when it comes to him.”

I buried my head beneath my pillow. Hiding my burning cheeks didn’t alleviate the shameful truth. “Sometimes I really want to kick your ass.” My muffled words brought a laugh from Arys.

“Come on, pretty wolf. Get up and get dressed. Unless you want to have a quickie first?”

His laughter grew when I threw my pillow at his head. Smacking it aside, Arys grabbed me around the waist and pulled me against him. His skin was faintly cool but warmed at my touch. He nipped playfully at my neck, and I sighed.

“What makes you so amazing? I mean, everything with Kale… how do you accept it like that? Like it’s so easy.”

Arys raised his head to look at me. His expression took on an intensity that held me transfixed. “I’ve spent over a century knowing I’d likely never know you. I’ve been waiting for you for a hundred years. Being with you is surreal. We were created as one. The moments that bring jealousy and pain, they’re temporary. We are forever.”

The weight of his words crushed the breath from me. Emotion quickly filled me to overflowing, and I had to blink back tears. Though Arys may not know it, he had just set me free from some of the chains I’d bound myself in.

“Thank you,” I said softly, a catch in my voice. “For believing so deeply in something I still haven’t been able to process. It helps to think there might be something bigger behind all of this.”

Still, I had so many questions, and I was afraid of the answers. What was our purpose? And, would we find out before the power of our bond became too much for us?

Instead of pondering our fate, we prepared to meet the demon.

The abandoned old church wasn’t much of a surprise. Shya had shown his penchant for forsaken holy buildings previously. Some twisted part of him seemed to enjoy conducting his business in desecrated places.

I took a moment to gather myself before leaving the car. A busted iron fence surrounded both the church and what appeared to be a small graveyard in the back, but my view of the presumed cemetery was obscured from where I sat.

“Feel that?” Arys asked, his eyes locked on the crumbling stone church. “That’s some heavy duty shit.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

The smothering sensation of dark energy made it hard to breathe. I shielded tightly against it, but still I could feel it there, seeking a way past my guard. One thing was certain; Shya wasn’t alone. It felt like he had a whole party of insanity going on.

During the drive over, I’d been a fit of nerves and fear. Now that I was here, I just felt ready. I couldn’t speak for Kale, but I had done nothing wrong, and I wasn’t walking in there acting like I had.

Out of habit, I checked my reflection in the visor mirror. Black liner around my brown eyes hid the lack of sleep and a splash of red lipstick made me feel a little bad ass. Skinny black jeans, a tight black strapless top and ankle boots with four-inch heels completed the look and boosted my confidence. I was suddenly glad I’d gone shopping. It sure beat pjs and sandals.

The beautiful old cross Kale had given me for my birthday hung around my neck. I didn’t expect it would win me any brownie points with either Shya or Arys tonight, but I didn’t care. It was the first time I’d worn it. After how close I’d come to losing it, I wanted to take the chance to appreciate it.

Arys slid a hand up the inside of my thigh. I stopped him with a look. Lust had been burning in his eyes since he’d watched me bleed a gang member on the way here.

Mastering the bloodlust on a night like this meant not giving it the chance to master me. The feed had left me with that beautiful high, the one I was afraid to get used to. I didn’t want to be bloodlust’s slave, but I didn’t want to kill indiscriminately, either. Arys would have gladly settled for any random person. I had insisted it be someone who had blood on their own hands. It wasn’t realistic to think I could feed on the criminals and street vermin forever. Just wishful thinking.

“Come on, you animal.” Giving Arys’s wandering hand another shove, I gathered my power close and shoved the car door open. “Let’s get this over with. No aggressive actions unless it’s necessary. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“He’s a demon. Somebody is going to get hurt. From the way the atmosphere burns, someone already has.” Arys joined me in front of the Charger and took my hand. “Be careful. Don’t let anger do your talking for you. If he feels you’ve crossed a line with him, he’s going to do all he can to intimidate you, even if it means using Sinclair to do it. Be prepared for that.”

“What about you? Shya wanted you once. Maybe the both of us being here is a bad idea.” I leaned into Arys, briefly seeking strength. I didn’t dare take my eyes off the church.

He squeezed my hand reassuringly. “That is exactly where our advantage lies. You were already involved with him through Veryl before you and I met. It made sense for you to stay that way. Some alliances are worth the risk. As a pair, we intrigue him. He knows what we are. We can play that card if we have to.”

We began the short walk to the church. It was dark. Only the faintest light glowed within. As we drew closer, noise reached us from the graveyard in the rear. So, that’s where the party was.

“Why did you refuse to work with Shya? What did he offer you?” The closer we got, the quieter my voice dropped.