Freak Show (15 page)

The elevator was off limits and besides I had no key card to access it. Slipping into the fire exit stairwell, I made my way down.

The lower level was in much worse shape than upstairs. Evidence of the attack remained in the theatre. Even as I walked through the dust and debris, staff members were hard at work cleaning up. A few of them looked up as I entered. I rushed into the backstage dressing room where I’d left my bag. It was still there, much to my relief. But so was Sloane, and she looked like death. I clutched my bag to me, grateful to find my phone and wallet still inside. I didn’t dare take my eyes off Sloane.

“Alexa?” She looked up from the neck of the man she was draining. Her eyes were dull and unfocused.

Someone had done a number on her. She had been stripped of her power, sucked so dry she was little more than a skeletal figure. Her skin clung to her bones, creating sharp angles in her face. Dirty and tattered, her dress barely fit her bony frame. I couldn’t recall ever seeing a vampire so drained.

“Sloane, are you alright? What happened? Where are Arys and Jenner?” I stopped dead in my tracks when her parched gaze landed on my throat.

“Linden took them. He’s going to kill them.” She pushed the unconscious man aside, and he hit the floor with a thump. Peering up at me with sunken eyes, Sloane tried to get up only to collapse back into the chair. “Help me up?” She extended a scrawny arm that wavered uncontrollably. Blood smeared her lips along with what was left of her lipstick. She was truly a ghastly sight.

“I think you need to rest. Finish your…” I gestured to the fallen man and took a step back, unwilling to let her touch me. Hunger blazed in her glassy blue orbs. I probably smelled like a prime meal to her, a sirloin steak to a starving man. She was starved for both blood and the living energy within it. There was no trusting any vampire in such a state. “Can you tell me where Linden would have taken them?”

“No.” It seemed to take great effort for her to mutter that one word. She licked her lips, staring at my neck with undisguised bloodlust. “Please, just help me to the bed upstairs.”

“Roscoe. Has he been here?” I asked. No way was I touching her. “That bastard drugged me and took Jez. I need to find him. I think he’s working with the blood ring.”

Her arm dropped to her lap, and she looked positively defeated. She stared right through me, and I was sure she hadn’t heard a word I said. I repeated myself, resisting the urge to shake her. She’d likely crumble to dust in my hands.

“You smell so good. So strong. If you could spare just a little, just a few drops, I could be better. I could help you.”

Weakness had given her a one-track mind. She was giving me nothing. Frustration shook me. My mind raced, trying to formulate a way to find my loved ones in this city of insanity. I pulled out my phone, careful to keep an eye on Sloane. There were fifteen missed calls from Kale and four voicemails. It wasn’t his number I selected from my contacts list though.

I called every one of my missing people. Voicemail for both Shaz and Jez while Arys’s phone was off.
Fuck!
I made a hasty decision to call on someone I didn’t know I could trust. I was running low on options.

I listened to it ring, holding my breath for a response. On the third ring, a rough, angry voice barked, “O’Brien! This had better be good. Some of us actually sleep at night.”

“Briggs, thank God you answered. I need a favor.” The urge to cheer was quickly squelched by tentative worry.

“Favors don’t come for free, O’Brien. What do you want?” Agent Thomas Briggs of the Edmonton FPA was a hard man, a real ball-buster. Still, he was human, and I knew I had his attention even if it was only from sheer curiosity.

In my peripheral vision, Sloane struggled to stand. If she got up, I’d have to sit her ass back down.

“I need you to track a few cell numbers for me.” Explaining my situation as briefly as possible, I felt the weight of it all hit me suddenly, a ton of bricks weighing on my mental faculties.

I could practically hear Briggs shaking his head at me. “You sure you’re not supposed to be a cat shifter? If anyone needs nine lives, it’s you.” He gave a short, sharp bark of a laugh. “Want me to contact someone at the Vegas HQ?”

“No,” I said too quickly. “I don’t need the Feds involved. This is vampire business. I just need the one favor. Please.” I didn’t mention that the Vegas FPA had vampire ties that made them even less trustworthy than my home team.

“Fine. I’ll let you know if I turn up any locations. Remember, O’Brien, I’m entitled to a favor from you now.”

“That sounds like something a demon would say.”

“Does it? I guess you would know. I’ll be in touch.”

He hung up before I could tell him to hurry. I dropped my phone into my bag and turned to Sloane in time to see her launch her pitiful self at me with a snarl. Hands curled into claws, she managed to rake the side of my face before I grabbed her around the throat.

She put up a good struggle. Bloodlust and weakness had stripped away the vibrant sophistication she’d carried so naturally, leaving her a hollow shell hungry for only one thing. With a push of power, I shoved Sloane back into the chair. Her back arched, and she let out a wail. It took more effort to subdue her than her skeletal appearance led me to believe.

“Sloane, snap out of it. Tell me where I can find Roscoe.” I gave her a shake and a slap. Her energy was so fragile, it bent so easily to my will. She calmed, blinking at me in wide-eyed confusion. “Where is Roscoe? If you want to help Jenner then you have to tell me how to find Roscoe.”

I was almost shouting at her. She blinked a few times then nodded vigorously. “Roscoe has a place at The Golden Nugget. He hunts Fremont Street.” Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she moaned. “Just a taste, Alexa, please.”

“Trust me, you don’t want my blood. You’ll thank me later.” I left her there mumbling and pleading. Though I owed her nothing, I paused long enough to instruct a staff member to get her upstairs and to keep a steady supply of blood flowing.

I moved as fast as my legs could carry me. Like a bat out of hell, I dashed from the building down the street to Paris Las Vegas where I was able to get a taxi. The cab driver kept flashing me suspicious glances in the rearview mirror, and I realized my wounded neck was exposed. Arranging my hair to hide it, I hoped he would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut. It couldn’t have been the weirdest thing a Las Vegas taxi driver saw in a night.

His foot grew heavier on the gas pedal, and in five minutes, I was at my destination. “Have a nice night,” I said, tossing some cash and all but leaping out of the vehicle.

I reached out to feel the vicinity for Roscoe, for anything vampy at all. Making my way down Fremont Street, I checked and rechecked my phone, hoping for something from Briggs. Nothing yet.

Though the wolfsbane had done a real number on me, the effects had mostly worn off. I felt pretty damn good, and I attributed that to my vampire side. Perhaps the two co-existed better than I thought.

Fremont Street was a brilliant, loud and chaotic party place. A street party had never looked so good. For several blocks beneath a large, well-lit canopy laid more shops, casinos and street performers than one could possibly enjoy in just one night. A live band drew a healthy crowd, while incredibly talented dancers earned dollar bills for their efforts.

It had a different vibe than The Strip. A bit more casual and laid back, Fremont Street boasted a family friendly atmosphere. I passed more than one baby stroller as I hastily made my way from one end to the other.

Worry nagged me. Jez was out there somewhere. I could only wonder what effect the wolfsbane had on her, a naturally born shifter. I prayed her resistance had been better than mine.

As I passed the stage where a live band performed a Maroon 5 cover, an older lady danced directly into my path. Petite with short blonde hair, large earrings dangled from her lobes. Her eyes were wide, pupils huge. The scent of narcotics in her system had me trying to dodge her. She moved with me, a crooked smile on her thin lips.

“You can’t save everybody,” she cackled, her body jerking and twisting in a bizarre stoner’s dance. “You can’t even save yourself.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I snapped.

Her eerie grin grew wider, revealing yellow teeth. “A vampire queen with no throne is no queen at all.”

She danced away into the throng of people gathered around the stage, leaving me staring after her in bewilderment. I continued on, turning over her words in my head. It could have been the intoxicated ramble of a woman on drugs, but I didn’t think so. Narcotics had a way of opening the mind up to things nobody should ever have access to. Sinister things that speak horrible truths.

The urge to keep peering over my shoulder was strong. She had made me uneasy. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. The more distance I covered, the more certain I was that someone was following me. I opened myself up metaphysically to feel my stalker out. Familiar blood. Roscoe had found me first.

I kept my pace steady, hurried but not erratic. Leading him off the street into one of the casinos would give me a chance to confront him with fewer witnesses. Weaving my way through slot machines, my pulse pounded in anticipation of when he would jump me.

When his meaty hand came down on my shoulder, I was ready. I grabbed his wrist and jerked him forward, bending so he went over my back and hit the floor in front of me. I was on him fast, a knee on his chest and a clawed hand around his throat.

“I’m happy to see you don’t really know as much about me as you think you do,” I growled. “Where the fuck is Jez?”

“The leopard?” He grunted as my claws pierced his flesh. “Hell if I know. You both went down from the wolfsbane, and I didn’t stick around to find out what happened next.”

“Don’t fucking lie to me. I will kill you right here. I don’t give a damn how many cameras see me do it.”

“I’m not lying. I tried to stop you from interfering in business that doesn’t concern you. That’s all.” He clutched my arm in a desperate attempt to dislodge it from around his neck.

“And Jenner and Arys? Where were they taken?”

Roscoe’s lips formed a thin white line, and he shook his head as much as he was able. He offered me nothing.

Fine. I could do this the hard way. I thrust a surge of fury-driven energy deep inside him, focusing on his cold, dead heart. And then I squeezed until blood filled his eyes and pooled in his mouth.

“Are you willing to die to keep that secret?” I asked, a cold smile tugging at my lips. “This just gets easier every time I do it. You’re about two seconds from being a pile of dust.”

A strangled cry escaped him. “The desert.” He coughed and spat blood. “They’ll be staked down in the desert for sunrise.”

The blood drained from my face, and my breath came faster. “Get up, nice and slow. You’re going to take me to them.”

I let Roscoe up, releasing my hold on him. He wiped the blood from his eyes and mouth with the back of his sleeve, glaring angrily. “I don’t know where they are. You’re on your own.”

“Why would you sell Jenner out like that? What happened to being his right hand?”

With a shrug of his wide shoulders, Roscoe pinned me with a fierce stare. “Survival of the fittest, I suppose. He wanted to pull out of the blood ring, but Harley started that ring decades ago. It wasn’t about to die off because Jenner didn’t want to play dirty anymore. I had to make the choice that best suited my needs.”

I wanted so badly to plunge the Dragon Claw into his guts and watch the horror and shock flash across his face when he realized he was dead. However, it was a big weapon, too big to flash inside the casino.

My phone rang, the vibration in my bag alerting me to it. I made the mistake of going for it, giving Roscoe his chance to bolt. He slammed his elbow into my face, and I dropped to my knees. He was gone before I could regain my focus.

Chapter Eleven

It was Briggs.

“Hey, O’Brien I have a trace for you. We only picked up data on one phone. The other two are offline, possibly destroyed. The one we found is registered to a Jezebel St. Claire out of Edmonton.”

“Yeah,” I gasped, holding my battered nose. A few scarlet drops stained my palm. “What’s the address?”

“Fremont Street. At The Golden Nugget. I’ll keep trying on those other two. Can’t promise anything though.”

So Jez was here. Roscoe had lied. Next time I saw him, he was getting acquainted with the Dragon Claw. “Thanks, Briggs. I appreciate this. I know you didn’t have to do it.”

“Are you ok?” He asked upon hearing the pain in my voice.

“Just took an elbow to the nose, actually. But I’m fine, thanks. Call me if you find anything else.”

There was hesitation on the line. Instead of hanging up, Briggs tentatively said, “You know, O’Brien, we may be able to offer assistance. Just say the word.”

I chuckled in spite of everything. “I’m not quite desperate enough to take you up on that. But I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You do that.”

Vampire politics were difficult enough. The last thing I wanted or needed was the Feds getting further into my business than they already were. Briggs had a hard-on for supernatural info. He’d take anything he could get. But he wouldn’t be getting it from me.

Evidently, Briggs believed I could be recruited to the predominantly human government organization, most likely because he had so easily recruited my younger sister, Juliet. I had seen enough of the FPA to know I was safer with the demons.

By the time I made it to The Golden Nugget, my lungs were heaving. I sprinted down floor after floor looking for Jez. Sensing vampires came easier. I could feel every vampire in the city if I concentrated hard enough. However, I was still able to pick out that earthy Were vibe when close enough.

Human. That’s all I could feel and smell. With a flurry of choice curse words, I continued up to the next floor. That’s when the heady scent of wildcat tickled my nose. I knocked on the door and waited. No one answered. I studied the lock, feeling less than confident. Jez wasn’t alone in there. I could feel the vampire with her.

I’d used my telekinetic abilities to manipulate locks before, but never had I tried it on a hotel room key card lock. Kicking the door down would have been easier. Taking a deep breath, I steeled my nerves and focused my energy on the lock. It wouldn’t give. I banged a fist on the door in frustration. Then I tried again. No deal.

“For fuck’s sakes,” I swore.

“Do you need help?” I turned to find a lady wearing housekeeping garb, pushing a cart filled with cleaning supplies. Here was my chance to get into that room.

“Yes, I do.” I approached her slowly, a huge smile pasted on my face. It was time to draw on the vampire glamour that I rarely used. It wasn’t my strongest skill. I gazed into her eyes and encouraged the thrall. “I must have lost my keycard somewhere. Can you let me in?”

She blinked a few times, seemingly puzzled. Then her pupils dilated, and her shoulders relaxed. “Of course, dear. That won’t be a problem.”

I waited with growing impatience for her to open the door. The lock released, and I grasped the door handle, waiting for her to move along down the hall in a mesmerized stupor. It wouldn’t last long.

“Thank you, Arys,” I muttered beneath my breath. As much as I feared the vampire essence that possessed me, it was growing harder to loathe it.

Shoving the door open, I flicked on the light and prepared to draw my dagger. Of all the scenarios that had flashed through my mind, this was not one of them. Jez was most certainly inside the hotel room. She was furry on four legs, a gorgeous leopard, not entirely out of place in a city like this. She was also mauling the shit out of a vampire.

It was a nice room, painted in dark colors with a carpet to match. The king size bed was accompanied by a couch and coffee table placed before the window. The minibar was housed in an elaborate entertainment unit boasting a big, flat screen TV.

What my gaze was drawn to most of all was the writhing vampire flailing about on the floor. She had already torn his throat out which explained the lack of screams. From the twisted agony on his bloody face, he was in absolute hell.

“Holy shit.” I closed the door firmly behind me.

Jez had done a real number on him. One of his hands lay several feet from his body, and she was currently working on a leg. What the fuck did he do to her?

She rounded on me with a snarl. Those green eyes sparkled with ruthless fury until she saw that it was me. Then she cleared the distance in a single leap, knocking me down in her haste to greet me. The golden black pattern on her svelte frame rippled. She was so rare, so gorgeous. I was a little jealous.

“I think it’s time to put this guy out of his misery.” I stood and drew the Dragon Claw from its sheath. “We have to get out of here before Roscoe comes back with reinforcements.”

The shift was fast and fluid. In just seconds, her body reformed, leaving her naked and quaking on the floor. I wasted no time in slicing the vampire’s head off. Immediately, he went up in a small puff of dust and ash.

“Lex? What happened to you?” Jez’s voice was rough, as if she’d just chain-smoked a carton of cigarettes. “I woke up here, and that fucking scumbag vampire was standing guard.”

I went through the bathroom and the small linen closet until I found a bathrobe. I wrapped it around her and pulled her up. She was a little shaky but appeared unharmed. “Did he hurt you? Do you remember anything from the past few hours?”

“No, it’s a total blank. I woke up with that crazy shithead leering at me. He said he was to watch me while Roscoe hunted you down.”

“That’s strange. I just had a run in with Roscoe. Once I put the squeeze on him, he wanted nothing to do with me.” I gathered the few things of Jez’s that I could find while she washed the blood from her face and hands. “We have to go. Arys is going to burn at sunrise unless I can find him first.”

“Have I mentioned yet how sorry I am for dragging you to this godforsaken fucking city?” Bitterness laced her tone. “I can’t go out like this.”

“We’ll grab something from a shop downstairs. You’re not going to like it though.”

She emerged from the bathroom wearing a frown. Her face, free of makeup, radiated an innocence that red lipstick and mascara hid well. I couldn’t understand why she wanted to hide such pure beauty beneath a crimson veil.

“Great, so I get to wear tacky Vegas tourist attire while we save your boyfriend. Give me what you’re wearing. You obviously had time to go back to the hotel.”

“Jez! We have to move it before anyone else shows up here.”

“Alright, alright.” She swiped her purse from my hands and tied the robe tighter. “So what happened to you anyway?”

By the time we purchased a Las Vegas t-shirt and Capri sweatpants, I’d filled her in on my brief time alone. Admitting to the death of almost half a dozen humans left me feeling hollow inside. I knew it wasn’t entirely my fault, yet I couldn’t shake the certainty that it had left a stain on my soul that would never wash clean.

Right there on Fremont Street, Jez slid the clothing on beneath the robe before ditching it in a trashcan. “Good Lord, I feel like the ‘fashion don’t’ page in a magazine. When I get home I’m burning these ugly rags.”

“The fun of being a shifter, huh?”

We hurried to the front of the hotel where the taxi line was thirty people long. I glanced around frantically with no real plan and mounting panic. I didn’t know what to do.

“Over there.” Jez pointed to a small line of limos. “The windows are blacked out. That’s what we need. Go do that handy vampire glamour thing on the driver.”

It was a start. I jerked open the driver door, almost giving the guy behind the wheel a heart attack.

“Can I help you, ladies?” He straightened his tie and smiled. “I’m afraid I’m waiting for a client at the moment, but if you’d like to book me for another time—”

I took a deep breath, finding it impossible to stay calm.
Focus
, I told myself.

“You’re going to get out of the car and go inside the hotel. Have a drink, play some slots. Forget you ever saw us.” A gentle push of power and a suggestive gaze earned me the same dopey expression the housekeeping lady had had, but I still held my breath in hopes that the glamour had worked. It was growing harder to achieve the same effect, taking more effort. The energy feed in the theatre earlier had done me wonders, but it was fading fast now. I could only handle so much in a night.

“Right, sure, ok.” The driver slid out of the car and walked away with a robotic gait. I let my breath out in a giant sigh of relief.

“You drive,” I said to Jez. “I need to concentrate on finding Arys.”

Driving a stolen limo through Las Vegas had most definitely not been on my agenda for this vacation. Of course, nothing that had happened so far had been on my agenda.

“You’re getting good at this vampire shit,” Jez remarked, adjusting the mirrors. “Scary good.”

“Fabulous. I’m thrilled.” I squeezed my eyes shut against the ache that surfaced at the back of my skull. My mortal body simply couldn’t handle so much undead power.

“Where to?”

“No idea. Just drive.”

With my face in my hands, I concentrated on deep, even breaths. Arys. I let his name whisper through my mind. That should have been enough to open the mental door between us, but it remained firmly closed.

“He’s shutting me out,” I groaned. “He thinks he’s going to die with the sunrise, and he doesn’t want me to feel it.”

“Is that how it works?” Jez was aghast. “Shit. Everything comes with a price, huh?”

If he wouldn’t let me connect with him, there was only one way to find him. I would have to sift through every vampire aura in the city until I found those that reflected Harley’s blood. This process of elimination might just make my head explode.

Sunrise was less than an hour away. The pressure was building, threatening my fragile grip on sanity. I’d already lost myself to the primal rage that lurked inside me all the time. It was a miracle I’d come back to myself at all after what I’d done to those men at Paris Las Vegas. I had to hold it together. Shaz and Arys needed me.

Letting my breath out slowly, I reached out to touch the City of Sin. Much like at home, The Wicked Kiss housed more vampires than any other dwelling. It shone like a beacon in my mind’s eye.

I turned my attention from it, seeking common blood elsewhere. A tug on my thoughts from Fremont Street showed me where Roscoe was. He was likely laying low, ready to vacate the street when dawn broke. I was so far from done with him.

The ache in my head grew until a wave of agony crashed over me. My breaths came faster and shorter until I grew dizzy. Arys was out there. I knew it.
Where?
I pleaded to the powers that be.
Show me where.
Power filled the car, thick and pulsating, making it hard to suck air into my lungs. Something warm and wet slid between my hands to splatter my lap; my nose was bleeding profusely. Just when my pained groan became a wail, when I thought for sure it was over and that I’d killed us all by coming here, I felt him.

It wasn’t like pointing out a location on a map. Instead, I felt the pull deep within me. My entire being called to him and received an answer. Our bond was forever. Nothing could break it or hide it, not even Arys himself.

“This way.” I waved a hand erratically, and Jez took a sharp and sudden turn. Several other drivers honked and gestured angrily as we careened around a corner in the big stretch limo.

Jez pulled a small packet of tissues from her purse and shoved it into my hands. “You’re scaring me now. That’s more blood than usual.”

I opened my eyes to find my hands held a scarlet puddle. Despite the tissue I pressed to my face, the blood kept coming. “I can’t let go of the hold I have on him, and it hurts like a bitch.” The pounding of my heart echoed in my ears, drowning out the sound of honks and jeers in traffic. Jez maneuvered the big car with as much finesse as she drove her old Jeep back home, which wasn’t saying a lot.
Please, don’t crash,
I tried to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. It took every bit of strength to stay tuned to Arys’s energy. I couldn’t afford to lose him now. “Left up ahead,” I gasped. “Follow it out of the city.”