Smashed (11 page)

“This car can fly,” Jenner proclaimed as he climbed out of the driver’s seat. “I’ve never driven a Jag before. I think I might want one.”

Shaz stepped out of the passenger side looking ill. “You shouldn’t be allowed to drive anything anywhere, ever.”

“Suck it up, blondie,” Jenner said with a snicker. To me he said, “So did I hear you right? Are we really going to have some fun with the FPA tonight? Don’t joke about shit like that.”

“It’s no joke. We’re going to stop them from hunting Alexa. It’s high time Briggs realized how out of his league he is. Having several of his men roasted by a demon apparently wasn’t enough for him.” Despite my big plan to derail Briggs’s night, all I could think about was Alexa. She was the driving force behind my need for action.

“Distraction?” Jenner asked, a brow raised and a devious smile in place.

I shook my head. “No. Bigger than that. A little bit of mayhem.”

Jenner rubbed his hands together like a movie villain and cackled dramatically. “Yes. That I can do.”

Skepticism pulled Shaz’s face into a frown. “And just what do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to make Briggs watch while I kill every person he brought to hunt Alexa.” Of course that excluded Juliet. Regardless of what a pain in the ass she was, no harm could come to her.

“So what do you want us to do?” Shaz asked, indicating himself and Jez.

“Go to the FPA building and see if you can tail the team that Briggs is sending out tonight. It’s likely that they haven’t left yet. If they find Alexa, do whatever it takes to stop them from grabbing her. Otherwise, wait for my call. That’s when you call in a report to the cops about a dead body with bite marks on the neck. Mention seeing a blonde woman in the area. I’m betting Briggs will intercept the report and look into it himself.”

“That’s it?” Shaz said, his skepticism growing. “Doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”

I chuckled, enjoying his underestimation of me. “Haven’t you been paying attention, pup? I don’t need much of a plan.”

“All right. Whatever you say.” Shaz’s tone didn’t match his words, but he dutifully headed for Jez’s Jeep.

She paused with her hand on the door handle, her lips pursed in thought. “What happens if the FPA just happens to grab us? Just saying, hypothetically.”

“Then we come for you.” There was no room for compromise. The FPA would not get any damn one of us into their lockup if I had anything to say about it. “They’ve been doing some weapon upgrades. Be careful.”

Swiping the keys from Jenner’s hand, I slid into the driver’s side of the Jag. It was a nice car for the most part. Typical of what a guy like Raoul would drive, it was pricey, fast, and sleek.

Jenner got in on the other side and turned to me, excitement causing his pale blue eyes to glow. “And here I thought you’d never leave the house. It’s about time you did something. So, did you see Alexa?”

“I did.” After adjusting the mirrors, I put the car into gear and settled back against the seat. “She’s afraid of me and afraid of herself. But otherwise, she’s ok. Or she will be anyway.”

“And Kale?”

“I had a chance to suggest that leaving town might be best for him and for her. It’s not like I’m wrong about that. I guess we’ll see what he decides.”

It would have been easy enough to grab a random person off the street in order to send Briggs to a real murder scene. However, seeing Alexa had awakened the spark of light within me that was all her. Knowing she wouldn’t want me to kill a so-called innocent, I chose instead to fake it.

Seeking a relatively private place to lure Briggs and his team to, I headed for the river valley. The walking trails there would be perfect. Foot traffic should be minimal at this hour, and the surrounding trees and brush would prevent witnesses.

We parked the car and walked the trails until we came to a spot where we could easily ambush approaching agents from the trees. I called Jez who informed me that the FPA building was surrounded by armed guards. They couldn’t get very close. From what she could tell Briggs was already gone. He’d gotten an early start. I asked her to call in the false attack report, and then we waited.

“I can see why you like it here,” Jenner mused as we listened to the sound of the nearby river. “Definitely a lot greener than Sin City. Not quite as fun though.”

“Are you kidding me?” I laughed. “You were almost roasted by a dragon and now you’re hunting Feds. How much more fun do you need?”

Jenner leaned back against a tree, gazing up at the sky. “I’m starting to miss my nightclub. The orgies in the den, the swooning women on stage. Hell, I actually miss the sound of all those damn slot machines. I didn’t realize how loud they were until they were gone.”

“And you say that I need to get out more,” I scoffed. “Shit, Jenner. When was the last time you left Vegas?”

“I’m not sure. Back in the 80s I think. Who needs to leave though when you have an all you can eat buffet in a city that never sleeps?” There was a glimmer of nostalgia in him when he looked at me. “Don’t tell me you don’t miss it. We made a hell of a lot of memories there.”

“Of course I miss it. There are nights when I crave that desert air and the non-stop flow of human traffic down The Strip. But I was just biding my time there. Waiting. I belong here now.”

Jenner’s laugh came out sounding more like a hiss. “I never thought I’d see the day when you were more in love with a person than with that city. It’s unnatural.”

Las Vegas meant a great deal to me. It was where I’d really come into my own, taking a stand against the one who sired me. It was where I was when I knew with absolute certainty that Alexa lived. It would always be home, in its own bizarre way.

We sat there shooting the shit and reminiscing about the good old days and some of the not so good old days. It wasn’t long before I sensed the approaching human task force. They were loud. Even as they tried to be stealthy I could hear their breathing, the beat of their hearts, and the occasional scuff of shoes.

Briggs was smart enough to have his team approach from both sides. He’d sent nearly a dozen agents in total, all of them with weapons drawn. I waited until I saw Briggs himself. He brought up the rear of one group, hissing orders at his team. I didn’t see Juliet.

I laughed silently to myself. Briggs thought a dozen humans were enough to take Alexa down?

Meeting Jenner’s gaze, we shared a look and a nod. One benefit to knowing someone for several decades is the ability to read so much in a look. Words weren’t necessary.

When every agent was gathered at the place that I’d told Jez to describe in the report, we converged on them. We didn’t leap out of the trees with a loud display of violence. No, we slid from the brush with soundless steps and grabbed the closest agents first. Clapping a hand over the guy’s mouth, I bit deep into his carotid before tossing him aside and grabbing another. Jenner mirrored my actions, taking it a step further by also breaking his victim’s neck. We dropped four of them in just seconds. That’s when the first shout rang out.

With our presence revealed, we abandoned stealth in favor of a savage attack. Briggs shouted orders that included the command to take us out. Laughter poured from me as I spilled their blood. Shots went off, and I held one agent in front of me as a human shield. The crossbow bolts meant for me embedded in his chest, and he screamed in agony. I silenced him quickly with a twist of his neck.

“Not him,” I shouted when Jenner went for Briggs. “That one lives. But only that one.”

With a shrug, Jenner slammed Briggs with enough power to take his feet out from beneath him. The Fed went down hard on the paved walking path, and I took the opportunity to relieve him of his weapons and his phone.

“You’re making a big fucking mistake here,” he snarled through teeth clenched in agony.

I whirled around in time to take a bolt in the shoulder. “Cocksucker,” I swore, retaliating with a psi ball big enough to tear the guy’s head off his shoulders.

The bolt lodged in my flesh hurt like a bitch. I tore it free and plunged it into the neck of the nearest agent I could get my hands on. Blood spurted from the puncture, and the guy went down grabbing uselessly at the wound.

A wolfish growl rumbled in my throat. The walking path was littered with bodies. The remaining two agents surrendered, hands held high and guns on the ground. There would be no mercy for them. Despite their pleas, we killed them. I threw one guy down in front of Briggs. His wide, gaping eyes stared at his superior as the life faded from them. Briggs looked about in horror, trying to take in what he’d just witnessed. It had all happened so fast.

“Now, who were you saying made a mistake here?” I asked, standing back to allow him to get to his feet. Blood stained my face, and I knew by the disbelief on Briggs’s face that Alexa’s wolf was showing in my eyes.

“You’re not doing anything to help her with a display like this,” Briggs said, meeting my gaze head on. “Why stop there? Why not kill me too?”

“Because they’ll just replace you with some other douchebag. And I kind of like you.” My smile was met with a scowl. “You’ve got balls. I can respect that. But I can’t let you hunt Alexa.”

Briggs stared at the carnage, his face incredulous. “These people didn’t deserve to die like this. I can’t imagine how you thought slaughtering innocent men serving their country was the best way to prove either of you shouldn’t be hunted.”

“Serving their country? I see you’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid, Briggs. I thought you were smarter than that.”

“You won’t get away with this, Arys. I know you think you’re doing the honorable thing by defending your woman, but you’re wrong. You’re just another fucking monster that deserves to die.” Briggs was uneasy but he wasn’t afraid. It was admirable. It was also stupid.

“Give me a break, Briggs. I killed several of your men outside your own building, and you didn’t do fuck-all. Alexa barely scratches the surface of trouble, and you launch a hunt?” Shaking my head, I got close enough to the Fed to hear his heart rate increase. Maybe he wasn’t immune to fear after all. “I’m on to you, Briggs. I know what men like you are after. You call it justice, but I call it control. You always wanted Alexa to join the FPA. I’m willing to bet you haven’t given up on that. Have you?”

He stared past me to the bloody mess Jenner and I had made. His expression was stony, his silent refusal louder than words.

When he refused to speak, I continued. “You think if you get her back into that building you can warp her mind, turn her into one of your weapons. It was always her that you wanted. You settled for Juliet, but it never really ended there in your mind, did it? You tried to take Alexa in for the Abigail Irving hit, and when that didn’t work, you had to dream up something else. This was what you were waiting for. An opportunity to cage her and program her.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. I’d nailed the truth.

Jenner sidled up to sneer into Briggs’s face. “You’re a clever piece of shit, aren’t you? Too bad. You chose the wrong vampire to fuck with. I’ve known this guy a long time, and nothing makes him as ruthless as messing with his girl does.”

I shot Jenner a dark look, seeing that personal blow for what it was. Leave it to him to choose a time like this to remind me that though we were brothers, we were also frequently rivals. Evidence suggested that Jenner was still pissed about what went down between us all in Vegas.

“So what then? You kill me now?” Agent Briggs had accepted that fate. His resignation showed in the hard set of his shoulders.

“I don’t think so,” I said, studying him closely. “Perhaps we should perform some experiments on you. I can’t help but wonder what the FPA would think of one of their star agents becoming a vampire. I’m sure they would love to pick you apart if that were to happen. What do you think?”

Sweat broke out on Briggs’s brow. His energy stank of fright. My words had touched the place where his fears lived.

“What the hell do you want from me?” he demanded. “I won’t negotiate with a supernatural terrorist.”

Jenner laughed long and hard at that. “Terrorists,” he gasped between chuckles. “Oh man, that’s rich.”

“I want you to stay away from Alexa. She is off limits to you and your people.”

Briggs was stubborn and headstrong despite his predicament. “She’s a menace. She’s been killing. If I turn a blind eye to that then I wouldn’t be doing my job.”

“So you would rather become your job?” Jenner taunted, baring bloodstained fangs.

Turning Briggs had never crossed my mind until now. A man like him would make a formidable vampire. Though having Alexa enthrall him would make him controllable to an extent. It would serve him right to be enslaved to her.

“Is there any right way to answer that?” Briggs glared, knowing I had him trapped.

“Probably not,” I admitted with a grin. I was close enough to smell his aftershave. It wouldn’t take much to bridge that gap. “You’re not making the best decisions these days. That’s how many FPA agents dead now because they followed your command?”

“It’s just part of the job.” He refused to be budged. Holding his ground was all he had left.

“I can respect that. Or at least, I would if you had a legitimate job. So I’m sure you understand that there are things I must do as well.”

Without giving him a chance to reply, I grabbed him by the shoulders and bit into his jugular. It was a small nip, nothing he couldn’t walk off. His blood was warm and rich. It hit my tongue, and I had to remind myself that killing him hadn’t been the plan. At this point, I wasn’t sure what my plan was. Running on instinct was more my style.

Once I’d taken enough to instill a sense of terror in him, I reluctantly released him. It hadn’t been enough to turn him, but I bit my wrist and thrust it at him anyway.

“Last chance to make me happy, Briggs. Tell me what I want to hear.” I grabbed the back of his head and shoved his face toward my bleeding arm. “I know you’re used to dealing with Alexa, but I’m running the show right now, and I’m just not as personable as she is.”

“You’re a goddamn maniac,” he grunted, fighting me off as I pressed my bloody wrist against his face. My blood smeared across his lips, and he bellowed, “You win. I’ll call off the hunt for Alexa. Just get the fuck off me.”