Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(19)

Another fallen angel, Willow was nothing like Falon. Willow had fallen because of his forbidden love for a human woman, a prostitute. His love story didn’t have a happy ending.

“Help yourself,” I told him, pointing to the unmanned bar.

He paused, a pensive expression on his face. “What happened? Where are all the spooky kids tonight?”

I chuckled at his choice of words despite my dark mood. “We’re closed tonight. No spooky kids allowed. Other than the ones with fangs f**king and feeding in the back rooms.”

I caught him up on Lilah’s unwelcome gift as well as Shya’s insistence that I was better off partnering with him. Willow listened closely while relieving the bar of some of its tequila supply.

“Never take anything a demon says as truth. Even if it is the truth, they only use it to manipulate.” Willow chewed on a slice of lemon. “Lilah has a weakness. Forget about Shya and find it.”

“It might be in those files,” Jez said with a shrug. “If I were you, I’d read them sooner than later.”

Willow raised an inquisitive brow, his gold-flecked green eyes filled with interest. “You got into the files?”

“Yes, she did.” The leopard cut me off before I could speak. “We found some dirt on the FPA that makes me even more confident they have Kale. We need to go in there and find him.” She turned to me with stone cold seriousness. “Tonight.”

“No way. You don’t want to go in there, Jez. Trust me.”

“Why not?” Willow’s curiosity was piqued. “I’m up for making a little trouble for the FPA.”

“Really?” I was skeptical. Could the three of us achieve anything by sniffing around the old haunted hospital?

“Come on, Alexa,” chided Jez. “I know you’re thinking the same thing. It must be driving you nuts. I’ll bet you haven’t slept since you heard Kale was dead. You probably paced the day away, bottling up your feelings. Like usual.”

“I don’t bottle,” I insisted with a glower.

“Like hell you don’t. You bottle until the pressure blows the lid and bathes everyone around you in a fiery explosion. If we go in there, we’ll know for sure. Then, you can mourn him. Or, save him. He would do it for you.”

Ouch. That stung. Jez was hitting below the belt now.

“Fine,” I relented, albeit grudgingly. “But, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I was letting Jez and Willow call the shots, something that didn’t come naturally to me as a control freak. The fallen angel was eager for some mischief. I hadn’t known him long, but he’d proven to be a loud-mouthed, booze-swilling, self-deprecating yet fun-loving soul. He’d also saved me from a beating that would have left me a bloody pulp. He’d earned my trust. If he wanted to accompany me into the FPA’s house of hell, I’d be grateful for it.

Twenty minutes later, we sat parked in Jez’s beat up Jeep Liberty a block away from the Charles Camsell Hospital. It loomed in the distance, a dark mass against the night sky. I suppressed a shudder.

“I can feel them watching already.” Jez’s voice was hushed, as if she feared the disembodied spirits within the hospital could hear us.

“Just wait until you get inside.” I laughed, bitterness creeping in. “If we can get in without being swarmed by agents that is.”

Willow’s gaze stayed on the haunted building. “That’s where I come in. I shouldn’t have a problem freezing their security system. They won’t even know we’re in there.”

“Until we run into someone,” I added. If Briggs caught me in there, I’d never hear the end of it. “Of course, the scariest thing in that place is far from human.”

“It feels heavy. Evil. Something that isn’t new to any of us. No worries.” With a mischievous grin, Willow swung his door open and hopped out.

With an inward groan, I followed suit. This was easily one of the most terrifying places in the city. As we walked down the street, drawing closer, I felt the ghosts of so many who had died horrific deaths, watching us with eagerness. The hospital had many floors, each of them occupied by the dead. From soldiers to children to the insane, the hospital was home to many unable to find rest.

“Where do we start?” Jez asked. “Where did they have Kale last time you saw him?”

An image sprang to mind, one that brought with it a rush of fury. The last I’d seen of Kale, he had been a tortured, naked mess, held captive by humans who had no idea how large the forces they tried to command were. I should never have left him.

Briggs had struck a deal with me. He would free Kale, and I would give the FPA access to Veryl’s files. Instead, Briggs called to tell me Kale escaped and the deal was off. Lies. Perhaps that was a blessing in disguise; those files should never be in human hands.

“He was in a torture room that could be viewed through one-way glass. It’s on the top floor. Heavy agent presence. But, that’s not where I want to go.” A trickle of fear slithered through me. “I have this feeling we need to go down. Into the basement.”

The basement held the morgue, which was creepy enough in its own right. However, the basement also held something sinister, something that had driven Arys crazy. Having to be saved from my vampire’s attack by Falon wasn’t a fond memory.