Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(39)

I struggled until he let me go, but not without giving my head a good smack against the wall first. I made as if to push by him, but he stopped me with a shove. A growl rumbled in my throat, and I bared fangs at him.

“You’re a liability. If only Shya would acknowledge that you’re not worth the risk.” Falon’s tone dripped acid. “Better watch your step, Alexa.”

He was shit talking me, like usual. Yet, he was also giving me some insight with those nasty words. If Shya was taking a risk by keeping me around and alive, I must be valuable to him. I interpreted that to mean there was something he needed from me. Something he could get only from me. Thank you for that, Falon, you insipid shithead.

I sucked the blood off my fingertips, smirking when Falon openly grimaced. I caught Juliet watching me with blatant disgust. Her partner swayed unsteadily but otherwise appeared fine. Gabriel stood sullenly beside her, silver cuffs adorning his wrists. Oh, hell no.

Falon was forgotten as I marched over to my sister. I shook a bloody finger in her face. “Get those f**king cuffs off him now.”

“Get that finger out of my face, Lexi. Or, you’ll be wearing the next pair.” There was a stubborn set to her jaw, and her eyes glowed daringly.

“I’d like to see you try.” I stared her down, refusing to be cowed by my little sister with her big girl government ID. “Go back to HQ and look in the basement. If that doesn’t get through to you, nothing will. Until then, don’t think for a minute I’ll let you take him out of here. You’ll have one hell of a fight on your hands.”

We faced off as we had so many times as kids. Every time I saw her now, I felt the separation between us grow. I wasn’t willing to back down. If I had to hurt Juliet to keep Gabriel from ending up in the FPA basement, I’d do it.

“You just attacked my partner. I should bring you in for that.”

“Listen to me, Juliet. Dammit.” I resisted the urge to shake her but just barely. “I’ve been in that basement. There are people down there, prisoners locked in concrete rooms, held against their will because they have power. I’d be down there with them if Briggs had his way.”

“Bullshit,” she snapped, but the uncertainty was there. The truth was undeniable.

“As much as I’d enjoy watching you mutts tear each other apart,” Falon broke in with a condescending sneer. “I’ve got better things to do.”

He yanked the FPA cuffs from Gabriel as if they were a plastic child’s toy. Tossing them at Juliet, he followed up with a slap of power that toppled both of us into Brogan, sending all three of us crashing to the floor in a heap. By the time I was able to move again, he was long gone, with Gabriel.

“Good job, Juliet,” I hissed, holding my head as I got to my feet. Falon’s hit had left me dizzy and slightly disoriented. I caught hold of Brogan’s hand, helping her up. She shook her head a few times and swore.

Juliet glowered at me. “You’re blaming me? I have a job to do, Alexa. If you weren’t here getting in my way, maybe I’d actually be able to do it.”

“Your job? Your so-called job consists of imprisonment for those that don’t deserve it. I don’t know how you can live with yourself.” My growing anger was filled with bitterness. It was more than just the fact that my sister was a government zombie. It hurt that she was ok with it.

“I protect the helpless, those that can’t protect themselves. From people like you.” Her tone was high and sharp. It was the tone she’d always used when calling for our dad, begging him to punish me for one petty thing or another.

I wanted to throttle her. I took a step toward her, hands raised, ready to do so. With fists ready, she invited my attack. Before we could pummel one another like angry kids, Brogan held up a hand and uttered a word in Latin. An energy wall sprang up between Juliet and me.

“Ladies,” Brogan intervened. “This isn’t the time or place for this.”

The urge to collapse her wall was strong. I could do it. However, it was irrelevant. She was right. Pounding on Juliet wouldn’t make me feel any better. It also wouldn’t help me to catch up with Falon any faster.

Vibration in my pocket drew my attention to my phone. I pulled it out to find a text message from an unfamiliar number along with a photo that chilled me to the bone. It was a picture of Jez and her girlfriend, Zoey, taken without their knowledge. They were in bed together, locked in an intimate embrace.

Along with the photo was the simple but effective message: Guess who’s next?

Chapter Eleven

“I’ve got to go.” I turned and fled the building as if it were on fire. There was no time to explain. The further Brogan and Juliet stayed from this, the better.

With superhuman speed, I ran down the street to my car. I couldn’t be concerned with who might see the unnatural display. Throwing myself in the driver’s seat, I fumbled with my phone. As I started the car and threw it into gear, I prayed Jez would answer. No such luck.

With a squeal of tires, I tore out of the parking lot. I hit the gas so the engine roared as the Charger sped down the street. I said a silent prayer that I wouldn’t see blue and red flashing lights in my rear view mirror.

I could have lived happily without that image of Zoey and Jez burned into my brain. It might be the last time I’d see one, or both, of them alive.

“No, no, no.” I pounded a fist on the steering wheel when a red light had me slamming on the brakes. The thought occurred to me that it might be a trap designed to lure me, but I’d have to take that chance.