Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(41)

“It happened so fast,” she said between sobs. “She didn’t come alone. She brought some guys. They made me watch. I thought I was next, but she just killed Zoey and left.”

Another flood of tears cut off her words. I glanced around the apartment, wondering what to do with Zoey. Ideally, I’d call Fox and have him bury her beside her father. Fox was a city wolf that provided medical services to werewolves. He would normally help me with the safe and proper burial of a wolf, but involving him in any way might jeopardize his safety. Vampires would have to take care of this.

“Why didn’t she kill me, too?” Jez sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “She barely looked at me, except to tell me it wasn’t personal. It’s f**king personal now.”

I released my hold on Jez to fetch her some tissue and a glass of water. I felt absolutely useless handing them to her. It was a poor substitute.

“Jez, I’m sorry. This is my fault. She’s doing this to force me to come to her willingly. To give her my blood.” I sniffed back the tears that threatened. Pulling my phone out, I called Arys who didn’t answer. Great. Not only had he let me go off alone tonight, he had also made himself unavailable.

“No, Alexa, this isn’t your fault.” Jez moved from the floor to the couch and promptly lit another cigarette. “It’s Shya’s fault. He made the dumbass decision to bind her instead of driving a stake through the bitch’s heart.”

“I know,” I sighed, infuriated. “He’s also the one who told Lilah my blood would break her curse. Manipulative son of a bitch.”

Unable to force myself to drag Zoey’s body out of there, I concentrated on reaching Arys through our mental connection. His resistance wasn’t what I expected. I took that to mean he didn’t want me to know what he was doing, but I didn’t have time to worry about him. Kale would have normally been the next person I’d call. So much for that. Hoping Shawn or Justin would be able to help, I called The Wicked Kiss.

“Justin is coming,” I announced after hanging up. “You should get dressed. Want me to get you something?”

She looked forlornly at the bedroom and nodded. I didn’t want to go back in there, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to make Jez do it. I longed to ease the pain she exuded. Knowing that was impossible, I fetched some things from her closet, grabbing enough to last her a day or two. I wasn’t leaving her here alone.

I paused to look at Zoey a final time. It was terrible what happened to her. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Lilah had saved me from one day having to kill Zoey myself. With her mental instability and irrational, sudden fits of violence, it was bound to happen eventually.

“Here.” I handed Jez the pile of clothing and went to the bathroom to gather her toothbrush. “Anything you need in here? You’re coming to my house for the day.”

“I can do this. It’s ok.” She appeared in the doorway, clutching her blanket like a lifeline in a storm. With her smeared makeup and tear-stained cheeks, she looked like a lost little girl. I’d never seen Jez so fragile.

“Is there anything I can do?” I felt helpless and I hated it.

She shook her head slowly. “Just don’t let her be dumped like some random victim. Please.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

The bathroom door clicked shut, and I took the opportunity to slip out onto the balcony for some air while she got dressed. Sucking in a lungful of night air, I stared out at the traffic that went by. The city continued to move and thrive despite the horror that had gone on here tonight. It was so unfair.

I was jittery and uptight. It took a lot of concentration to focus on the earth so that I could balance my energy. I needed to be calm and collected for Jez; she needed me. The essence of murder and death sought to get past my shields. I wouldn’t be manipulated by it. I refused. I was stronger than that. I had to be. Other people were counting on it.

It wasn’t long until there was a soft knock on the door. I let Justin in, quickly briefing him on what happened. I led him to the bedroom where we wrapped Zoey completely in a sheet.

“That sadistic bitch just isn’t going to stop, is she?” he asked, a sense of knowing in his dark eyes.

“Not until she gets what she wants from me.” I wrinkled my nose at the pungent odor of cigarette smoke. “Or, until I send her to hell.”

“Well if anyone can do it, you can. Especially if even half the rumors about you are true.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence. I’m not sure I want to know what they’re saying about me.”

Justin forced a strained smile. “Probably not.”

“Look, I need you to take care of her.” I nodded toward Zoey. “As proper a burial as possible outside the city. Marked grave. Please.”

“Sure thing. No problem.” Justin hoisted Zoey in his arms. His massive frame made her seem so much smaller than she was.

It was late. The chance of him running into someone was slim, but I accompanied him down to the back door of the building just in case.

“Be careful. Make sure you’re not followed. And Justin, thank you.” I had no words. He was going out of his way to help me. Though I knew he might be helping for no other reason than self-preservation, I was still grateful. Just because Justin believed me to be the bigger bad in the city didn’t make it true, but I was thankful someone thought so.