Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(42)

When I returned to the apartment, Jez was standing in the doorway to the bedroom. With her green eyes fixed on the bloodstained bed, she hugged herself tight. I gave her a gentle squeeze.

“I’ll clean this up. You don’t have to.” Before she could protest, I got busy gathering the remaining bloody blankets. It was the least I could do.

She watched me in silence while I scrubbed down the crimson spots and smears with bleach. The blankets, I would take home to burn. When the sharp bleach aroma had burned away the last trace of blood along with my sense of smell, I called it done and washed up.

Nearly two hours had passed since I received Lilah’s message. Time still moved despite Jez’s heartbreak. I coaxed her away from the bedroom and the many memories within it. Memories she would no doubt replay many times tonight.

“Come on.” I tugged gently on her hand. “We should let this place air out. We’ll head to my house. Unless you don’t mind making a stop at Shya’s.”

For the first time all night, she looked at me with the spark of emerald fire I was used to seeing in her eyes. “Shya’s? Let’s go.”

I was happy to escape the chemical laden, death-riddled confines of Jez’s apartment. Wary and alert, I scanned the street for anything suspicious, including a double check of my car itself. Depositing the bloody bedding in the trunk, I got into the driver’s seat with a hunger for vengeance.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” I asked. “We don’t have to go.”

“Oh, I want to go. I have a few things I’d like to say to him.” Jez stared straight ahead, her expression stony.

Taking Jez to Shya’s house might not be the best idea. Seeing the hard set to her jaw, feeling the hatred running hot through her, I knew it could get ugly. However, she had every right to face the demon she blamed for the death of her lover.

I filled her in on Gabriel as we drove through the city. She nodded here and there to show she was listening, but I knew she was a million miles away.

Pondering where to begin with Shya, I fell silent. Between his utter failure with Lilah and tonight’s kidnapping of Gabriel, I was at the end of my rope with the demon. Shya had saved me from the FPA, something I was grateful for, but he’d done it for his own reason, whatever that was.

Lilah might be my current priority, but it was only a matter of time until whatever Shya was hiding came to light. If I wasn’t ready, I’d be sorry.

I began to have doubts when I turned into the tree-lined driveway. Shya’s modern style home was a sprawling display of luxury and sharp angles. Nothing good ever happened when I was here. I didn’t expect that to change now.

“Are you sure you want to come in?” I glanced at Jez, finding her surprisingly focused and intense.

“This bastard has been the one behind the scenes all along,” she mused. “I thought we were all working with Veryl, keeping a lid on things to avoid public exposure. But, I think it means something more. We were all recruited. Something about each of us sets us apart from other supernaturals. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“It’s not. I think Veryl’s files will shed more light on that.” I parked the car and killed the engine. I was afraid of what we’d find inside. If Gabriel had been harmed, I would blame myself.

“I’ve been thinking about those files, what they said about me. I think that’s why I was recruited. It’s obvious why you were. So what about Kale? And, how many others does Shya have running around, doing his bidding?” Jez rubbed her eyes and stifled a sigh. “We need to figure this bastard out. Before more of us die.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t be here right now—” I started to say, but she was already getting out of the car.

Jez lit a cigarette on our way up the front steps. She took a few big drags before dropping it in the nearest flowerpot. I raised my hand to ring the bell. Before I could make contact, the air rippled, and Falon appeared.

“You never know when to give up, do you?” He towered over me, trying to look especially foreboding.

“Get out of my way, Falon. I want to talk to Shya, and I’m not particularly in the mood to look at your face right now.” I tried to shove past him, but he blocked my way, going so far as to shove me into Jez.

His laughter pissed me off even as it made my skin crawl. “Look at the little wolf trying to be the big bad. It’s cute.”

“I said get out of my way,” I hissed through gritted teeth as I lashed out at him with a slap of power. It was just enough to knock him aside, but I couldn’t hide my pleasure.

I let myself into the house, calling Shya’s name. Falon recovered fast. Grabbing my arm, he spun me around and backhanded me hard enough to throw me off my feet. I landed on my ass in the open foyer, momentarily stunned. My jaw throbbed and my temper flared.

Before I could get up, however, Jez’s shortened fuse snapped. She grabbed Falon’s arm and spun her body, flipping him over so he landed hard on the floor beside me. Placing a boot on his chest, she gazed at him with eyes that had gone pure wildcat.

“Don’t f**king touch her again,” she uttered, her voice dangerously calm. “Your whore killed the woman I love tonight. Why shouldn’t I return the gesture with you?”

“You can’t kill me, kitten,” Falon grunted as she put more weight into pinning him.