Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(5)

“Let’s get this over with,” I muttered as we made our way around the building.

A dark suited agent stopped us with one hand held up in an unspoken command; another reached for the gun at his hip. “Are you Alexa O’Brien?”

“Yeah, that would be me.”

“I.D. please.”

“Seriously?” I stared at his outstretched hand. “Where’s Briggs? Or Juliet. They know who I am.”

He opened his mouth to refuse, but Briggs cut him off. “Let them by, Agent James.”

The man I dreaded seeing stood behind a line of caution tape with several other agents. He watched our approach with a narrowed gaze, scrutinizing our every move.

Briggs was a tall, black man with a taut physique that bragged of hours in the gym. With his dark suit and government agent persona firmly in place, he was both a bit of a cliché and a tad scary. I wasn’t entirely sure what he and the FPA were able to do, but from what I’d seen so far, it wasn’t good.

I ducked under the tape, followed closely by Arys. I scanned the area for Juliet, finding her over by the body. Our eyes met across the distance, and she quickly averted her gaze. Nice to see you, too, little sister.

“Thanks for coming,” Briggs drew my attention back to him.

“It’s not like you gave me a choice,” I said pleasantly, beaming a phony, see-through smile.

“You had a choice.” Turning his dark gaze on Arys, Briggs stuck out a hand. “I’m Agent Thomas Briggs. Nice to meet O’Brien’s other half. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Arys Knight.” Arys accepted the other man’s hand, and they took a moment to size each other up. “I’m sure whatever you’ve heard is only scraps of the truth.”

Briggs lingered on Arys as if he didn’t dare take his eyes from the vampire. Finally, he extended a hand toward the cluster of agents gathered around Zak’s remains. “Well, have a look. Tell me what you think.”

He led the way, the agents dispersing like flies at his approach. When only Juliet remained, we shared a look, brief but poignant. A spark flickered in her dark eyes revealing a remnant of the girl I remembered.

“Hey, Lexi. Sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances.” Juliet gestured to the headless corpse. “Do you know him?”

I studied the remains of my pack wolf. It was hard to look at but not quite as hard as it had been to see his head in that box. Zak’s body had been stripped naked. As Briggs had said, a large ritualistic looking symbol was etched into the flesh in the center of his chest. It was a triangle with what appeared to be an eye in the center, surrounded by an inverted five-pointed star. Great.

I closed my eyes, concentrating on the residual energy surrounding us. Zak’s body was tainted with a black, inky energy that reeked of demons. It was faint, telling me very little about what happened to him. He hadn’t been killed here.

“Yeah,” I let out the breath I’d been holding. “I know him.”

Briggs turned his scrutiny on me. “How do you know him? Or, should I say, how well do you know him?”

“He was one of mine, if that’s what you’re driving at. A member of my pack. A friend.” I met Briggs’s cold stare with one of my own.

“Any idea why someone would do this to him?” Briggs raised a dark brow, daring me to deny it.

I glanced back at the cryptic symbol. “Looks like a demon ritual to me. Possibly to raise one. Maybe bind one.” Or, break a binding on one, I added silently.

“Uh huh. But, why choose this werewolf specifically?” Briggs was like a dog with a bone.

I crossed my arms and tilted my head, studying him intently. “Is there something you’d like to say, Agent? Just spit it out.”

Juliet stiffened but said nothing. Her silence spoke volumes. She was uncomfortable but forced a relaxed front.

Briggs swung his gaze over Arys and then me. “I’d say it looks like someone’s trying to send you a message. Like you’ve pissed somebody off.”

“Yeah? That’s what you think? Is that why you’re sniffing around here? Because you sure as hell don’t want to meet the demon responsible for this. If I were you, I’d wash my hands of the whole thing before you endanger your people.” I tried not to look at Juliet but was unsuccessful. The further she stayed from this situation the better.

“We’ve dealt with demons before. Don’t patronize me, Ms. O’Brien. I can assure you, I’ve been doing this since you were in diapers.”

If that was true, Briggs looked pretty good for his age. I wondered what he was up to that gave him access to the fountain of youth. With a shake of my head, I dismissed his comment as ignorance.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what kind of demon you think you’ve dealt with, none of them even compare to this one. Do yourself a favor. Get acquainted with their hierarchy and stay the hell away from the ones at the top. Now, are you going to release my wolf to me, or do you have other, more unsavory plans for him?”

The agent and I glared daggers at one another. Briggs was used to calling the shots. Well, so was I. At least I was when Arys was willing to let me.

“I’m not authorized to give it to you. It’s evidence of some obviously serious activity going on in the city. We’ll be keeping it.” Briggs was unapologetic. “We haven’t found the head yet. Hopefully we will before a civilian does.”