Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(84)

“Perfect. Thank you.” I lifted the dagger from its velvet-lined box and passed it to Willow, careful not to let it touch either Jez or Arys. “Wait until the right time, if you can figure out when that is. Too early or too late, and I’ll never get a chance to use it.”

“I’ll stay out of sight until I feel I’m needed.” Willow turned the dagger over, examining the demon blade with distaste. I handed him the scabbard, and he promptly slipped it inside before tucking it into his knee-length leather jacket.

“So, now we wait,” I said, my impatience growing. I pulled out my phone to check the time, and it rang in my hand. The hard rock sound of Guns N’ Roses was loud in the quiet parking lot. It was Briggs.

“Shit,” I swore before answering. “What do you want, Briggs?”

“Have you heard from Juliet? When she didn’t answer any of my calls I went by her place. There were signs of a struggle, and she’s nowhere to be found.”

I had a split second to decide between the truth and a lie. “Someone took her. Someone who wants to use her as leverage over me. She’s alive. I won’t let anything change that.”

“If you know where she is, O’Brien, you’d better give me a little more information than that. I’ll have a team ready in minutes.” He covered the phone to bark orders at someone in the background.

“No deal. I’ll handle this. Your people would only get her killed.” I braced for the threat of government authority.

Briggs scoffed and swore. “Dammit, I am not in the mood to play these games with you. Not everything is a power trip. She’s a member of my team, and I am genuinely concerned for her well-being.”

“All things considered, I’m glad to hear that. You’ll be the first to know when she’s safe again.” I hung up before he could reply. Having the FPA all over this would only increase the level of danger.

I stared at the phone, remembering Briggs boasting about tracking it. Turning it off should prevent that. Still, to be on the safe side, I would have to leave it here at the club.

When it was almost time to leave, Arys pulled me aside. “Be careful and most importantly, stay calm. Don’t let her drive you to make decisions based on anger. Your short temper is dangerous.”

“Who are you to talk?” I punched him playfully, trying to keep the moment from getting serious. It didn’t work.

He kissed me with an intensity that stole my breath. “I promised Shaz I would keep you safe. Please don’t do anything to make that a lie.”

“I’ll be fine.” I touched his face, and he leaned into it, rubbing his cheek against my hand. “You’re always with me, even when you’re not actually with me. No worries, ok?”

By the time Jez and I clambered into her Jeep for the drive to Lilah’s, I was frightfully calm. I’d awakened with fear and apprehension, but that faded, replaced by a solemn assurance that, no matter what happened, I was going to find a way to protect Juliet. The wolf paced restlessly inside me. It, too, was eager to make Lilah hurt.

“That worked too well,” Jez commented with a smirk.

We watched as Arys drove away in my car, followed by a grey BMW sedan that pulled out of the grocery store lot across the street. Easing into traffic behind the Charger, it had to be the feds. Briggs thought he could send a tail after me? Please. He’d be sorry when Arys led them on a wild goose chase and sent them back with punctured veins, if he sent them back at all.

A few minutes later, we pulled into traffic, heading in the opposite direction. I watched closely in the side mirror for any sign of another FPA car. We were clear.

Turning in to Lilah’s posh neighborhood got my pulse pounding. I clenched my fists and gathered my thoughts. The power boiled over inside, spilling out like a sieve despite my attempt to rein it in. I could do this. I had to.

“You need to tone that down, Lex,” Jez remarked. “I think you’re starting to give me static cling.”

She patted her hair, smoothing it in jest. I focused hard on containing myself. Anticipation and wrath had me on overdrive.

We parked a block away and walked to the house. Guards waited for us at the edge of the property. The small group of muscle consisted of both vampires and a demon. The temptation to hit them all with a hell of a blast was great, but I resisted. They weren’t worth it.

“You were supposed to come alone,” grunted a vampire with a beefy build and an ugly sneer.

“The invitation didn’t specify that. I doubt having a shifter at my side is going to make much difference. Lilah clearly has an arsenal here.” I raised my arms and spread my feet when he started to frisk me; I had nothing to hide.

One of the other vamps frisked Jez while the demon present merely oversaw the process. Maybe they were ignorant or maybe they were just men, but nobody thought to check Jez’s hairpiece.

They didn’t hold us up with wannabe bad guy talk. However, they also wouldn’t let us go further until sending and receiving word from Lilah that Jez could enter, too. Of course, she allowed Jez to pass. Lilah had something concrete on me. I could bring an army, but as long as the bitch had my sister, I’d have to play nice.

We continued down the stone walk to the front door. There were no hellhounds to greet us this time. No. It was far worse than that.

Falon swung the door open. He stood there with a self-righteous grin that didn’t quite reach his ice-cold eyes. Dressed all in black with his silver wings flared, he stepped back and motioned for us to enter.