Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(39)

“No way. Definitely not her,” Jez joined in with a laugh. “Not after the way you dropped her.”

“What about you, Arys?” I couldn’t help but speculate. “Are you sure one of your many ex-lovers isn’t on some kind of revenge kick? It’s happened before. And, trust me, that’s getting old.”

Arys tried to hide a smile but failed. “I can’t help the effect I have. I’m like a drug, you know. I can’t be held responsible for those who can’t handle the high.”

If Shaz didn’t fit that description, it would have been funny. I ran through every female vampire I knew, eliminating them as I went, until I got to one that I had been quick to dismiss. Too quick perhaps.

I met Jez’s gaze across the table, and we shared a thought. Maybe it should have been obvious. I didn’t want to believe it.

Simultaneously we said, “Lilah.”

Chapter Twelve

I waited for some semblance of shock to hit me. It didn’t. All I felt was the certainty that my hunch was right. I searched for a reason to rule her out, anything to discredit what my instinct insisted was the ugly truth.

Lilah had never openly threatened me or indicated in any way she saw me as a problem. In fact, she’d saved my ass in the past and even imparted a friendly warning about Shya. But, we had never been more than acquaintances. I knew very little about her other than the fact that she was a demon cursed into the corporeal form of a vampire. She still had power over other demons, though to what extent, I didn’t know. So why me?

“What the hell did you ever do to her?” Jez gave voice to my thoughts. “You killed Veryl because he was blackmailing her. She should be one of your biggest fans.”

“From what I know of Lilah, she isn’t anybody’s biggest fan,” I mused. “Maybe she thinks I know too much about her. Or, maybe there’s something in the files I swiped from Veryl that she doesn’t want me to see.”

We could speculate until we were blue in the face, but it wouldn’t do a damn bit of good. No matter what the details, there could only ever be one reason she would want to get rid of me or anybody else.

“Power,” Arys announced. “It’s always about power. Especially with demons.”

“Why wouldn’t she just kill Alexa herself?” Shaz asked, holding up a hand to signal the nearest waitress for another beer. “Why send vampires that haven’t been able to do the job?”

Nobody had an answer for that. I felt a desperate need to eliminate Lilah as a suspect. There was only one way to do that.

“I have to see her.” I reached for my keys, an idea forming fast. “Chances of her being at the office are slim, but if she’s not there, I may be able to find something there that I can use in a locator spell. Plus, she was asking me the other day about a missing item from Veryl’s office. I wouldn’t mind a chance to snoop around.”

“I’m coming with you.” There was a warning in Arys’s eyes. He wasn’t going to like this.

“You can’t. If I go in there with you and she’s there, it will be instantly suspicious. She may not even try anything if I’m alone. Not if she doesn’t want me to know she’s the one behind this.”

“I can go in with you, Alexa,” Jez volunteered almost gleefully. “You shouldn’t go alone. Just in case.”

Shaz shook his head and shoved his empty beer bottle aside. “Don’t do it, Lex. Wait it out. Gather more information first. You can’t just walk up to her and expect to chat it out.”

“I can’t just sit around waiting for the next attempt on my life either.” I looked to Arys, expecting him to side with Shaz. To my surprise, he appeared to be contemplating it.

“Alright, go.” It looked painful for Arys to spit the words out. “But, Jez goes with you. And, Shaz and I won’t be far away. I want an open link to you the entire time.”

I had expected a bigger fight from him. I was pleasantly surprised and relieved. Now that I understood more about our twin flame connection, I was able to understand our relationship in a new way. Our constant conflicts were often about the struggle for control. We both wanted it. We had the same need for it, and now I knew why. If what they say is true about the twins always being in conflict, then I guess we’d better get used to it.

Arys wasn’t a fan of my tendency to rush into something. He wasn’t so different though. If I didn’t determine whether or not Lilah was the one behind the hit, it would eat at me until I did. Coming to her was something she wouldn’t expect from me.

By the time Jez and I stood outside the office, I was buzzing with excitement. My goal was to come away from this confirming that it either was or was not Lilah. Walking around with a target on my back was stressful. The sooner I could put an end to it, the better.

Arys was half a block away with a less than enthusiastic Shaz. My pulse quickened as I pulled my power close, holding it ready. With Arys so close and the mental link between us wide open, the power flowed strong and plentiful. I didn’t expect to find Lilah here, but I planned to be ready for anything.

I’d gotten pretty good at cloaking in recent months, but I had yet to cloak the presence and energy of another person along with me. Still, I was confident I could cloak Jez, too, with Arys’s power blasting through me.

I held out a hand to Jez. “I hope this works. If anyone is inside, we can’t have them sensing us.”