Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(62)

I left the room, unable to take Kale’s nudity or his giggling playmates a second longer. He caught up with me when I was halfway down the hall. The FPA agent I’d knocked out was struggling to get to his feet, and I threw another punch followed by an elbow as we passed.

I emptied the gun of bullets and dropped the empty weapon beside its owner. I considered killing him and every person Juliet brought with her. But, sending her back to her boss with that kind of news wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want to harm my sister. I just wanted her to go away and leave me alone.

“You really have no idea who she is, do you?” Shaz’s voice was loud in the unusual quiet.

The band had stopped, and my remaining staff was ushering patrons out the door. Shawn hung back, well away from the scene taking place near the bar. Making a peace sign, he subtly let me know he was ready if I needed him. Despite the trouble I’d had with vampires, Arys included, they made great allies.

“It’s ok, Shaz.” I announced our presence. “Everything’s cool.”

Kale swept past me to walk a slow circle around Juliet and the remaining agent. He looked amazingly well put together for a man who’d been naked just a minute ago. Leather duster over a dark shirt and pants with his hair in disarray, he looked exactly the way he must have felt, like he’d just banged and bled a few humans.

Juliet turned slowly as he made his way around her. She stood ready to defend herself, unwilling to pull her gaze from the vampire looking her over like she was a tasty new treat.

Kale’s honey-sweet power was running high and heady. I couldn’t let that distract me; I wasn’t able to hold my shields in place and use my power.

“So you’ve come to police the supernatural for the human government.” Bemusement shone in Kale’s mismatched eyes. “I’m surprised that for an O’Brien, you’re such a fool.”

My jaw dropped in surprise. So did Juliet’s. Her eyes narrowed.

Drawing a stake from inside her jacket, she faced off with Kale. “You murdered a government agent.”

“Come now,” Kale admonished. “We both know this is just a play the FPA is making to introduce themselves to Alexa with a bang. They fear her. And rightfully so.”

“This is about justice for a dead woman,” Juliet’s snarl was low and deadly. Her wolf paced behind her eyes.

Agent Asshole pulled his gun, aiming it at Kale’s chest. “Where the hell is Kellum?”

“Agent Easy?” I quipped, jerking a thumb toward the back hall. “I put him to sleep. He’ll be fine. Might have a bit of a concussion though.”

A vein pulsed in the agent’s forehead, and his finger tightened on the trigger. I let the energy flow down my arm to pool in my hand. If he shot Kale, I’d make that agent wish he’d never been born a thousand times over before I killed him.

Someone must have sounded the alarm because several dark clad agents came in both the front and back doors, surrounding us on all sides. They were all human except for Juliet. Interesting. I was willing to bet the FPA saved their big guns and used the humans as disposable soldiers.

Juliet looked from Kale to me, deciding which of us was a bigger threat. Right then, it was Kale. He was eyeing her with a predator’s stare, likely imagining if she’d taste as good as I did. A shiver crept up my spine at the thought.

“We can do this peacefully.” Juliet’s tone was strong and fierce, but I could sense her unease. “Come willingly, and we can avoid a lot of trouble.”

“You overstep your bounds, wolf. Humans have no place in the affairs of monsters. Your choice to represent them will come back to haunt you,” Kale promised.

With a shrug and a smirk, Kale lashed out with a kick that Agent Asshole never saw coming. It caught him in the temple, and he dropped to his knees. Kale grabbed the agent’s arm and twisted. The snap was audible. The agent’s gun dropped to the floor with a clatter.

Everyone moved at once. Three agents swarmed Kale, including Juliet. He turned to take on those with guns first, leaving his back exposed. Juliet saw her brief opportunity and went for it.

I caught her wrist in a bone-crushing grasp. Using the momentum from my swift action, I followed through with a shove that sent her sprawling. But, Juliet was no easy opponent. Both highly trained for her position and having the natural abilities of the wolf, she was on her feet instantly, ready to take me on.

“Don’t do this, Lexi,” she pleaded. Despite the emotion in her voice, the wolf in her eyes was a stranger, and it wanted a fight.

We were the only two moving in slow motion. As we stared into one another, our companions were locked in combat. A blur of white-blonde was all I could see of Shaz as he took down an agent waving a gun. A shot was fired, hitting the lights over the dance floor. A shower of sparks cascaded down around us.

Kale was throwing off FPA agents like they were children. Using both physical strength and metaphysical power, he had little problem fending them off. For now. Eventually, someone was going to get hurt.

“I’m not going to be treated like a criminal by an agency that would use my own sister against me. Think about what you’re doing, Juliet.”

She flipped a long curl out of her face and clenched the stake tightly. “I’m doing my job.”

Talking it out like long lost family made whole again just wasn’t going to happen. I spared a glance at Kale, finding him overrun with agents. Where were they coming from? I let loose the blast of energy I’d been holding. It slammed into the agents, taking several of them down.