Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(43)

“Understood.” Though I did find Dayne’s Alpha gaze intimidating, I met it head on, unflinching.

Our wolves shared another silent exchange before he nodded and turned to leave with Owen falling into step beside him. I gestured to the band to start playing again, and the tense crowd gradually began to resume their activity. Not a single vampire dared to protest what had just happened. I hoped that was a good thing.

“Maybe I shouldn’t go,” Kale said from behind me. “You need me here.”

I turned to face him, forcing a neutral smile onto my face. “You’re sweet. But I can handle things here. Don’t make choices based on what just happened. It’s handled.”

Though I’d already dismissed the rest of the vampires present as non-threatening, Kale looked them over with open suspicion. If he was seeking reasons to stay, he would find them in abundance. I wanted him to stay, but I knew I could not be the one to encourage that choice. This was all on him.

“What the f*ck was that all about?” Jez sidled over, eyes flashing with curiosity. “I mean, it was obvious, but is Dayne serious about starting a war with vampires? Why the hell would he do something so stupid? That’s a war he can’t win.”

“We both know that, but I’m not sure Dayne would agree. I think someone is trying to f*ck with me by targeting his wolves. But I hope I’m wrong about that.” Now that the small commotion was over, I was free to wonder where the hell my sister was. Checking my phone again was useless. She hadn’t called. “Juliet was supposed to be here by now. I have a bad feeling about this. I need to go make a call.”

I retreated back outside with Jez at my side, chattering about how bad she needed a cigarette. I doubted that was all she craved. She and I needed to talk about the darkness I’d discovered nestled away inside her. Having a demon for a father had to do something to a person. It worried me that it would do something awful to her.

Phone pressed to my ear, I listened as it rang on the other end. One. Two. Three. It was going to switch over to voice mail. Fuck.

“O’Brien.” The voice of Agent Thomas Briggs was gruff in my ear. “Have you decided to come back down to earth and remember that you’re supposed to be one of the good guys? Or so you keep saying.”

“Why do you have Juliet’s phone?” I demanded. “Is she there?”

“Well, you sound coherent enough. Good. I want you to understand the gravity of what you’ve done.” There was a brief pause as the phone became muffled while he spoke to someone in the background.

The sense of dread that settled in my chest stole my voice. Sidestepping a drunk guy smoking a joint, I crossed the parking lot to lean against my car. I needed the support. Jez followed at a slower pace, ambling along, puffing away on her toxic cigarette.

“Briggs. What are you talking about? Tell me what’s going on.”

The muffled sounds cleared, and he said, “Juliet has been arrested. There’s a stack of charges against her because she’s been covering for you.”

If my heart had beat normally, it would have stuttered right then. My brain went blank. All I could think was why. Why the hell had she risked herself to cover for me? She’d been so adamant about doing her job, following the FPA rules and regulations. Why sacrifice herself for me?

“What do you mean she’s been arrested? Where is she?” My voice was hard as steel, hiding my true feelings. “Did you have something to do with this, Briggs? Did you lock up the woman you’re sleeping with?”

That tripped him up, but he recovered fast. There was a vicious tremor in his voice. “I did what I was ordered to do. Nobody here knows about my relationship with Juliet, and we agreed that it must stay that way. I will not be judged by someone like you.”

Son of a bitch. Briggs locked up my little sister. Arys’s bite was going to pale greatly in comparison to what I would do to him. “No, but you might be murdered by someone like me.”

“Listen, O’Brien, I didn’t take this call to argue with you and throw barbs back and forth. I have two f*cking holes in my neck, and I’m not looking to add any more. If you want to help Juliet, shut up and listen.” He paused, giving me a chance to bark back at him. When I didn’t, he continued. “We should meet. It’s not safe to discuss this over the phone.”

I snorted a laugh. “Come on now. I’m not that f*cking stupid. Do you expect me to walk into a trap you’ve set by using my sister as bait?”

“I can see why you’d think that. But you’re just as dangerous to me, maybe more so. Why not meet in a very public location? Somewhere safe for both of us.”

There were ways he could twist that to his advantage, but if I didn’t give him a chance, I’d never know what happened to Juliet. I chewed my lip, considering his proposal.

“Where?” It didn’t matter what he said. There would be no place safe to both of us. Things could happen anywhere.

“How about the sports bar down the street from you? The Druid. It’s always busy. Very human. I come alone, and you come alone.” Briggs sounded shaken up. It could’ve been an act, but it frightened me. If he was concerned about Juliet, things could be worse than I realized.

“You know, when people say that, they pretty much never really come alone. We can’t trust each other, Briggs.”