Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(60)

Muffled voices could be heard as two men argued over who would answer the door. Finally one of them lost, and footsteps approached. The door opened slowly, just a crack at first. A disheveled-looking man with a beard peered out at us.

“We’re here to see Ben,” Jez said with a bright smile.

The guy looked us over, clearly suspicious. “Got a name?”

The masculine scent of human men wafted from the house. It was tainted with the odor of booze, pizza, and cheap cologne. Beneath all that was the telltale scent of fear. Allie had to be in there. Somebody in need of help was.

I’d planned to play the game a little longer, but both my hunger for death and my curiosity drove me to toss that plan. I slammed the door open with enough force to send him stumbling back. We strode inside, entering a dank little hallway.

“So much for playing it cool,” Jez muttered but followed my lead.

“What the f*ck—?” the guy began, but I cut him off by grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the wall.

“Are you Ben?” I growled into his face, ensuring he saw my fangs.

His confusion and irritation gave way to fear. The stench of it was enticing, encouraging me to make short work of him and leave him in unrecognizable pieces. He shook his head the best he could and pointed toward the living room behind me.

“I’m Ben,” a man said, his cocky tone drawing my interest his way. “You ladies looking for some work? Bet I can fetch a pretty penny for the two of you.”

Forgetting Beard Guy entirely, I let him go and spun to face Ben. He was tall and lanky with long, greasy hair and a face that looked like old, worn leather. Right away I could smell the drugs in his system. Hard stuff. Bummer. I wasn’t too keen on drinking tainted blood. Though it wouldn’t cause me much harm, drugs and alcohol in a blood source could still have an effect on me.

“Aren’t we a little old?” I asked, gliding forward with the grace of the undead that I used to envy so much. “I hear underage girls are more your thing.” Before Ben could speak again, I slammed him with a psi ball that dropped him to his knees before me. I grabbed hold of his jaw and forced him to meet my eyes. “Where’s Allie?”

I was vaguely aware of the other man seated on the couch. He watched the scene play out with alarm written all over his face. Jez put herself in front of the door, preventing potential escape.

Ben glared up at me, his teeth clenched in pain. “Allie’s not accepting visitors right now.”

“Is that so?” I hit him hard enough to knock him over. Then I grabbed him by both shoulders and slammed him down on the wooden coffee table in the center of the living room. “Do I have to ask you again?”

In my peripheral vision, I saw Beard Guy try to make a run for it. Jez shoved him back with a fierceness that had her green eyes blazing. She didn’t stop until he stayed down on the floor where she put him.

Ben blinked at me through bleary eyes and smiled as if I were a product of his drug-clouded imagination. “Man, what are you? This is a f*cking trip.”

What are you? Ah, that question. I was so sick of hearing it. “It doesn’t matter what I am. You’re not going to live long enough to think twice about it anyway. Tell me where Allie is.” I slammed him against the table a few more times, sending glasses, remote controls, and an ashtray to the floor.

The man on the couch wrung his hands. He stared at me with wide eyes while mumbling expletives to himself.

“Well, goddamn, if you aren’t a vampire,” Ben rambled on. “And here I thought the stories about this city were bullshit. I guess that means you’re going to kill me.”

Kale entered the house then, taking everything in with a glance. He and Jez exchanged words, though I was focused only on the pathetic excuse for a human being splayed on the table.

“Oh, I’m definitely going to kill you,” I snarled. “It’s up to you how fast or slow that happens.”

Kale took over Jez’s position in the front hall while she ran from room to room looking for the girl. I could feel him watching me. His presence poured fuel on the flames of my blood-hungry fury.

“Kane sent you, didn’t he? I knew he was up to something, but I guess he really got the drop on me this time.” Ben’s cackle conveyed to me that he wasn’t taking his impending death seriously enough.

Unable to control my sudden rage, I slammed Ben’s head several times against the table, stopping only when I saw blood stain the wood beneath. The guy on the couch came undone. He leapt up with a yelp, glancing around for escape. Not on my watch.

I pointed a claw-tipped finger at him. “Sit down. Now. What are you doing here? The truth.”

His ass hit the couch before I could tell him again. Nervous energy poured from him. He was clean though, no drugs in his system that I could detect. I just found my prized prey for the evening.

“I came by to pay Ben some money I owed him. That’s all. I don’t want any part of this.” He held both hands up as if that would help. His clean-cut, average, everyday guy appearance didn’t fit how I imagined a child predator to look. Of course I didn’t quite fit the description of the average inhuman serial killer either.

“Owed him money for what?” Kale asked, drawing both our gazes to where he leaned in the doorway. Beard Guy was still sitting on the floor where Jez had put him.