Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)(42)

At this rate, I was going to be out of clothes in no time. I was in and out of the suite in three minutes flat, running with Falon’s coattails flapping behind me. I had no starting point for finding Jez. My only guess was that Roscoe still had her. So I was going to The Wicked Kiss.

The street outside the club was empty. An eerie quiet hovered around the building. Knowing the rooftop access would likely have locked behind us when we left, I crept around to the back.

Two vampires wearing staff t-shirts stood watch at the back door. I stepped out of the shadows, careful to keep the dagger concealed. They stiffened at my approach, exchanging a look with one another. I held my hands up and moved slowly.

“I’m Arys Knight’s wolf. I’m here to find him.”

“You won’t find him here,” said the taller of the two. He frowned down at me, sniffing openly in my direction. “Linden and his guys dragged Arys and Jenner out of here over an hour ago. They took the blond wolf too.”

Panic seized my heart. Moving them to another location could only mean bad things. Linden and his blood ring were going to kill them.

“What about Sloane?”

“She’s here. Recovering.”

“Can I see her?” My question was received with skepticism and raised eyebrows. “I’m no threat to her. If you want Jenner back here in one piece, you have to let me speak to Sloane.”

They exchanged another look. The silent one shrugged. The tall guy nodded and stepped aside to let me through. I half expected them to follow me, but they remained at their post.

I entered into the back of the club behind the stage, fully anticipating a scene of horror and destruction. Instead, I found the place partying as if the earlier intrusion had never happened. Most of the damage had been cleaned up. Music pounded out of the speakers. People filled the dance floor, and vampire showgirls worked the room. The sheer normalcy was all kinds of f**ked up.

The elevator was off limits and besides I had no key card to access it. Slipping into the fire exit stairwell, I made my way down.

The lower level was in much worse shape than upstairs. Evidence of the attack remained in the theatre. Even as I walked through the dust and debris, staff members were hard at work cleaning up. A few of them looked up as I entered. I rushed into the backstage dressing room where I’d left my bag. It was still there, much to my relief. But so was Sloane, and she looked like death. I clutched my bag to me, grateful to find my phone and wallet still inside. I didn’t dare take my eyes off Sloane.

“Alexa?” She looked up from the neck of the man she was draining. Her eyes were dull and unfocused.

Someone had done a number on her. She had been stripped of her power, sucked so dry she was little more than a skeletal figure. Her skin clung to her bones, creating sharp angles in her face. Dirty and tattered, her dress barely fit her bony frame. I couldn’t recall ever seeing a vampire so drained.

“Sloane, are you alright? What happened? Where are Arys and Jenner?” I stopped dead in my tracks when her parched gaze landed on my throat.

“Linden took them. He’s going to kill them.” She pushed the unconscious man aside, and he hit the floor with a thump. Peering up at me with sunken eyes, Sloane tried to get up only to collapse back into the chair. “Help me up?” She extended a scrawny arm that wavered uncontrollably. Blood smeared her lips along with what was left of her lipstick. She was truly a ghastly sight.

“I think you need to rest. Finish your…” I gestured to the fallen man and took a step back, unwilling to let her touch me. Hunger blazed in her glassy blue orbs. I probably smelled like a prime meal to her, a sirloin steak to a starving man. She was starved for both blood and the living energy within it. There was no trusting any vampire in such a state. “Can you tell me where Linden would have taken them?”

“No.” It seemed to take great effort for her to mutter that one word. She licked her lips, staring at my neck with undisguised bloodlust. “Please, just help me to the bed upstairs.”

“Roscoe. Has he been here?” I asked. No way was I touching her. “That bastard drugged me and took Jez. I need to find him. I think he’s working with the blood ring.”

Her arm dropped to her lap, and she looked positively defeated. She stared right through me, and I was sure she hadn’t heard a word I said. I repeated myself, resisting the urge to shake her. She’d likely crumble to dust in my hands.

“You smell so good. So strong. If you could spare just a little, just a few drops, I could be better. I could help you.”

Weakness had given her a one-track mind. She was giving me nothing. Frustration shook me. My mind raced, trying to formulate a way to find my loved ones in this city of insanity. I pulled out my phone, careful to keep an eye on Sloane. There were fifteen missed calls from Kale and four voicemails. It wasn’t his number I selected from my contacts list though.

I called every one of my missing people. Voicemail for both Shaz and Jez while Arys’s phone was off. Fuck! I made a hasty decision to call on someone I didn’t know I could trust. I was running low on options.

I listened to it ring, holding my breath for a response. On the third ring, a rough, angry voice barked, “O’Brien! This had better be good. Some of us actually sleep at night.”

“Briggs, thank God you answered. I need a favor.” The urge to cheer was quickly squelched by tentative worry.