Once Bitten (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #1)(17)

“Alright, I deserved that.”

“You deserve more than that.” I couldn’t help but laugh, even though a part of me held a grudge. My last experience as Kale’s bait was certainly a memorable experience for all of the wrong reasons.

“Ok, I owe you one for that. I know. Call it in whenever you feel justified in doing so, and I’ll be there to take the hit.”

He could bet his lily-white ass that he would be. I was anticipating the day.

“So, where are we going? And, what’s the deal here? You better fill me in … before you blow it, like the last time you left me in the dark.”

I gripped the door handle tightly as he zipped ahead of traffic to merge into their lane. I cursed myself for leaving my car behind. What was I thinking? As far as drivers go, I couldn’t be sure who was more frightening, Kale or Jez.

“The vampire we’re meeting is involved in a blood ring that profits from runaway youths and prostitutes. We will be posing as two potential partners interested in becoming regular buyers. Once we have the guy’s trust, we torture information out of him. I want to know who’s running the operation.” Kale was all business now, speaking matter of fact as he wove in and out of traffic.

I hate it when people lane hop. I actively had to hold my tongue against the complaint that was building.

“Ok, well that’s nothing new. We’ve dealt with crap like this before.”

A car up ahead braked suddenly, which caused the rest of us to brake in succession to avoid a collision. I gasped and dug my fingers into the seats. The leather was tougher than human flesh and posed good resistance, but I worried that I would puncture them with my sharp nails.

“We’re meeting the guy in the restaurant lounge of a hotel. Our goal is to have him invite us to his suite for a more private discussion, where we will beat some information out of him before leaving him in a pile of ash. It’ll be fun.” Kale reached to turn the volume up on the radio as the DJ ran through a list of traffic issues affecting the city.

I tried to relax as the scenery flew past. The job sounded straightforward, but I’d been doing this long enough to know that it rarely went as planned.

Chapter Five

The hotel was located on the west side of the city. It was busy due to a conference of some sort inside. That might pose a problem if we had to exit the hotel covered in vampire blood and guts, but I wasn’t going to sweat the small stuff until we reached that point.

“He isn’t here,” Kale breathed near my ear as he scoured the lounge. Other patrons gave him odd looks as they noticed his eyes.

“Alright, I’m going to order a drink then.” Without waiting for him to follow, I approached the bar.

After waiting five minutes for a handful of giggling forty-something women to place drink orders, I had a whiskey in my hand. When I turned to find Kale, I was surprised to see him sitting with a vampire that had been turned much later in life. I’d estimate his human years to have been near sixty due to the fine lines in his face and his shock of silver hair.

I hadn’t sensed his arrival, which struck me as strange. My hackles rose instantly. I took my time strolling to their table as I delicately lifted the glass to my lips for a sip. Feeling for a vibe from his energy, I wasn’t surprised to find that there was something more to it than vampire alone. What was Kale getting us into?

I put on my best artificial smile as I reached the table. Kale stood and held a hand out to me, which I accepted somewhat quizzically.

“Greg, please meet my girlfriend, Alexa. Alexa darling, this is Greg. He’s the one I told you about.” Kale flashed me a quick wink as he spoke, and I could only assume he painted the picture of us as lovers to prevent the vampire from wondering why there were two of us. My being a werewolf probably had him wondering, but hey, many of us were known to enjoy the taste of human flesh.

“Hello, pleased to meet you.” I reached out warmly to shake Greg’s hand, careful to apply just enough pressure to be firm without squeezing.

Greg responded by pulling my hand to his greasy lips and making a few smacking sounds that turned my stomach. I resisted the urge to yank my hand away and slap him across the face, but it was harder than one might think.

Kale smiled right through the evil stare I shot him. He was so going to pay for this.

“Charmed.” Greg’s voice was thick and gruff. The suit that he wore didn’t fit right. It was too snug over his middle and incredibly obvious. He was running blood victims but couldn’t afford a well-tailored suit?

Kale posed as the perfect gentleman, which he sometimes was, and pulled out my chair. When we were all seated, Greg wasted no time. He cut straight to the chase.

“So, how much can I cut you in for?”

Kale could field that question. I was busy. I rubbed the slime off my offended hand and took a sip of my drink.

“That depends. What kind of deals do you have? Any regular client discounts?” Kale cast a glance around the place before looking pointedly at Greg. “Is there anywhere more private that we could discuss this? Alexa and I are well known professionals in our community. This has to stay quiet.”

“Most certainly. Quiet is our specialty.” Greg followed Kale’s gaze around the room as if in agreement. “I can bring you up to the room, but I must warn you that, if you try anything funny, I won’t hesitate to take you out.”