September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(33)

With a groan, I shoved the door open. I kicked off my shoes, closed and locked the door, then made my way down the long front hall to the kitchen and living room at the back of the house. There I found Arys, Jenner, and Shaz gathered around the island in an intense discussion. They looked up at my approach, each falling silent in turn.

“Did you find Jez?” Shaz asked with a slight sniff in my direction. “You smell like her. Is she ok?”

“You stink like Sinclair too,” Arys added, his expression grim. The forced calm and the glint in his eyes conveyed his irritation loud and clear. He was spoiling for a fight, and I’d just arrived. He must have been stewing a while.

“We found her. And she’ll be fine. Thank you for asking, Arys.” I said his name with annoyance. “She was partying at The Spirit Room with a bunch of humans and a nephilim. We found her snorting coke. She’s at Kale’s now sleeping it off.”

Shaz swore softly. “Damn. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“That one is a loose cannon,” Jenner said. “I saw it the moment I met her.”

“I hardly think you’re in a position to make that kind of judgment call. Jez is suffering from the loss of a lover. It’s normal for her to act out. She needs help, and she’ll get it.” I glared at Jenner. “Why are you here anyway?”

Arys jumped in before I could really lay into Jenner. “I thought it best for us all to stay together. You shouldn’t be alone right now. It’s not safe.”

There were many ways I could respond to that. Right off the bat I wanted to beat him over the head with my shoulder bag. Instead, I dropped the bag on the island and shrugged out of my jacket before going to the fridge.

“That’s hilarious, Arys. Really. You’re cracking me up.” My sarcasm dripped as I grabbed a bottle of water and turned back to face him. “Seriously though, what the hell is Jenner doing in my house?”

“Hey,” Jenner protested with hands up in mock outrage. “I welcomed you into my nightclub. It’s practically a home to me.”

“You also forced me to get on stage in that same nightclub for your enjoyment.” I flipped him my middle finger before taking a large drink of water. I was dehydrated and suddenly starving. Healing took a lot out of me. I would need to replenish the energy I’d expended metaphysically as well.

“Yes, and we know how that turned out, don’t we? I’m pretty sure you got the better deal that night.” The calm but intense hatred that spread across Jenner’s face was deadly.

“It’s not a joke, Alexa,” Arys broke in. He shot a warning glare Jenner’s way before refocusing on me. “Things are in motion. Shya’s going to drastic lengths to get that scroll, and we can’t be sure how far he’ll take it. We can’t afford to underestimate anyone right now.”

I moved about the kitchen, pulling a pan from beneath the stove and fetching eggs from the fridge. If I didn’t feed the mortal hunger, it would worsen the metaphysical hunger, something I didn’t want to deal with in a house filled with supernatural males.

“So you think that the three of you can offer me some kind of protection against Shya himself?” I asked, slicing up a tomato. I briefly entertained the idea of flinging the knife at Jenner but decided against it. “Come on, Arys. You know better than that.”

I could feel his heavy gaze upon me as I prepared my sandwich. Like usual, there was something Arys wasn’t saying. I knew him so well.

“I know that we can’t afford to be careless. We’re not taking any chances with your safety.” Arys spoke as if his word was law. The usual. He had to know I was going to rip him a new one later when we didn’t have an audience.

“What are you going to do, Arys? Follow me everywhere in case Shya pops in? And then what? You can’t fight off that demon.” It wasn’t my intent to insult his manhood or his good intentions. Still, he wasn’t being realistic.

He sat there scowling at me with a storm raging in his midnight eyes. I was dreadfully aware of the other two men watching our exchange. That’s when it hit me.

“Arys,” I began, speaking softly, like I would to a skittish animal. “Is it really Shya you’re trying to protect me from by having them here? Or is it you?”

“Alexa,” he spoke my name like a warning. He offered me nothing else. No denial or confirmation, and that was confirmation enough for me.

Jenner sat there smirking, enjoying the awkward moment of pending conflict. I wanted to hit him.

Shaz was quiet, watching us without missing a thing. He knew how quickly the conflict between Arys and I could boil over, although he’d never seen the worst of it.

“Look, Lex,” Shaz jumped in. “It’s just temporary. Until we know more about the scroll’s whereabouts. Maybe we can’t keep you safe from Shya. But we can damn sure try.”

It was obvious to me that Shaz was trying to get me to back off Arys. I’d hit a nerve that Shaz seemed to be aware of.

“Fine, I get it.” I relented, letting it go until I got Arys alone. “You want to keep me safe, and I can appreciate that. But you guys can’t hover over me all the time. I need my space, or I’ll go crazy.”

“You can’t go off alone,” Arys insisted. His brow was set in a hard frown. The darkness filled his eyes, a warning of the wrath to come.