Sunset to Sunrise (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7.5)(18)

“Kale, please,” she screamed. “Don’t do this.”

Those words echoed inside my mind. I had heard them before, uttered with the same terror, the night I had tried to kill Alexa in the FPA basement. It became her voice I heard instead of Lily’s. It was suddenly Alexa I heard begging me to stop.

I flung myself backwards, landing haphazardly on the floor. I couldn’t allow that to happen again, not to her. Confusion muddied my brain as I struggled to make sense of what was real and what was just a horrifying memory.

Lily scrambled off the bed, tripping as she went for the door. I lunged after her, catching her ankle. Jerking her off balance, she fell in a heap of blood-smeared limbs. She kicked and hit, anything to keep me away.

I dragged her closer, crawling up over her. The screams that drove my hunger were now feeding my madness. I couldn’t stand to hear that sound another moment. Clapping a hand over her mouth, I jerked her head to the side and buried my fangs deep in her throat.

Somehow I managed to stop short of killing her. I left her laying there, sprawled unconscious on the floor. That had not gone according to plan.

I sat on the end of the bed, staring at Lily’s naked, bloody body. I had to get her out of here. Letting her sleep it off for a while seemed like a good plan. Then I’d toss her in the shower and send her on her way. With the right kind of persuasion, I might be able to convince her that none of it had happened. Glamour wasn’t my strongest trait, but it was worth a shot.

It was early morning. I could feel it. Fetching my phone from my jacket, I was unnerved to find no return call from Alexa. What I should have done was try to get some sleep. What I did was dial her number. Much to my absolute surprise, she answered. The sound of her voice momentarily stole my words.

“You really know how to make a guy crazy, don’t you?” I greeted her, hoping she wouldn’t hear the utter relief in my voice. “I must have called you a dozen times.”

“More than that actually,” she said with a light laugh.

It was so good to hear her voice. A huge weight had been lifted from me. “Obviously, you’re still alive. Is everything ok? I knew you wouldn’t want me to send Falon, but the only way to find you was through Shya’s demon mark.”

I settled back on the bed against the headboard while she retold the events of her night. Hearing about the wolf fight and the vampire theatrics filled me with rage. Arys had allowed it all to happen. On his watch, Alexa had been endangered and exploited. He deserved to die. Every word she said convinced me of it.

Her voice shook when she told me Shaz had been nabbed by the bad guys. She was blaming herself. I could hear it in the words she didn’t say.

“You’re strong. You’ll play the heroine and save Shaz. No worries.” I wanted to reassure her but didn’t know how. Things had changed between us. She no longer found comfort in me.

“Right, no worries.”

“It’s what you do though, isn’t it? You put yourself in danger to save those you love.” My voice cracked, and I cursed inwardly. What was it about this woman that made me so easily come undone?

She heard the emotion I wished I could hide. It was painfully evident when she said, “Kale, I’m sorry about what happened with the FPA. I went in there for you, twice, and I failed. It’s because of me that they drove you so crazy.”

“They didn’t drive me crazy, Alexa. Somebody else did that long ago. Your blood opened a door I’d thought was closed forever. The FPA just made me feel ok with it again.” I shrugged even though she couldn’t see it. Dredging up the events involving the FPA didn’t help either of us now.

“You sound fine right now. Like the Kale I first met.”

“That’s because there’s fourteen hundred miles between us.”

“Is that what it takes for you to talk to me without wanting to kill me?” She blurted the question, as if unable to withhold it.

“You don’t want to know what it takes.” I shook my head, staring at Lily splayed out on the floor. That wasn’t what I wanted for Alexa. Not really. “If only it was as simple as merely wanting to kill you.”

“And here I thought you called because you cared,” she said, her tone snappy and snide.

“Oh, but I do care.” I don’t know what it was about that woman that made me so crazy. From one end of the spectrum to the next, I went from emotional sap to mischievous predator in a split second. “In fact, I care so much for you, Alexa, that I dusted a vampire to defend your baby sister’s honor when she passed through looking for you.”

There was stunned silence for a moment before she said, “Don’t touch my sister, Kale. I know you want to get to me and make me take you out, but that is not the way to do it.” She was right. A thinly veiled threat was beneath me. I owed her better than that.

“I’m hurt that you would immediately jump to such a conclusion,” I said a little more dramatically than necessary. Pausing, I wrestled with myself. I hadn’t called her to be a dick. I had called because I cared. I needed her to know that. “I said I’d make you crazy. I never said I would break your heart.” For a moment she didn’t reply. I could almost feel her weighing her response. I decided not to give her the chance to form one. I rushed on, saying, “I’m glad you made it through the night in one piece. You sound tired. Go get some rest.”