Sunset to Sunrise (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7.5)(28)

The scent of gunpowder greeted me as I passed through the lobby. I stopped short in the entryway, a string of my favorite obscenities on my lips.

The Wicked Kiss had seen its share of damage. I wasn’t sure it had ever been this bad though. This was a three day clean up at least. Furniture had been reduced to rubble. Tables, chairs, even one of the couches behind the bar, all of them smashed into several pieces. The couch might have even been set aflame from the looks of the remains. The air was smoky.

I didn’t have a lot of time to take in the rest. Justin and his small but usually effective security team had managed to subdue three vampires. As suspected, Rebecca was among them, wearing a haughty smile.

“Let her go,” I said to Justin who had pinned her arms behind her back.

He released her with a shrug. She stood there, fearless and arrogant. I barely resisted the urge to smack her.

“I guess you changed your mind about that whole no ill intent thing.” My body hummed with power. If she tried to run, she wouldn’t make it out the door.

“It appears to be that way, doesn’t it?” She exchanged a smug look with her companions, neither of which seemed to share her confidence. “The least I could do for Phillip after what you did to him was refuse to be silenced. He was right. You’re part of the problem.”

Exchanging barbs with Rebecca was beneath me. So instead I backhanded her. She flew across the room, landing in a tangle of limbs. It wasn’t enough to keep her down though. She rushed me with a strangled cry, hurling her full weight against me. I was ready for it. I leaned into it, using her momentum to flip her across my back where she hit the floor hard beside me.

Placing a boot on her chest, I laughed. “You are a prime example of what happens when vampires have too much time on their hands.”

“Oh that’s rich coming from the poster boy for vampires gone insane,” she snapped. “Your head is so far up that werewolf’s ass, you can’t see the light. You can’t be trusted, Kale.”

“I’m a vampire, bitch. None of us can be trusted.” With an anger-fueled shout, I reached down and tore Rebecca’s head from her body. It took great effort, but the end result was satisfying.

I brushed the dust from my hands and turned to the remaining two vampires. Before I could deliver a similar punishment, there was an explosion of light and a deafening boom.

I was airborne. Landing in the sharp and potentially deadly remains of a smashed table, I did my best to protect my face and chest. With a groan, I hauled myself up. Justin lay sprawled several feet away. The vampire who had been stupid enough to blow himself up was nothing but dust. His buddy had gone out along with him. Unfortunately, he’d taken one of our guys down too.

“What the f*ck was that?” Justin wore a dazed expression. Placing a hand to his head, he frowned when it came away wet with blood.

“That was someone who never should have been a vampire.” I drew closer to the point of explosion, finding myself disoriented. The stage had collapsed. Good thing the band had bailed out a while ago.

“Is this a bad time to tell you that Alexa’s flying home tonight?” A drunken voice broke through the ringing in my ears, and I turned to find Willow in his usual seat at the bar, bottle in hand.

“You’re kidding me. Have you been here all night?”

“Nope. Just arrived.” He picked through the tray of limes, frowning as he tossed some aside. “And no, I’m not joking. They caught a flight back tonight. But hey, it looks like you’ve managed to deal with that pesky little rogue vampire problem.”

I exchanged a look with Justin who shrugged his broad shoulders. He had no worries. We both knew I’d be the one to catch hell for this.

The club had emptied out save for a few stragglers in the lobby. If Alexa arrived home tonight she would likely head straight home. Which meant I had until tomorrow night to clean this place up. It would never happen. Not without a miracle.

“Are these organic?” Willow held up a lime wedge, scrutinizing it with bloodshot eyes. “I don’t think they are. They taste funny.”

“I don’t know,” I muttered, unable to focus on the drunk angel and his ridiculous question. I threw my hands up, frustrated and ready to tear my hair out. “Where do I even start?”

Sunrise wasn’t far off. Most of the night had passed while I searched church after church when I should have been protecting my club. Rebecca’s death had been too easy. If only I could have dragged it out a little.

“I’ll stay all day to help you clean up,” Justin offered. A lazy grin spread over his face, revealing pearl white fangs. He pointed to a woman standing in the lobby, staring at her phone. “I just need a little pick me up before I get started.”

I followed his gaze to the lobby, spying a pair of brunettes waiting for a cab. “That’s not a bad idea. Thanks, J. You’re a good man.”

The disaster surrounding me was temporarily forgotten. With two potential playmates in sight, I had only one thing on my mind. Fucking and feeding. I was screwed either way, so I might as well get some action before the vampire queen ripped me a new one.

Chapter Eight

Long before sunset, I ushered the ladies out of my bed. With great difficulty, I’d managed to leave them both alive. Knowing Alexa was back in the city had sucked some of the fun out of it.

A quick shower, some casual attire, and I was back in the club doing my best to create a pile of debris in the middle of the room. Justin joined me soon after, and together we picked up the pieces of the only thing Alexa and I would ever share.