The Wicked Kiss (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #2)(8)

The parking lot was empty of people. The tow truck hadn’t come for Kale’s car yet.

The street noise carried to us as we walked toward it from the back of the building. I was so relieved to be out of there.

“That’s debatable, but I think you underestimate your vampire, Alexa. To you, he may come off as some small town vamp lurking in the alleys behind your local hangout.

But here in the city, he’s a bigger player than I think you’re aware of.” He looked at me almost apologetically, and it made me feel naïve. I had no idea what Arys was up to when away from me, but I had a feeling that I was in the dark on a lot.

“How so?” When he headed towards his car, I steered him away with a gentle hand, back toward the front street. “It’ll be towed. I’m taking you home. And, I didn’t know you and Arys ran in the same circle. Neither of you mentioned knowing the other before last summer.”

He made a noise of exasperation. “There was nothing to mention. Arys is notorious in this city for being the kind of guy you tiptoe around if you don’t want to get killed. He has a tendency of making sure everyone weaker than him knows it.”

That I could certainly believe. “So, who isn’t weaker than Arys?” His cocky attitude was nothing new to me, but it sounded like a recipe for trouble.

Kale fixed me with a serious gaze that betrayed the monster behind his eyes. “For a long time, very few. Since he has been bound to you, nobody.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Really?” We walked around to the front of The Wicked Kiss where we cut down half a block and waited for the traffic lights to change. “Why does that give me a bad feeling?”

The crosswalk light lit up, and we crossed to where my red beast of a car sat. I was itching to talk to Arys now. He was going to get us into deep shit.

“If it makes you feel any better, it’s not like he can hide it from the rest of us. Neither of you can. I was aware of it the moment I was in your presence after you forged your bond.” Kale paused to watch the tow truck that turned into the lot of the vampire club. I could see the concern etched on his fine features. “I don’t think it endangers you as much as it strengthens you.”

I was starting to think that my world wasn’t as broad as it needed to be. I didn’t know nearly enough about the goings on of vampire society despite my romantic and metaphysical entanglement with one. The fact that I was also bonded to nature as well as deeply involved with my fellow werewolf, Shaz Richardson, was keeping me immersed in the world of Were to the point of ignorance.

I unlocked the Charger and climbed in, Kale mirroring my action on the other side.

Worry nagged at the back of my mind. I’d been an idiot to think Arys and I had something we could keep under wraps like a superhero disguise.

Kale was quiet during the drive across the city to his south side home. I turned the radio up to break the silence because I really wasn’t sure what to say. We’d just come to a stop at a red light when he spoke, startling me in the quiet.

“The things that she made me do, Lex; I can’t stop flashing back to it. To how good it felt even as I hated myself for loving it.” His fingers gripped the door handle, and he stared out his window, but I don’t think he was seeing what lay beyond it. “All I can think about is stalking a pretty young thing, letting the hunger build to the breaking point, the need for release. It’s been so many years since I’ve savored the power of life filling that void deep down. But, sometimes it feels like just yesterday that I bled someone from a vein in every body part while they begged me to stop. And damn, it was good.”

I risked a glance at him but couldn’t see the expression he wore. Memories could be a powerful thing. Arys’ memories had caused me to attack Shaz. They had a tendency to turn up in my dreams more often than I’d like.

I cleared my throat, a nervous anxiety growing in my stomach. “Maybe you should talk to Veryl. Maybe he can help you deal with this.”

He laughed bitterly. “Veryl is the last person to go to when it comes to not being ruthless. The guy is a madman. He’s already told me what a fool I am for frequenting a place like the Kiss.”

Then maybe you should just kill someone and get it over with before you lose your mind, I thought. I refused to give voice to the thought though, knowing it was the predator in me talking, not the humanity.

I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that Veryl was currently out of town, along with a few others that we work with. They'd gone to look into some strange activity in a neighboring city, leaving us to pick up the slack and keep each other out of trouble.

Hopefully.

“How do you keep from losing it in a place like The Wicked Kiss?”

“With plenty of practice and a few prayers,” he sighed and picked at a loose string on the seat cover. “I’d be lying if I said nobody has ended up dead in that place.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t go there for awhile. Why not pick off a few of the johns that pick up the teenage prostitutes or something? It’s not like they’re doing society any favors.” It sounded harsh, but it’s true.

“I know, but I’m not sure I could stop there. The things that bitch did to me; it goes so much deeper than killing. It’s all about the joy, the satisfaction of the terror and the screams.” Though he continued to stare out the window, I could tell by his tone that he now wore a smile as he spoke. “Oh, the screams, I think that’s got to be the part I miss the most.”