Freak Show (18 page)

“No armed attack tonight, Linden?” Jenner spoke up. “Did you lose too many crew members fucking up my club?”

Linden clapped his hands together once before spreading them wide in a gesture of not giving a fuck. “I’m not here for you tonight, Jenner. Though seeing as you escaped the sun, we apparently do have unfinished business to settle. You,” he continued, pointing at me. “I’m here for you.”

I steeled myself, ready for ludicrous demands. “Because I killed Harley.”

“Because you put a hole in my business. You owe me.” It was so cut and dry according to Linden. “I assume you’re willing to do what it takes to keep your wolf alive. Are you willing to take his place?”

I laughed. Excitement gripped me as my borrowed power guided my actions. I took a few steps toward Linden, just enough to make his lackeys bristle. “I’m willing to consider letting you walk out of here and carry on your business. After you bring Shaz to me.” I caressed the flat part of the dagger blade with a palm. It hummed with a melody only I could hear. It couldn’t wait to taste Linden.

Arys was a silent shadow at my side. If he disagreed with my choice of response, he didn’t let on. Smart man.

“I see.” Linden nodded knowingly. “You think you have leverage here merely because you’re the most powerful one in the room. Power comes in many forms. I have it too. Just like I have your wolf. So you can make a choice. Surrender or fight.” 

I pretended to consider my options. Linden gave the impression that he always got what he wanted. I would have believed it if one of his guys hadn’t been thinking very ugly thoughts about him. Someone in Linden’s camp didn’t enjoy his role in Linden’s successes.

Casting a glance around at Arys and Jez, I found them both awaiting my lead. They trusted me to make the right call. It was a lot of pressure. I had to follow my instinct.

Shaz would never have wanted me to give in to demands. I twirled the Dragon Claw in my right hand and held a flaming psi ball in the other. The flames were a nice touch. I hadn’t meant to do that.

“Well, Linden, I think we’re going to have to fight.”

He nodded his dark head as if he’d expected as much. “Kill me, and you’ll never find the wolf. At least, you won’t find him alive.”

I was done talking. I let the psi ball fly, aiming not for Linden but for the big vampire to his left. It exploded against his chest, and he went down beating at the flames.

We all sprang into motion. Linden rushed to meet me. Drawing a gun, he aimed it at my head but never had a chance to shoot before I kicked it out of his grasp. He swung a heavy fist, and I was quick to avoid it.

Arys and Jenner took on Linden’s men while Jez watched our backs. I didn’t want to kill them all. Not until I dragged Shaz’s location out of somebody. I’d never be able to find him the way I had Arys.

Linden was light on his feet and, like most vampires, graceful in his movements. He made a hell of a dance partner. Having no psychic power didn’t stop him from being a good opponent. He kept me moving, always defending myself. It gave me little opportunity to focus the overflow of power slamming around inside me.

An attempt at slamming him with a blast missed the mark and hit a nearby table, causing the tablecloth to erupt into fire.
Oops.
I took a punch to the jaw before catching his arm and twisting. I slammed my foot into the back of Linden’s leg, and he went down on his knees.

I held the Dragon Claw to his throat. “Careful, Linden. If you get so much as a scratch from this thing, it’s all over for you. Now you’re going to tell me where Shaz is.”

To his credit, Linden refused to utter a word. Jenner and Arys were throwing Linden’s guys around with ease. I took advantage of those vital seconds and shoved power into Linden. I’d force my way into his thoughts if I had to.

His resistance was strong. Too strong. Clearly, this was not the first time he’d taken a metaphysical beating.

“You can’t kill me,” he chortled, finding humor in near death. “I’m a god in this city. An organization like mine doesn’t die if I do. But your wolf does.”

Shaz was all he had to use against me. He had banked on it being enough. And it was. It was enough to make me fight harder rather than surrender.

The blood ring was a vile creation that turned the hunt into a fetish. It made children and innocents a target of torture and twisted scenarios. Every vampire involved in that deserved to die.

It took very little effort to take hold of Linden’s heart with my mind and squeeze. Falon’s power enabled me to do with ease what would have otherwise drained much of my strength.

Linden gasped and made a choking sound. I didn’t need him to find Shaz. I could still hunt down Roscoe. Linden’s heart was seconds from bursting. It gave me a rush of gleeful anticipation. Unfortunately, my amusement died before he did.

“Let him go, Alexa,” Sloane’s voice rang out above the rest. The bitch had Linden’s fallen gun pressed to Jez’s temple.

“You traitorous cunt.” Venom dripped from Jenner’s words.

“Sorry, baby. I didn’t want you to find out this way,” Sloane purred. “I took a beating last night to keep it from you. Since you survived, I suppose it would have come out eventually.”

I released Linden, having no other choice. Nobody moved except one of his guys who came forward to help him. He waved him off, getting up on his own.

Sloane’s betrayal didn’t come as much of a shock to me as it apparently did to Jenner. He was aghast, jaw dropped in disbelief. Despite their rocky relationship, he must really love her. She had gone to a lot of trouble to hide her alliance with Linden. I knew she was trouble the first moment I laid eyes on her.

“You know Jenner just because you want out of the game doesn’t mean everyone does,” Linden said, looking quite pleased with himself. “You should know by now how this works.”

“You are one evil bitch, Sloane,” Jez said. She was unafraid but smart enough not to try anything rash.

Sloane pressed the gun tighter to Jez’s head and shrugged. “I like you, Jez, really I do. I’m sorry we didn’t get to finish what we started last night. But a woman has got to look out for herself. I hope you understand.”

I exchanged a look with Arys. We could do nothing as long as Sloane could blow Jez’s brains out in the blink of an eye. All the power thrumming through me was useless with my friend’s life on the line. I could blast Sloane in a thought but not without risking a shot going off.

“Now,” Linden turned to me with a broad, satisfied smile. “What were you saying about a fight?”

Sloane didn’t give me a chance to answer. She slammed the gun into the side of Jez’s head so hard the crack was audible over the loud music. Jez went down hard, out cold. Blood stained her golden hair.

“You can walk out of here on your own free will, Alexa. Or I can put a bullet in her brain.” Sloane kept the gun trained on the fallen leopard. “Don’t even think of using that juice you sucked out of the angel either. My finger just might twitch on the trigger.”

I nodded, holding my hands still at my sides. “If you kill Jez, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Sloane agreed. “But she’ll still be dead.”

“Fine. Let’s go. I’m all yours.”

Arys’s wrath was tangible. Blue and gold electricity twisted and danced about his fingers. I shook my head, imploring him not to endanger Jez further.

“Let me take Harley’s place,” he announced, drawing every eye his way. “I’ll stay in Vegas and resume his supply to your organization. Just leave my wolves out of it.”

Shock and horror slapped me. Arys was either desperate or crazy. It didn’t matter though because Linden wasn’t buying it. With the confident swagger of one who knew he had won this round, he sidled over to Arys. “You tried to shut my blood ring down once. You let your protégé murder your sire. I would never make the mistake of trusting you. In fact, the sooner you get on a flight out of the country, the better for both of your wolves. I’ll consider selling them to some of my less sadistic buyers.”

“I’m not going anywhere without Alexa. I’m taking over The Wicked Kiss. Jenner has proven he’s not fit to run it. I can be a worthy partner.” Calm and cool, Arys almost had me convinced he spoke the truth. He’d damn well better be glad I could tell he was lying.

Linden nodded to his guys, and they surrounded me. Not one of them dared to put their hands on me. Smart.

“I’ll be taking what I’m owed and leaving now. Arys, you have twenty-four hours to leave my city. I’m being generous.” Linden ushered us toward the exit. I moved woodenly. My legs felt heavy.

Arys moved to stop us. Sloane cocked her weapon.

“Don’t!” I shouted. Panic echoed in my voice. “Arys, please. You have to let me go.” Silently, just from my mind to his, I added, ‘Take care of Jez. I’ll find Shaz, and we’ll get out. You know Shya won’t let me die. I’ll be ok.’

Arys backed off, but he was miserable. A storm brewed in his midnight gaze. The echo of my wolf showed in his eyes. ‘You better find a way out tonight. I’m not going home without you.’

‘I love you.’

He didn’t say it back, and in that small slight, his weakness was revealed. It was too easy to take Arys down simply by targeting me. I didn’t need his affirmation to know he loved me. His love ran deeper than mine; it had burned much longer.

They took me to a super swanky SUV limo parked outside. I was shoved into a dark leather interior and crammed between Linden’s guys. The long black seat ran in an L shape down one side of the vehicle, curving behind the driver. A brightly lit bar filled the space across. TV screens mounted in several places played a muted movie.

The scent of cologne and whiskey permeated the car. I wrinkled my nose and tried not to sneeze. I wasn’t afraid, which was a pleasant realization. It might have been the angel blood or possibly the fact that I knew I would die by Arys’s hand.

Of course, I was certainly wary. A “mob boss” guy like Linden thrived off the fear of others. Even if he didn’t kill me, there was little chance of me emerging from this entirely unscathed.

Sloane slipped into the limo behind Linden, and I groaned inwardly. I couldn’t stand to look at her Hollywood-chic face. With her makeup expertly in place and a gown that could have graced a red carpet, I couldn’t help but wonder why she fought so hard to hide behind illusion. Besides, her soul was ugly; no amount of cosmetics would hide that.

Linden banged on the partition separating us from the driver, and the SUV lurched forward. Then he nudged a lackey who produced a set of government issued FPA handcuffs designed to inhibit the power of someone like me.

“You’re a fucking FPA agent, aren’t you? Son of a bitch.” I surrounded myself with a shield of energy that cast a warm glow throughout the vehicle.

“I am.” Linden nodded and pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “I see you’re familiar with these.” He gestured to the cuffs. “So you know why I have to insist you wear them. We can all play nice, or I can make a call and have a body part removed from the wolf. Your call.”

He held the phone ready, finger poised to hit send. I burned with boiling hot hatred. And I dropped my shield.  I held my hands out before me, allowing those wretched cuffs to imprison my power for the third time. Perhaps I should have taken Briggs up on his offer to help. Somehow, I didn’t think he knew the Las Vegas unit had a vampire like Linden in their employ, or that he was running a very shady underground side business.

“I’m happy to see you can be reasonable,” Linden continued, smiling like I wasn’t giving him a death glare. “This doesn’t have to be all bad, you know. I have many clients that treat their blood slaves quite well.”

“Does the FPA know about your business venture?” I asked, refusing to be intimidated by him in any way. “I didn’t think they were into that kind of thing, though from what I’ve seen, one can never be sure with them.”

Linden began to select bottles from the bar, holding them up as an offering. I recognized a pricey whiskey that I used to drink back at Raoul’s house, long before he had died. I nodded to that one.

“No, the FPA tries to uphold their squeaky clean mission statement. My business is only mine.” He poured a generous amount of whiskey into a crystal glass and pressed it into my hands. “Although, being FPA does have its perks. As you can see.”

It certainly did. I wouldn’t mind having a set of FPA handcuffs myself, just in case. When I got home, I’d have to see if Briggs would be willing to slip me a pair. He would have his price of course.

I tried to hear the thoughts of those surrounding me. Since Sloane’s mention of angel blood, they had all shut up their minds tightly.