Freak Show (28 page)

Chapter Nineteen

I sipped a cold beer and eyed the TV in the corner of the bar, the cause of so much shouting among the patrons. Sports lounges really weren’t my kind of place. I waited for Agent Thomas Briggs to arrive for this little meeting he’d insisted upon.

Arys sat beside me, watching the big screen with veiled interest. He might be a big bad vampire, but I’d seen him rant and rave at the TV during an intense game. There had been no convincing him to let me handle Briggs alone. He was determined to show this city our united front, to spread and enforce the word that we were in power here. I imagined that wouldn’t go over too well with others.

“We’ve barely been back a week, and the FPA is already demanding secret meetings in neutral locations. That’s bullshit. They want you bad, and I don’t trust how far they’re willing to go to get you.” A muscle in Arys’s jaw twitched, a sure indicator that his temper was on a short leash.

“Briggs is as bad as Shya when it comes to collecting people,” I said with a shrug. “He’s an idiot if he thinks I can be persuaded to work for the government. I think the demon is less corrupt.”

Arys’s blue gaze traveled over the other lounge occupants. He scrutinized them each in turn, as if deciding if they met his criteria for a potential victim, whatever those criteria were. Every time I thought I knew, the vampire surprised me. His boundaries were few and far between.

“Jenner did one thing right,” Arys mused. “Getting the FPA on his pay roll was a smart move. Harley never bothered with such things. He preferred his FPA encounters to be bloody.”

The lounge door opened, and Briggs strode in, looking every bit as much like a movie Fed as I’d ever seen him. With his dark hair cropped short, tailored suit hugging his body like a glove and sunglasses hiding his brown eyes, he had a real
Men in Black
thing going.

At his side was my younger sister and fellow werewolf, Juliet O’Brien. Brunette curls gave her a soft edge that was otherwise missing in her stiff appearance. In jeans and a leather jacket, she exuded a sense of badass that didn’t match her federal agent status. She was wolf and family. She shouldn’t be with them. But she was. And I would have been too if the FPA had it their way.

“Something tells me that Briggs isn’t the kind of guy that can be bought,” I said beneath my breath.

Arys gave my thigh a squeeze and murmured, “We’ll see about that.”

Juliet and Briggs slid into the booth across from us. A waitress promptly appeared to take their order. Juliet requested an iced tea, while Briggs barked a short order for coffee.

“Thank you for being so accommodating,” Briggs said when the waitress had departed. “I appreciate it.”

His gaze flicked from me to Arys, and I saw the derision in his eyes. If he’d had it his way, Arys wouldn’t be here. Briggs wouldn’t be the first to find dealing with the vampire to be difficult, maybe even unbearable. Arys didn’t like to play nice with very many people.

I exchanged small talk with my sister, feeling somewhat awkward but finding genuine warmth in her smile. Things had been strained between us since I’d discovered she survived the wolf attack that turned us both. The Feds had raised her into someone I couldn’t trust. That was so hard. Slowly, we were getting to know one another again.

Arys waited until the waitress had come and gone again. Then he leaned forward and said, “Start talking, Briggs. Why did you call this little gathering? I’m sure it wasn’t because you missed us so damn much while we were away.”

“Not at all.” Briggs removed his shades and set them on the table beside his coffee cup. “I don’t want to be here anymore than you do. When we get reports, I have no choice but to follow up.”

“What now?” I had a sinking feeling that I knew where this was going.

Briggs gave me a level stare. As pretentious as the Fed could be, he was a pretty straight shooter, a no nonsense kind of guy, and I could respect that, even when he accused me of murder.

“Did you kill a federal agent in Las Vegas?” His question was for me. The way he said it came off as more of a statement than a question.

I took a long, slow sip of beer, choosing my words carefully before responding. Good news sure traveled fast. “I killed a vampire in Las Vegas. One who was running a very sick and fucking twisted blood ring. If he happened to be a Fed, then that’s on you guys. Not me.”

“Son of a bitch.” Briggs took a swig of coffee, putting his mug down so hard it splashed over the edge. “It’s a crime to kill a federal agent, even one that isn’t human.”

Arys’s energy buzzed with displeasure. “Is it not also illegal to traffic human beings? Are you saying that you turn a blind eye to agents involved in such activity?”

“No. Of course not. That kind of shit is inexcusable.” Briggs scowled into his mug. “Can you provide some kind of proof of this allegation?”

I didn’t know whether to laugh in his face or claw his eyes out. “Are you kidding me? I shouldn’t have to prove that one of your guys was up to no good. That’s the FPA’s problem. Which we are solving by taking over the blood ring with the intent to disband it entirely. If anything, you should have come here to thank me, not question me.”

Juliet shifted in her seat, glancing uneasily from Briggs to me. There was something in the way she looked at him, something not entirely professional. Were they sleeping together? Sure Briggs was a hottie with that creamy dark skin, deep voice and intense government persona, but Juliet was playing with fire. It wasn’t my business though. My opinion would stay right where it was, in my head.

“Lexi, we take it very seriously when our agents are suspected of being involved in something illegal. There is no law against killing a vampire, but you must understand why we need to follow up on this.” Juliet appealed to my sensible side, hoping I’d respond favorably.

She wouldn’t look at Arys for long. Despite her tough exterior, he intimidated her. They hadn’t really met under the best circumstances.

“Sure. I just don’t understand why you need me to do that. The way I see it, I did you guys a favor.” I fixed Briggs with an ice-cold stare, daring him to make this my problem. “The entire Las Vegas FPA is corrupt. They’ve been in bed with the vampires there for a while now. So forgive me if I don’t feel bad about dispatching one of their sorry asses from the planet.”

Briggs seemed to be exerting great effort in keeping his jaw from dropping. The grip on his mug tightened, and his slow, steady breathing was incredibly forced. He looked to Juliet who shook her head. Nope. I wasn’t lying.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Arys nudged me under the table. Maybe I shouldn’t have shared Jenner’s business transactions with Briggs, but I wanted him to know that the FPA as a whole had much bigger problems than me killing one measly vampire. 

“Come now, Agent Briggs,” Arys said in his best placating tone. “Don’t pretend such corruption is unheard of in your organization. I’m sure the place is built on it.”

Briggs’s temper flared. He pounded a fist on the table, almost upsetting my beer bottle. “I can assure you, Mr. Knight, that no agent works with the enemy without just cause.”

“The enemy?” I repeated, incredulous at his broad description for an entire species. “That’s how you classify us? Well, now that I know where we stand, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say we can never and will never be able to work together. On anything. Not even Shya.”

“It’s a general fucking term, O’Brien,” Briggs snarled, directing his angry gaze my way. “You are a goddamn monster, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Rage roared beneath the surface of my skin, threatening to burst forth like lava. Briggs was going to get burned if he didn’t watch it. “The worst monster I see here is the one throwing the word around while trying desperately to paint Feds as puritans. Get off your fucking high horse, Briggs.” I was seething. Letting him enrage me was playing right into his hands. A few calming breaths did little to help.

“Ok, let’s just keep things calm here.” Juliet held up a hand, demanding attention. “There is no reason we can’t discuss this rationally. Alexa, we’ll look into your claims. But please, can you agree to allow us to handle it next time you come across something as serious as a blood ring headed by an agent?”

I stared at her like she was speaking another language. “Um, what? No, I can’t agree to anything so absolutely ludicrous. That fucker had children. Do you understand what that means? Vampires trafficking kids. Entertain that thought for a minute, will you?” I leaned back in my seat, arms crossed, angry gaze leveled on Briggs. If he was going to make me get graphic, I would. But I think he knew better than to push me on this.

After a few minutes of strained silence, Briggs relented. “You’re right, O’Brien. That’s some sick shit. Putting a stop to it should be a priority. I’ll take a look at the Las Vegas department myself, see what’s going on there.”

“And?” I was suspicious. He had changed his tune too easily.

“And I suppose I’ll do what I can to get the higher ups off your case. You made a call you thought was best that ultimately served the safety of the public. It wouldn’t be fair to hassle you further on this.”

I gawked at him, unsure of where this change of attitude had come from. Maybe sleeping with my sister was changing Briggs’s opinion of me. One could only hope. Although if that was the case, things could get sour very quickly if it didn’t work out with them.

“Thank you.” I raised my beer bottle to him before finishing the last of the brew. “You’re all wrong about me, Briggs. I am not the enemy. I don’t know why I have to keep saying so.”

“That’s the way the world works.” He shrugged. “We’re all the villain in somebody’s story. Get over it.”

Arys snickered. He knew that Briggs was pushing all the wrong buttons. “You’re talking the wrong crap to the wrong woman, my friend. Stop while you’re ahead.”

“Nobody here is a villain,” Juliet insisted, her gaze lingering on Arys. “Not even you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so dedicated to taking care of my sister. There’s no reason that we can’t work together for the good of this city.”

I was starting to get the feeling that this meeting had never been about Linden’s murder. It was just a ploy for Briggs to get me face to face so he could grill me further about Shya. “Don’t start with the Shya talk again,” I warned. “I have nothing to share with you.”

Briggs swore and set his mug down hard, rattling the unused silverware. He was very comfortable in his bad cop role. “You know he’s up to something. We need your help to stop him.”

“Stop him from what?” Arys inquired with a raised brow and half smile.

“We don’t know, and we don’t want to find out the hard way.” Briggs turned his angry stare on the vampire where it was completely wasted. “You both have the opportunity to do some good here. Choose carefully what side you want to be on.”

I’d about had it with Briggs. He was so sure of himself, so sure he knew where Arys and I stood. Because we had power and were inhuman, he put us in a box with Shya, assuming us to be the same. I was done with that shit. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” I spat. “Do you think I walk around with a demon mark on my arm because I like it? Just because I won’t work for you doesn’t mean I’m working for Shya. There are many things you don’t know about me, which is exactly how I’d like to keep it. Stay out of my way, Briggs, and I’ll stay out of yours.”

“It’s too late for that now,” he said lazily, unfazed by my wrath. “Besides, you owe me a favor.”

So I did. Having him track Jez’s phone in Vegas had come at a price. “And what might that be?”

Briggs gave Juliet a nudge, and she slid out of the booth, her iced tea mostly untouched. With a nod to Arys, he turned his intense stare on me. “I’ll let you know.”

Tossing a few bucks down to cover their drinks, Briggs ushered Juliet from the lounge without a look back. She paused in the doorway to motion that she would call me.

I slumped in my seat and sighed, trying to remember why I’d been in such a rush to get home. The Vegas vampires weren’t looking so bad now.

* * * *

Home alone with a pizza and the TV remote. It was as close to normal as things got, and it didn’t happen often.

I reclined on the couch, watching a rerun of
The Walking Dead.
I couldn’t remember the last time I permitted myself to have a lazy night. After the meeting with Briggs, I’d said fuck it and came home while Arys went to the local bar to play poker with his human card buddies.