Jax captures my arm. “Are you sure you want to do this? Because I can just go in.”
I nod. “And for future reference, you never, ever have to double-check with me when we’re about to take down the bad guys.”
“You’re enjoying this way too much,” he says, releasing my arm.
“You have no idea.” I climb out of the car, bursting with excitement as I meet him around the front of the car. “I’ve missed this.”
“Missed what?” he asks distractedly as he checks his phone.
“Doing this kind of stuff.” I gesture at the bar across the parking lot. “Going into these places and taking the bad guys down.”
He puts his phone away and focuses on me. “Have you done this a lot?”
“Not as much as a Keeper.” I tighten the knot on my jacket, securing it around my waist. “But I’ve been in my fair share of bar fights.”
“Really?” he says, his voice thick with sarcasm. “That’s shocking.”
“I know. It’s crazy,” I retort, loop my arm through his, and tug him toward the entrance of the bar.
He stumbles, obviously shocked by my move, and I smile in satisfaction.
The gravel crunches under our boots as we walk side by side across the parking lot and toward the building.
When we near the door, Jax warns in a low tone, “Keep your guard up.”
The few guys hanging around outside stop talking and fix their attention on us. I don’t have to see their mark to know they’re vampires; I can smell the foul stench of blood oozing off them.
The taller of the three men steps in front of me as I’m about to walk through the door, moving so quickly I just about crash into him. Jax steadies me by the shoulders as I trip and nearly run into him.
Vamp dude folds his bulky arms across his broad chest, his skin strikingly pale underneath the florescent lighting of the sign. “There’s a cover charge to get in.”
I mentally roll my eyes, already seeing where this is heading, but I decide to play along … for now.
“And how much is it?”
He grins, flashing me his set of sharp, white teeth. “Well, that all depends on how good you taste.” He breathes in deeply, his chest expanding. “My bet is you taste as delicious as you look.” His hands shoot out, and he folds his fingers around my arm. Gripping tightly enough to leave a bruise, he jerks me toward him and dips his head to bite my neck.
I lift my knee, planning to knee him in the balls, but he suddenly gets jerked away from me. I turn around just in time to see him sail across the parking lot and collide with one of the bigger motorcycles.
Jax dusts off his hands and flashes me a cocky grin before he focuses on the other two guys who are moving in on us.
His eyes glow silver as he snarls, “So, which one of you’s next?”
My heart does this stupid fluttery thing as I get a brief glimpse of his werewolf side. But even more shocking is how easily the other two vampires back down and run away, disappearing into the darkness of the parking lot.
Turning toward me, he reaches behind my back and opens the door. “Ready?”
I nod, too stunned to find my voice. I mean, holy fiery, hotness, that was hot.
He must read my turned-on expression because he lowers his lips to my ear. “I don’t think that’s how a friend is supposed to look at their friend.”
I gently push him back, stifling a shiver. “Friends can find their friends hot when they do hot things like kick a vamp’s ass.” Not bothering to watch his reaction, I whirl around and march inside.
The second my feet land on the other side of the threshold, my senses are assaulted by the scent of sweat and blood. The muggy air causes my skin to dampen as I make my way deeper into the club, weaving around groups of vampires and the occasional human. While Jax chats with a vampire guy wearing leather pants and a black shirt, I keep going, searching the room for my first target.
The hypnotic beat of “Bad Blood” by Bastille begs me to join the crowded dancefloor, but I resist the desire and push my way toward the bar where three vampire guys are sitting. They look around my age, although they’re probably way older, conversing and sipping from glasses filled with a thick, red liquid.
When I approach the counter lit up with neon blue lights, all of them stop talking and stare at me. Their silence and withering stares cause uneasiness to stir inside me, but I hold my chin high and approach the bartender, a taller woman with wildly brown curls and the brightest green eyes I’ve ever seen.
“Can I get a shot of tequila?” I plop onto the stool and nod at the vampires staring at me. “And I want to buy them a round, too.”
She gives me a tolerant look. “Can I see an ID?”
I rest my elbows on the counter and give an insinuating look toward the vampires who appear around the same age as me. “You’re really going to ask me that?”
She considers this before slamming four shot glasses down on the counter. “Fine.” She grabs a bottle of tequila, fills the four glasses to the brim, and shoves one at me. “Drink up.” Then she turns to the three vampires beside me and places a shot down in front of each of them. “She bought you a round,” she says with humor in her tone.
The three of them trade an amused look, pick up the shot, and turn to me.
The one sitting closest to me flicks his shaggy, blond hair out of his hazel eyes and smiles. “I think a gesture such as this requires a toast, especially coming from such a beautiful girl.”
The shorter one wets his lips with his tongue as he nods.
“I completely agree,” the third says as he hops off the stool, walks over to where I’m sitting, and raises his glass. His hungry blue eyes shimmer against the dim ceiling lights. “To beautiful, violet-eyed girls.”
I fake a smile and tap my glass to his. “To gorgeous guys with pretty blue eyes.”
We clink glasses, and I down the shot. He sips his slowly, sucking the liquid out until he empties the glass. Then he sets the empty glass down on the counter and bites on his lip hard enough to leave indents in his lips as his eyes zone in on my neck. “I think you and I should dance.” He offers me his hand, expecting me to take it.
I nod and place my hand in his, pretending to be dazzled by him, pretending I’m just a normal girl who just accidently wandered into a club chalk-full of vampires.
His icy cold fingers wrap around mine as he lifts me to my feet. Then he guides me to the center of the dancefloor beneath the shimmering lights, spins me around, and tugs me backward until my back is aligned with his chest. He starts jiving his hips, practically dry-humping me, and I pretend to be flustered, clumsily moving with him, even though I can rock sexy dance moves when I want to.
“So, how does a sweet thing like you end up in a place like this?” he asks, sweeping my hair over my shoulder.
I roll my eyes. Cheesy much? But it’s a good line to get my plan in motion. “I was actually told by a couple of people that I should come here, that the music was great and the drinks were to die for.”
“Oh, they are.” His lips brush against my shoulder.
Gag me.
“I guess so. The tequila tasted pretty bitter, though,” I say, rolling my hips into his.
He glides his hand down my side and molds it around my waist. “You should ask for something stronger. If you do, you might like it.”
“That’s what one of the people who told me to come here said,” I murmur, my head bobbing backward as he slips his knee between my legs. “I bumped into her at this other club I was at a few nights ago … I can’t remember her name, but I was hoping she’d be here because she had this cool tattoo, and I wanted to ask her where she got it. I’ve been wanting to get a tattoo, but it’s so hard to find someone you can trust to permanently mark your body like that.”
“What’d she look like?” He grazes his teeth along my shoulder, and I have to fight not to turn around and bash my knuckles against his face. “Maybe I can help you find her.”
“She’s
a little older than us and has long, black hair. Oh, and her lips were pierced, and she has this tattoo of a red raindrop with a T at the bottom of her neck.” I lean against him even though I want to pull away. “The colors were so vivid, like the ink was really good quality.”
“I think I know who you’re talking about. Her name’s Nadene.” His teeth nick the arch over my neck, right below my pulse, as he delves underneath the hem of my shirt. “If you want, I could show you where she hangs out.”
I tip my head to the side and allow him to nibble on my skin. “She doesn’t hang out here?”
“She does, but she usually doesn’t come in until later.” His teeth are at my pulse as his hand reaches the bottom of my rib cage. “I can drive you to where she is now. My motorcycle’s out back. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
I place my hands over his hands to stop them from moving higher. “Yeah, I don’t think I want to do that.”
“Yes, you do,” he growls against my neck. “I can feel it.”
I roll my eyes. He can’t feel a damn thing, or he’d know how repulsed I am by him.
“She says she doesn’t want to, so get the fuck away from her.” Jax’s firm, demanding voice rises over the music.
Vampire guy jerks his hands off my waist. “And who the fuck are you?”
I turn around just in time to see Jax lean into the guy’s face. “The guy who’s going to beat your ass if you don’t get the hell away from her. Right now.”
Vampire guy stares Jax down momentarily before flipping him the middle finger with both hands. “Whatever, wolf boy. But this isn’t over yet.” He backs away from Jax, purposely bumping his shoulder into mine.
Once he’s out of sight, I smile at Jax. “That was perfect timing. Seriously, I think you might be right about us being great together.”
Instead of agreeing with me, he stares at me with his arms crossed. Figuring he’s pissed off at me for wandering off and tracking down information by myself, I try to smooth things over.
“I know you probably think I just broke the rules,” I say as calmly as I can. “But that was me behaving. Trust me. If I was misbehaving and doing whatever I want, the conversation vamp dude and I just had would’ve gone down way differently.” His unwavering gaze makes me squirm. “Look, I’m sorry I wandered off by myself, but I did get a name, and I do know that at least one of them will be here tonight. So, if we wait around for a bit, we might get lucky.”
He continues to stare at me to the point that I feel like I’m going to burst. I’m just about to ask him what’s wrong with him when he parts his lips.
“Do you always dance like that when you’re supposed to be working undercover?” he asks with an inquiring look on his face.
I shake my head. Jesus, is that what this is about? What a weirdo.
“No. I usually dance way, way better.”
“Prove it, then,” he says, shocking the living daylights out of me. He doesn’t seem like the dancing type.
“Um … what?” I look around the dancefloor then back at him as I lean in. “Is something going on that I don’t know about? Are we being watched?”
“I’m just curious,” he says. Then he winds around me and presses his rock solid chest against mine. When I make no move to get closer, he loops his arm around my waist and forces me closer. “Dance with me?” His diffidence makes it sound more like a question.
Figuring I was correct about us being watched, I lean against him and begin to sway my hips in rhythm. He rocks his hips with mine, his movements unsure at first, like he’s trying to decide whether he wants to back out or not. I know the second he decides he’s all in, though, because that’s when he really starts to move.
He flattens his palms against my waist and urges me closer until our bodies are practically fused together. I rest my head back against his shoulder as he presses his cheek against the side of my head and breathes in deeply. I still don’t know what’s up with all the sniffing, and I make a mental note to find out. All thoughts leave my mind when his free hand also finds my waist, and he traces his fingers along the sliver of flesh peeking out of the hem of my tank top.
I uncontrollably shiver, and he chuckles, his breath dusting through my hair.
“I think you might like that a lot.”
“You think so, huh?” Two can play at this game.
I reach up and play with his hair at the base of his neck, grinning when I feel a shudder ripple through his body.
“I think you might like that a lot, a lot.”
He lets out a soft growl, his grip on my waist tightening as he moves his mouth toward my ear. “You drive me so damn crazy sometimes.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” My eyelids flutter shut as he softly grazes the tip of my ear with his teeth, and I question if we’re putting on a show anymore.
Another graze of his teeth. Another shudder from me … Or maybe it’s from him. It’s hard to tell with how close we are to each other. Regardless of who reacted, I find myself rolling my hips against his.
A throaty groan escapes him, his fingers digging into my flesh. I open my eyes, preparing to turn around and show him how to really dance. But mid-turn, I feel a sensation sweep over me, scorching hot and violently powerful.
The vampire who killed Adaliya is here.
I can’t see her, but every one of my nerve endings magnetically connects to her. Murderous rage flames inside me, a rage I’m not sure belongs to me. But it’s too overpowering to fight, and one single, all-consuming thought burst through my mind.
Find and kill her.
Chapter 16
I react without thinking, my mind no longer belonging to me … but to Adaliya’s revenge. But as I step forward, Jax’s grip on me tightens.
“Where are you going?” he whispers hotly in my ear. “We’re not done yet.”
I only half-hear him as I wrestle to get away from his grasp. “Let me go,” I growl in a voice that sounds chillingly unlike my own.
He loosens his hold on my waist, but he doesn’t release me. Then he whirls me around and looks me dead in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s here … that vampire … Nadene …” My breaths come out and go in sharply. I’m about to start hyperventilating. I’ve never felt so out of control in my entire life. “I have to find her … kill her …” I look at him helplessly, begging him to understand something I don’t. Maybe then he will explain to me why I feel so overpowered by the need to kill.
A pucker forms at his brow as he cups my face between his hands. I protest, wiggling to get free from him.
“Let me go,” I seethe, pushing on his chest. “I need to get to her.”
“No.” He keeps a firm grip on my face. “I’m not going to let you go until you calm down.”
“But I can’t calm down,” I cry, noting that some of the people around us have stopped to watch the scene unfold. I know I should stop, but I can’t control the desperate need to kill the vampire I know is here.
“Yes. You. Can.” His gaze never wavers from mine. “Alana, you need to realize what’s happening. Remember what Ollie said about your emotions connecting to the faerie’s. I think that’s what’s happened to you.”
The light above reflects against his eyes. Music vibrates against my chest. His scent dances around me and slowly pulls me back. The longer I stare into his eyes, the calmer I feel until I manage to reclaim control over myself enough that I’m not freaking out. But I can still feel the connection to Adaliya and the desire to kill Nadene.
“Better?” he asks, and I unevenly nod. “Now tell me what’s going on.”
“She’s here, Jax,” I whisper. “She’s here, and all I can think about is wanting to kill her.”
He swallows hard, his fingers trembling against my face. “Tell me where she is.”
“I don’t know … I can only feel that she’s here.” I bite down hard on my lip as the murderous rage threatens to possess me again. “And I want nothing more than to kill her right now.”
/>
We look at each other, his worry mirroring mine, but mine shifts into a silent plea. Let me do Adaliya justice.
He reluctantly removes his hands from my face and steps back. “Go find her. I’ll follow.”
Nodding, I eagerly turn to walk off the dancefloor and push my way through the crowd blocking the way to the door. Before I get very far, Jax snags my hand and laces his fingers through mine.
I glance over my shoulder at him and then descend my gaze to our interlaced hands. “What’re you doing?”
“Making sure you don’t do anything you’ll regret.” He squeezes my hand. “Now go.”
Like a tiger tracking its prey, I determinedly move through the crowd and past the bar. The vampire I was dancing with earlier shoots me an annoyed look, but I barely register his existence, my attention focused on one thing.
Find and kill.
Find and kill.
Find and kill.
I march to the rhythm of the voice in my head, across the club and to the front door. Shoving the door open, I step outside into the chilly night air and sweep my gaze over the mostly empty parking lot until I find my target.
Her hip rests against the side of a motorcycle as she leans to the side, flirting with a human. Her back is facing me, but I know for a fact that it’s her by how powerful the need to kill becomes. Potent, toxic, blinding—I can hardly think straight. If Jax didn’t have a hold on my hand, I’d probably go all jungle cat on her and attack.
Thankfully, though, Jax senses my uncontrollable desire and clutches my hand securely.
“Is she out here?” he asks, stepping beside me and tracking my gaze.
I bob my head up and down. “The woman in the black dress and heels standing over there, trying to seduced that human guy.” I point at her. “That’s her.”
“Okay.” He sticks his free hand into his pocket. “I’m going to let go of your hand. You get your ass in the car and wait for me there.” He locks his dead serious eyes on me. “Under no circumstances are you to get out of the car. Got it?”
I free a trapped breath. “All right.”