“Jez! What’s wrong?”
“Alexa, it’s Kale. He f**king bit me! I couldn’t fight him off. I tried.” Another pained moan followed, and I ran blindly out the back exit into the parking lot.
“Where are you, Jez? Take slow, deep breaths. You have to calm down. I’m coming!” My own voice had risen to the point of hysterical. I almost choked on my panic.
“The office,” she gasped. “I’m at the office.”
I put my phone on speaker and tossed it on the passenger seat. “Stay with me, Jez. Keep talking.” With a squeal of tires I flew out of the parking lot, leaving the stink of burnt rubber behind.
I heard a noise, like her phone had fallen, seconds before the call was lost. I’d given Kale too much credit. Having been so caught up with the Claire situation, I hadn’t treated Kale like the threat he was. Unpredictable and self-starved, Kale had been well on his way to snapping. After finding the dead prostitutes in his room, I should have known better.
I feared the worst when I screeched to a halt in the office parking lot. Every precious second was slipping away too quickly. Leaving the engine running and the driver’s door open, I skidded on the loose gravel in my haste to get inside.
A bloody handprint on the wall caused my panic to surge. I flung myself beyond the entry, shouting Jez’ name. I found her unconscious on the floor in the kitchen. Blood pooled beneath her. Though her breath came in shallow bursts and her heart still beat, she was fading fast.
“Jez! Talk to me, Jez.” I slapped her face, receiving no response. I glanced around frantically, uncertain.
The rich scent of her blood was mouth-watering, but this time it held no sway over me. I saw my friend bleeding to death from a nasty throat wound, and the wolf rose up with a protective snarl to subdue the bloodlust. This was Jez, and she wasn’t food.
Vampire blood could heal her. She wasn’t conscious enough to drink it nor was there a vampire around. Kale hadn’t hung around long after his attack. My blood was still mortal. Could I heal her the way Harley had taught me? I called the energy, but my panic prevented me from focusing on it. I could feel her slipping away. No!
“Please, God. Not Jez, too,” I sobbed, only realizing then that tears streamed down my face. “Come on, focus!”
I was mad at myself. How could I fall apart when it was the life of one of my dearest friends on the line? I could do this. I had to!
Power swirled about me like a tornado. I couldn’t bring it into focus, but the more my desperation mounted, the further it spun out of control. I had the ability to save her, but instead, I was failing her.
The icy touch of vampire power at my back had me whirling, ready to kick Kale’s ass. I gasped when I found myself staring into Lilah’s flame-colored eyes. Her pupils dilated as she reacted to the wild power encircling me.
“It was Kale,” I babbled, all but shoving her toward Jez. “I tried to heal her, and I can’t. I just can’t.” One thing was evident, I was not doing well under pressure these days. Even to me I sounded like the frantic idiot that needed to be slapped.
Lilah was all calm and cool next to my hysterical self. She knelt beside Jez but looked up at me. “I have her; find him.” A woman of few words, Lilah turned her attention to the fading leopard and a stroke of fire slammed over me as she called her power. Demon power.
That red-hot power poured forth, wiping out any trace of her usual cool, undead energy. It burned, and I shielded hard against it.
I had to find Kale before he slaughtered his way through the city. How far could he have gotten by now? If I was going to give him the beating he deserved, I needed to gain control of myself. Bad enough, I’d failed Jez. If Kale overpowered me, I might not make it out of our confrontation alive.
The Wicked Kiss. If I had to bet money on it, that’s where Kale would go. It was filled with victims he could pick off left, right and center. Leaving Jez was difficult, but I trusted Lilah. Kale wasn’t likely to stop anytime soon, which added fuel to my fire. I had to get to him.
My hands shook on the steering wheel as I rushed back through the city. I was filled with dread. I did not want to see Kale on a rampage, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be the one to have to stop him. I had no choice. The image of Jez bleeding out swam behind my eyes. How could he do this to her? A little voice whispered in my ear, He did it to you, too.
Kale was a killer. The calm, gentle Kale that I knew was only part of him. I could too easily pretend a monster didn’t lurk behind those gorgeous eyes. I’d always known this could happen, but I’d foolishly chosen not to believe he really would snap again.