Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)

Phone pressed to my ear, I listened as it rang on the other end. One. Two. Three. It was going to switch over to voice mail. Fuck.

“O’Brien.” The voice of Agent Thomas Briggs was gruff in my ear. “Have you decided to come back down to earth and remember that you’re supposed to be one of the good guys? Or so you keep saying.”

“Why do you have Juliet’s phone?” I demanded. “Is she there?”

“Well, you sound coherent enough. Good. I want you to understand the gravity of what you’ve done.” There was a brief pause as the phone became muffled while he spoke to someone in the background.

The sense of dread that settled in my chest stole my voice. Sidestepping a drunk guy smoking a joint, I crossed the parking lot to lean against my car. I needed the support. Jez followed at a slower pace, ambling along, puffing away on her toxic cigarette.

“Briggs. What are you talking about? Tell me what’s going on.”

The muffled sounds cleared, and he said, “Juliet has been arrested. There’s a stack of charges against her because she’s been covering for you.”

If my heart had beat normally, it would have stuttered right then. My brain went blank. All I could think was why. Why the hell had she risked herself to cover for me? She’d been so adamant about doing her job, following the FPA rules and regulations. Why sacrifice herself for me?

“What do you mean she’s been arrested? Where is she?” My voice was hard as steel, hiding my true feelings. “Did you have something to do with this, Briggs? Did you lock up the woman you’re sleeping with?”

That tripped him up, but he recovered fast. There was a vicious tremor in his voice. “I did what I was ordered to do. Nobody here knows about my relationship with Juliet, and we agreed that it must stay that way. I will not be judged by someone like you.”

Son of a bitch. Briggs locked up my little sister. Arys’s bite was going to pale greatly in comparison to what I would do to him. “No, but you might be murdered by someone like me.”

“Listen, O’Brien, I didn’t take this call to argue with you and throw barbs back and forth. I have two fucking holes in my neck, and I’m not looking to add any more. If you want to help Juliet, shut up and listen.” He paused, giving me a chance to bark back at him. When I didn’t, he continued. “We should meet. It’s not safe to discuss this over the phone.”

I snorted a laugh. “Come on now. I’m not that fucking stupid. Do you expect me to walk into a trap you’ve set by using my sister as bait?”

“I can see why you’d think that. But you’re just as dangerous to me, maybe more so. Why not meet in a very public location? Somewhere safe for both of us.”

There were ways he could twist that to his advantage, but if I didn’t give him a chance, I’d never know what happened to Juliet. I chewed my lip, considering his proposal.

“Where?” It didn’t matter what he said. There would be no place safe to both of us. Things could happen anywhere.

“How about the sports bar down the street from you? The Druid. It’s always busy. Very human. I come alone, and you come alone.” Briggs sounded shaken up. It could’ve been an act, but it frightened me. If he was concerned about Juliet, things could be worse than I realized.

“You know, when people say that, they pretty much never really come alone. We can’t trust each other, Briggs.”

There was no background noise. He grew so quiet that for a moment I thought he’d hung up. “We might have to. This isn’t about us. Try to remember that. I’ll be at the Druid in an hour. Hope to see you there.”

He did hang up then. I stared at my phone as if that would clarify the situation. What was going on here? Briggs had sounded worried, like he needed my help. Either he was a damn good actor or Juliet was in deep.

I turned to Jez who lounged on the car beside me. “You’re not going alone,” she said.

“Jez, I think I just ruined my sister’s life.” I waited for the emotions to overwhelm me, but I just felt hollow.

She pulled me in for a hug. Despite the stink of cigarettes, her embrace was comforting, calling to my wolf. I hugged her back, terrified of what my vampire antics had done to my sister.

“Juliet made her choice, Lex,” Jez said, pulling back to search my eyes. “She chose to work for the Feds, and she chose to lie to protect you. This isn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it is.” I shot a glance at The Wicked Kiss. “Stay here with Kale, ok? I can handle Briggs.”

She stomped on the butt of her smoke, ignoring my frown. “Screw that. Nobody ever comes alone to these things. You need back up.”

My skin prickled, and I became keenly aware of a familiar vampire energy. I already knew who it was.

“I’ll go with you.” Jenner’s voice came out of the darkness. “She’s right. Nobody goes alone to these things. I’m the only one here who can help you stay in control. So I’ll be your back up.”