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

A sigh in my ear was his initial response. “I’m not mad. I’m disappointed that every time something happens that you don’t want to deal with, you run. You ran to me, and now you’re running from me.”


I stood in the kitchen in front of the glass patio doors, watching the sky lighten. With the phone pressed to my ear, I nodded to myself, acknowledging the truth in his words. “You’re right. It feels like things are changing too fast, and I’d like to stick my head in the sand and pretend none of it is happening, but I can’t. I don’t want you to go to Vegas even though I know it will be good for both of us.” I squinted against the coming dawn. How long would I be able to stand there in the window before it grew bright enough to roast me?

“I’m not leaving without seeing you,” he said. “You have to give me that much.”

“Jenner has a flight booked. Two nights.”

“I know. I spoke with him a while ago.”

My heart sank. It was really happening. He was leaving. How many people in my life would I end up driving away? He wasn’t even the first.

Kale was quiet for a moment. There was no background noise, indicating he was at home rather than spending the day at The Wicked Kiss. It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did.

“Truth be told,” he said, “the more I think about it, the more I’m looking forward to Las Vegas. Jenner and I discussed the issues there. I feel like it will give me something positive to work toward. Keep me busy, you know?”

Las Vegas had many problems, including a vampire blood ring that had been trafficking humans, all kinds of humans, even kids. Arys and I had done what we could to throw a wrench into all that, but it was something that couldn’t be dealt with in just a few days. We’d left Jenner in charge of taking over the blood ring and making changes, such as supplying humans that deserved it, evil doers contributing nothing to society. Jenner had been reluctant, but with Kale along for the ride, I was confident they could achieve good things for Sin City.

“You’ll be good for that city, Kale. I’m sure of it. Our loss will be their gain.” I moved through the house, ensuring the blinds were closed and drapes were drawn.

He chuckled, a self-deprecating laugh. “I sure hope so. It’s not like I’ve done much of value here.”

We both fell silent. I returned to the living room feeling restless and scatterbrained. “I’m taking Jez on a hunt tomorrow. Want to come along and watch our backs? For old times sake?”

“You know I do.”

Perhaps it wasn’t the best plan to bring Kale along. We used to make a great team, and this could be our last big hurrah. And I was certain that, if I didn’t need it, then Jez surely did.

After we hung up I called Jez to make arrangements for her to join me while I scouted out the address Brinley had given me. If I didn’t do something good soon, the dark was going to swallow me whole. The light in me might never resurface again.

Because curiosity often coaxed me to do things I knew I shouldn’t do, I crept over to the living room window and peeled back the drapes to allow one small shard of light to peek through. Standing carefully in the shadows, I reached out to touch that beam with a hand.

The pain was immediate, scorching, like scalding water poured on flesh. It burned like a fire had been lit beneath my skin. My hand turned red and blistered before bursting into flames.

I jerked it back out of the light and ran to the sink to rinse it in cool water. That had been stupid, but part of me had needed some kind of confirmation that I would never again be able to walk in the sun.

What hurt the most wasn’t the burn that had already begun to heal. It was the ugliness of reality: the harsh truth that my darkness had grown and the certainty that it wouldn’t stop until it had devoured me whole.

Chapter Fifteen

I didn’t sleep. After cleaning the expired food out of the fridge and doing some light tidying around the house, I tried to sleep. I took a shower and got into bed. Then I lay there and stared at the ceiling.

Sleep eluded me. This was no great puzzle. I wanted to avoid the dreams, avoid waking, screaming and alone. Misery grabbed hold of me, and I lay there feeling like shit. The emotional turmoil took me into places of absolute ridiculousness that left me feeling annoyed with myself.

The last time I’d been in my bed, Arys and Shaz had been with me. They could be now too. Only my insistence kept them away. And the man I was missing was going to leave me in less than forty-eight hours.

I didn’t deserve any of them, but I wanted all of them, each in a different way. Arys made me strong even as he made me weak. He was my rock. Shaz kept me grounded, reminding me of who I was underneath all of the power and chaos. He was my anchor. Kale was the one who shared my pain, my need for solace in all the wrong places. He was my kryptonite.