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

“I knew a dealer who lived over here.” Jez peered out the window at a ramshackle convenience store on a corner. “He told the craziest stories about the weird shit that went on. It never ceases to amaze me how fucked up humans really are.”


“It was Arrow, wasn’t it?” I quipped. “He looks exactly like the kind of guy who would live around here.”

She rolled her eyes and gave me a look. “Arrow drives a BMW and lives nowhere near here. It was not him.”

“Figures.”

It didn’t surprise me that Jez’s drug dealer was rolling in the dough. He was a nephilim, a dark one I’d learned, which was pretty much a demon, albeit one with human weaknesses. My first impression of him had been terrible. He was bad news. Jez could have died that night because of the drugs he supplied her. The slimy little fucker had had the nerve to offer some to me.

Kale sat quietly in the backseat, listening to us banter back and forth. It was awkward, having him so close, wanting so badly to touch him and to beg him not to leave, having to smile through the pain and pretend all was well. It fucking sucked.

We pulled up a few doors down from the address I’d been given but close enough to see the place. It was a small house, older and dimly lit. Curtains hid the interior from view. It was just as ramshackle as the store we’d passed on the way.

“I guess pimping out young girls doesn’t fetch a lot of money in these parts,” I mused. Anticipation sparked in my stomach and flowed throughout me until I was giddy and unable to sit still.

“So how are we doing this?” Kale asked, leaning forward between the front seats. “Good cop, bad cop, and crazy-ass vampire?”

Jez scoffed. “Which one of you is the crazy-ass vampire?”

“He is,” I said at the same time Kale said, “She is.”

Jez’s laughter filled the Jeep. “Oh man, I’m gonna miss this. Ok, you two can decide who gets to be good cop and who gets to be the crazy-ass vampire. Bad cop is all mine.”

I turned in my seat to meet Kale’s enchanting eyes. It took great effort to keep from staring a little too long. “I’ll be the vampire. I need to get it out of my system anyway.”

“Then I guess I’m good cop. Someone has to keep you two in line,” Kale mused. “You guys go first. A couple of knockout females shouldn’t have a hard time getting the guy to open the door. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Especially, Lex. She’s starting to look like a working girl herself.” Jez’s quip started a slap war between us that bordered on childish.

I held up both hands to ward off another smack from the feisty cat. “This is the red lipstick that you made me buy, Jez. You can’t judge me for wearing it.”

She leaned down to adjust the small dagger in her boot, and I took the opportunity to flick her hard on the arm. “Ow, dammit,” she cursed. “I’m not judging. Just observing. You’re not yourself these days, Lex.”

“Gee,” I muttered, tossing the Dragon Claw on the floor at my feet, then kicking it under the seat. I wouldn’t be needing it here. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Kale regarded us both with a neutral expression that revealed nothing of what he was really thinking. I was pretty sure that it had something to do with how damn ridiculous we were, but he was too nice to say so.

Jez and I got out of the Jeep and headed for the house. I gave my hair a toss and affected my best sexy smile.

“The guy’s name is Ben, and we’re looking for a girl named Allie. I hope she’s here.” My pace quickened, and I had to make a conscious effort to slow down. I was eager to wrap my hands around this guy’s throat.

“This is definitely a change of pace from hunting down rogue vamps and shifters,” Jez said. Her boot heels clicked loud on the pavement as we walked. “I can’t imagine it will be as much of a challenge, but it should still be fun.”

“Oh, it’ll be fun all right.”

Jez eyed me; her watchful cat gaze didn’t miss anything. “You’re totally getting off on the idea of tearing this guy apart, aren’t you? Never mind, don’t answer that. The evil glint in your eye says it all.”

“Trust me, Jez. I need this.”

We walked across the yellow, patchy lawn to the front door. Reaching out mentally to assess the area, I could feel three or four humans inside. I pulled open the screen door, wincing as it squealed. Then I knocked, and we waited.

Muffled voices could be heard as two men argued over who would answer the door. Finally one of them lost, and footsteps approached. The door opened slowly, just a crack at first. A disheveled-looking man with a beard peered out at us.

“We’re here to see Ben,” Jez said with a bright smile.

The guy looked us over, clearly suspicious. “Got a name?”

The masculine scent of human men wafted from the house. It was tainted with the odor of booze, pizza, and cheap cologne. Beneath all that was the telltale scent of fear. Allie had to be in there. Somebody in need of help was.