“Sloane, are you alright? What happened? Where are Arys and Jenner?” I stopped dead in my tracks when her parched gaze landed on my throat.
“Linden took them. He’s going to kill them.” She pushed the unconscious man aside, and he hit the floor with a thump. Peering up at me with sunken eyes, Sloane tried to get up only to collapse back into the chair. “Help me up?” She extended a scrawny arm that wavered uncontrollably. Blood smeared her lips along with what was left of her lipstick. She was truly a ghastly sight.
“I think you need to rest. Finish your…” I gestured to the fallen man and took a step back, unwilling to let her touch me. Hunger blazed in her glassy blue orbs. I probably smelled like a prime meal to her, a sirloin steak to a starving man. She was starved for both blood and the living energy within it. There was no trusting any vampire in such a state. “Can you tell me where Linden would have taken them?”
“No.” It seemed to take great effort for her to mutter that one word. She licked her lips, staring at my neck with undisguised bloodlust. “Please, just help me to the bed upstairs.”
“Roscoe. Has he been here?” I asked. No way was I touching her. “That bastard drugged me and took Jez. I need to find him. I think he’s working with the blood ring.”
Her arm dropped to her lap, and she looked positively defeated. She stared right through me, and I was sure she hadn’t heard a word I said. I repeated myself, resisting the urge to shake her. She’d likely crumble to dust in my hands.
“You smell so good. So strong. If you could spare just a little, just a few drops, I could be better. I could help you.”
Weakness had given her a one-track mind. She was giving me nothing. Frustration shook me. My mind raced, trying to formulate a way to find my loved ones in this city of insanity. I pulled out my phone, careful to keep an eye on Sloane. There were fifteen missed calls from Kale and four voicemails. It wasn’t his number I selected from my contacts list though.
I called every one of my missing people. Voicemail for both Shaz and Jez while Arys’s phone was off. Fuck! I made a hasty decision to call on someone I didn’t know I could trust. I was running low on options.
I listened to it ring, holding my breath for a response. On the third ring, a rough, angry voice barked, “O’Brien! This had better be good. Some of us actually sleep at night.”
“Briggs, thank God you answered. I need a favor.” The urge to cheer was quickly squelched by tentative worry.
“Favors don’t come for free, O’Brien. What do you want?” Agent Thomas Briggs of the Edmonton FPA was a hard man, a real ball-buster. Still, he was human, and I knew I had his attention even if it was only from sheer curiosity.
In my peripheral vision, Sloane struggled to stand. If she got up, I’d have to sit her ass back down.
“I need you to track a few cell numbers for me.” Explaining my situation as briefly as possible, I felt the weight of it all hit me suddenly, a ton of bricks weighing on my mental faculties.
I could practically hear Briggs shaking his head at me. “You sure you’re not supposed to be a cat shifter? If anyone needs nine lives, it’s you.” He gave a short, sharp bark of a laugh. “Want me to contact someone at the Vegas HQ?”
“No,” I said too quickly. “I don’t need the Feds involved. This is vampire business. I just need the one favor. Please.” I didn’t mention that the Vegas FPA had vampire ties that made them even less trustworthy than my home team.
“Fine. I’ll let you know if I turn up any locations. Remember, O’Brien, I’m entitled to a favor from you now.”
“That sounds like something a demon would say.”
“Does it? I guess you would know. I’ll be in touch.”
He hung up before I could tell him to hurry. I dropped my phone into my bag and turned to Sloane in time to see her launch her pitiful self at me with a snarl. Hands curled into claws, she managed to rake the side of my face before I grabbed her around the throat.
She put up a good struggle. Bloodlust and weakness had stripped away the vibrant sophistication she’d carried so naturally, leaving her a hollow shell hungry for only one thing. With a push of power, I shoved Sloane back into the chair. Her back arched, and she let out a wail. It took more effort to subdue her than her skeletal appearance led me to believe.
“Sloane, snap out of it. Tell me where I can find Roscoe.” I gave her a shake and a slap. Her energy was so fragile, it bent so easily to my will. She calmed, blinking at me in wide-eyed confusion. “Where is Roscoe? If you want to help Jenner then you have to tell me how to find Roscoe.”