Arys and Jenner took on Linden’s men while Jez watched our backs. I didn’t want to kill them all. Not until I dragged Shaz’s location out of somebody. I’d never be able to find him the way I had Arys.
Linden was light on his feet and, like most vampires, graceful in his movements. He made a hell of a dance partner. Having no psychic power didn’t stop him from being a good opponent. He kept me moving, always defending myself. It gave me little opportunity to focus the overflow of power slamming around inside me.
An attempt at slamming him with a blast missed the mark and hit a nearby table, causing the tablecloth to erupt into fire. Oops. I took a punch to the jaw before catching his arm and twisting. I slammed my foot into the back of Linden’s leg, and he went down on his knees.
I held the Dragon Claw to his throat. “Careful, Linden. If you get so much as a scratch from this thing, it’s all over for you. Now you’re going to tell me where Shaz is.”
To his credit, Linden refused to utter a word. Jenner and Arys were throwing Linden’s guys around with ease. I took advantage of those vital seconds and shoved power into Linden. I’d force my way into his thoughts if I had to.
His resistance was strong. Too strong. Clearly, this was not the first time he’d taken a metaphysical beating.
“You can’t kill me,” he chortled, finding humor in near death. “I’m a god in this city. An organization like mine doesn’t die if I do. But your wolf does.”
Shaz was all he had to use against me. He had banked on it being enough. And it was. It was enough to make me fight harder rather than surrender.
The blood ring was a vile creation that turned the hunt into a fetish. It made children and innocents a target of torture and twisted scenarios. Every vampire involved in that deserved to die.
It took very little effort to take hold of Linden’s heart with my mind and squeeze. Falon’s power enabled me to do with ease what would have otherwise drained much of my strength.
Linden gasped and made a choking sound. I didn’t need him to find Shaz. I could still hunt down Roscoe. Linden’s heart was seconds from bursting. It gave me a rush of gleeful anticipation. Unfortunately, my amusement died before he did.
“Let him go, Alexa,” Sloane’s voice rang out above the rest. The bitch had Linden’s fallen gun pressed to Jez’s temple.
“You traitorous cunt.” Venom dripped from Jenner’s words.
“Sorry, baby. I didn’t want you to find out this way,” Sloane purred. “I took a beating last night to keep it from you. Since you survived, I suppose it would have come out eventually.”
I released Linden, having no other choice. Nobody moved except one of his guys who came forward to help him. He waved him off, getting up on his own.
Sloane’s betrayal didn’t come as much of a shock to me as it apparently did to Jenner. He was aghast, jaw dropped in disbelief. Despite their rocky relationship, he must really love her. She had gone to a lot of trouble to hide her alliance with Linden. I knew she was trouble the first moment I laid eyes on her.
“You know Jenner just because you want out of the game doesn’t mean everyone does,” Linden said, looking quite pleased with himself. “You should know by now how this works.”
“You are one evil bitch, Sloane,” Jez said. She was unafraid but smart enough not to try anything rash.
Sloane pressed the gun tighter to Jez’s head and shrugged. “I like you, Jez, really I do. I’m sorry we didn’t get to finish what we started last night. But a woman has got to look out for herself. I hope you understand.”
I exchanged a look with Arys. We could do nothing as long as Sloane could blow Jez’s brains out in the blink of an eye. All the power thrumming through me was useless with my friend’s life on the line. I could blast Sloane in a thought but not without risking a shot going off.
“Now,” Linden turned to me with a broad, satisfied smile. “What were you saying about a fight?”
Sloane didn’t give me a chance to answer. She slammed the gun into the side of Jez’s head so hard the crack was audible over the loud music. Jez went down hard, out cold. Blood stained her golden hair.
“You can walk out of here on your own free will, Alexa. Or I can put a bullet in her brain.” Sloane kept the gun trained on the fallen leopard. “Don’t even think of using that juice you sucked out of the angel either. My finger just might twitch on the trigger.”
I nodded, holding my hands still at my sides. “If you kill Jez, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Sloane agreed. “But she’ll still be dead.”
“Fine. Let’s go. I’m all yours.”
Arys’s wrath was tangible. Blue and gold electricity twisted and danced about his fingers. I shook my head, imploring him not to endanger Jez further.