“Excuse me,” I murmured as I squeezed between two ladies in line for coffee.
Outside, my shoulders eased and I realized how tense I’d been. I had to force myself not to run out of the building in a desperate attempt to put space between Arys and I. The pull was so strong that I wondered if he was encouraging it purposely. I blamed it on his hunger. If that was part of some pissing contest between him and Shaz, I planned to be seriously ticked.
In the parking lot, Jez reached for her coffee before she shut the Jeep’s door. “Thank you. Damn girl, you can read my mind. I swear.” She winked and licked her scarlet lips before sipping from the steaming cup.
She looked smoking hot in tight black leggings and a black tank. The golden hair piled on top of her head shone like she’d stepped out of a shampoo commercial. A glance down at my blue jeans, black ankle boots and basic black halter-top made me feel drab in comparison. It must be her golden hair. My ash blonde was not nearly so brilliant in contrast. Next to Kylarai and Jez, I felt like the girl next door. I’m attractive, but they are striking.
“I really appreciate you giving up your night off. I hope it’s not a waste of everybody’s time, but I need to deal with Zoey before she decides to deal with me.”
I resisted the urge to take a step back when Jez leaned in close to breathe my scent. “Oh, you naughty girl,” she purred as she glanced at Kale, who was greeting my small crew with the best fake polite act that I’d ever seen him pull off. “You finally did it.” She grinned and winked slyly. I shot her a warning look that went ignored.
I waited patiently while everyone exchanged pleasantries, and the two vampires sized one another up. They’d met before but only briefly. The fact that Kale and I were strictly platonic seemed to be enough for Arys. His good behavior was surprising. So, he could be civilized and abandon the tough guy routine on occasion.
“What’s your plan for nailing this target, Alexa?” Kale stepped up beside me. His mismatched eyes stood out in startling contrast against the black of his long jacket. “I’m hearing that this is a no kill hunt. Could you possibly be more boring?”
“Please, stop,” I waved a hand dismissively. “You’re going to make my ego positively huge with these sugary sweet compliments. And yes, for now, it’s a hunt and detain. I’ll sort out the killing stuff as we go.”
I perused the five people who waited for my clearly thought out plan. Other than tracking Zoey down, I didn’t really have concrete details.
“I guess we’ll split up.” I shrugged in response to their expectant expressions. “Three groups of two should make it easy to cover the whole town. Zoey’s energy feels hybrid but she smells human.”
“So pairing a shifter with a vampire would make sense,” Kylarai spoke up. She gave Kale a roving once over. The first time that she’d met him at my office, she’d told me that she found him hauntingly beautiful with those eyes.
I nodded and surveyed the possibilities. I shouldn’t be paired with Arys. I wasn’t willing to gamble with being alone with him right now. His allure was too strong. Our energy worked on its own science. It didn’t give a damn who I loved or why. It just wanted more of our power.
Kale’s differently colored eyes darted between me and Arys. He sensed the bond between us. I wanted to ask if he could see the aural colors, or if all vampires were unable, but this was hardly the time.
I didn’t have to look at Shaz to know he hoped to come with me. However, the testosterone-laden air spoke of envy.
To keep my focus on business, I didn’t want to go with either Shaz or Arys. I considered pairing the two of them together, but that didn’t sit well with me, either. Frankly, I didn’t trust the vampire alone with my wolf. In the end, I smiled apologetically at Kylarai.
“I’ll go with Jez. Shaz can go with Kale, which leaves Ky and Arys. Is that cool?” After they all nodded, Ky somewhat begrudgingly, I continued. “Since Ky brought her Escalade, we have enough vehicles to easily cover the whole town.” I turned to Jez, indicating Shaz and Kale. “Do you want to give them my car or yours?”
“Yours is newer,” she shrugged, her eyes on a leggy blonde exiting the Travelodge. “They can take mine.”
Kale made a scoffing sound, as she tossed the keys to him, before flipping her off.
I delegated everybody to a different section of town and stressed again to take Zoey alive. “Kill her, if it’s you or her, but I think we should all be capable of overpowering her.”
In my hurry to get moving, I almost forgot about the photograph. When everyone had taken a good look and exchanged cell phone numbers, we were ready to move.
“What if we run into Raoul?” Shaz asked softly. He was so quiet that I couldn’t be sure if he was upset or his usual, soft-spoken self.
“Try to avoid him I guess. Call me if you do see him. If we don’t find Zoey within a few hours, we’ll call it quits.”