“I’m way ahead of you.”
The drive to the blood-junkie nightclub seemed to take less time than I remembered.
I wasn’t afraid or nervous, but I wasn’t in a rush either. Shaz kept up a steady stream of small talk as I drove in silence. I think he was unsure of my mental state. I’d been quiet since waking, lost in the zone, where I needed to be to do this.
I glanced over at Shaz, admiring him despite my mind’s preoccupation. His white blonde hair was tousled, appearing even whiter in contrast to his brilliant green wolf eyes.
He was feeling the predator within, strong and commanding. He was dressed all in black, but casual wear, easy to move in.
I swore at the Jaguar when I accidentally ground the gears while shifting. My car had an internal clutch; I wasn’t used to this manual clutch work. Listening to the pricey car’s protests, I smiled, envisioning Raoul’s fury if he could see what I was doing to his prized automobile.
I pulled into the parking lot of The Wicked Kiss with an unintentional squeal of tires.
It was empty except for two barely legal women strutting their way inside in breakneck stilettos. I knew it didn’t take long for vampire donors to become vampire wannabes.
This place had spawned more than enough foolish donors turned vampire. I couldn’t wait to bring that to a stop.
We parked and headed for the door. We were going in through the front. I concentrated hard on shielding my energy. I didn’t want Harley to sense me until I was ready to blow him apart. I couldn’t assume it would be as easy as I was picturing it. I was keeping my fingers crossed though. Good Lord, please don’t let this backfire on me.
The bouncer at the door didn’t stop me, knowing better by now. The woman taking cover charge gaped at me when I breezed by with Shaz at my side, but the bouncer waved away her protest.
A wave of relief washed over me when I spied Kale and Jez sitting at his usual table.
I was torn, uncertain if I should approach them or not. Shaz took the lead and strolled casually over to them, so I followed along with a lingering glance at the patrons littering the place.
“He hasn’t come out front yet tonight.” Kale skipped the greeting and launched into the important stuff. “He usually does after he’s had his fill of eager youth. Then he leaves and goes God knows where. This is the best chance you’ll get all night.”
“Good, I’m going in then.” To Shaz I said, “Wait here. Give me ten minutes or so before following. If we both burst in on him, it’ll get ugly faster than I’d like.”
“Alexa.” Shaz shook his head at me, clearly not liking my plan. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“Of course. Don’t question me now, Shaz. I don’t need you planting doubts in my head.” I was primed and ready; I didn’t want to hear anything that could ruin my state of mind.
Jez listened to our exchange, but her eyes were constantly moving, watching the building carefully. She gave me a dismissive wave, telling me just to go. She was right; I shouldn’t waste time standing around. I kissed Shaz quickly before heading for the black curtain behind the bar.
I didn’t allow thoughts to form. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other and nothing else as I moved fast with silence and stealth. I tapped the power inside me, calling it forth in full force. Where it had once quickly overwhelmed me, it now felt right as it flowed through me with a heady mix of vampire and werewolf. Though I wasn’t one-hundred-percent sure I could control it if it went wild, I was willing to find out.
A few girls lingered in the hall outside a closed door, eyeing me curiously as I swept past. My sensitive ears picked up one girl’s whispered comment that my hair color had to be from a box. It so wasn’t. She’s lucky I couldn’t be bothered to flip over such petty, trivial shit.
The few lights in the dim hallway flicked as I strode past. One of them blinked out completely. My excitement grew as I drew closer to Harley’s door at the end of the long hall. My mind played out visions of blasting the door right off its hinges. The thought was encouraging, and I could only imagine the look on Harley’s face were I to do it.
I was half-assed toying with the idea of trying it, pleased with myself, when the door swung open just as I reached it. My big plan died as Harley stared at me with a combination of intrigue and annoyance on his rugged face.
All I knew was that I couldn’t allow him to get a word out or move a muscle. I envisioned the spiraling psi ball in my hand and let it fly all in the space of a heartbeat. It exploded against his chest with a bright gold flash. The impact took him off his feet, throwing him against the far wall.