September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)

He hung up without giving me a chance to respond. It didn’t matter. There was nothing I could say to that. I couldn’t tell how much time I had until Briggs caught up with me. I assumed he would track my phone; he’d done it before. I could always ditch it somewhere, but that would only prolong this showdown. It was as cowardly as tracking it was. No, I’d keep it. Let them find me.

I listened to Juliet’s message as I rushed back inside. In her frantic message, my sister pleaded for my forgiveness and warned me that Briggs was coming for me. She swore up and down that she hadn’t expected him to react that way. Too late for sorry now, little sister.

“I have to get out of here,” I blurted upon reaching the table where I’d left Ky and Jez. “The FPA know that I’m Shya’s sacrifice. They’re hunting me down.”

“What?” Kylarai was aghast.

Jez nodded and said, “Those sons-a-bitches don’t waste any time, do they?”

“You two should stay here. Watch the band and have a good time. They’re tracking my phone so I have to take off. I’ll lead them back to The Wicked Kiss. I want to do this on my terms.”

I leaned in to give Kylarai a quick hug, but she stopped me by standing up and grabbing her purse. “Let’s go then.”

Jez was already up and waiting. I had never doubted she would want to have my back. But Kylarai could not be endangered.

“Ky, no. You can’t come. Not in your…condition.” It just popped out. When her jaw dropped, I rushed to add, “It’s too dangerous.”

“You know?” She squeaked out. “I just found out. I didn’t want to say anything until more time had passed. Coby doesn’t even know yet.”

“I can feel it in your energy,” I admitted. “It won’t be long before others can scent it or hear the heartbeat. You should be lying low, Kylarai. This is incredible and rare. Don’t take a stupid chance for me.”

Her joyful smile was twisted into a mask of concern. “I can’t just run off home and leave you to be hunted by the government, Lex. I may not be your beta anymore, but I’ll always have your back.”

“I can’t let you do this. Go home.”

“Don’t give me orders. It’s not your place anymore.”

Kylarai was one of the nicest people I knew. She was also a passive aggressive werewolf who had killed her own abusive husband. If she didn’t want to listen, I couldn’t make her.

“Fine. Just remember, if anything happens to you, it will haunt me forever.”

It didn’t take long for me to hightail it across the river to the downtown core where my nightclub sat like a pulsing, living entity drawing in victims like moths to a flame. Jez and Kylarai had taken Ky’s Escalade. It seemed safer to drive alone in my car in case of a ballsy street attack.

Both Arys’s Firebird and Kale’s Camaro sat in the parking lot when I turned in with a screech of tires. Already? The sun hadn’t been down all that long. Kale had probably spent the day here fornicating and feeding. Arys was definitely waiting for me.

“Shit.” I pulled into the closest available spot and jumped out of the car. After fetching the Dragon Claw from the trunk, I headed inside, slinging it around my waist as I went.

Justin looked up from where he stood checking I.D. to give me a nod. I skidded to a stop beside him. “The Feds are on their way. Don’t let them in. Tell them to wait outside and let me know when they get here.”

I waited for him to nod in understanding before slipping away, dodging between people as I went. Arys was at the bar with Willow and Jenner. Kale was nowhere to be seen, meaning he was in the back.

Having Arys within my sights brought on a surge of strength and confidence. The scattered thoughts and emotions that had plagued me on the way over were silenced. He turned to me with a dark brow raised expectantly, and against my will I swooned just a little.

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” he said, that deep-blue gaze traveling over me.

“Look, Arys, I don’t have time to get into what happened last night. Briggs is on his—”

He pulled me close and laid one hell of a kiss on me. Aggressive, needy, passionate, and even vulnerable, it set butterflies loose in my stomach. Swept up in the power of that sudden sensual act, I slid a hand into his hair and kissed him back with an urgency that rivaled his own.

When at last we pulled apart, I became embarrassingly aware of our small audience. Kylarai and Jez had just arrived to join Willow and Jenner as they waited for us to come back to our senses.

“I don’t think this is the best time for some hot vampire action,” Jez quipped. “Survive now. Screw later.”

“What’s going on?” Arys held tight to my hand as if afraid to let go.

“Briggs is on his way here to kill me,” I heard myself say. I repeated the gist of my conversation with the FPA agent, which earned immediate protests from both Arys and Willow. While they made claims of making the FPA sorry for such an attempt, I was wondering if Kale was sane enough to keep Kylarai out of harm’s way.