Smashed (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8.5)

There was no convincing Jenner. I couldn’t even convince myself, though I had no genuine intent to kill Sinclair. Oh, I wanted to. There was no doubt about that. But I loved Alexa more than I hated Sinclair. I was counting on that to help me keep the peace.

“How do you know they aren’t together?” Jenner pressed. “I thought you said she shut you out.”

“She did. I’ve got someone on the inside. Jez called an hour ago. She said Alexa and Kale each left his house at different times tonight in different cars. This is the best time for me to approach him.”

Jenner tsked and shook a finger at me. “Getting her friends involved…for shame, Arys. For shame.”

“Shut it,” I said, flippant and uncaring. “I’m not the only one worried about her. Jez knows how bad Kale and Alexa are for each other. She just wants to help.”

“Ok, man, whatever. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you lose your temper and leave him in a pile of dust.” Jenner mimed washing his hands to show that he had cleansed himself of the situation.

I rolled my eyes. “Here’s where you come in. I want you to follow Alexa. See what she’s up to and make sure she’s ok.”

“Are you crazy? Then I’ll be the one left in a pile of dust. And that is not what I came here for.”

“No, you came to be a royal pain in my ass. So you might as well do something useful as long as you’re still here.”

He punched me hard in the shoulder but relented. “She’ll feel me coming. I’ll have to show myself.”

“I know. Just see what she’s up to. Make sure she’s fine, mentally. Tell her I love her.”

Jenner groaned, feigning a stake in the heart. “You’re going to get me killed. Seriously, Arys, you owe me fucking big. When Vegas is a mess and I call, you damn well better come.”

“Vegas is always a mess. Let’s be realistic here.”

“True enough.”

We stopped by Alexa’s empty house where I helped myself to the Jaguar locked up in the garage. It never moved these days. She wouldn’t miss it.

After leaving Jenner with the Jag and instructions to call me when he tracked Alexa down, I hit the highway with only one thing in mind: Sinclair. It would be easy enough to find him. Nobody had the sickly sweet energy that he possessed. Besides, he was predictable; I knew where he would be.

Not for a moment did I hesitate outside The Wicked Kiss after arriving. I glowered at the sign above the door before shooting the same vicious look at Sinclair’s Camaro. The motherfucker was here. Good.

I strode into the blood den formerly owned by my sire, currently owned by Sinclair and my twin flame. That fact never ceased to irritate me. With a nod to the guys working the door, I shoved by the line of people waiting to get in and broke through into the heart of the nightclub.

Right away my gaze landed on Sinclair. He leaned across the bar, speaking to the bartender. We were going to have an audience. I could only hope that would be enough to hold my temper in check. Slow, with human speed, I approached. I was halfway to him when he felt my presence. He turned to face me, his expression expectant and not at all as surprised as I’d have liked.

“Arys,” he said, calm and cool. His abnormal eyes narrowed as he assessed me.

“Sinclair.” My tone was ice cold. I had perfected my poker face during many years in Las Vegas; it was perfectly in place now. “Where is she?”

I was oblivious to our surroundings. Staring at Sinclair, all I could think about was how he had to be sleeping with Alexa and how much I wanted to reach for my power.

“She needed some time alone. She said there was something she had to take care of.” He offered me nothing else. It had to be taking great restraint for him to keep from flaunting his victory in my face.

I didn’t want to ask, but I needed to know. “How is she doing?”

Sinclair leaned against the bar, but there was tension in his stance. He was ready for a fight. “Do you want the truth?” He didn’t wait for my nod. “She’s fucking miserable without you. She doesn’t say so, but I can see it. Turning has been hard on her. It’s going to take some time for her to come to terms with that. But we went through it. She can too.”

His words brought me the first shred of relief I’d experienced since the night I’d killed her. Knowing that Alexa suffered without me was both heartwarming and soul crushing. God, how I missed that woman.

Mimicking his posture, I leaned against the bar and crossed my arms. “The FPA has been tracking your activity. Juliet knows that Alexa has been killing. Anything you’d like to say about that?”