Smashed (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8.5)

“Sylvia Rollins,” Juliet said. “She was one of the agents in charge of Kale Sinclair when he was in our facility. She has a way of dealing with vampires that Alexa found distasteful. Now she’s missing. You put it together.”


I chuckled. Yeah, that sounded like Alexa. The woman could hold a grudge.

“If Alexa has her then don’t expect to see her alive again.” It meant nothing to me if Alexa wanted to settle some unfinished business with a torture happy FPA agent. I was only disappointed that I couldn’t watch.

“I don’t expect you to give a damn about Sylvia, but you should give a damn about what will happen to Alexa if she ends up our prisoner.” Juliet’s tone held a note of concern rather than a threat. “My hands are tied, Arys. I don’t have the clout to change orders like this. We will be hunting her.”

“Like I said, then I will be hunting you. Every one of you who makes a play for her. Should I come by and tell that to Briggs myself or can you handle passing that message along?” My tone very clearly held the promise of bad things to come.

Juliet rushed to respond. “No, don’t do that. I can tell him. Nobody has to die, ok?”

I picked at a mark on the seat of the car beside my leg. “Can you meet me somewhere? I just want to talk about this. Face to face. You pick the place.”

There was hesitation on the other end as she analyzed my request. I thought about what Gabriel had said and wondered if I should have found out what it was he’d seen. No, I decided; I didn’t want to know. Just because he saw something to do with Juliet and me didn’t mean he saw the worst-case scenario. I would never harm Alexa’s sister. On second thought, it was very unlikely that I would do such a thing, though I suppose it was always possible.

“I can meet you at the Tim Horton’s on 104th in an hour.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

I hung up the phone and tossed it back into the glove box. I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going with this little meeting. If she was as much of a stubborn, hardheaded woman as I suspected she was, I expected Juliet to come alone. That’s what I was counting on.

When she arrived at the coffee shop, I was already there, observing the few late night customers. The place smelled of strong coffee and humans. Juliet sauntered in, adding the aroma of wolf and perfume to the mix.

She ordered a coffee before sliding into the seat across from me. “Was this really necessary?”

“Everything I do is necessary.” I was annoyed to find Gabriel’s words lingering in my thoughts. That little pecker. “What does Briggs plan to do with Alexa if he can catch her without having his throat torn out?”

Juliet shrugged and shook her head. She planned to lie to me. Already I could see through it, and she hadn’t so much as uttered a denial.

“I don’t know. He’s been gunning for her for quite some time now. I’ve done all I can to convince him that she’s not the threat he believes she is. He thinks that because I’m family, my view of the situation is biased.”

“Is it? Alexa is under the impression that you’d sell her out in a heartbeat if you thought you were doing the right thing.”

A grimace marred Juliet’s pretty face. She sipped from her coffee and glanced about the place before answering. “I wish I could say she was wrong. Unfortunately, I do think the FPA acts in the best interest of humanity. I don’t always agree with their methods, but I don’t make those calls.”

“So you’re basically saying that you would stand by and allow Briggs to do whatever he wants to Alexa because it’s best for humanity?” I questioned with a shake of my head. “Both you and Briggs are fucking idiots. Alexa was born to protect humankind. She isn’t the enemy.”

Juliet squared her shoulders and gave her dark hair an angry toss. “She just kidnapped a federal agent. She’s killed publicly. If we turn a blind eye to her then we wouldn’t be doing our job.”

“You don’t have a fucking job. You’re working for a human run government sector that mistakenly thinks they have a say in the paranormal world. They don’t. And you, being a werewolf, shouldn’t even be affiliated with them.”

“I didn’t come here to be told off.” Juliet stood up to leave. “Thanks for wasting my time.”

I rose as well, reaching out to grab hold of her arm. “Don’t go,” I said, with a gentle pulse of power meant to enthrall.

She shook her head as if confused. Then her eyes widened as she realized what my intent was. Juliet tried to pull away, and I forced her to meet my gaze. I watched as she struggled against my hypnotic pull and ultimately failed.

Her eyes glazed, and she stared at me as if I were the most wondrous thing she’d ever seen. That had been easy enough. Now to see if I could pump her for info.

“What does Briggs plan to do with Alexa?” I asked, continuing to wrap Juliet in my thrall.