Smashed (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8.5)

“I know.” I nodded, entirely in agreement with her. “What choice did I have though? If you were in my position, what would you do?”


She glanced back into the quiet cemetery. “I don’t know. But that kind of controlling behavior is what drove Lilah and Salem to where they are now. Is that what you want to happen with you and Alexa?”

“Of course not. Don’t you think this is all making me crazy too?” I was already plagued with guilt, an emotion I did not deal with well. “I made him an offer, a suggestion really. That’s all. It’s all on him now.”

Once inside the darkened confines of the Jeep, Jez turned to me with a strange, sad look on her heart-shaped face. “You’d better be careful, Arys. Or you’re going to lose her.”

Chapter Eight

Less than an hour later, I was back at The Spirit Room parking lot, awaiting the arrival of Shaz and Jenner. My gaze flicked over Jez who stood chain smoking beside me, leaning against the Jeep.

“Are you sure you want to be part of this?” I asked.

“Fucking right,” she quipped. “No damn humans are going to hunt my best friend and get away with it.”

On a whim, I’d decided that if Agent Briggs wanted a vampire hunt, I would give him one. Including Jenner just went without saying. I’d considered leaving Shaz out of it but knew him well enough to know that I’d never hear the end of it if I did.

My plan wasn’t entirely thought out just yet. I was playing it by ear for the most part. I figured a nice distraction would be enough to pull Briggs off Alexa’s trail. If he thought he’d seen a public display of vampire killing, well, he hadn’t seen jack shit yet.

“Good,” I said, frowning as she reached for another cigarette. “Shifter or not, those things can’t be safe.”

“Spare me the warning, Dr. Oz. Unless you’re my mother, I don’t want to hear it. Actually, scratch that. I don’t want to hear it from her either.” Jez fired up another smoke, taking a long, slow drag. “I’m going to quit. Again. I just need something to help get me through this slump.”

She was certainly stronger than I was. The things I did for a rush had gone much deeper than a mere addiction. There wasn’t a damn thing that would make me give them up.

The black Jaguar that Alexa had inherited pulled into the parking lot with much more aggression than required. If Alexa knew I’d taken it, she’d probably kick my ass to the moon. It was all she had left of the man who had turned her, a piece of crap of a wolf who had seduced her in her teens. Killing him had always been on my agenda. Waiting until she and I had established our twin flame bond had robbed me of the chance. Oh well, he was dead now, and if there were any justice in this world, he was burning in hell.

“This car can fly,” Jenner proclaimed as he climbed out of the driver’s seat. “I’ve never driven a Jag before. I think I might want one.”

Shaz stepped out of the passenger side looking ill. “You shouldn’t be allowed to drive anything anywhere, ever.”

“Suck it up, blondie,” Jenner said with a snicker. To me he said, “So did I hear you right? Are we really going to have some fun with the FPA tonight? Don’t joke about shit like that.”

“It’s no joke. We’re going to stop them from hunting Alexa. It’s high time Briggs realized how out of his league he is. Having several of his men roasted by a demon apparently wasn’t enough for him.” Despite my big plan to derail Briggs’s night, all I could think about was Alexa. She was the driving force behind my need for action.

“Distraction?” Jenner asked, a brow raised and a devious smile in place.

I shook my head. “No. Bigger than that. A little bit of mayhem.”

Jenner rubbed his hands together like a movie villain and cackled dramatically. “Yes. That I can do.”

Skepticism pulled Shaz’s face into a frown. “And just what do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to make Briggs watch while I kill every person he brought to hunt Alexa.” Of course that excluded Juliet. Regardless of what a pain in the ass she was, no harm could come to her.

“So what do you want us to do?” Shaz asked, indicating himself and Jez.

“Go to the FPA building and see if you can tail the team that Briggs is sending out tonight. It’s likely that they haven’t left yet. If they find Alexa, do whatever it takes to stop them from grabbing her. Otherwise, wait for my call. That’s when you call in a report to the cops about a dead body with bite marks on the neck. Mention seeing a blonde woman in the area. I’m betting Briggs will intercept the report and look into it himself.”

“That’s it?” Shaz said, his skepticism growing. “Doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”

I chuckled, enjoying his underestimation of me. “Haven’t you been paying attention, pup? I don’t need much of a plan.”

“All right. Whatever you say.” Shaz’s tone didn’t match his words, but he dutifully headed for Jez’s Jeep.