Sunset to Sunrise (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7.5)

“I’m not sure yet,” she said with a bitter laugh. “I’ll let you know when the poker game deciding my fate is over.”


“Nothing says love quite like using your lady as a poker bet. Classy. And to think, you could be here instead. With me.” I don’t know why I said it. My mouth moved independently of my brain, and I regretted it immediately.

“So you can taunt me into driving a stake through your heart? That’s not a game I want to keep playing. I think my chances of winning are better here.” The sound of slot machines was loud in the background, reminding me of the distance between us.

“Our game is far from over.”

A strained silence fell. My promise hung on the line. It was too late to take it back. I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t mean it. I did. Every damn word.

“Anyway,” she stammered. “I just wanted to make sure things were all good there. So have a good night and, um, try not to kill anybody.”

I couldn’t let her hang up without reminding her what she meant to me. “Alexa…don’t get killed, ok? I like you with a heartbeat.”

It was quite possibly one of the stupidest things I’d ever said to her. It was also true. I dreaded the day when her heart would cease to beat, when she would truly be a vampire. Her power over me would grow, and the woman I had fallen in love with would be consumed by the darkness.

I slumped against the wall, feeling oppressed by the swarm of emotions that had surfaced with one brief phone call. Why couldn’t I escape her? This was a question I’d begun to ask myself on a nightly basis. Clearly I had no answer.

Knowing at that very moment Arys was gambling with Alexa’s life, I hated him more than I ever had. He did deserve to die. And yet, she did not deserve to suffer through such a thing.

I was conflicted. What kind of man gambles with the life of the woman he loves? The woman bound to him beyond life and death. A selfish piece of shit of a man, that’s what kind.

Killing him would destroy her emotionally. It would plunge her deeper into the darkness than she’d ever been. But it would save her from being used like a fucking poker chip in one of his warped games. He didn’t deserve her. Yet, he had her. When they say life isn’t fair, whoever they are, they weren’t fucking kidding.

I shook my head and refocused on the task at hand. Phillip would have to forgive me for the loss of his friend. I could make it up to him by delivering Arys Knight as promised.

Worrying about Alexa was pointless. Despite the many ways she found to get herself into trouble, she had a tendency to pull through the worst of messes. Still, in a city like Las Vegas, the odds were stacked against her.

I returned to the painfully loud nightclub and searched the bar for Willow. As expected, there he was, seated near the end with a row of tequila shots lined up in front of him.

“I think Alexa might be in trouble.” That’s all it took to get his attention. He turned to me, expectant, so I went on. “She just called me. Said something about a poker game deciding her fate. Can you drop in on her?”

“Only if I have an exact location. Do you know where she is?”

“No. Fuck me, I should’ve asked.” My hands clenched into fists. It was one of the worst feelings ever, to know she might be in trouble and that I was powerless to do a damn thing.

Willow studied me, lacking the level of concern I currently experienced. “Give her an hour or two, then call her back. If she needs me, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

“She could be dead by then.”

“She won’t be.” The weight of Willow’s gaze grew unbearable. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me. “Look, Kale, I know you’re worried about her, but you know Alexa. It’s going to take a lot to take that woman out. Probably a lot more than the Vegas vampires can throw at her.”

Sudden fury had me seething. I wanted to slap the drink out of his hand. He wasn’t taking this seriously enough. Like flipping a switch, I cooled, thinking that maybe he was right. I nodded and backed away, mumbling an apology when I bumped into someone.

Mood swings were a bitch. They were never a good sign.

Swinging from one extreme to the other was rather taxing though maybe not as taxing as putting up with this goddamn nightclub. A glance around gave me several reasons to be glad Alexa wasn’t there. The party was raging and not in an entirely legal way. There was a couple screwing on the dance floor. He bent his lady over and plowed her while everyone watched. When had that started?

My boots stuck to the floor as I walked. There had to be as much liquor spilled on the floor as there was racing through the blood of the patrons.

Shouts drew attention as a fight broke out. About the same time, I detected the scent of freshly spilled blood. Somebody was feeding in the public area, breaking Alexa’s number one rule. I too enjoyed breaking that rule.