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

“You could say that.” Something occurred to me, and I studied him extra hard. The fallen angel had faced down demons I could scarcely imagine. My stare had no effect on him. “Alexa didn’t send you in here to keep an eye on me, did she?”


He chuckled and slammed the shooter glass down on the bar before reaching for another. “Most definitely not. Does that strike you as the kind of thing she’d do? I’m pretty sure she trusts you more than that.”

I didn’t see the humor in my question. It was valid, all things considered. “Well, she did come in here to give me a talking to before she left. I just thought maybe she really expected me to burn the place down while she’s away.”

Willow was silent for a moment. He stared straight ahead at the shelves of booze behind the bar and chewed on a slice of lime. “You’re worried about her, huh?”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

I had to give the angel credit. He was still on his game, fallen or not. I doubted that much slipped past him. We’d barely spoken, and yet he’d so easily read me. Silent, drunk and powerfully observant, he made me unbearably uncomfortable.

“Yeah, well, she’s going to run into trouble in that city. It may be Arys’s territory, but it isn’t hers. She belongs here.” How incredibly transparent was I? I was sure he could see right through me. Part of me recoiled at the idea, but in a way, it was nice to think that someone could.

“Alexa will be fine. It might be good for her. She needs a break from this city. And from Shya.” Willow’s tone conveyed more, but he had the grace to leave the rest unsaid.

“And from me,” I filled in for him.

“That goes both ways, you know,” he replied, his expression perfectly neutral, lacking condemnation. It was easy to see why Alexa felt so comfortable with him.

A tall, leggy knockout with bright blue hair caught my eye. Tattooed and pierced, she exuded a wild child vibe. I was interested in a taste of that.

“All the time in the world wouldn’t be enough,” I muttered.

I followed the blue haired temptress with my eyes, watching her sidle up to a vampire with a seductive smile. If I didn’t make my move she’d end up in his bed and that would be a real shame. Of course, with my room currently occupied I’d have to take her to Harley’s old room at the end of the hall. At Alexa’s command, that room was off limits to all but her. And in her absence, me.

“Have a good night, Willow.” I gave him a friendly clap on the back and rose to leave.

He stopped me with a hand on my arm and a strange glint in his green eyes. “Can I talk to you for a minute? I’m sure it’s nothing, but I overheard something a while ago. Maybe you’re not the person I should tell, but I’m not sure I should tell Alexa. Not yet.”

My curiosity piqued. I sat back down, the girl with the wild hair almost forgotten. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.” Willow slid a sidelong glance at those seated nearby. Satisfied that they were human and unlikely to hear or care, he continued. “I heard a couple of vampires talking about Arys. I’m pretty sure they were plotting to kill him.”

There were several ways I could have reacted to that. My initial reaction was to laugh. Any vampire that thought they could simply kill Arys Knight was an idiot that would get his ass handed to him. My next reaction was merely a calm, quiet voice whispering in my mind, What if?

“Who was it?” Many a newbie vampire had gotten it into their head that by killing the most powerful one in the city, they would then be something to be feared. Unfortunately for them, it never worked that way.

Willow surveyed the bar. Then he gestured subtly to a table in the corner where two vampires sat with a human between them. “The one on the left, with the scar.”

I sized up the vampire in question. He was unfamiliar to me. If he was a powerhouse of any kind, I’d already know who he was. So this vampire thought he could take a shot at Arys and get away with it. That should be comical.

“Did they say anything else?” I asked.

“Nope. That’s all I heard.” Willow had turned his attention back to the tequila bottle sitting before him on the bar. He carefully poured another shot, and I wondered why he didn’t just swig right out of the bottle.

“That’s interesting. Of course, it will never happen. No sense mentioning it to Alexa. She has enough to worry about.”

Willow nodded, tossing back a shot. “That’s what I thought too. I just wanted to mention it to somebody who may stand a better chance of getting more info than me. I mean, you’re one of them.”

The way he said that struck a chord in me. I was suddenly sure the angel was testing me. He wasn’t wrong to think whatever it was he was thinking. I was sure he assumed I would take advantage of any scenario that might result in the end of Arys Knight.