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

I brushed the dust from my hands and turned to the remaining two vampires. Before I could deliver a similar punishment, there was an explosion of light and a deafening boom.

I was airborne. Landing in the sharp and potentially deadly remains of a smashed table, I did my best to protect my face and chest. With a groan, I hauled myself up. Justin lay sprawled several feet away. The vampire who had been stupid enough to blow himself up was nothing but dust. His buddy had gone out along with him. Unfortunately, he’d taken one of our guys down too.

“What the fuck was that?” Justin wore a dazed expression. Placing a hand to his head, he frowned when it came away wet with blood.

“That was someone who never should have been a vampire.” I drew closer to the point of explosion, finding myself disoriented. The stage had collapsed. Good thing the band had bailed out a while ago.

“Is this a bad time to tell you that Alexa’s flying home tonight?” A drunken voice broke through the ringing in my ears, and I turned to find Willow in his usual seat at the bar, bottle in hand.

“You’re kidding me. Have you been here all night?”

“Nope. Just arrived.” He picked through the tray of limes, frowning as he tossed some aside. “And no, I’m not joking. They caught a flight back tonight. But hey, it looks like you’ve managed to deal with that pesky little rogue vampire problem.”

I exchanged a look with Justin who shrugged his broad shoulders. He had no worries. We both knew I’d be the one to catch hell for this.

The club had emptied out save for a few stragglers in the lobby. If Alexa arrived home tonight she would likely head straight home. Which meant I had until tomorrow night to clean this place up. It would never happen. Not without a miracle.

“Are these organic?” Willow held up a lime wedge, scrutinizing it with bloodshot eyes. “I don’t think they are. They taste funny.”

“I don’t know,” I muttered, unable to focus on the drunk angel and his ridiculous question. I threw my hands up, frustrated and ready to tear my hair out. “Where do I even start?”

Sunrise wasn’t far off. Most of the night had passed while I searched church after church when I should have been protecting my club. Rebecca’s death had been too easy. If only I could have dragged it out a little.

“I’ll stay all day to help you clean up,” Justin offered. A lazy grin spread over his face, revealing pearl white fangs. He pointed to a woman standing in the lobby, staring at her phone. “I just need a little pick me up before I get started.”

I followed his gaze to the lobby, spying a pair of brunettes waiting for a cab. “That’s not a bad idea. Thanks, J. You’re a good man.”

The disaster surrounding me was temporarily forgotten. With two potential playmates in sight, I had only one thing on my mind. Fucking and feeding. I was screwed either way, so I might as well get some action before the vampire queen ripped me a new one.

Chapter Eight

Long before sunset, I ushered the ladies out of my bed. With great difficulty, I’d managed to leave them both alive. Knowing Alexa was back in the city had sucked some of the fun out of it.

A quick shower, some casual attire, and I was back in the club doing my best to create a pile of debris in the middle of the room. Justin joined me soon after, and together we picked up the pieces of the only thing Alexa and I would ever share.

Letting her talk me into taking ownership of the nightclub had probably been a mistake on my part. But looking into those deep brown eyes, I couldn’t say no. Anything she asked of me, I would do for her. That’s why something had to give. And soon. Loving her was taking me to places I didn’t think I could come back from.

I often thought about leaving. Slipping away, hitting the highway with just my car and my memories. It would be good for us both. Those thoughts didn’t linger long though. There was no way in hell I would take off before everything went down with Shya. If she needed me and I wasn’t here, I’d never forgive myself.

“How much time do you think we have?” Willow’s sudden appearance was quickly followed by the clink of shot glasses.

I looked up with a grin, grateful for his presence. “I have no idea. If luck is on my side she won’t even come by tonight.”

The more we worked, the more damage I discovered. How was I going to explain this?

I didn’t have much time to figure that out. Just a few hours past sundown, Alexa walked through the door. Long blonde hair fell almost to her waist. Blue jeans hugged her curves like they were part of her. My gaze passed over her cleavage before meeting her dark eyes.

She stared in shock at the chaos. I shared a look with Willow who continued to toss chair legs and tabletops toward the pile we’d started.

“Do I even want to know?” Alexa asked, walking through the mess toward us. Her observant gaze took in everything, even the scorch mark on the ceiling.