Darker (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 6) - By Trina M. Lee Page 0,5
I wasn’t one of the bad guys. However, that didn’t make the FPA the good guys. I’d definitely done my share of shady things I wasn’t proud of, but that didn’t define who I was.
“What’s the address? I’m on my way.”
Briggs rattled off a south side address, demanded I hurry my ass up and then promptly disconnected the call. I locked eyes with Arys who regarded me thoughtfully. Keen senses and the absence of regular club noise allowed him to hear the conversation.
“Don’t let him know about that.” Arys pointed to the box containing Zak’s head. “The less they know about any of this, the better.”
“Easier said than done. He’s going to have Juliet there to sniff out a lie.” I shook my head and stared at the mess. That Vegas vacation Jez had been talking about lately was starting to look tempting.
The entire drive to the scene was painfully tense. I had to pry my fingers from the steering wheel and drag myself out of the car. Arys appeared perfectly composed, but his energy hummed with excitement.
Voices drifted to us, coming from behind the old warehouse located at the address Briggs had given. With no flashing lights or sirens, a whole lot of suits were taking pictures and asking questions.
“Let’s get this over with,” I muttered as we made our way around the building.
A dark suited agent stopped us with one hand held up in an unspoken command; another reached for the gun at his hip. “Are you Alexa O’Brien?”
“Yeah, that would be me.”
“I.D. please.”
“Seriously?” I stared at his outstretched hand. “Where’s Briggs? Or Juliet. They know who I am.”
He opened his mouth to refuse, but Briggs cut him off. “Let them by, Agent James.”
The man I dreaded seeing stood behind a line of caution tape with several other agents. He watched our approach with a narrowed gaze, scrutinizing our every move.
Briggs was a tall, black man with a taut physique that bragged of hours in the gym. With his dark suit and government agent persona firmly in place, he was both a bit of a cliché and a tad scary. I wasn’t entirely sure what he and the FPA were able to do, but from what I’d seen so far, it wasn’t good.
I ducked under the tape, followed closely by Arys. I scanned the area for Juliet, finding her over by the body. Our eyes met across the distance, and she quickly averted her gaze. Nice to see you, too, little sister.
“Thanks for coming,” Briggs drew my attention back to him.
“It’s not like you gave me a choice,” I said pleasantly, beaming a phony, see-through smile.
“You had a choice.” Turning his dark gaze on Arys, Briggs stuck out a hand. “I’m Agent Thomas Briggs. Nice to meet O’Brien’s other half. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Arys Knight.” Arys accepted the other man’s hand, and they took a moment to size each other up. “I’m sure whatever you’ve heard is only scraps of the truth.”
Briggs lingered on Arys as if he didn’t dare take his eyes from the vampire. Finally, he extended a hand toward the cluster of agents gathered around Zak’s remains. “Well, have a look. Tell me what you think.”
He led the way, the agents dispersing like flies at his approach. When only Juliet remained, we shared a look, brief but poignant. A spark flickered in her dark eyes revealing a remnant of the girl I remembered.
“Hey, Lexi. Sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances.” Juliet gestured to the headless corpse. “Do you know him?”
I studied the remains of my pack wolf. It was hard to look at but not quite as hard as it had been to see his head in that box. Zak’s body had been stripped naked. As Briggs had said, a large ritualistic looking symbol was etched into the flesh in the center of his chest. It was a triangle with what appeared to be an eye in the center, surrounded by an inverted five-pointed star. Great.
I closed my eyes, concentrating on the residual energy surrounding us. Zak’s body was tainted with a black, inky energy that reeked of demons. It was faint, telling me very little about what happened to him. He hadn’t been killed here.
“Yeah,” I let out the breath I’d been holding. “I know him.”
Briggs turned his scrutiny on me. “How do you know him? Or, should I say, how well do you know him?”
“He was one of mine, if that’s what you’re driving at. A member of