I didn’t think I’d hurt her. My wolf was nowhere in sight, but the quiet and stillness of James apartment made me nervous to look over at Diana Stone.
Amy burst into uncontrollable laughter and I had no choice but to look. On the ground, in a pile of black trash bags that were waiting to be taken to the dumpster, was Diana. Her eyes were the size of melons whereas her breasts were not—well one of them wasn’t.
“Shit,” I muttered and turned to Amy. “I fuckin’ told you they weren’t real!” I screamed a little too excited as I pointed at Diana’s flattened left implant.
I finally did it. I popped one of them suckers to a negative A.
I DID IT!
“This is police brutality!” Diana screamed, bringing my victory to a crashing halt. Oh shit.
“Kenzie!” Amy clenched onto my arm and made way through the crowd, hauling me behind her. “That’s our cue to go.”
“I barely touched her though,” I murmured as we exited the apartment. “I didn’t wolf out.”
“I believe you,” Amy giggled, “but let’s go before she calls the human police.”
This party was the best idea Amy ever had.
26
We laughed the whole way home, replaying Boob-Gate until almost dawn. It’d been like old times. Lounging around in the living room with take-out and the TV playing in the background like white noise. Instead of watching, we talked and talked, and I hadn’t been this happy in over a year. This was what I wanted—what I needed—I needed my humanity back. Although we both weren’t human, when we were together, we were.
“Amy…” I started. “What happened between you and Jackson?”
Her smile fell and I could see the pain behind those green eyes. “It’s complicated.”
“It doesn’t make sense. You guys were perfect—”
She snorted. “He couldn’t stand to be around me. Not as perfect as you think.”
My eyes bulged. “What the hell?”
She shook her head. “I’m cold, I don’t breathe, there’s a lot that’s different, Kenz. It was too much for him to take at once.”
“How long did you last?”
Amy looked up at the ceiling. “About a month I think. He stayed with me in Scotland until I woke up and he flew with Lucian and I back to New York. He really did try. He helped me through the initial blood lust but—”
“But what?”
She sighed and her eyes met mine. “But then I bit him.”
I choked on the chips I was snacking on. When I was with Roman, he would nip me, but he never bit me. It was our number one rule: Mackenzie was not one of the four food groups.
“Is that why you guys split?”
“I think so,” she nodded. “After that things weren’t the same anymore. I started to see less and less of him until one day he told me he wasn’t coming back. That he needed space.”
I couldn’t believe Jackson. He was the most openminded wolf I knew and he couldn’t handle the woman he loved as a vampire? If Amy and Jackson couldn’t make it work, there was no hope for the rest of us.
“He’s been drinking himself into a stupor. Give him time,” I urged.
“I have,” she frowned. “but I won’t wait forever. I love him, Kenz, but if he can’t handle me being a vampire, did he ever truly love me?”
I couldn’t answer her. I knew Jackson loved her something fierce, but the Lycan had been drilled to hate vampires since they were in diapers. He needed time—I just hoped he wouldn’t take too long.
It was ten in the morning when my phone buzzed beneath my face. I expected it to be Cassidy at the station with news on the Fae but it wasn’t.
“Hello?” I mumbled, wiping the eye boogers from my face.
“Good morning, Princess,” Bobby Wu said through the phone. “The day has finally come.”
I shot up from the sofa so fast, I nearly lost my balance. “What do you mean?”
“I have the cure.”
I showered and got dressed in record time, almost leaving the apartment without shoes. With one last look at Amy who was sleeping soundlessly, I left for Chinatown.
If I could have ran there myself, I would have, but to get to Queens I needed transportation and I didn’t have the patience to wait for the train. So I hailed a cab and told the driver to step on it. I burst into The Fortune Cookie—empty as always—and went straight to the back office where the warlock did all his magic crap.
“Alright, where is it?” I said exasperated.
Bobby Wu was lounging in a chair reading a book when I barged in.
“Well, hello to you too,” he grinned. I had no time to play games. Amy was in my apartment and if I could give her this cure—it would fix a lot.
“Stop bullshitting me, Bobby. Give me the damn cure.”
“First, I need to call in one of my favors.”
I scoffed. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” I’d made a deal with the devil, and he was ready to collect.
“I’m not as you say, fuckin’ kidding,” he mimicked. “I need your wolf services and then I’ll provide you with what you most desire.”
“My wolf services? Bad idea, Wu. I’m moon-bound, I can’t do shit.”
He smirked. “That’s not what I heard. A little birdie said you kicked major ass in the Fae realm. I need the Freedom Princess. Either you comply, or I can sell the cure to the highest bidder.”
Son of a bitch. I knew dealing with Bobby would be slippery, but I was naive to think he could put his criminal tendencies to the side. I was SIU damn it, and he had me by the balls. Threatening him was out of the question—I couldn’t go to the station with proof he was selling in the black market without divulging my part in it. I was an accomplice and he knew it.
“Fine,” I gritted between my teeth. “What do you need me to do?”
I was going to prison.
It was official. I was going to get sent to Ironwood, and get thrown in with the people I sent there myself. Bobby Wu was a fuckin’ criminal. How the fuck could I forget that?
We stood in one of Red Hook’s loading docks in Brooklyn. I tapped my foot behind Bobby as we waited for whoever he was meeting—I was the muscle.
“Put these on,” Bobby tossed over his shoulder a pair of all black Ray-Ban sunglasses. “They don’t need to see the color of your eyes.”
“For the love of god,” I muttered as I put the glasses on.
“Relax, Princess,” he murmured back. “This will be quick.”
“Relax?” I exclaimed. “You’re selling illegal product to god knows who, and you’re dragging me into it. This was not what we agreed on!”
His head snapped to me and it was the first time I’d ever seen the warlock mad. “You, Princess, made an open-ended deal. You never put any restrictions on the kind of favor I could ask. Don’t get your panties in a twist because you were so desperate, you never thought before you agreed. Now grow a pair, or you’ll never see that cure.”
I turned to walk away from this whole situation and call for back-up—consequences be damned—when a black Escalade rolled up, with pitch black, tinted windows, and rims you’d see in a rap video.
My body went rigid as we waited for whoever it was to get out of the car. The driver stepped out—a huge man who looked like a UFC fighter—went around the SUV and opened the back door.
A man in a well-tailored suit emerged, shaggy red-orange hair fell forward as he ducked his head and came out into the light. I took a peek inside the car, but it was so dark, I couldn’t see a thing.
“Bobby Wu,” the stranger said as he buttoned up his blazer. “Punctual as always,” he paused, his attention shifting gears. “And you brought a friend. Interesting. Afraid I’d double cross you, eh? I find that insulting,” he grinned.
Bobby shrugged. “Take it how you’d like, Gregory.”
Gregory sniffed the air. “A Lycan no less. Hm. I stand corrected, she’s a Luna. I’m intrigued. I heard of their freedom, but hadn’t seen one yet. How much for her?”
Gregory reached for his wallet inside his jacket.
“You couldn’t afford her,” Bobby laughed.
The stranger peered up from his wallet. “I beg to differ.” He whistled and a man stepped out of the SUV. He was a big ass guy who would give an Ogre a run for his money.
I sniffed the air—the man was human.
“Let’s test her out, why don’t we?” He smirked. “It’s been what, a year since they gained their freedom? She couldn’t have learned that much to be your bodyguard, Warlock. Someone with your abilities would need someone far more powerful than even your basic Lycan.”
Bobby didn’t waver. “I assure you, Gregory, she’s a force to be reckoned with, but are we here for a show of might, or for what I have to give you?”
Gregory chuckled. “Don’t be a poor sport, Wu. Let’s have a little fun. You know how much I love games.” He snapped his fingers and the human charged for me. Bobby had been about to do something, when Gregory got a hold of his arm and tsked. “No interfering, Warlock.”
I twisted my body to avoid the punch aimed at my face. My body moved with grace and precision. I might not be in full control of my wolf, but my agility was still in tact, and my defense game was on point.
My claws were the only thing I could release without exerting too much energy so I had to improvise. He was big, so it meant he was slower. I could work with that.
“Little girl playing with the big boys. Cute,” he chuckled.
“Little human playing with the supernatural. Adorable,” I said.
His shoulder slammed into my mid-section, raising me up in the air and slamming me onto the nearest garage door. It rattled from the force. My fists went flying across his back and I didn’t stop until he released me. Once he did, I kneed him in the gut. When he hunched over, I draped my arm around his neck. He attempted to stand with me clinging on, and I used him to fling my body and lift my legs. My thighs hit their target as they squeezed his neck. With my ass on his chest, I pushed him down on the ground and we both fell on the concrete with a loud thud. He broke my fall, but I’d forgotten to tuck in my chin, and the whiplash was harsh. He coughed as my thighs loosened and I quickly moved behind him, snapping his neck. This was the first time I’d killed a human. The feeling didn’t sit well with me.
I stood, gasping from exertion, and turned to Gregory and Bobby—sunglasses still perched on my nose.
“Was that fun enough?” I deadpanned.
“Oh, you’re right, Warlock. She is going to be expensive,” his eyes gleamed as they trailed all over my body. He turned to Bobby. “How much do you want for her?”
“Not happening, Gregory,” the warlock shook his head.
Eyeing me with interest, Gregory let out a huff, his face tightening from not getting his way. “Fine. If she’s not for sale, then let’s get to business.” He took one last look at me and I knew this wouldn’t be the end of it.
I was going to kill Bobby Wu. I didn’t know when or how, but I was going to do it. I couldn’t believe what was transpiring. My insides fumed, and I’d been biting my tongue so hard, I tasted pennies.
Bobby led the way into one of the warehouses on the loading dock as I trailed behind both of them—keeping my other senses on guard and knowing exactly where that driver was. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was Gregory’s muscle.
The warlock pulled up the garage door and inside was not what I expected. Crates were littered around, filled to the brim with Maneki-Nekos—the Chinese lucky cat.
“For fuck’s sake,” I said under my breath as I tapped the waving cat’s hand. This was what Bobby was smuggling? No way.
“It’s all here,” Bobby smiled. “All two hundred of them.”
“Good,” Gregory smirked. “She’ll be pleased to know you’ve upheld your end of the bargain.” After inspecting the crates, he flipped his hair back and tucked it behind his ear—that’s when I saw it. The pointy Fae ears.
“What the fuck,” I growled. With their backs to me, I slid my claws out, the pain minimal, and prepared to squeeze some information out of Gregory.
He turned to me and glared. “Did she not know?” He said to Bobby. “If she’s aiding you, I thought she was mutual grounds.”
“She is,” Bobby assured him as he glared at me. “You did order an attack on Lunas, so understand the hostility.”
Gregory huffed. “The Queen let that happen. We couldn’t care less about some Lunas,” he turned to me. “No offense.”
“Offense taken,” I gritted.
“Nevertheless, sorry for your loss,” he said.
“I’m sure you are,” I growled. “Sorry for your loss as well.”
The Fae did a double-take. “Excuse me?”
I smirked. “The Fae won’t win this war.”
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” Bobby said as we walked the streets of Queens on our way back to The Fortune Cookie. “You almost blew my deal with the Fae.”
“I should have,” I barked. “You shouldn’t be dealing with them anyway!”
We swerved in and out of crowds on the sidewalk, but always ended up side-by-side.
“I don’t give a shit about your war. That’s your problem, not mine.”
“You should care! What happens when they attack warlocks? Because they will, you know.”
He shrugged. “Not my concern. As long as I’m still breathing, that’s all that matters.”
“You selfish prick.”
“That I am.” His smile widened. “I’ll throw you a bone, Princess.”
“What?”
“Inside the lucky cats are potions that repel the pain of iron. The Fae ordered it for the upcoming war.”
I stopped walking. People bumped into me at my abrupt halt, cursing and flipping their middle fingers my way.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I yelled. “You’re helping them?” I grabbed Bobby from the front of his shirt and pulled him close to me. I didn’t care if people watched.
He laughed. “I’m a businessman, Princess. War means money, and I’m just taking advantage of the spoils.” Bobby plucked my fingers off his raggedy shirt and straightened the wrinkles. “Don’t be a sourpuss. I gave you intel so go on and tell the SIU, and prepare. I was being generous with my information, Princess.” He adjusted his army jacket and grinned. “Now about that cure….”
My mind spun at a velocity that made bile tickle my throat. Too many players in this game and I was smack in the middle of it, clueless as always.
“You have no honor,” I mused as I sat in one of the booths of The Fortune Cookie.
“I never said I was the good guy, Mackenzie.”
He was a criminal. I kept forgetting.
“Alright, I held my end of the bargain, which seemed like a waste.”
He shook his head. “Not a waste. A power move.”
“Whatever,” I shrugged. “Can I get the cure now?”
Bobby reached into his pocket, pulling out a vial of golden liquid. “Before I give it to you, you must know something,” he watched me for a moment. “What I’ve done is some serious dark magic, Princess. When it comes to this sort of magic, there is always a price. This,” he held up the vial, my eyes following its every move, “is useless without the last ingredient: blood.”
“That’s easy, I got some in my fridge right now,” I went to grab the cure, but he pulled back.
“Not just any blood. It has to be the blood of someone pure who sacrificed themselves for it.”
“Wait,” I froze. “Someone has to intentionally die to give someone else life?”
“An eye for an eye, Mackenzie, a soul for a soul.”
“I-I—”
“Here,” Bobby palmed the vial into my hand. “All that’s needed is a few drops of blood, let it dilute for a minute or so and have the vampire drink it. Depending on how long the vampire has been undead, is how long it takes to go into effect—but no longer than 24 hours and there’s no expiration date. Think about what you wa
nt to do. No judgment here.”
This was it. I held the solution to all of Amy’s problems in my hand. It came with a price, but I’d pay it tenfold if it meant she could be human again.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t thank me, Princess. I’m not doing you a favor. I’m signing your death certificate.”
27
I couldn’t go home.
I couldn’t go to the SIU.
I needed time and space to think, to regroup. There was still daylight, and after wandering around the city for a few hours, I stopped at Battery Park. There were way too many bad memories in Central Park, and with the Fae realm wide open, I wasn’t taking the risk of going there. The last thing I wanted was an encounter with Andrew, or worse, Drusilla.
While sitting on one of the park benches, gazing at a cloudless sky, the slats beneath me deepened with the weight of someone else. I didn’t tear my eyes away, the energy permeated the air and I knew, without a doubt in my mind, that a Fae sat beside me.
“Mackenzie,” he said by way of greeting.
“Malakai,” I turned to the Fae who had helped Ranulf and I escape the Fae realm. The same Fae who saved me from the witches attack. I was seeing a trend here.
“Funny to see you alone.”
“Funny to see you at all. Are you following me?”
Malakai nodded. “My part in this is to keep you safe.”
“Why? Whose side are you on?”
“At the moment?” He paused. “Yours.”
“Bullshit.”
He might have saved me twice, but I couldn’t trust him, not while he still worked with Drusilla.
“I’m deep undercover in the Glass Castle for the rebellion. It is the only way I can funnel information to the rebels.”
I laughed. Loud. With my arms on my knees, like a maniac. This was all too familiar.
“Is something funny?” Malakai scoffed. “This is no joking matter, Mackenzie. I thought you of all people would understand.”
OMEGA: A New Adult Urban Fantasy (Mackenzie Grey Book 4) Page 19