by Janice Jones
The bar here was a little better than the one in Texas, but not by much. She stepped inside and immediately wanted to go back to her hotel. They were at a table toward the back as she made her way to them through the crowd of people.
_______________
Coop coughed and laughed as he retold stories of their adventures; stories of a time when Alex felt like she had a lifetime to look forward to. But that was an illusion, and the reality was she was just a weapon; they all were.
“So she tells the old man where he can put that commendation . . .”
His entire body shook when he laughed and the sweat poured from his skin even though it was cold inside the space. The others laughed just as hard; only they didn’t seem as sweaty as Coop.
“So they let you quit?” Kai hummed as the bottle of Patron made its way to Alex.
“It was a little more complicated than that,” she replied.
Taking a shot, she passed the bottle to her right.
“But you did leave the team,” Sebastian added as he passed the bottle. “And the old man let you?”
“That’s a story for another day. Right now Coop’s gonna tell us why we’re really going to Romania.”
Coop cleared his throat. One more shot and the bottle was empty. He flagged down the waitress and ordered another bottle.
“Strategic owes Gale a favor,” he answered. “That’s all.”
“Stavros has his own security for that,” Alex replied.
“Please,” David jumped in. “Those biters aren’t as good as we are.”
The group of men laughed, but Alex just stared at her hands. She could feel them about to shake. She could feel something else too—trouble.
“Why are you letting them do this?” she asked Coop. “They won’t survive a real attack and you know it.”
“Alex, come on! Don’t be so paranoid,” Coop frowned.
Alex moved her eyes around the room, but she couldn’t see anything but people, humans. The music and voices made it hard to concentrate, but something was there, in the crowd, watching them.
“Where’s the box, Coop?” she asked.
Coop reached for the new bottle, but Alex pulled it away.
“I don’t know,” he coughed. “I’m the one trying to find it, remember?”
Alex took a deep breath. Coop’s body chemistry was different than before. It was bitter and strong and stung her nose as he continued to sweat like they were sitting on the sun. The sugary sweet smell replaced the bitter one and Alex felt her stomach turn over.
“Jason Stavros is bait, isn’t he? Tell me now before this gets out of control and I can’t help you.”
“What’s she talking about, Coop?” David asked as the bottle slid into his open hand.
“I have no idea,” he coughed. “Stavros is the client, Alex, that’s all.”
“Move!”
When the whisper came everything slowed down around her.
Coop raised his glass, but his smile faded as it shattered in his hand and alcohol splashed everywhere. They all saw the red stain on his shirt as he fell from the chair.
At first, Alex thought it was just in her mind; the sound of a gun over all of this noise. The hammer clicked, the muffled radio transmission announced, “Wait for a clear shot.”
Glass shattered in all directions as Alex crawled toward Coop as fast as she could. Bullets whizzed overhead and cut through the walls behind them. She barked at the others to scatter to protect the civilians and find the shooters. Maybe there were two, she wasn’t quite sure, but she knew one had to be a pro.
When she reached Coop, he was on his back laughing at the ceiling.
As the stain grew on his chest, Alex almost choked on the sweet smell as it poured from his body. Her hand pressed down on his wound with the tablecloth. Suddenly, he smiled.
“Well, looks like I won’t be making that trip, huh?”
Alex yelled for someone to call 911 then looked down into his bloodshot eyes.
“Sure you will, then you’re gonna tell me what you did.”
Coop coughed and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth as tears slid down the side of his head. “You’re not gonna like it.”
She tried to stay calm, hoping he would start to heal. But he didn’t, and the sickly sweet smell crowded out the oxygen and she felt choked and faint.
“When you’re healed, I’m gonna kick your ass!”
Coop smiled, teeth bloody, “Can’t heal anymore. Too tired.” His eyes closed as the smile faded.
“What did you do?” she yelled. “Coop!”
In the distance she could hear sirens and someone behind them through the mess of glass and furniture. She pulled Coop’s gun from his belt and aimed at the intruder without one glance.
Coop grabbed the hand still pressed on the wound, pulling it away from his chest. He took a deep breath and she could hear the fluid fill his lungs.
“Made a deal with the devil,” he coughed. More blood poured from his mouth. “Benny . . . you got his whisper didn’t you?” He shook his head as blood oozed from the sides of his mouth. “Find him, Alex. You’re the only one that can now. It’s almost too late.”
“Too late for what?”
With the sound of chaos all around her, Alex looked over at Sebastian as he kneeled and checked Coop’s pulse.
“We have a team on the way, but the cops are already here,” he said in her mind. He pushed the gun aimed at his heart away and held out his hand. “You can’t be caught up in this, Alex,” he said out loud.
Alex ignored his hand, shoved the gun in her waistband and walked to the bar to wash away the blood. With the wet towel under her arm, she followed Sebastian out the back door.
At the bottom of the short stone stairs the black SUV sat idling with the others inside, angry and scared. Kai and David sat in the third row together.
“You lost them,” she frowned, as she climbed into the center row seats.
“Lost? I didn’t even see anybody,” Xavier hissed. “Did you?”
He looked at David then Kai through the rearview. They shook their heads at him and shrugged. Alex punched the back of Sebastian’s seat.
“There were two! One human, one vampire! I can’t believe you lost them!”
“They were long gone by the time we got through the doors,” Sebastian replied as he frowned. He felt her punch through the seat. “We couldn’t risk any humans getting caught in the crossfire or wannabe photographers catching a glimpse on a camera phone!”
“Damn,” she whispered.
“Stavros had eyes on us,” Xavier interrupted. “Maybe they caught them.”
“Then let’s ask him,” she stated.
Chapter 20
The rapid knock at his door woke him from a deep sleep. Even though darkness still hung behind the drapes, he could feel the sun about to rise again soon. He climbed from under the blankets, wrapped himself in his thick robe and opened the bedroom door.
“Sorry, sire,” the guard huffed. “But there’s trouble.”
“What kind?” Jason asked, as he backed up and dropped down on the bed again.
“Human kind.”
Jason stood, crossed the room and disappeared inside the bathroom. When he appeared again, he was dressed in casual clothes, taking the bottle of real blood the guard held for him. “What happened?”
“Jesse Cooper was shot. The woman and the team are headed back here,” he replied, eyes on the floor.
Jason stood tall as he stared at his bodyguard. He could see the fear all around him as he stepped into his personal space.
“Get Cooper back, dead or alive,” Jason hissed. “Before sunrise!”
_______________
The SUV pulled up to Jason’s front door. Armed guards waited, ready for them. The others were immediately patted dow
n and their weapons taken. When Oren stepped up to Alex, he seemed confident she would let him do the same to her.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” she growled at him.
Her grip tightened on the gun as he took one step back to reach for his under his jacket.
“It’s fine, Oren,” they heard Jason say.
Alex pushed past Oren into the foyer with her weapon pointed at Jason’s heart. A commotion erupted behind her as Jason’s guards tried to get to Alex before she reached Jason, only to be stopped by the young men with her.
“If you think I had anything to do with this,” Jason stated calmly as she pressed the barrel of the gun to his chest. “Pull the trigger.”
His eyes locked on hers as she tried to bring herself to send a plain bullet through his chest. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would hurt like hell. Then the muzzle of someone else’s gun tapped the back of her skull.
“Don’t be stupid,” she heard Adam’s voice behind her. “This was not our doing and I’m only going to say this once. Put the gun down.”
When she didn’t, he took the safety off and pressed the cold steel hard against the back of her head. There were two choices. Have her brains splattered all over Jason or drop the gun. She released the magazine and caught it in her free hand. Jason took the gun and magazine as Adam stepped in front her, his gun still aimed at her head.
Adam moved the gun closer to her forehead, eyes an angry yellow, as he stared down at her, “Don’t ever do anything like this again or I will kill you!”
“Sire, don’t,” Jason said, “It’s over.”
He handed her gun and ammo to Oren then Jason pulled Adam away from her. In her personal space, Jason stayed focused on her. “Please escort these young men back to their suite. She stays here until I return. Adam, could I speak with you in private?”
“We’re not leaving without her,” Sebastian stated tight jawed.
Jason looked in his direction. “Yes you will, won’t they Alex?”
He could tell it pained her to give them the order, but she did. She could do that now that Coop was gone. She could order them to do whatever she wanted them to do.
Reluctantly, they were escorted out.
_______________
“Damn,” Xavier huffed as he paced around the room on his mobile. “Is he dead or not?” The others watched him try to get confirmation on Coop. The cleanup team reported Coop missing when they reached the hospital. “Find him!”
When he threw his phone, it just missed Kai’s head as it crashed into the far wall.
“Now what?” Kai asked as he picked up the pieces and placed them on the coffee table.
“We wait to see if they find him,” Xavier hissed back.
Sebastian just stared out the window as his friends grieved their loss in their own ways. He could hear Erin tap away on her computer as always. She was trying to hack the security system from the club to hijack the feed and see if anyone appeared on camera. Amy cried on David’s shoulder while Kai and Xavier sat pensively a few feet away.
“You think Alex is okay?” Amy asked in a weepy voice.
“I’m sure she’s just fine,” Kai harped. “I’m sure she and Jason are having drinks by now.”
“Why would you say that?” Amy replied. “She lost a friend tonight too.”
Xavier stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. “You think she cares about that? This puts her in charge, Amy, of us!”
Amy looked almost angry at his statement.
“So?”
“So, what if she’s the reason Coop’s probably dead?!”
“She was with you at the bar,” Erin sighed as she wiped at her eyes.
“That don’t prove shit! All the connections she still has . . . this could have been a set up from the beginning!”
“Stop it,” Sebastian jumped in. He took a deep breath and pushed it out slowly to calm his nerves and get rid of all the fear. He couldn’t block their feelings right now. “We just need to stay calm and try to think clearly about this.”
Xavier dropped down on the couch with a groan. “Think clear! How? Coop’s wounded, dead maybe! And she’s down there with Stavros doing what, playing cards?”
“If the vampires didn’t do this,” David joined the conversation. “Then who’s left? The dude in the box hasn’t surfaced yet and we’re not sure he ever will. Alex was with us and we’re pretty sure she’s not working for anyone else. So, where does that leave us?”
No one had an answer.
_______________
Inside Jason’s office, Adam paced back and forth as Jason sipped a drink and followed him with his eyes. Part of the problem was the way Jason had spoken to him in front of the humans—he knew that. The other part was, as much as Adam wanted to, he couldn’t hurt Alex or anyone on her team. They were useful right now. They were important to the plan and if Adam killed any one of them, Conner would kill him, no doubt about it.
“Don’t get too full of yourself,” Adam growled. “I am still your sire.”
“Yes, I remember that,” Jason stated as he placed his almost empty glass on the edge of the desk. “And I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of the humans, but it had to be done. You were ready to blow her brains out, Adam. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Adam sat down, locked eyes with Jason, and then picked up the glass that still had a small amount of liquid to empty it. “I wasn’t going to pull the trigger. She didn’t need to know that though.”
Jason took the empty glass from his hand. “My apologies then, sire. I’ve seen that look in your eyes before. Just trying to avoid an inter-species incident,” he chuckled. “That’s all.”
They stood and embraced. Adam’s power resonated through Jason with a shockwave of pain, however slight. “My love for you will never wane, but my trust can,” he whispered in Jason’s ear. “Be careful.”
Chapter 21
“You ready to talk without trying to kill me?” Jason asked.
They’d sat by the pool for almost thirty minutes without exchanging one word. Alex watched the door and Oren watched them while Jason stared at her with no real expression at all.
“Sure,” she grinned finally. “Let’s talk. Who shot Coop?”
“How would I know?” Jason answered.
“This is your town. How would you not?”
He tapped the table with an irritated look on his face. She almost believed that he had no clue what happened tonight, but something told her he did.
“Because I don’t concern myself with what happens on that end of the strip,” he replied.
“What’s on that end of the strip,” Alex asked.
“Humans,” he answered. “What they do to amuse themselves is of no importance to me. What happened tonight was not my doing. I hired the Trackers, remember?”
So maybe he had a point.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have,” she almost whispered.
“Too late now,” Jason replied. “It’s done. The real question is who were they really after?”
“Me?” she laughed. “You think it was me? Why?”
Jason sat forward, “Why not! Ever since Strategic decided to bring you in on this, bodies have been almost dropping out of the sky! What’s that tell you?”
Alex wanted to drive the leg of her chair through his heart. She had never asked to be brought into this at all. They knocked on her door; or rather kicked it down would be more accurate. Now Coop was probably dead and she was stuck leading this team into unknown territory.
“That you and Strategic have pissed off the wrong people,” she replied.
“Or maybe you have,” he sighed. “The two men that were killed, what’s your connection to them?”
“I don’t have one,” Alex stated.
Jason’s mouth twisted into a crude smirk. His eyes changed color and
the muscles in his shoulders and arms flexed as if he were about to attack.
“Of course you do. Just like you had a connection to that girl and to this team that no one else knows about.” He eased forward on the chair, placed his forearms on the table, one on top of the other. “We can do this one of two ways.”
Sometimes it was best to take a second to consider your options in this type of situation. She was surrounded by vampires. Her team, too far away to be of any help, and as if they’d help her anyway at this point—they probably thought the same thing, that she had set them up. He couldn’t read her thoughts, so she had that in her favor. But he was strong and had the numbers on his side.
“I’m under contract with Strategic,” she stated. “I find new recruits for the program.”
Jason’s grimace turned to an amused smirk then he chuckled. “And?”
Alex shrugged. “And that’s it. I’m all over the country, the world. I see all kinds of people. I’m good at gauging whether or not someone would be a good fit for the work, you know.”
“So Dr. Carlisle let you opt out of fieldwork to be a recruiter for a top-secret government agency?” he smiled. “Bullshit!”
“Look. The original team, including me, were getting too old for this kind of work,” she smiled back. “We’re not going to live forever. Who better to keep the program going than someone who lived it! Not just anybody can do this job. It takes someone special. I find them and send them to Dr. Carlisle for evaluation.”
“And if they didn’t pass his evaluation,” Jason replied.
“CIA, FBI, NSA,” she giggled. “They’re always looking for new people.”
He nodded knowingly at her. Without telepathy, he couldn’t know she was lying. Easing back in the chair again, Jason’s body relaxed. She could see his shoulders and arms return to their normal size and shape. He believed her.
“I’ve got work to do if we’re done,” she said as she stood. When he didn’t follow suit, she walked away.