by Luna Quinn
The Terrible Trio wasn’t in danger tonight, but these two human souls were. Beyond that, it seemed like a huge hint for her investigation. She didn’t hesitate.
Her eyes snapped open and she hurried to the right. There were as many people on the second floor as there were on the first, but she managed to get to the bedroom quickly. The door was locked not only with a physical lock, but also with magic. Dark magic. While she couldn’t do anything about unlocking the magic, she knew how to take care of the physical lock.
Slipping her pistol out, she turned the safety off and shot the lock.
Shouts and curses erupted from inside the room. Sasha pounded on the door, ignoring the people around her who were also in a dazed panic from the gunshot.
“Open up!” she yelled, kicking the door uselessly. When there was no response, she pulled a bluff and leaned in closer. “Sael is here to bring you to the Judge. Do you really want to face him tonight? I can get you out of his way and he’ll never find you.”
Across Shadow Realm, Razor’s unofficial title was the Judge, for obvious reasons. He was the law of the land, and doled out punishments accordingly. The name struck fear in the hearts of even the most menacing creatures, and for good reason. As far as bluffs went, this one would work on anyone.
Time stretched, Sasha’s heart beating too quickly. Before the stupidity of pulling that move could sink in, the door was flung open.
Blood red eyes stared back at her. A truly vicious Vampire with too-fresh blood dripping from his mouth looked her up and down once, and then again, more leisurely. His shoulders were broad enough to span the entire doorway, and veins in his neck bulged. She had never seen a Vampire this big. It called to mind the description of the creature Archer had seen. “Who are you? And can you really hide us from the Judge?” He had a thick accent that swallowed his vowels, but Sasha could still understand his meaning.
“Yes,” she said, ignoring his first question. “But we need to get out of here. Now.” She glanced into the room and glimpsed another Vampire on the bed. It was crouched over not one, but two bodies that she knew were probably drained of blood. They’d already broken a law—Vampires couldn’t drain or kill those who they fed from—but beyond that, Sasha still felt the wrongness in the human souls. Like they were damaged somehow. She could tell the souls were still in the bodies, but the Vamps had been doing something to them. It was clear they were naughty, souped-up Vamps who would feel the consequences for breaking Shadow Realm rules very soon. They were also a lead in her case. She had to get answers out of them before she threatened them.
Sasha walked inside and closed the door behind her, heedless of the danger. The Vamps were too genuinely scared of Razor closing in on their asses to try anything with her. She hoped. But as the other Vamp slipped out of the room through the window, holding his hand out for Sasha to escape with them, she knew she had extended a thin bridge of trust. With it, she’d definitely be able to squeeze some information out of these two. They were at least part of the operation, and any answers were better than the great big pile of nothing she currently had.
Except when Sasha reached the ground and turned to thank him, the Vamp’s decapitated head was bouncing down the hill.
And she knew who was responsible without looking.
“You motherfucking son of a bitch,” she snarled. Turning, she came face to face with an incredibly furious Razor. His black eyes glinted with an animal madness she usually saw in Edge, but never Razor.
Glancing around, it was obvious that the other Vampire had sensed trouble and had taken off so as not to meet the same fate as his friend. Anger filled Sasha, and she pushed Razor’s chest. She might as well have shoved at a brick wall, but she did it again to make her point. “You lost me my lead!”
“No,” he growled back at her, his teeth snapping so that she caught a glimpse of fang. As far as she knew, Hellhounds only grew fangs when they were extremely pissed off, which should have been enough of a warning, but Sasha couldn’t find it in her to back off. “You almost lost your fucking head. What the fuck were you thinking?”
Sasha’s eyes widened in outrage. “I’m doing my fucking job. What the fuck are you doing?”
His face was suddenly inches from hers, though he wasn’t touching her. Hellhounds apparently didn’t know what personal space was. “Taking the proper steps, that’s what I’m doing. This is a serious investigation, Sasha. You can’t just barge into a party this way. That was a bad fucking call.” He was even closer now. “First of all, you could have gotten yourself killed, and second, you could have tipped off whoever is doing this that we’re onto them. And that’s not what we need. Goddess, I don’t think you know what the word subtle means, do you?” He released a mirthless laugh.
Their bodies were so close she could feel the heat radiating off him. She didn’t back down. “I’m not a rookie. I know what I’m doing.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You just proved that you don’t. You could have easily ruined our investigation before it even really began.”
“They were doing something to the human souls, Razor,” she said sharply. “I think I interrupted them. I don’t know exactly what they’re doing, but it felt really, really bad.”
That made him pause. But a second later, he opened his mouth again. “Starting now, you aren’t allowed to go off on your own. I’ll be watching you. Even when you think you’ve lost me, I’ll be right on your ass. Because you will not fuck this up on my watch.”
Sasha sputtered, words failing her at the utter arrogance and revolting language dripping from his lips. When she couldn’t speak her mind with words, body language worked better for her. So she stepped back and swung her fist, aiming for his healing nose.
He caught her wrist before it connected, but she only clenched her fist tighter.
“Don’t you ever talk to me like that again, you flea-infested mutt,” she hissed. “I am not a simpering damsel for you to rescue. I take care of myself, and I had this under control. You’re the one who killed a Vampire and spooked the other. You caused the suspicious scene. Fuck you very much.”
“Oh, believe me, I know you’re no simpering damsel. But admit it, you fucked up. And Sael helped you do so. You thought to get one up on me and start working the case all by your tough self, and if I hadn’t gotten here, you’d be walking into who knows where with a drugged-up Vamp. He could have drained you and you wouldn’t have been able to stop him.” His gaze flicked to her throat, darkened, and then slowly moved back up to hers.
Whoa. That was…sexy. Sasha glared at him for another second, meaning to pull back, but she didn’t. They were both breathing heavily, chests heaving, and suddenly something was happening between them. She was aware of the scant inches separating their lips more than ever. His gaze flicked down first, and she could practically feel the caress his eyes gave her lips.
The heat of their anger had swirled into a dangerous, heady mix of lust. Oh fucking hell…
Trembling and not ready to admit the real reason why, Sasha snatched her wrist out of his grip and, without warning, transported herself back to her apartment.
She could admit to herself that she’d run from him. Again. She could also admit that she was afraid of what had just happened. What had just happened? She paced, thinking about what she would have done next, or worse, what his response would have been, and finding none of it acceptable.
Xavier had made a huge mistake pairing them up together for this case.
By the end of this, there was no way both of them were walking out of this alive.
If they didn’t kill each other first, they were going to burn each other up.
An hour later, she had cooled off enough to fool herself into thinking whatever tension she had felt spark between them had been her imagination only.
A text from Razor popped up on her phone.
Meet me in Sector Three. Alley behind Trek and Sincar Ave tomorrow at noon. Do not be late. Possible lead.
Her eyebro
ws furrowed at the message. Was this some kind of olive branch? She replied with simplicity, telling herself she could be a professional about this.
I’ll be there.
Because even if they couldn’t get along, they still needed to work together to make sure no one else ended up dead or missing. There was too much at stake to be selfish.
If she had to continue to pretend to be unaffected by him to pull that off, then so be it.
Chapter Six
The next day, Razor was once again standing in a filthy alley, his nose finally completely healed thanks to his Hellhound genetics.
He certainly wasn’t surprised to be standing where he was now. He was fairly certain he spent more time in back alleys than he did in his own damn apartment.
Part of the job description, he added mentally as he palmed the handgun at his hip. He wasn’t complaining. In exchange, he ruled a kingdom that was as coveted as diamonds were to humans. Even if that meant his personal life came second.
As one of the leaders of Shadow Realm, he had a responsibility to be in contact with all seven Sectors. It was good for business that the citizens of Shadow Realm saw him out working and keeping them safe. Plus, he enjoyed being out in his streets. He would probably put a bullet in his brain if he had to be stuck in an office all day. It was more than enough that he had to do it once a week for court.
Flicking his lighter on, he puffed a cigarillo to life.
He’d been waiting for nearly twenty minutes for Sasha to arrive. He was no longer pissed off at her over her stunt last night, but her tardiness was grating on his nerves. Catching her on her way to the party house had been a total fluke. He’d been out on patrol when he’d caught sight of Sasha and Sael. He recognized tension when he saw it, and Sasha and his Sector Three commander had been battle ready. Instinct had made him pull over and follow on foot.
He glanced down at his watch for a third time, noting that Sasha had exactly eight minutes to get her ass in this alley before he took off without her. Not like he hadn’t warned her. He’d been very specific. Noon meant noon.
After Sasha had left him standing and talking to the air last night, he had received a call from Luka, the alpha of the Shifters, informing him that a young crow Shifter had information she wanted to share. According to Luka, Corthiaa had spotted several humans entering the land on Celeste Nation’s border to Shadow Realm. It wasn’t unheard of, humans sneaking in through Celeste. Most of them were harmless. When they caught curious ones wandering the streets thinking themselves brave, he or his enforcers would simply pick them up and escort them back out. Of course, they received a nice little threat to make sure they didn’t come back.
What most of them failed to comprehend was that entering Shadow Realm when you were a non-authorized human was akin to suicide. Because to some of the Others that inhabited parts of this realm, they were nothing more than meat. Sometimes the only evidence of a stupid human sneaking in undetected was finding their bones—clean of flesh—on the street.
It was never a big shock, or a reason for any of his citizens to be punished. If humans were too stupid to grasp that the hundreds of warning signs that decorated the wall separating Shadow Realm from Celeste—which was the only point of entry besides the sea on the other side—were there for their own safety, then they deserved to get eaten.
The human citizens that did live in Shadow Realm wore the same magical tattoo everyone else did. Although there were other circumstances that would warrant a tattoo, those were on a case-by-case basis. Then there were those who had a permit to enter the land: merchants, performers, and casual visitors. They went through extensive background checks at Sin’s hands. If you entered Shadow Realm with none of the above, you had a window of three days to announce your presence, or risk being fair game.
Annoyance growing, Razor puffed away at his blunt, thankful that he’d brought them. He’d have to stock up soon. Thanks to Sasha, he’d been going through more of his Blood Root than usual. He made a mental note to contact his dealer.
Exhaling smoke, he thought back to the brief details he’d gotten from Luka. He was almost certain he knew who the culprit of this breakin was. Poachers. It wouldn’t be the first time, either. And these bastards weren’t hunting animals. No, they came to hunt Others. It made him foam at the mouth that no matter how many guards he assigned to monitor the borders, there always seemed to be that one poacher who managed to make it through.
Even if it were poachers, he would leave no stones unturned when it came to this case. He’d follow every possible lead, even if it led nowhere. It was too soon after all the recent weirdness for Razor not to at least consider that it could be related to the souls case.
The sound of footsteps approaching cut through his thoughts, but he had already known Sasha had been nearing. He’d caught her scent when she’d rounded the corner three blocks away.
“About time, Sasha,” he said as a greeting, while he smashed out his cigarette with the tip of his boot.
“You said noon,” Sasha answered as she stepped into the mouth of the alley. “I’m actually early.”
Rubbing his forehead, sure he was feeling a headache coming on, he lifted his arm and looked at the numbers on this watch.
“Twenty-three seconds, Sasha. You’re twenty-three seconds early.”
“Still early.” She shrugged.
He took a couple of deep breaths, tempted to turn around and leave her in the alley.
“Next time, be a lot early,” he grated out, unsure exactly why he was being so tough on her. She was technically early.
“Yeah, sure. It’ll give me time to pull that stick out of your ass.”
He ignored that. Shit, at this rate, he’d tie and gag Sasha to the nearest pole and do this on his own. Maybe while he had her tied up, he could steal the kiss he’d been craving.
“Or maybe you could just fuck off, Razor,” she added.
A crow flew into the alley, cutting off his retort. A second later, the bird shifted into the form of a naked young woman. Corthiaa’s eyes jumped between Razor and Sasha, finally staying on him. He smiled as she looked him over quickly, probably searching for anything of value on him. She wouldn’t get within swiping distance, but it was in her nature to look for things of value. Crow Shifters enjoyed their trinkets and shiny things. They were innate acquirers (aka hoarders), so Corthiaa’s tip about the poachers hadn’t come from the goodness of her heart. This would be a business transaction.
Choosing to take the first step, he moved to Corthiaa, who had dropped her head and was now slightly bowed, her body language submissive. Someone who obviously respects me, Razor thought, fighting the urge to glance back at Sasha. Not that he wanted her to be submissive; no, he liked her just the way she was, attitude and all.
However, if she ever did agree to let him into her bed, he would make sure she was clear on who was in charge when they hit the mattress. Him.
“Hello, Corthiaa.” He knew crows had their own dialect, but he decided to stick to Empyrean for Sasha’s sake. “Thanks for meeting me.”
The female crow glanced up at him before adverting her eyes once again. In any other circumstance, he would have demanded that she look at him. But he knew that crows had very strict hierarchies, and this girl more than likely had been taught from an early age to drop her eyes respectfully in the presence of dominants.
“You’re welcome,” she said quietly in Empyrean. He hadn’t been worried that she wouldn’t understand him. Empyrean, being the universal language in New Earth, was taught to everyone from birth. To some, like the crow Shifters, it was a second language. While for others, their primary.
“Will you tell me what you saw?”
The young crow Shifter recounted how she had seen a group of three people, wrapped in black from head to toe, jump the wall and stealthily make their way through the streets of Shadow Realm. Corthiaa hadn’t followed very far, which was a relief. She was still a fledgling, no need to be putting herself in harm’s way.
Taking her payment from his outstretched hand, Corthiaa smiled. “Thank you. They’re beautiful, and more than I was expecting.”
“Any information that helps keep those bastards out of our city deserves something pretty.” He cleared his throat. “But that is only a small token in comparison to what you and your family would get if you kept us informed of anything suspicious you might see in and around Shadow Realm.” The crow Shifters, although under Luka’s protection, weren’t obligated to keep watch over the city. For years, Razor and his brothers, along with Luka, had tried to get some sort of agreement with them. But the crows refused, preferring instead to concentrate on expanding their collection of shinies rather than to be spies for the Hellhounds.
The female crow glanced around nervously. “I’ll pass that along to Axel.”
He gave her a nod. “Then be well, Corthiaa, and thank you again.”
With a small smile, the crow Shifter turned on her heel, shifted, and flew away with the pins in her beak.
“You think Axel will say yes?” Sasha’s voice came from next to him.
“I fucking hope so. It would make things a lot easier. But she’s stubborn,” he told Sasha. He winked as he added, “That seems to be a thing with you females.”
She punched his arm. “Asshole.”