Seducing Chaos

by Luna Quinn

  The club owner barked a laugh. “I’ve got a list about a mile long. When you’re top dog, no one likes you.” He folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in a studied show of calm. Once, Sasha would have believed it. But there was no way he was so blasé about this.

  Sasha rolled her eyes, hesitated, then finally acknowledged Razor and met his gaze. He’d already been looking right at her. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, then. Luckily for us, we’ve got another meeting in my neck of the woods in two hours. Let’s get to it.”

  But purely business. Nothing more.

  Sasha wasn’t sure she could handle anything else again.

  Chapter Seventeen

  When she and Razor walked out of the meeting room together, there was still a tense silence between them. Sasha would be damned if she was going to break the silence first. Hell, she wasn’t even sure where she stood with him and whatever it was between them. She couldn’t even call it a relationship. It wasn’t exactly a friendship, either. So to avoid mulling it over, she stuck with business partners. She would carry on and ignore everything they’d done, and everything that was unspoken between them. It was a mess she wanted to avoid—and why she didn’t do relationships anymore. Look how her last real one had turned out.

  Razor, on the other hand, walked next to her with a curious, if frustrated, air about him. She could tell he was figuring out how to ask her what was going on. Still, she didn’t help him out, just kept her eyes forward as they entered the parking garage.

  “We’ll ride together. On my bike,” he said, approaching his large black motorcycle, the one he primarily rode.

  The one she’d been bent over as he—

  Nope. Not going there.

  She hadn’t expected that he’d want to take his bike, but she didn’t argue. She gave a slight nod, and when he was straddling the huge machine, she slid onto the back. As large as the bike was, Sasha was practically flush against him. She gritted her teeth as the memory of how he’d felt inside of her, even how her ass had tingled after he spanked her, flooded through her mind, and it was a struggle to push it away. She heard him inhale sharply, then start the bike.

  She was determined not to touch him during the ride to Three, so she placed her hands behind her, on the small metal handles placed there for a passenger to hold on to. But whether he did it purposely or not, Razor starting speeding down the roads, taking the turns sharper than he needed to, and she had no choice but to wrap her arms around him or risk getting thrown off the bike entirely.

  Yeah, sure, she could have transported away. But as much as she wanted to ignore him from now until eternity, something inside her relished having her arms around him again. Her fingers subconsciously flexed, her fingertips brushing against shockingly warm skin when his shirt rode up.

  The tension between them became unbearable, but Sasha didn’t know how to fix it.

  They rode in near silence—though any time her fingers brushed his abs, she felt and heard his quiet growl—and he followed her directions until he finally parked his bike behind a building in the slums.

  As quickly as she could, she swung her leg over and got off the bike before it was even turned off. The place looked deserted, but she knew better. “We’re early.”

  “Good,” he said, turning the bike off and standing. “Then we can talk.”

  Sasha’s eyes narrowed, even though she was deliberately not looking at him. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  “Of course there is, and what the hell is wrong with you?” he bit out.

  “With me?” Sasha had risen to the bait, and she didn’t even care that it hadn’t taken much. She spun around to pin her glare on him. “You pretty much turned me down, so fuck you very much if you think I’m going to be falling at your feet.”

  Razor only looked confused. “What?”

  Sasha shook her head, feeling tired. “I texted you that…text. You never replied. But whatever, what do you even want with me, anyway? We fucked. You punished me for stealing your bike.” She said the words carefully, not wanting to hint at just how much it had affected her. “Though that was obviously a mistake. All of it was a mistake. There’s nothing more between us, Razor, so stop trying to pretend there is. Now can we do our job?”

  “We seem to be making a lot of those, eh? And everything you’re saying is fucking bullshit. You’re mixing things up,” he snarled. He moved forward and stopped in front of her, but she held her ground. “I didn’t reply, you’re right. You made sure it was pretty damn clear that one time was enough for you. Is that all you wanted from me?”

  “Yes,” she said evenly. She bit back the words she was screaming in her head.

  No. I want more. But you’re too good for me. I will ruin you. I haven’t been right since that day…that gods-awful day. I have nothing but anger to offer. What we feel between us is too dangerous, too combustible, and I can’t afford to lose my path. Heaven is my goal, and I need to push you away before I forget.

  Sasha shrugged as nonchalantly as she could while still looking him in the eyes. It was a lot harder than usual for her to block all her conflicting thoughts and emotions, made all the harder knowing he could smell them. Still, she liked to think she was doing a good job at fooling both of them that she truly didn’t give a damn about him.

  Except she could tell Razor saw right through her bullshit. He opened his mouth to say as much, but Sasha put a hand on his chest to stop him.

  “Don’t. Just…don’t. We need to get inside. Hailie is waiting for us.”

  He stared at her for a long moment. Then he inhaled deeply as if pushing back whatever he’d been about to say. He turned his head to glance at the abandoned-looking building. “There?”

  Sasha took a step back, took a breath to gain her bearings, and nodded. “It’s one of the widely recognized neutral meeting places. No gang fights or territory beefs. It’s as close to a safe place as you can get around here.”

  “I know what it is. Why are we meeting her on neutral ground? I won’t hurt her.”

  “Like I said, these kids are very cautious.”

  He frowned, but remained silent. She could tell he didn’t like what she’d said, but not for the reasons one might think. Based on what she knew about him, he was probably chastising himself for not being more involved with the street kids. That made her feel hopeful. Maybe he’d start paying more attention to the street kids and not just to the big bad wolves he hunted down.

  She strode forward, going to the heavy metal door and pulling it open.

  It was empty inside, with bits of litter scattered all over the floor. There was a table in the middle of the room, a small girl sitting in a folding chair, her legs swinging absently. She wore clothes that were so dirty, they were indistinguishable from the rest of her dirty body, and a ratty newsboy hat covered her head and allowed her to hide her eyes.

  Standing behind her was a tall, broad, and overall intimidating man. And with good reason. Castor was not only a gang leader, but his gang was composed completely of Vampires. They happened to be the top dogs when it came to gangs—but not only did they run Sector Three’s gangs, his gang spanned the entire Shadow Realm and was at the very top of the seedy underworld.

  Castor was not someone you wanted to piss off. When he saw Sasha, he smiled widely, dimples flashing and fangs showing. His skin was pale, like alabaster, and several red tattoos depicting Vampiric sigils done with blood and magic started under his light blue eyes and traveled down his neck and arms. “Sasha, darling. What a pleasure it is to see you again. It’s been far too long.”

  Sasha smiled in return. “Hey, Castor. It really has been too long. We’ve both been busy.” Normally when greeting a gang leader with Castor’s prestige, a handshake was out of question. You’d be lucky if you were permitted to bow to them or kneel at their feet in greeting.

  Sasha walked around and gave Castor a tight hug, the embrace familiar. Really, she’d rather be getting tortured than touch him, but she was a good ac
tress.

  While Sasha didn’t do relationships, it had been crucial for her to get on Castor’s good side early on. She’d needed free access to the slums and he’d needed a bed partner. He wasn’t bad on the eyes, so they’d easily entered a sort of agreement that they could use each other to fulfill their sexual needs without the concern of either stabbing the other in the back. They hadn’t been together for some time, but she could still pull off the act of being in his corner. He was an asshole, but an asshole she could get information from, and that’s all that really mattered.

  “Why the fuck is he here?” Razor practically spat the words. Sasha had been anticipating that reaction. She imagined Castor was a criminal who Razor could justifiably kill a hundred times over.

  Sasha turned to Razor with a smile. “Hailie here is under Castor’s protection. All the street kids have their sponsors. You can’t touch him, so don’t even try.” She tried to nonverbally ask him to behave as she took her seat across from Hailie.

  Razor must have been fighting some kind of internal battle, but over what, she wasn’t sure. She just assumed it was having such a notorious criminal in front of him he couldn’t touch unless he wanted to cause a shit storm.

  Instead of taking the seat next to her, the insufferable Hellhound stood behind her, mimicking the position of Castor and Hailie. Sasha didn’t appreciate the implication that she needed his protection, but she shook that off. It was neither here nor there. The important part of this was speaking to Hailie and seeing what she knew.

  Leaning forward, Sasha smiled warmly, her voice softening. She’d shifted from fighter to mother as she caught the young girl’s gaze, ignoring the two men. “Thank you for calling me, Hailie. That was very brave of you. Do you have something to tell me?”

  Hailie nodded, her gaze cutting to Castor, presumably for reassurance. She nodded again, and looked right at Sasha. “You know Maverick?”

  Sasha furrowed her eyebrows in slight confusion. “The dealer?” He was such a jumble of Demon bloodlines that his features were muddled together, and combined with his large gut and lazy attitude, he was nothing more than a bully. He was well known as a drug dealer who would go to extreme lengths to get whatever clients wanted, and would take anything as payment. He wasn’t a joke, but neither was he big time.

  Hailie nodded again. “Yeah. I started running for him. He’s got a new product he’s selling.” Hailie’s face remained unruffled, but her eyes got shiny. “My sister used to deal for him, but then she started to…sample the product. She’s real bad. I know she doesn’t have long, but maybe I can save her. I can fix her.”

  The little girl’s voice was sad, but a thin thread of hope ran through her voice. Even through all the horrible shit Sasha knew that these street kids saw, it was bittersweet to see how much hope the young ones had.

  Sasha nodded, not showing the sadness she felt at this girl’s situation. Most of the slum kids didn’t appreciate someone showing anything remotely close to pity for them, anyway. The Hellhounds had set up safe buildings around all the Sectors for them, but most, for one reason or another, chose to stay in the slums.

  She could tell the girl was strong enough to answer a few more questions, so she pressed her to continue. “So, you started dealing?”

  Hailie looked up at her and nodded. “Yeah. But a little bit ago, Maverick started giving us this new drug to sell. He says it’s special. I don’t know what it is, though. It’s a white powder and comes in little baggies with a purple word on the front. They arrive on my doorstep at midnight every few nights. I don’t know who brings them.”

  Sasha exchanged a look with Razor before replying to the girl. “This is helpful, thank you. Is there anything else you saw or heard that you can remember?”

  Hailie shook her head after a moment, but Sasha couldn’t see Hailie’s eyes to know if she was genuine, or if she knew more but had reached the limit on what she’d say. Sasha didn’t blame the girl if that was the case. If she was still working for Maverick and he found out she’d said anything, he’d have her killed. It was another important reason to have Castor there as her protection. He would, in theory, make sure she was protected from all sides.

  Sasha stood up and went to Hailie, offering the girl a hug. Hailie leaned forward in her chair and wrapped her skinny arms around Sasha. Closing her eyes, Sasha wished she could help the girl more. But all she could do was pull back and smile tenderly. “Thank you, Hailie. You’ve helped a lot. Be safe out there.”

  Recognizing she was dismissed, Hailie nodded and, as quiet as a mouse, left the building.

  Sasha straightened and ran a hand over her face. Before she could say anything, though, she heard Castor’s chuckle and looked at him in question.

  “So,” he drawled lazily, “you really do open your legs for anyone. And here I thought we had a special bond.”

  She’d almost forgotten how easily she could lose her temper around Castor. How much hatred for him she really had.

  Sasha fought to keep her voice neutral and her anger hidden as she shrugged. “Razor and I are just working together on a case. You know I don’t play favorites.”

  Castor snorted. “Yeah, I know. You’re just a glorified whore. I call it like I see it, Sasha.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Razor was going to kill this guy. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But Castor was as good as dead. He wasn’t going to kill him over the very blatant lust the other man was projecting, though he was tempted to end him just for that alone. Razor was going to end him because not only was he fucking with Night’s business—had been for years—but also because he’d just insulted and disrespected Sasha. Though, if he was being honest with himself, he’d admit that it was also partly because Razor just didn’t like him. Hadn’t liked him since he’d first met him several years ago. This little scene with Sasha playing nice with the Vampire only further pissed him the fuck off.

  On that note, why was Sasha being downright civil with him? All she’d ever been to Razor was hostile. It was insulting that the breathing garbage that was Castor was getting more respect than Razor.

  It took all of his willpower not to jump over that table and tear out the Vampire’s throat then and there, when Castor looked Sasha up and down as if she were something under his boot. It helped that Sasha was standing between them, which was exactly why Razor had placed himself where he had. He knew he’d need a reminder about their purpose for being there today. Plus, he had wanted the other man to know that he had Sasha’s back.

  Razor knew he couldn’t justifiably kill him. Not yet. He hadn’t crossed any lines. He toed it often when it came to street dealings, but never enough to put him on Razor’s list. His role with the slum kids was the most important reason why Razor had let him live for all these years. If he ever slacked on the job, Razor would lose no sleep over what to do with him.

  “Don’t tell me you’re butt-hurt that I’m no longer fucking you, Castor.” Razor couldn’t see Sasha’s face, but he imagined her raising an eyebrow as she said the words.

  Grinding his teeth, he tried not to picture Sasha with Castor. And, fuck him, he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been nice to him back when they’d been lovers. Loving, even.

  His eyelid twitched at the thought. He didn’t care who Sasha had slept with, but Castor grated on him. Was the annoying Vampire infinitely more palatable than Razor? ’Cause from where he was sitting, Castor was a normal looking dude, nothing extraordinary to look at. Why was he getting all the nice?

  Razor mentally slapped himself. Goddess, he sounded like a big baby.

  Castor made a rude noise. “Yeah, right. I have all the pussy I could ever want. The sex was good, but not that good to miss after all this time.”

  Breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

  Razor used his senses to zero in on the Vampire. Something about him smelled of dishonesty. He just didn’t know which part. Or if it was all of him.

  Recalling what Gabriel had told him about Castor some time ago,
and the problems he had caused, he wondered if the current troubles in the Vampire clan were once again Castor’s doing. What Razor did know about Castor was that the Vampire had been making waves for some time, trying to gain footing within the clan. The gang leader wanted Gabriel’s position. It was rumored that he was even going so far as to use the slum kids as cannon fodder. Not that they had any hard proof, another reason Castor continued to stay off Razor’s kill list. None of the kids had come forward after Razor had launched an investigation some time ago, some even suggesting they’d do anything for their protector. Which didn’t help prove the gang leader was abusing them. It was understandable, though. Surviving in the slums meant you kept to the street code and bowed to the strongest, and right now, unfortunately, Castor controlled most parts of the slums. Thankfully, he wasn’t moving up the ladder anytime soon. So long as Razor and his brothers breathed, it would remain that way.

  Sasha gave a relieved breath. “Whew, glad we’re on the same page about that.”

  At that comment, something in Razor relaxed…slightly. He tried not to laugh at the face Castor made.

  “I see you still have a mouth on you.” He sneered, then turned his gaze on Razor. “I didn’t know Hellhounds dipped their dicks in slum whores.”

  Oh fuck, oh fuck.

  Can’t. Kill. Him.

  He still couldn’t see Sasha’s face, but he could feel the tension coming off her. She wanted to hit Castor, just like Razor did.

  Several deep breaths and a satisfied sneer from Castor later, he managed to speak calmly, though he hoped Castor could see his horrible death unfolding in his eyes. “I see through you, Vampire. What you’re trying to do here will never happen. You’re just a gutter rat who wants to be king. Nothing more.”

  The man’s face grew red, then tightened with restrained anger. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Judge—” He said the last word with a scoff. “—but that won’t change the fact that Sasha is an opportunist. She fucks where the job takes her.” He turned his mean smirk on her. “I wouldn’t feel too special, Razor. She’ll do anything or anyone for her precious Xavier. Whatever the fuck that thing is…girl, guy, I can never tell.” Castor scratched his head thoughtfully. It was all an act. “I would ask myself why Sasha’s fucking me, if I were you. Because no matter what she says, I can smell the sex on both of you. And if she’s screwing you, it means she wants something from you.”