Most Wanted - A Fantasy Romance Novel (The Shadow Blade Series)

by E. L Friel

  ‘Who sent you?’ he whispered in her ear.

  Ariel struggled against his pincer tight grip on her wrists, trying to turn her head away from his stinking breath. His eyes glowed in the dark and his fangs glinted just inches from her face. As she struggled, a tongue came out and licked a long, slow trail up her neck, tracing her jugular.

  Nausea rose up her throat followed quickly by red-hot rage. ‘The Brothers,’ she hissed. She lifted her foot, thanking God she’d worn stilettos, and slammed it down onto the top of his. He let go of her at once, screaming a high-pitched wail, which Ariel cut off with a sharp blow across his windpipe. ‘Goddamn, wake the dead why don’t you?’ she muttered angrily, reaching to pick up the syringe.

  As his hands clutched at his throat she roundhouse kicked him in the stomach. ‘And that’s for licking me you undead piece of shit.’

  Jax saw red the moment the Sucker's tongue snaked out and slimed up the girl’s neck. He had followed them out here, wanting to know what would possibly possess a girl like her to go anywhere with a piece of trailer trash Sucker like that. He’d wondered if maybe Cy was right and she was a Sucker lover. The thought made his stomach turn and he was aware that he was hoping like hell it wasn’t so. But as Jax stepped towards them, his blade in his hand, the Sucker suddenly bent over double, gasping and clutching at his throat. Jax moved instantly, pushing the girl out of harm’s way and grabbing the Sucker around the neck, shoving him hard against the wall.

  ‘That’s no way to treat a lady,’ he said, through a clenched jaw. The Sucker’s eyes started to bug in his head, the irises bursting red and then black.

  Suddenly someone grabbed his arm and started tugging. It was the girl.

  ‘Hey,’ she spat. ‘I had it handled.’ Her eyes flashed with fury. Jax’s gaze glanced off her body. The tops of her breasts were exposed in the low-cut top she was wearing, the swell and curve of them momentarily distracting him from the job in hand. Swinging his attention back to Ezekiel, he pushed his thumbs into the base of his neck and lifted him off the ground.

  The girl was right there watching him and generally speaking he didn’t like to kill in front of humans, but sure as hell he wasn’t letting this little bloodsucker live.

  ‘Hey,’ the girl said, pulling on his arm. ‘Let him go.’

  She was defending this low life piece of scum? Could she really not tell what he was? Or maybe she could and she really was a Sucker lover.

  Maddened at the thought, Jax brought up his knife and slashed it through Ezekiel’s chest, piercing the stone that was once his heart.

  Ariel let out a yell and grabbed for the guy’s arm before he could do what she saw he was about to do, but it was too late. As she watched he slammed a knife straight into Ezekiel’s chest. Ezekiel let out a little mewing sound and then slid to the ground. Dead.

  Ariel glared down at his body. Great. Just great. He was wanted alive. Not dead. This asshole had just cost her ten thousand dollars. ‘You idiot!’ she yelled, turning to face him.

  The guy twisted his head in her direction, the blade still in his hand. Ariel shoved him backwards. He stumbled, his cap flying off. ‘What the hell?’ he protested.

  ‘Who do you think you are?’ she yelled, anger getting the better of her. Not only was she going to have to report back to Jimmy on this, she was also going to be ten thousand dollars down, and she had a debt to pay.

  The guy was staring at her like was insane. ‘I just saved your life,’ he spluttered.

  ‘No, you did not!’ she spat back. ‘I had it handled!’

  He stepped towards her then, stopping in a band of light thrown by an Emergency Exit sign and Ariel did a double take. He was the guy from the bar, the one who had been sitting in the corner booth. Since when did good Samaritans hang out at The Spithound? With a sickening realization she glanced at the blade in his hand. And who carried a silver blade around with them and knew exactly what to do with it when faced with a Sucker?

  He smirked at her. ‘Yeah, it really looked like you it handled,’ he said. ‘Do you even know what that thing was?’ he asked her, jerking his head in the direction of Ezekiel’s body.

  Ariel’s stomach clenched tight. This guy was a Blade. That was the only thing that made sense. She assessed him. He was easily two or three inches taller than her even though she was wearing heels, maybe six two, twice as broad, probably as strong… though maybe not. He was dark haired, with liquid brown eyes, full lips and a square, clean-shaven jaw. He looked like he spent his days posing in his underwear for Calvin Klein ads. Though right now he was wearing dark jeans and a lumberjack shirt over a grey tee. No pregnant belly in sight. In fact, even in the darkness, even though he was fully clothed, she could just tell he had a very well defined physique.

  The syringe was in her hand. She wondered what the Brothers would pay her for a Blade.

  She stepped forwards into the light. She going to need her two best assets for this one. Gratifyingly the guy’s gaze darted to her cleavage, but only for a second. His expression darkened when he looked back at her face. He was a scowley one that was for sure.

  ‘Why are you hanging out in a place like this?’ he asked, shaking his head.

  ‘I just love the music,’ Ariel said with a tight, sarcastic smile. A spark of regret flared briefly through her. It was a shame the guy was a Blade. He was the first guy she’d seen in a long time that made her think he’d be worth the effort. Her gaze raked the length of him, the regret growing. He was really quite unbelievably hot. Her imagination was already leaping ahead and mentally removing the Calvin Klein’s.

  Taking a deep breath and summoning some resolution, Ariel gripped the syringe in her hand and started to raise it, but just as she was about to stab it into the Blade’s chest the door behind him slammed open, bouncing against the concrete with a retort as loud as a gunshot. They both whipped around.

  Shit. Ariel groaned inwardly to herself. It was the biker she’d laid out earlier. And he’d brought his buddies. His eyes lit up at the sight of her.

  ‘There’s the bitch,’ he grunted.

  Jax glanced over his shoulder at the girl, shaking his head slightly. What was with her and angry men? Who the hell was she?

  Six guys in leather poured out the bar’s back door and spread out along the alley facing them. Jax cricked his neck to the side and rolled out his shoulders. Once upon a time this would have been fun, but he had shit to do - Suckers to kill, demons to hunt. The bikers looked like someone had just told them their Harleys had been clamped and towed.

  ‘You got a problem?’ Jax asked drolly, stepping in front of the girl, instinctively trying to shield her. But even as he did so she stepped out of his shadow and moved to stand beside him, hands on her hips, eyeing the bikers up with a bored expression on her face.

  ‘We got a problem with her,’ the big guy opposite Jax answered. It was the same one whom she had put on the floor earlier. That must be what this was about. ‘Why don’t you go take a little walk?’ he sneered at Jax.

  Amused as much by the curt dismissal as by the squeaking of his leather pants, Jax started to smile. He scanned the alley then decided he’d give them one last chance. ‘Why don’t you head back on inside,’ he suggested as politely as he could.

  The six of them exchanged glances then stared back at him, sniggering. He caught a flash of steel out the corner of his eye. Well, he had given them a chance. What more could he do?

  Jax flexed his hands. ‘You want her, you’ll have to come through me first,’ he said softly.

  Ariel snorted. I mean really, where was he taking his lines from? Mills & Boon novels? She guessed it would be sweet if she was a damsel in distress but she wasn’t. And the thought of six against one was making her blood fizzle with excitement. She didn’t want to share. As the men went on with their little pissing contest Ariel slid her hand down the length of her thigh and pulled the knife free from her boot.

  The fat biker moved first, barreling towards the Blade, obviously ho
ping to catch him by surprise. But the guy was fast. He sidestepped him easily, tripping him with an outstretched leg and then hurled him into the side of the dumpster behind. Ariel almost winced at the sound of skull hitting metal.

  The other five hesitated for a second, exchanging more glances, and then on some unspoken cue threw themselves into the fight. The Blade swished his knife, cutting his first attacker’s arm. He kicked out at the second one, sending him sprawling. Ariel stood there for a few breathless seconds feeling totally indignant. First he had killed her bounty and now he was finishing her fight? She wasn’t even going to get a look in at this rate.

  Shoving the syringe in her pocket, Ariel charged forwards with a banshee yell, smashing her fists into the face and body of the nearest guy in leather. He grunted and bent over and she jackhammered him into the ground. Once he was down she whipped around, sending her leg ramming into the soft belly of a second guy. He went flying back against the wall and she grabbed him around the throat before he could fall and held him in place. Smiling as she held him, Ariel took her knife and sliced it the length of his pants. ‘There,’ she said as his pants fell open exposing stained underwear, ‘that should help with the chafing.’

  His face turned purple. He tried to break free of her grip but she head-butted him and knocked him out.

  Turning back around, her fists raised, she saw the Blade standing in the middle of the alley, breathing heavily, his shoulders rounded and his head lowered. Three unconscious bikers lay on the ground around him. Damn, he was good, she thought grudgingly to herself. He looked up then, seeing Ariel standing between the other two unconscious bikers. He tipped his head at her in astonishment then his gaze flew to the knife she was holding in her hand. Finally it settled on her face. She saw with a growing sense of disquiet that see he was figuring out what she was. Damn. She sheathed her knife and slid her hand into the pocket that held the syringe.

  ‘You,’ he said, taking a step towards her. ‘Who are you? What are you?’

  Ariel eased the syringe free. She licked her lips, hoping he kept his eyes on her face.

  ‘You’re not a Blade,’ he said, frowning now.

  ‘No,’ Ariel said, taking a step closer and shaking her head. She’d aim for the jugular - make it nice and quick.

  ‘You’re a bounty hunter,’ he suddenly said, shaking his head in disbelief and what she liked to imagine was a little bit of wonder.

  He had figured it out. Ariel nodded. ‘Yep. And you just killed my bounty,’ she told him. ‘So I figure you owe me.’

  He opened his mouth to argue. Ariel brought up the syringe, ready to plunge it into his neck, but over his shoulder she caught a sudden movement. One of the bikers, the one he’d thrown against the dumpster, was back on his feet and was stumbling towards them with a knife in his hand.

  ‘Watch out!’ Ariel yelled, shoving the Blade to one side and throwing the syringe she was holding like a dart.

  The Biker fell to the ground swiping at the syringe that had embedded itself into his neck. Ariel leaped forwards and dropped down on top of him, straddling his enormous chest. She jabbed the syringe’s contents hard into his neck and held him down until his eyes lolled back, his mouth fell open and he passed out.

  ‘Damn it to hell and back,’ she muttered.

  Chapter 3

  ‘You have a name?’ Jax asked her.

  For a brief second she paused, as though considering lying. ‘Ariel,’ she finally said.

  Her voice was low, soft as velvet, but with an edge to it. Like her name and her voice she seemed soft, almost ethereal on the outside, but what intrigued Jax the most was the sense that on the inside Ariel was as tough and unforgiving as a rusty razor blade.

  Jax held out his hand to her. ‘Jax Sayer,’ he said, introducing himself.

  Ariel studied him before taking it, as though not sure if she could trust him. It was why he had suggested coming here, to a crowded bar in Los Feliz, a place a lot less divey than The Spithound. There wasn’t a biker in sight. Only hipsters and he knew from experience they weren’t into fighting, at least not half as much as guys who liked to wear leather pants.

  Since finding out she was a bounty hunter Jax had been trying to work out what kind of demon she was. A Chameleon maybe? A Shifter? Something he’d never seen before? She was almost too beautiful to be believed. There was something unreal about the smoothness of her skin, the way it gleamed beneath the lights. And her figure was so perfectly hourglass she looked like she’d been sketched by an artist who’d then printed her off on a 3D printer and somehow blown life into her.

  There was a fierce, feline-like quality to her eyes too. She looked like a predator. And the guarded way she sat, legs-crossed, back straight, eyeing him with suspicion just added to the sense she was about to spring at him. Not for the first time he considered whether it had been wise to sheath his blade back in his boot where he couldn’t readily reach it. But no, he didn’t think she would make a move here.

  She was on edge, despite the tough act. If she had fur she’d be bristling. She scanned the crowd often and frequently checked the exits. He on the other hand was finding it hard to take his eyes off of her. He had absolutely no idea where the exits were.

  Ariel seemed to flush at his scrutiny, turning abruptly and signaling the waitress. Her foot tapped restlessly under the table and he had to fight the urge to reach out and still it. When the waitress came over she ordered a beer and a tequila shot. Jax asked for water. He felt the sudden need to keep his head straight around this woman. Because up close it was clear she wasn’t a girl, she was very much a woman.

  As soon as the waitress brought the drinks Ariel necked back her shot, slamming the glass down on the table and ordering another before the waitress had time to leave. Jax hid his smile behind a cough.

  ‘So,’ Ariel said, once the waitress had left to refill her shot glass, ‘what did you want to talk about? I don’t have all night.’

  ‘More monsters to hunt down before the sun comes up?’ Jax responded drily.

  She narrowed her cat-like eyes at him and he wondered suddenly what it would be like to kiss her, to have her gaze at him without suspicion and distrust but with desire, to see her completely disarmed. He pushed the thought aside, reminding himself that she was a demon. And a bounty hunter at that.

  Ariel wondered how Jax Sayer had become a Blade. He would certainly earn a lot more money adorning billboards or sauntering down catwalks. Slaughtering demons didn’t pay that well. She would know. And the life expectancy wasn’t that great either. But then again, she remembered, most Blades were born into it. And the Blade family was rumored to be obscenely wealthy. The family was so shrouded though in myth and mystery it was hard to know what was fact and what was fiction. She couldn’t tell much about Jax Sayer from looking at him. He dressed well, wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, had held the door open for her which suggested he had manners and was well brought up. He’d led the way to the bar on a motorbike. She’d followed behind in her van. He was obviously confident, he moved with that self-assurance she often saw in men who had been in the army or Marines but he wasn’t cocky. Yeah, he had that smirk thing going on, but if anything the melancholy look in his eye undid it. This was all she’d managed to deduce in the time they’d been sitting here and she wondered what clues he was reading in her body language, what deductions or guesses he was making about her background, her personality, her life.

  Ariel noticed now that the waitress was hovering by the table. She’d brought the second shot of Tequila but her eyes were glued to Jax’s face. She was practically quivering. He didn’t seem to notice though, his gaze staying firmly fixed on her (he still hadn’t looked once at her breasts), and finally the waitress took the hint and sloped off.

  ‘What are you?’ Jax asked her once she was gone.

  Ariel leaned back against the leather banquette, smiling smugly. He couldn’t tell. No one ever could. It was what made her such a good bounty hunter. Well, normally. She’d h
ad a dry run recently. Tonight’s screw up followed hot on the heels of another screw up where she’d accidentally killed a Chameleon demon (in her defense he’d blended with the furniture so she’d stabbed randomly and managed to hit an artery).

  ‘You’re not a Sucker,’ Jax went on, leaning his forearms on the table.

  Ariel sighed. Of course she wasn’t a sucker. That was obvious. She was breathing for a start and she didn’t have fangs.

  ‘You’re not a Saw demon, unless you’re hiding a tail under that dress,’ he smirked, leaning backwards and glancing under the table at her legs. ‘You’re not a Seer,’ he said, looking up. ‘Or you would have seen those bikers coming.’

  She pulled a face at him. No, she wasn’t a Seer, though she sure wouldn’t mind being one. Being able to see the future would definitely be a bonus.

  ‘Are you a Shifter?’ he asked.

  She shook her head.

  He seemed relieved, which made her smile.

  ‘You don’t let off the same scent as the others,’ he said, his brow creasing in puzzlement, and making her wonder what the hell scent she did let off. ‘And you look human so what are you?’

  ‘I’m half,’ she told him.

  He raised his eyebrows. ‘Half?’ he asked, as though the very idea was something he’d never come across before.

  ‘Yeah, half human, half Shadow,’ Ariel answered, holding his gaze.

  ‘Shadow?’ he asked in surprise.

  Ariel nodded, feeling a flush of pleasure ride through her at the way his pulse quickened beneath his skin. She felt it. That ripple of nervous energy. She liked it that she’d surprised him, had made his heart rate spike.

  He took a sip of water. Ariel watched his hands gripping the glass. He’d taken off his shirt and she was getting an unrivalled view of his tanned forearms, and the shape of his muscles beneath his T-shirt, and she had to say, she was not complaining. ‘I’ve never come across a Shadow before,’ he said now.