“Come on,” Alexandra Harper pleaded with a coy smile.
The man smiled back at her, raising one eyebrow. When she had spotted him coming up the escalator from the metro station, his eyes had been the same blue-green color of the Caribbean Sea, but now they were darkened with desire. Warm and inviting, with just a touch of mysteriousness, they tried to lure her in.
Her mouth went dry as her breath caught in her throat. She needed to get this done. Now.
“Where are you taking me?” he asked playfully.
She leaned into him and let her fingers draw a lazy pattern over his chest, if only to give her trembling hands something to do. Grasping his silk tie, she pulled his head down to her so that she could whisper in his ear. “I’ll show you.”
He shivered and she sighed in awe. This man had seduced dozens of women, prided himself on being a “fuck-em-and-leave-em” type, and now he was utterly at her mercy. When she drew him forward, he readily followed her past the row of shops to the alley behind them. She should be enjoying this, but the truth was that she hated playing this role of the teenage seductress—the little Lolita with black, spiral curls. She would gladly use his ugly, expensive tie to drag him by force to some secluded place, but it had been three days since she’d last fed and she simply didn’t have the strength.
The alley was empty and lit only by the pale moonlight. Deliberately, she backed him into the shadows and up against the wall. “Get down on your knees,” she purred.
He lifted his eyebrow at her again. “Shouldn’t that be my line?”
Alexandra gritted her teeth, barely holding on to her smile. This was taking too long. She felt itchy, on the verge of desperation. “Come on, baby. I promise this will be fun.”
The man chuckled and did as she asked, even though kneeling on the damp pavement would ruin the pants of his five thousand dollar suit. While he was looking away, she craned her head to peer back at the mouth of the alley to make sure that no one was watching them. The sight of a thirty-something year-old man alone in a darkened alley with a young teenage girl was something that tended to draw attention.
His hands came up around her waist, slipping under the hem of her blue satin shirt. “You are one kinky bitch, aren’t you?”
“Shhhh.” She ran her fingers through his thick, brown hair now that she could reach his head without having to stand on her tiptoes. “No more talking.” Gently, she guided his head to the side and leaned down until her lips grazed the side of his neck. Then she fisted a handful of his hair and she sank her lengthened canines into his throat. The man tried to scream, but she reached around with her free hand and clamped it over his mouth.
His blood was rich and it went straight to her head, making her slightly dizzy as she struggled to hold him still. She felt his pulse throb against her lips as she drank and when it reached the exact tempo that she needed, she released her fangs and let him fall to the ground.
Now, now, now!
Straddling his body, she clenched his chin in one hand and laid her other hand over his forehead, forcing him to look at her. He was weak now and blood still spurted from the wounds on his neck, but it would be a few minutes before he died.
As she stared into his sea-green eyes, the power inside of her refused to be restrained any longer. All vampires had the ability to read a human’s thoughts, but Alexandra left those thoughts at the surface and dove down into the depths of the man’s soul. It swallowed her whole—everything he’d ever felt and everything he’d ever been. She saw the people who darted and flowed through his life. She saw the surge of love and the crash of despair. Every tide and current leading him to this moment, to this petite, seemingly delicate girl whose clear blue eyes were suddenly all he could see.
Oh God. The release was so intense that it was almost painful. But as always, as soon as the pain ebbed, something else swelled within her: the desire to destroy. She needed to hurt this man, to use what she had gleaned from his mind against him, to watch his soul crumble to dust.
But it was too late; Alexandra had time it perfectly. Before the compulsion could grow beyond her control, she witnessed the single, fleeting moment when the man’s breath and heartbeat were one and the last of his essence slipped away. She was left staring into his dead eyes.
Drawing back into a crouch, she exhaled a trembling breath and tried not to cry. The man had died, but he hadn’t suffered. Her power had risen, but she hadn’t hurt anyone with it. She had upheld the precarious balance between her own self and the monster that lived inside of her.
Still, she hated herself.
“You shouldn’t leave yourself open like this,” a deep voice said behind her. “Any clod could come up behind you, ready to stake you, and you wouldn’t even hear them.”
She turned sharply toward the vampire who was standing at the entrance of the alley and her heart stopped. But then she realized that he hadn’t seen anything and her smile reappeared, masking the pain that she would never dare to reveal. “Shut the hell up, Tristan,” she laughed as she got to her feet. “You’re going to ruin my buzz.”
Her companion crossed his arms, glancing down at the man on the ground, and then he looked back at Alexandra. “How many is that for you?” he asked.
“One,” she replied carefully.
He sighed and shook his head. “God, I can kill five in the time it takes you to do one.”
She walked over to him and gave him a playful poke in the side. “Excuse me if I don’t go tearing into one after another like a college freshman binge drinking at a frat party.”
“Lex, my love, have I ever told you that you are a hopeless bitch?” he asked, gently tugging on a ringlet of her hair.
“And have I ever told you, Tristan, that you are a tasteless fuck?” she replied sweetly.
They turned out onto Connecticut Avenue and Lex winced. The night sky had melted into the deep blue twilight, which meant that the sun would rise in a few minutes. It was going to be another unseasonably warm day in Washington, D.C.
Tristan laughed and flashed his arrogant, beautiful smile. “I think you are mistaking me for someone who doesn’t have a closet full of Armani and Kenneth Cole.”
She rolled her eyes. “Darling, you mistake taste for materialism.”
“Oh sure, you criticize me now. But let’s see what happens next time you break a heel off of one of your Ciuti shoes.”
“I suppose you would just buy me another pair,” Lex answered dully. “You’re the one who is always begging me to wear them.”
“Mmm, yeah. Your calves look so delicious in them,” he purred.
She snorted. “Always the glutton.”
Her barb must have struck a nerve, because he didn’t return it. Instead, his smile slipped away and she could sense that he was debating whether or not to say something. When he opened his mouth and took a deep breath, she tensed because she knew what was coming. “You really need to feed more.”
He was looking at her, but Lex stared straight ahead. “I’m fine,” she assured him tiredly. “I just fed.”
“You’re not fine,” he argued. “You’re not supposed to go three, four, five days without blood. I don’t understand—”
“Please don’t start this again.” She tried to keep the note of desperation out of her voice, but it escaped anyways. “Please.”
He sighed in frustration. This was an old argument and he knew where it would lead. After a long moment, he said, “I don’t want to hurt you, Lex.”
“Then, don’t.” Such a simple request, but she knew Tristan could hear the plea underlying it. She couldn’t tell him what he wanted to know, even after all of this time, and it stung him.
They walked in an uncomfortable silence for a few blocks. This early, the streets were still fairly empty and Alexandra found it eerie. It was so unlike New York or Los Angeles, which seemed to be packed with humans at all hours.
They had been traveling for months before coming to D.C., sweeping back and forth across the country. The day after they’d arrived in Washington, however, Tristan had secured a townhouse in Georgetown and had begun ordering furniture from online catalogues. That night, as they had lain side-by-side on their new bed, staring up at the ceiling, he’d whispered, “We’re home.”
Lex didn’t feel the same connection to this city that he did, but she understood it. It was how she used to feel every time she stepped into the hot sand on the Atlantic coast, back before she had been changed into a vampire.
“Do you like it here?” Tristan asked her lightly. “Do you mind that we’re staying?”
He’d read her thoughts, which made her shudder inwardly, but she tried to ignore it. She knew that he was trying to change the subject as a sort of peace offering. “I’m happy if you are,” she replied with a warm smile.
He slipped his arm around her shoulders, which was always a little awkward because he was nearly a foot taller than she was, and gave her a peck on top of her head. “Thank you.”
Lex shrugged slightly, putting a little room between them. “Let’s go back to the house,” she suggested. “The sun will be up soon.”
“We can’t. We’ve got to meet Angie at Dupont at six.”
“What? Why?” Alexandra gasped.
Tristan looked at her curiously. “Because she told us to,” he said flatly. “So unless you want the whole D.C. Night World on our ass, along with vamps from any other cities she has connections with…”
“I get it,” she snapped, raking her fingers through her hair. “Shit. Why didn’t you warn me about this?”
“Lex, get a grip.” He stood before her, touched her face soothingly. “I didn’t want you freaking out all night. She’s just another egotistical, Night World governor.”
“She’s worse than that,” she whispered, keeping her eyes trained on the buttons of Tristan’s shirt.
He shook his head. “You always do this. Every time we have to meet with anyone from the Night World, you completely lose it.”
“You weren’t there.” Lex couldn’t keep the hysteria out of her voice. “You don’t know what she did to me!”
“Of course I don’t! You never told me!” he snapped back at her. Then he softened, “Look, baby, we don’t really have a choice. I’ll be right there with you this time. Have I ever let you down before?”
“No.” That was her job.
He gave her a reassuring smile and put his arms around her, holding her against his chest. But after a minute, she felt him move to look at his watch behind her back. “We’ve got to go.”
Her stomach turned, but Lex just nodded.
The morning twilight paled as they walked towards Dupont Circle and she felt a familiar longing. She missed the sun more than anything—the way the white light had filtered through her curtains in the morning, the warmth that had blanketed her skin in the summer, and the energy that had filled every cell in her body with life. Sunlight didn’t kill vampires, as many humans believed, but since she’d been changed, it had become harsh and blinding. It weakened her until she was forced into the shadows, squinting to catch a glimpse of humans in the light…feeling robbed.
When they reached the traffic circle, Alexandra stopped before crossing the street and let Tristan continue on by himself.
The vampire called Angie Catellini stood before the escalator that lead down to the metro platform. The glow of her cigarette accented the fiery color of her hair, lips, and shimmering shadow over her eyes. She took a drag and smiled as Tristan walked up to her. “Glad you decided to show up,” she said as the yellowish smoke wisped around her.
“I thought it would be in our best interest,” he replied.
Lex crept a little closer so that she could hear them more clearly, but she still kept as much distance as possible between herself and the Night World leader. “Damn right it is,” Angie said with a smile. “Are you enjoying my city?”
“Despite the abundance of politician blood, yes.”
“It doesn’t suit you?”
“Oh, it’s nice to watch them die, but they taste a tad bitter.”
Taking another drag, Angie nodded towards Alexandra. “What’s wrong with your girl?”
“Nothing,” Tristan replied silkily, “she just doesn’t like cigarettes.”
Angie laughed shortly. “It’s not going to kill her.”
“No, but it smells like shit.”
Lex felt momentarily amazed that Tristan could look so steadily at the blazing vampire before him, that his voice still carried his arrogance and stubbornness in the face of such power.
The red-haired vampire threw her cigarette on the sidewalk pointedly and crushed it with her boot. And then Alexandra heard her low, husky voice call, “Come on, Soul Stealer! Let’s take a ride!”
At the soft knock on his door, Reece snapped, “What?”
A tall, blonde girl entered and he felt a wry smile tug at his lips in spite of himself. Her long hair was coiled at the back of her head and she wore pale blue flannel pajamas and Tweety slippers on her feet.
“Beth, how did you ever get into this business?” he sighed.
“I like the hours,” the girl replied dryly.
“So, is that what you’re going to wear when this all goes down?”
She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “Well, the Nightworld would never see me coming, would they? And I have five stakes hidden under the flannel, so don’t mock me.”
“Any places you’d care to share?”
“Trade secrets,” Beth replied. She pulled out the desk chair and straddled it, resting her chin on the back of it. “What are you doing up, Reece?”
He answered with a glare.
“We won’t be called up for another few hours,” the girl continued. “You need to rest.”
“I can’t rest in this prison,” he growled.
“Prison?” Beth snorted. “This place is like the god damn Plaza.”
“Screw the luxury, I need some real light and air.”
“God, Cahill, it’s for our own safety.” Her hazel eyes widened in exasperation. “You know what’s going on out there. And in here.”
Reece turned away from her and sighed, running his fingers through his spiky, auburn hair. “I know.”
After a long moment, she asked softly, “Are you nervous?”
“It’s just a mission, Beth,” he replied as steadily as he could manage. “Like all of the other missions we’ve run before.”
She smiled knowingly and rested her head against her hand. “I’ll believe that you believe that as soon as you stop pacing around the room like a maniac.”
Oh, screw it. “Do you think I did the right thing?” he asked her urgently. “Accepting this job?”
“The right thing for whom?”
“For Circle Daybreak. For the world.”
She looked at him, her hazel eyes searching his face. “Are you asking me if I think you can handle this?”
Reece swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yes.” He turned away from her, not wanting her to see how anxious he actually felt. As team leader, it was his duty to stay strong and show no fear or doubt because everyone else’s confidence depended on his. But this was the most important mission of his life and if he fucked it up, then the entire world was fucked as well. “I know that Daybreak called me because they needed an outsider to run this but—”
“They called you because you’re the best,” Beth interjected. “And you’re either too modest or too blind to realize the reputation you’ve earned, even here.”
“People talk too much,” he insisted. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
He could feel her looking at him and he turned back begrudgingly. “They’re trusting you with a Wild Power,” she said. “It means something.”
Reece nodded slowly as some of the nervous energy inside of him dissolved. “I’d feel better if we had more of our people here.” When Circle Daybreak told him about this job, they had only asked for him, not for his entire team. In fact, he’d had to argue with Thierry Descouedres in order to get permission to bring Beth.
“I know,” she said. “But at least we know that things are being taken care of at home while we’re gone, right?”
He rolled his eyes. “The work will be fine, true, but I have the sinking feeling that I’m going to go back to find that Jase and Sorrentino have decimated my apartment.”
“Knowing your place, I’ll doubt you’ll even notice the difference,” Beth returned brightly.
“Oh, very funny.”
“Hey, maybe after this mission is done, you can ask Daybreak for a raise for our team and we can all move into apartments with hot water, and sinks that don’t leak, and windows that aren’t drafty.” She sighed dreamily. “Just imagine it...”
Reece laughed. “Goddess, you just had to pile something else on top of the outcome of this mission, didn’t you?”
“You’re the one who begged for me to come with you, Cahill,” she reminded him with a sparkle in her eyes. “You knew what you’d be getting.”
“I must be a glutton for punishment,” he replied dryly. But in truth, this was exactly why he had asked her to come with him. He needed her to make him laugh and to calm him down. If he couldn’t have the Elements in this compound, Beth was the next best thing.
“So, what did you think of Carden?” Reece asked her, referring to the other vampire who would be on the team for this mission.
“He’s solid,” she said with certainty. “A good pick on Daybreak’s part. I think he’s the one that took down Kendra Pollox last year. The only issue is the ‘I’m-in-love-with-myself-therefore-you-must-be-in-love-with-me-too-so-fuck-me-now’ complex.”
“Keep him away from Gen.”
Beth started at the sudden steel in his voice. “Reece, he’s a strong member of this team.”
“I don’t care. He can be a strong member of the team away from Gen.”
She seemed perplexed. “Is this a chauvinist thing? Because in case you haven’t noticed—and I know that you haven’t—I’m female too. And so is Sumitra for that matter.”
“Look, Gen was nearly killed only a few days ago by her soulmate. The last thing she needs is some vain vampire sexually harassing her.”
“What she needs is to stay alive and that’s why Carden is here.”
“Is Sumitra ready?” Reece asked abruptly.
He thought he could hear Beth’s teeth grinding from across the room. Finally, she answered, “She’s pumped. Been off training in Thailand for the past six months and she’s looking forward to putting it to use.”
“Well, she’ll probably get her chance. What about Nigel?”
“Cahill, Daybreak handpicked these people. They may not be ours…or very tactful about hitting on a girl, but they’re very good at what they do.”
Reece nodded.
“Look, get some sleep for Christ’s sake,” she advised as she got up off the chair and pushed it back under the desk. “Everything will go smoothly and in a week we’ll be back in Canada with our rotting floorboards and termite-infested walls.”
“Thank the Goddess,” he exhaled.
“You’re twisted,” Beth smiled at him as she left the room.
As the door clicked shut, Reece began pacing again. He looked at the clock and let out a deep breath. T minus three hours and counting…