Her heart beat a little faster, her question as self-seeking as it was tactical. ‘Are you worried about me, Jask?’
He held her gaze for a moment. ‘I’m worried about you messing this up.’
Her heart slumped. She folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. ‘I’ll say it again –
this
is what I do. I’m made to do this and I’m damn good at it. If you’re not going to use the resource you have right in front of you to get this done, then it’s
you
who’s taking your eye off the ball. Unless that little speech you gave me back at Travis’s place applies to everyone but you.’
Jask stared her down, but she stared right back.
‘He’s going to be back any minute, Jask. This might be our only window.’
He contemplatively looked back at the curtain.
‘No one’s going to take any notice of me slipping out there,’ she insisted. ‘His defences are going to be lower seeing me than seeing you. You know it makes sense. Make the smart choice, Jask.’
The seconds ticked past, Sophia moments away from putting forward another plea when he looked back at her.
‘If I don’t see the second one come out in under five minutes, I’m coming in there,’ he said. ‘I’ve giving you another ten minutes with Zee and that’s it. And you do
not
leave the building, do you understand me? I can only pick up your scent from limited distances in places like this.’
Her heart pounded. He was conceding. He was actually conceding. Only she wasn’t entirely sure now that she’d wanted him to.
But it was too late for second thoughts.
She reached for her glass and knocked back the remains. She slipped out of the booth and stood, her gaze lingering on Jask’s for a second longer.
‘Be careful,’ he said.
She never would have thought two words would have made such an impact.
She nodded. ‘Always.’
* * *
Jask could hear her heart pounding as she crossed the room towards the curtain, but he couldn’t tell if it was with adrenaline or fear. Maybe both.
As she slipped behind the curtain, he stared down into his glass.
It didn’t feel right – sending her in there alone. But he needed to curb the macho protectiveness. It was insulting to her and unnecessary for him. She’d been right – it did make more sense her going in alone. Just because he chose not to see the serryn traits didn’t mean they weren’t there. Just because he saw her vulnerabilities didn’t mean he couldn’t see her strengths.
And if she
did
know what she was doing, he’d finally have the evidence he needed that she was ready for her task.
But the thought of her being alone with Zee… the thought of the vampire touching her. The thought of him sinking his teeth into her. The thought of him hurting her. The thought of him taking it one step too far before Phia could gain control.
He knocked back another mouthful.
He’d wanted to say more before she’d left, but he was as comfortable with her seeing his weaknesses as she was with him seeing hers. He wasn’t even sure she’d understand. She only ever searched for differences between them – the differences she was conditioned to see, rather than the similarities that were becoming increasingly apparent. Because more and more, he was sensing that neither of them wanted to start feeling about each other the way they were.
A feeling he couldn’t afford – not just for the sake of his pack but because he couldn’t have his heart torn open again. And that’s what would happen if he allowed his feelings for a serryn to develop. Because the way the disdain for him in her eyes had serrated too deep too many times now, told him he already felt more than he should.
As the curtain moved, his heart skipped a beat. He’d almost wished he’d have an excuse to go in there. Instead, the vampire who had accompanied Zee made his way back across to rejoin his companions.
Now Phia was alone with Zee. Alone in that dark, dingy corridor.
Seducing him.
He slammed his empty glass down a little harder than he’d intended.
He smelt her before he caught her in the corner of his eye.
She was barefooted, her denim shorts barely clipping the tops of her shapely thighs. Her white sleeveless shirt was buttoned low, revealing her absence of bra beneath.
He looked up into her young eyes as she raked him slowly, her lips curling into a smile behind her heavily made-up face, her contrived curls cascading over her shoulders.
She leaned forward, rested her hands on the booth table and cocked her curvy hip to the side in preparation to slide in opposite him.
Jask rested his head back against the wall. ‘Don’t even waste your time,’ he said, his gaze tearing through her.
She didn’t wait a second longer, slipping away as silently as she had appeared.
* * *
Sophia pushed aside the musty navy curtain. The few steps down were as narrow as the corridor they led to. The unadorned brick walls as unwelcoming as the concrete floor and exposed light bulbs dangling twenty feet above.
The music suddenly seemed distant, the heavy curtain muffling everything in what now felt like another world beyond. And it was cold down there, the tiny hairs on her arms standing on end. But she knew that was about more than just the chill. Her palms were clammy, her pulse racing, a light-headedness taking over.
As she reached the bottom step, she thought of turning around and heading straight back into Jask’s arms.
Into the arms of the lycan who let her go down there in the first place? Who agreed to her putting herself in that situation?
To her detriment, she had insisted too much, put forward too strong a case. All in an attempt to seem strong, to gain control, to deceive him into thinking she was useful. To impress him.
And running back to him now would not only be humiliating, it would raise his suspicion.
She
could
do it. That’s what she had to tell herself as she stood frozen at the base of the steps. She
was
made for this. And it was about time she had some practice. If she was going after Caleb Dehain and Kane Malloy, if she was going to face whatever vampire had taken down The Alliance, she had to learn fast.
And she sure as hell didn’t need a lycan holding her hand to do it.
She pushed her fingers back through her hair and rubbed her hand across her mouth before smoothing down her dress. She took steady breaths.
But jumped as the door opened.
Someone else exited first, laughing, but Zee was right with him.
Her heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. His were blue too – but unlike the vibrancy of Jask’s, Zee’s eyes were cold, cruel, dead.
As both males sized her up, she felt the walls close in on her, any self-assurance she’d manage to build up now instantly plummeting.
‘The toilets are down here, right?’ she asked as nonchalantly as she could.
Zee gave her a swift once over. ‘That’s right.’
Clearly neither intended to move despite the female toilets being further along the corridor behind them. Whoever designed it that way was either thoughtless or knew exactly what they were doing.
‘Thanks,’ she said. And instead of waiting for them to part, she stepped between them, her back to the other vampire, her eyes meeting Zee’s as she rubbed her body past him.
His eyes widened slightly in curiosity, his smile telling her he liked her blatancy.
As soon as she made it through, she wanted to duck into the toilet. Instead, she did what she needed to. She glanced over her shoulder, making eye contact with Zee again. And she smiled, bit tauntingly into her bottom lip as she raked him slowly and purposely with her gaze.
If that hadn’t told him she was interested, nothing would.
She pushed open the toilet door and let out a deep and shaky breath as it slammed behind her.
She hadn’t needed to go before, but now she sure did.
She slipped into one of the cubicles. Did what she had to. Over the top of the flush, she heard the door squeak open. And slam again.
Her heart pounded uncomfortably, her breaths uncontrolled. He’d sense it. But that wasn’t such a bad thing. Come across too calm and it would raise his suspicions.
Male footsteps – steady, purposeful, taunting – strolled past her cubicle. Then fell silent.
She knew his type. Anyone who followed a female into toilets had only one thing on their mind. She had the feeling it was going to get physical quickly. If he reached for her inner thigh, the game was going to be over before it began.
She lifted her dress and slid out the syringes before removing her garter, placing them on the back of the toilet. She reached for the door, looked at the plaster on her arm, and looked back over her shoulder.
There was caution and then there was being unprepared. She grabbed one of the syringes, ripped the plasters off her arm and used them to attach one of the syringes to the underside arch of her shoe.
She took a steadying breath. A face-off with a vampire had never really bothered her when she’d felt she had nothing to lose, but now her queasiness was not only about
needing
to survive but, more so, of
wanting
to.
She pulled open the door and sure enough he was there – leaning back against the vanity unit, his arms folded.
He was good looking enough – if you could see past the dead eyes – and he clearly knew it.
‘I didn’t realise this was an open house,’ she said, concealing her trembling hands under the flow of water before reaching for a squirt of cheap-smelling soap. She rinsed and stepped past him for a paper towel.
‘It’s open house for anyone who looks like you.’
She feigned a smile, despite her stomach curdling. ‘Is that a compliment?’ she asked, discarding the paper towel into the bin.
‘It’s a fact,’ he said, moving to face her directly, standing between her and the way out. ‘And that’s quite a body I felt under that dress as you squeezed past.’
If he did recognise her, he was giving nothing away.
‘A gentleman would have moved out of the way.’
‘We both know no gentlemen hang out here. Which makes me wonder what kind of lady you are?’
‘Who says I’m any kind of lady at all?’
She was used to the banter. The banter she could handle. Even if, for the first time, she didn’t have other members of The Alliance to back her up if it went wrong.
This time her backup was Jask. Jask, whom she firmly believed
would
appear in under ten minutes if it went wrong.
But she wouldn’t let that happen. Wouldn’t prove him right.
Zee grinned – a perfect, toothy grin that flashed his extra set of incisors. She’d had plenty of near misses with bites, and others that had managed to penetrate when things had gone too far – but never long enough to feed before The Alliance intervened.
Zee backed her against the cold, tiled wall. ‘Then let’s not waste any time,’ he said, looping his finger over the side of her halter-neck dress. He eased it aside to reveal the upper curve of her breast.
As he lowered his mouth to taste her before sliding his lips up her neck she involuntarily stiffened, repulsion flooding through her.
He sensed it but he lifted her anyway, parting her thighs around his, spinning her to plonk her on the vanity unit between two sinks. He grabbed her behind, sliding her forward tight against his groin, his mouth inches from hers again.
‘Are you not a feeder?’ he asked.
‘Not yet.’
He smiled.
Her skin crawled.
‘Looking for a sire?’ he asked.
A crippling sense of revulsion snaked through her. And as he slid his hands up her parted thighs, she decided he’d touched her quite enough. ‘I want to see Marid.’
His eyes flared, his thumbs pressed deep. ‘Is that right?’
‘You can take me to him, can’t you?’
‘And who told you that?’
‘He has my friend. That’s why I’m here. I want you to take me to him.’
He smiled again, but this one was as theatrical as it came.
He took a step back, looked at the floor as he rubbed his hand beneath his nose, giving a sniff as he did so, before looking back at her. ‘Are you trying to play me?’
She eased down off the vanity unit, purposefully letting her dress rise up with the motion. ‘Have I got it wrong? Only I was given your name.’
He grabbed her by the back of her hair, the brutality of the grip seemingly familiar to him. ‘Are you with the authorities?’
She snapped back a breath but forced herself to stay calm. ‘Do I look like I’m with the authorities? I told you – I want to know where my friend is. I’m willing to pay a lot of money. A
lot
of money.’
‘And what makes you think Marid’s got her?’
‘I know what questions to ask.’
He smiled a toothy smile again. His grip switched from the hair to her upper arm as he yanked her back to the door.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked, trying to constrain her worry as he led her down the corridor, away from the bar, deeper into the shadows.
‘I don’t talk Marid business in here,’ he said, glancing over his shoulder before taking a sharp left.
He shoved open the fire doors, leading her out into the back alley. Her stomach wrenched, not least at leaving Jask behind. But she knew a protest would only evoke more suspicion.
He took a sharp left at the end of the alley.
She looked over her shoulder. At least it remained just the two of them.
And she had to handle it alone. She had to prove to herself that she could handle it alone.
They passed the metal slatted steps of a fire escape, water droplets already gathering on the rusted metal from the light spray falling from the darkness above.
He backed her against the wall opposite it.
‘So, you want to be taken to Marid.’
‘That’s right.’
‘And you’ve heard of Marid? You know what he’s about?’
She nodded.
‘Who was it that gave you his name?’ he asked.
‘I can’t tell you that.’
‘Come on, sweetheart,’ he said, placing his hands either side of her shoulders. ‘We both know I’m not going to take you to him. But we
do
know I’ll get
that
out of you.’