No one said anything as I walked beside Onyx, making our way past all the onlookers. I sensed eyes on me, but I didn’t care to look or see who was staring. Disappointment rocketed through me, my gut twisting as I replayed all their shouted words. This was the lowest point I’d ever felt, even worse than discovering Micah fucking Meredith on my counter.
At the Land Rover, Noah opened the passenger door for me to slide inside. Resting my head against the seat, I gazed out the window, finding Kieran watching me from the shadows. His intense gaze narrowed while he stared, slowly searching my face, before he smiled coldly. My heart fluttered as we drove away, speeding through the city streets and back to the compound in dead silence.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, I woke before the sun rose. In the silence of my bedroom, I dressed in black, loose-fitting joggers, a tight top, and running shoes. I didn’t fuss with makeup or do anything fancy with my hair, leaving it to hang down my back in soft ringlets. Then, carefully, I wrapped my holsters over my shoulders and slid my guns into them. Once done, I gently reached down, gathering the iron-laced explosion packs into the pockets of a waist trainer. Exhaling, once they were all in place, I attached the pulse monitor to them and connected the device, grabbing my jacket to conceal the bomb around my waist.
Slipping out of my apartment, I quietly closed the door before starting down the hallway, using the master combination to bypass the command center as I exited the building. Inside the parking garage, I sighed in relief at not having to explain why I was awake at this ungodly hour or to admit where I was going.
Pausing at the main entrance, I reached up to grab the keys for my father’s Ferrari 812 GTS. It was his favorite car, matte black, with red interior, and the only one he owned that wasn’t an SUV of some sort. He’d never let me drive it, and had hardly driven it himself since he’d purchased it.
Often, when we would infiltrate a trafficking ring, you’d had to play a rich aristocrat, needing fancy things as part of the rouse. The Ferrari had been one of those necessary purchases. It was perfect for my plans for today, requiring the speed it offered for what I was about to do.
Using the keyless entry, I closed my eyes, sliding my hands over the smooth exterior. “Okay, daddy,” I whispered. “If you’re dead, and you’re here, I’m going to need you with me on this one. You know, so I don’t join you in the afterlife and all that jazz. Also, I want you to forgive me if I wreck your baby,” I muttered, frowning at the fact that I was talking to air.
The idea that he could be dead made my stomach churn, but knowing that I was about to do something incredibly stupid but brave wasn’t helping that either. I’d been raised to never allow someone to threaten a member of the guild. If they did or slighted us in the eyes of others, it had to be addressed. Axton had to know his bullshit stunt wasn’t okay, and I couldn’t take a chance on anyone getting hurt because of it.
Sliding into the soft leather seats, I grimaced at the pain of the wound from the iron arrow tip that hadn’t fully healed. I’d taken the pills that Talia made for me, doubling the dose after using my powers last night. It was becoming harder to hide what I was, and I wasn’t so certain I should be doing it anymore with everything happening.
Pushing the ignition button, I savored the sound of the engine, allowing the vibration to ease my fears. Then, pulling out of the parking spot, I drove through the underground garage, waving at the hunter who’d started to protest until he saw who was behind the wheel. He stepped closer, but I didn’t stop to talk, choosing to rev the engine while exiting to the ground level.
Engaging the remote that opened the outside gate, I moved past and closed it before hitting the empty side streets. It was early enough that traffic wasn’t an issue, and wouldn’t be for the next hour. Heading toward Axton’s club, I silently prayed that whatever god catered to half-breeds would listen.
I arrived a short time later, staring at the front door and the vampire guarding it this early in the morning. Axton had some serious trust issues he needed to work through, but maybe they were warranted after his stunt. I parked in a spot reserved for his distinguished clientele, frowning when I saw the Bugatti La Voiture Noire beside me. My jaw dropped, and a low whistle escaped my lips.
Who the hell did Axton know that could afford to buy this eighteen million dollar, one-of-a-kind masterpiece, once owned by Bugatti himself? It looked like the freaking Batmobile or something out of a James Bond movie. What it didn’t look like was an automobile you’d find in our city.
I slid from the seat, closing the door, and pocketing the keys. Stealing my spine and asking the gods for strength to pull this off without dying, I started toward the entrance. The vampire guarding the door turned, giving me a sinister smile that fluttered over his lips. Using my speed, I plowed into him, knocking his head against the wall. Then, moving back, I allowed him to slide in front of me before I kicked him, sending him sailing through the heavy wooden door.
I walked through the hole I’d made with the vampire’s body, stepping over him to enter the club. A blur of light rushed me, and I thrust my hand up, sending a creature hurtling backward through the bar. Then, with another burst of speed, I slammed into Axton, withdrawing both of my guns and pointing one at him and the other at whoever was at my back.
“Fuck around and see what happens, Axton,” I sneered, staring at him coldly. “You want to find out what I’m wearing, asshole?” I hissed, sensing another presence behind me without needing to look. “On my waist is an iron bomb, one that detonates if my pulse slows or stops. I’m willing to bet most everyone in here is fae, and if this thing goes off, you’re all dead.”
“What the fuck are you doing, Xari?” Axton asked, his eyes wide with panic, understanding that I was serious.
“Did you think you could call in a hit on me and that I wouldn’t retaliate? Only, unlike you, I don’t send anyone else to deal with my issues.”
“Walk away, hunter,” Kieran hissed behind me.
“We can all go our separate ways once I have delivered my warning,” I bit out through clenched teeth.
“I got the message, Xari,” Axton growled, sliding his icy-blue gaze to my waist, flinching when he realized I hadn’t been bluffing. “Don’t do anything stupid or something you’ll regret. We will all die if that thing goes off. All half-breeds are created from some sort of fae, woman. You’re not immune.”
“Nor am I scared to die—not at all, asshole.” I chuckled, allowing him to see the craziness I was feeling in my soul. “You want to take a chance and gamble if I’m playing? Go for it, Axton. Let’s see who is willing to die for their cause. You’re a greedy, self-serving prick that takes whatever deal is best for him, not worrying about who it hurts. So tell me, does it look like I’m afraid of death or that I’m fucking around right now? Dying is easy. It’s a simple matter of it all ending and everything just being finished.”
“You’re fucking insane,” he hissed.
I laughed, sucking my lip between my teeth as a gun pressed against my temple. I could see Kieran in my peripheral vision, indicating I’d been wrong to assume it was one of Axton’s lackeys coming up from behind. He released the safety, and I smiled while holding both guns tightly. I tilted my head to stare at him, finding angry black eyes on me.