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I massaged my closed eyelids, trying to ease the stinging aftereffects of the spell shower. “Come on, let’s get him into the back or else we’re go
“That guy’s not going anywhere near my car.” Hank made an offended face. “Neither one of you.”
I bent down and grabbed one of Len’s ankles, but not before shooting Hank a dark look. “Payback will come, my friend. When you least expect it.”
“Hey, all I did was save your ass.”
“Uh-huh. Help me get him into the SUV.”
It took Hank and me a good fifteen minutes to drag the two-hundred-fifty-pound ji
CHAPTER 10
We drove into one of the delivery lanes near Underground, parked, and then Hank heaved Len over his shoulder. Making a scene hadn’t been something we’d pla
I followed Hank’s large form through Underground, acutely aware of the stares and openmouthed gawks we received. It wasn’t every day you saw a siren carrying an unconscious ji
Despite the old-fashioned-style streetlamps that burned twenty-four hours a day, the light on Solomon Street was murky at best, the perfect environment for crooks and convicts. Old Sava
Despite the atmosphere, there was a modicum of safety here during the day. The true danger lurked in the back rooms, alleys, and late nights. But for me, daytime or not, the danger was very real with a debt hanging over my head.
The farther we went down Solomon Street, the more attention we attracted. Business owners and patrons came out of storefronts to watch our procession. There was no way to hide the artificial pheromones Len cast off. Every ji
No one stopped us. There was no need. From the moment we stepped onto Solomon Street, Grigori Te
Te
Underneath Solomon Street, the ji
Bulky ironwork framed the rough-planked front door, the coarse handle warm to my touch as I opened the heavy door. The heat had become oppressive. Sweat beaded my brow and lower back. I stood back, allowing Hank to cross the threshold. He wasn’t immune to the heat either, or the strain of carrying two hundred plus pounds of ji
Once inside, the first thing to hit me was the smell; of earth, wood-smoke, and tar. It was like we had just descended into a deep cave near an active volcano.
The bar was doing steady business. A darkling fae—a sidhé fae would never be caught dead in a place like this—danced onstage to an old seductive jazz tune I couldn’t name. She was topless and wore only knee-high red boots and a sequined red thong. While her reed-like luminescent body writhed to the music, her face was passionless and void. She danced on autopilot, her slanted eyes open but glazed over and never really focusing on anyone or anything.
A ji
As soon as Hank deposited the spell-drunk Len on the wooden floor, the two ji
A bouncer came forward just as our escorts entered behind us. We were surrounded.
Like a domino effect, each being realized who I was. The fae backed off the stage as tension and the unmistakable scent of bloodlust added its mix to the thick earthy air.
“Tell Grigori Te
The bouncer curled his lip and prepared to either spit at me or curse me, but before he could do either, I grabbed his wrist, whirled behind him, and brought his arm to his back, wrenching it as high and hard as I could and bending three of his fingers back at an u
No one moved.
Hank had moved beside me, Nitro-gun drawn.
A door along the back wall creaked and my eye moved off the bartender with his shotgun propped on the bar, aimed at my chest.
A female walked through, tall and unusual looking with large, slanted eyes, a wide mouth, and high cheekbones. Her skin was the color of muted silver, without the shine, and without a single blemish. A hybrid. A rare and prized commodity in the ji
She walked with slow, fluid steps, her lithe body accentuated by a dark gray jersey dress that ended at the knee and black knee-high boots that added four inches to an already tall frame. While the dress covered her from neck to wrists to knee, it molded to her body and was more provocative than the naked stripper on stage.
As she drew closer, I saw she had the most incredible eyes: violet and indigo blue, a mix I’d never seen on human or off-worlder. They were framed by thick lashes and long, heavy snow-white hair parted in the middle and swept back into a spiky pile at the base of her neck. She was striking, and I found myself staring despite the things I’d seen in my lifetime. I snuck a quick glance at Hank, hoping it wasn’t just me. He had the same fascinated reaction.
In fact, everyone had the same reaction, and I got the feeling they knew her but didn’t get to see her nearly as much as they would’ve liked.
She didn’t seem to care about the weapons or the state of near-war in the bar. Her gaze was fixed on me, and she seemed to find the whole thing rather dull. She halted in front of us, taller than me, but only because of the high-heeled boots. Her eyes flicked to Hank and then back to me as her nostrils flared slightly, sampling the air around me. Her eyelids drifted closed for a second. “Hmm,” she barely breathed. A cold hand closed lightly over mine, and I released my hold on the bouncer as though in a trance.