CHAPTER FOUR
The famous Chinatown dragon gate loomed in the distance. We had parked in front of an old hotel on King Street, which one of the local shapeshifter groups used as headquarters. In the rearview mirror, I could see Dan giving Riley a flirty smile as they got off the bike. I nudged Quinn and we shared a covert giggle. After all, when you might not be alive in the morning, you might as well laugh a little. Plus, since seeing Alexander I felt undone, on edge, a static buzz spinning through my veins. And I was majorly trying to ignore it, because it felt a bit too much like losing control.
I sincerely wished there was someone else I could call on, another supe skilled enough to help with my little revenge mission. But unfortunately, I had to admit my ex Donovan was by far the best muscle-for-hire in the city. He claimed to be the best supernatural bounty hunter in the world. It was a title we fought over regularly. Or had, when we were together. I sighed and flexed my back. It was going to be a long night.
“Just remember when we get in there that this was your idea,” I said to Riley as we walked around to the side entrance.
“I’ll do that,” he retorted, and opened the door for us with a low bow. “Ladies first.”
The hallway was dark but for a single glass lantern. A threadbare Persian rug ran the length of the corridor. Pale green paint peeled off the walls; I could smell it and taste it at the back of my throat. An androgynous bodyguard with iron bands for arms stood at the end of the passage.
“I’m here to see Donovan.”
“Name?” the guard asked in a monotone voice.
“Zyan Star.”
“Weapons?”
The corner of my mouth curled up in a half smile. “Always.”
The guard frowned.
“Listen, if I wanted to kill D I would have done it forever ago. Well, let me rephrase that—if I’d decided to kill him. I’ve wanted to kill him quite a few times. Just tell him Zy’s here, okay?” I heard Quinn groan behind me. I batted my eyelashes and smiled.
Without a word, expression impassive as stone, the guard turned around and left us in the hall. “Don’t you just love bodyguards?” I said, to no one in particular.
Five minutes passed. Then ten. At eleven minutes I began to feel mildly annoyed, and by fifteen I was considering carving some pretty designs in the wall with my blade. Or fingernails.
At seventeen minutes the door opened and the bodyguard came back out. “He’s busy. He said to come back another time.”
I could feel a muscle in my jaw start to twitch. “Did you tell him who was here?” The guard stared blankly ahead, ignoring my question. “Are you freakin’ kidding me? That son of a bitch…”
The hall door swung back open and a familiar, devastatingly handsome face popped into view. That of my shapeshifter panther ex-boyfriend. “Don’t talk about my mother that way,” Donovan said in a deep Irish brogue. His rugged features pulled into a grin. “You know I’m just toying with you. I had to hear your little tantrum.”
“Nice to see you, too,” I said with a sharp smile, hands on my hips. “Now that you’ve had your fun, are you going to let us come in?”
“Anything for Zyan Star.” He held the door open and gestured for us to enter.
As I squeezed past him through the door frame, his eyes caught mine. Those same sharp green eyes, like rough cut jade. The air crackled a little between us as his shifter energy mingled with my own magical aura. That, plus we’d always had crazy hot chemistry. It’d been almost three years since I’d seen him and he still affected me like the day we’d met. I reminded myself to breathe and met his gaze with a cool, neutral one of my own. Just business. That’s all this was.
I moved past D and suppressed a snort of laughter at the scene before me. We stood in a cavernous room with a double circular staircase sweeping up to the second floor. A chandelier dripping with amber crystals hung from the ceiling. Antique furniture dotted the room. Velvet divans and large wingback chairs and even a grand piano. And draped across all of it—even the piano—was an assortment of shapeshifters, most clad in denim or leather of some sort. Such a culture clash.
Donovan led us past his crew, who watched with curious eyes. A couple bristled at Riley and Dan. Shapeshifters and weres, while very similar, did not usually mix well together. Weres were compelled by the moon each month, though powerful ones could change at will. They could only be one animal, and could accidentally turn others into weres. Shifters weren’t tied to the lunar cycles and could learn to change into more than one type of animal, or occasionally something else entirely. Also, their powers were purely hereditary. All a bunch of animals when it came down to it, but man did they fight over those differences.
Donovan took us into a large room that looked like a library. “Have a seat.” He gestured towards the empty chairs across from his seat at a large mahogany desk.
“You’ve gotten all high-brow, huh?” I asked, folding into one of the chairs and kicking my feet up on the desk. Good thing I’d had some extra boots in the Porsche since I tossed my heels into the ocean. And was tracking down my archenemy tonight.
Donovan shrugged, leaning back in his chair. He was playing it cool, too. “What can I help you with?”
“I want to kill my ex,” I said casually. When he tensed, I clarified. “My first ex. He’s almost two thousand years old. Riley thought I might need some help.”
“Forced your hand, did he?” Donovan said with a smirk. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Well, Riley and Quinn can be quite persuasive.”
Donovan shot them both a grin. “I know they can.” He sighed, fingers laced behind his head as he contemplated the ceiling. “It’s like old times, all of us in the same room, planning some crazy suicide mission.” A chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at me. “Remember when we were trying to bring in that rogue harpie, and she spewed green goo all over your face?”
“I think the Nightmares were my favorite,” Riley said, sharing a conspiratorial smile with Donovan. “The first mission we worked with you. Though Rio de Janeiro was hot as Hell itself.”
I shot Riley a look and he wiped his smile.
Donovan smiled even bigger, his eyes lingering on mine. “Yes, back when we first met. But that was a long time ago. Why would I risk my ass to help you now?”
“Why, money of course,” I answered without hesitation. “Alexander, the delight that he is, has been trying to assassinate the HR. They contacted me to protect him. I’m just trying to get some good mercs.”
Donovan smiled. “Okay. Fifty percent of your take.”
“Please,” I scoffed. “Try thirty.”
“Forty-five.” His lips turned up even more. He was enjoying this.
I rolled my eyes. “Forty.”
“Forty and a favor.” His eyes had a gleam in them I didn’t care for at all.
Mine narrowed. “What kind of favor?”
He leaned back even further in his chair. “I’ve missed the taste of those lips something awful.”
Riley busted out laughing and even Quinn’s lips twitched upwards. “Excuse us a minute?” I said to them without turning my eyes from Donovan’s wolfish grin. They got up and walked for the door. Riley cast one last look over his shoulder.
I looked up at Donovan. God, but Irish boys could be such trouble…
“Zyan, what happened to us?” Donovan’s green eyes burned into mine.
Okay, so apparently he wasn’t playing it cool. I smiled sweetly. “You cheated on me, remember?”
“I can’t imagine now why I ever would have done such a foolish thing,” he said, his voice low. I had long ago lost my Irish lilt, but he’d kept his and it was sexy as hell. Damn him.
“Well, you did. So the way I figure it, you owe me a favor, not the other way around.” I stood up and placed my palms on his desk.
“I never said you owed me a favor,” he said, his grin returning. “I just asked for one.”
I walked slowly around the edge of his desk, the heels
of my boots sinking down into the carpet. Stopping before him, I rested my hands on his arms and leaned forward until my lips hovered right over his. His breath washed warm over my skin, and with it the scent of aftershave and a tang of whiskey. I heard his heartbeat quicken. “You should have thought of how much you’d miss me before you cheated,” I murmured.
“I’ll remember that next time,” he said, his lips brushing into mine as he spoke. One hand reached up to cup my cheek.
“There won’t be a next time,” I whispered. Then I was standing across the room. He blinked in surprise at my little disappearing act, which was pretty satisfying, even if it was the most basic of Anam Gatai tricks. “So, are you in or are you out?”
“Ah, hell, Zyan,” he said, “I’ll always be in if you are.”
“I’m glad we have an understanding. Now let’s go rally the troops.”
Donovan got up and stretched languidly. As I turned for the door, I could feel his warm presence behind me, that radiating heat all the shifters had. A memory seared through my mind; hot skin against cool skin, strong hands and hungry lips tracing all over…. A wave of intense hunger hit me, and abruptly I wanted to turn around and taste him, his soul, his life force. Shit. I really was a basket case after seeing Alexander. And why did I always have to fall for the bad guys? You’d think two hundred years would have taught me something.
I pushed the door open and we walked into the big hall. Apparently though, it wasn’t big enough to accommodate the tension riding on the air. The walls seemed laced tighter together with it. Nobody was lounging about anymore. Most of Donovan’s gang had drawn in around Quinn, Riley and Dan, and those that hadn’t watched alertly.
“What’s going on here?” I called.
Riley’s face was tight as he spoke. “Well, Brian here came over to welcome us to his lair by remarking on what a couple of pretty boys me and Dan are.”
I knew that look. This wasn’t going to end well. Quinn knew it too and she was trying to back away from amidst the cluster of shapeshifters. “Brian, not to be overly bossy, but you do know this is the 21st century, right?” I asked.
Brian, a short stump of a man, turned small licorice eyes in my direction.
I smiled winningly and tried to remove the usual sass from my tone. “Riley doesn’t take kindly to bigotry. So, why don’t we all start over and forget this happened?”
Brian snorted. “I don’t need some hell-bound bitch coming into my lair and telling me what I can and can’t say to a couple of fags.”
Brian didn’t have time to blink before Riley backhanded him into the marble staircase twenty feet away.
“What was that you were saying?” Riley called. Brian just groaned as he tried to extricate himself from a small pile of broken marble.
“Well, now that we’ve all introduced ourselves,” Donovan drawled, “I’ve got an important announcement. Zyan’s hired us to help track down a vamp. We’ll all be working closely together for the next few days.” His eyes moved over to Brian. “Except you. You’re on housekeeping duty for the rest of the month. Try and get a grip, okay? We’re professionals here. Not to mention you’re just being stupid as hell.”
With a low growl, Brian stumbled to his feet and limped out of the room. Donovan turned back to me. “You want to give us a mission briefing?”
“Sure.” I crossed my arms over my chest and gazed out over my new posse. After filling them in briefly on the details, I said, “First things first, we’ve got to find out where Alexander is staying.”
“Well that’s no secret,” called one of the shifters. “I’ve seen him at a couple of the bars, and he says he’s staying with Arianna Vega.”
“The head of The Assembly. Of course.” I rolled my eyes. Not really his type, being as how she wasn’t young or human, and was most certainly not a virgin.
“Oh, well all we’d have to do is break through the top-of-the-line supernatural security system she has on her penthouse.” Riley’s expression was casual.
Donovan said, “Obviously trying to get him while he’s there is out.”
“Luckily, it seems he’s been quite the social butterfly since arriving in Seattle,” I said. “So, we should be able to catch up with him out on the town.”
“And what then?” Quinn asked.
“We kill him. I thought everyone was clear on that point.”
She pursed her lips. “Yeah, I know. I mean, how do you plan to do it? He’s so much older than you.”
“Well, with a combination of me, plus witch and shifter abilities, I think we can keep him occupied long enough for me to decapitate him and take his heart.”
She had a look in her eye that said she wasn’t satisfied with my answer. “So, are you just going to bar hop until we find him?”
“Maybe. Got a better idea?” From her smug expression, I was betting she did.
“Well, we could try a finder spell. Unless you just want an excuse to drive all over the city.”
I had something akin to witch powers, part of that extra cherry on top Olga had given me when she’d turned me, but Quinn was much better than me at this sort of thing. I’d lost control of my power once a long time ago, and since then I’d used it as little as possible. I had strength and immortality. I didn’t really need my extra power, but Quinn gave me a hard time about it, saying all I needed was practice. But she hadn’t been there all those years ago. She didn’t know all the blood on my hands that could never be washed clean. I forced a smile. “Nah, I’m an environmentally conscious gal. What do we need for the spell?”
“I need you, a circle, and some quiet.” She aimed a pointed look at Donovan.
“Everybody out.” Donovan made a round up gesture with his hand and pointed to the front hallway. “We’ll wait for you outside.”
After everyone had shuffled out, Quinn opened her purse and pulled out a vial of salt and a small knife. “You move over here.” She took my shoulders and positioned me a few feet away from the furniture. Opening the salt, she made a careful circle about six feet in diameter around me, keeping herself inside it. I could see her murmuring as she went, calling the four directions and their respective elements—air, fire, water and earth. She held up the blade, and without warning, she made a little slice on the tip of my finger.
“Oww, what was that for?” I asked indignantly.
She promptly stuck my finger in her mouth.
“Is this some kinky Wiccan thing? Because if you’re trying to tell me something, there’re other ways…”
“God, shut up, Zy.” Her amber eyes flashed in irritation. “I need something of Alexander’s to locate him. A little of his essence runs through your veins, since he’s had your blood.”
“What if the something had been, say, a sweaty jockstrap. Would you have stuck that in your mouth?” My lips curled into a smile.
“It’s faster that way. Just shut up.” She closed her eyes and took my hands. “Picture him,” she commanded.
I didn’t want to, but I did. Hair like the night, eyes the smoky blue of mountains in the distance. Dangerous lips that were oh-so-expressive. He said everything with those lips.
“Good. I’ve got him.” But when she opened her eyes, they flickered with concern. “He’s back at Will’s. That can’t be good.”
Shit. “No. It can’t.”