Samael Read online

  “I’ll be at the bar getting a drink.”

  She glanced at Samael. “Have fun. We’re lucky we can’t contract some funky-ass disease here. I always knew there was an upside to being a vamp.”

  He shook his head and smiled, heading in the direction of the bar. So she was on her own again. Fine. For some reason her nerves weren’t dancing along with the crazy beat of the techno music. During the ride to the club she’d come to terms with what would transpire—for the hundredth time.

  She felt calm in the midst of all the chaos around her. Her life was in the hands of fate now, and nothing could be done about it.

  Scanning the crowds wouldn’t do her any good. There were too many humans for her to locate Rachael and Chris with her sight. As she walked towards the dance floor she concentrated on finding that vamp energy that would alert her to Rachael and Chris’ presence. Rachael’s energy would be much more potent than Chris’. She was older and contained more power than her friend.

  It didn’t take her long to locate them.

  Sitting at a table crowded with admiring human males, both were staring at her. Jade inclined her head in greeting. Rachael sneered at her, but Chris looked stricken.

  Yeah, bitches, the Alliance has arrived.

  It amazed her that she wasn’t nervous. This hadn’t happened for a long time—too long. It felt good to feel powerful and strong. Bring it on. Only not in the club, she reminded herself. Rachael and Chris knew she was here, so following them undetected wouldn’t be an option, but Jade somehow doubted they would run. They were out to prove themselves above the law. Now that the law had arrived they would do their best to eradicate her.

  Having trained with both of them, Jade knew their strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately that went both ways. Perhaps that was why she wasn’t shaking and cursing her job at the moment. Jade was the better assassin, hands down. Though she’d never gone toe-to-toe with the both of them at once, she still believed she would be the fighter to come out on top.

  A little voice echoed inside her head … don’t become too complacent. It was the same words she had uttered to Lexie right before the hothead got fired—and bested on the battlefield by her now live-in beau. Lexie had been aching for a fight, and she’d instigated a fight when there had been no reason to do so.

  But this was different. Jade knew her opponents personally. She had this in the bag. And when she got through with this mission—not if—she’d call it quits. Settle down and become a trainer with Samael, if that was something he was serious about. Hope surged inside her chest as she thought about the possibilities. Lexie had witnessed Kelsey’s death in a vision, and Kelsey was still alive and well.

  Winking at Rachael, Jade headed over to the bar. Nothing could be done until the two left the bar, so she’d have to wait them out.

  She’d been an assassin for over seven hundred years. Why would she tuck tail and give up now? For years she’d been kicking ass and killing demons and vampires. Allowing Lexie’s vision to affect her fighting skills had been a mistake. There was still time to turn this around. And if she were to die tonight she was going to take two bitches with her. Game on.

  She found Samael sitting by himself at the bar. The scene around him was absolutely comical. Humans gave him a wide berth, unwilling to get close to him even to get a drink. Whether it was the dark energy he emanated or the sheer size of him, she’d never know.

  Samael held up his glass. “Guess we’re waiting?”

  “Looks like it. Unless you want me to kill them in front of the humans now?”

  He cocked a brow. “You’re joking right before a hit. That’s surprising. You had me thinking nerves were a problem on mission day.”

  She turned to the bartender and ordered a vodka sour. That statement had hit way too close to home for her to be entirely comfortable with it. Once the bartender handed her the drink she took a sip and faced Samael again. “How long do you think they’ll stay here to avoid me?”

  “Not sure.” He held out her cell. “You left this in the car.”

  She put it on the bar along with her drink. “Thanks. I’ll be right back. I need to use the ladies room.”

  * * * *

  Jade bent forward and kissed him on the cheek, taking him completely unaware. The gesture was sweet. As he watched her make her way through the crowd, he smiled. He’d finally found the soft side of Jade, and it had taken him less than a week. It was going to be hard to walk away from her.

  Samael kept an eye on Rachael and Chris, making sure they didn’t follow Jade into the bathroom. Both stayed where they were, looking utterly unconcerned with his and Jade’s presence, which baffled him. Either they were stupid and completely confident in their abilities, or they knew something he and Jade didn’t.

  Jade’s cell started playing a rap song. He barely heard it over the music. Picking it up he glanced at the I.D. It only said ‘my bitch’ on it. That certainly didn’t tell him who was calling. He flipped it open. “Yeah?”

  There was a pause. “Samael? Hi, this is Lexie. Is Jade there? Is everything all right?”

  “Everything is fine. She’s in the bathroom. She’ll be out in a minute.” He wasn’t sure if he should tell her to call back or not. He opted to keep her on the phone. “So, how are you doing?”

  “I’d be better if Jade would call me every now and then and tell me she’s okay.”

  That seemed a strange thing for her to say. Did Jade always call to check in with Lexie? It sounded odd. “I’m with her for the time being. Don’t worry. I’m flexing my muscles as we speak.”

  Lexie laughed. “Well that’s good. And I’m glad she told you about my vision. She’s so against me telling Ambrose about it because she thinks he’ll take her off the streets at once. I guess he would, since he’s very protective of us at times, but keeping this secret isn’t sitting well with me. If something does happen to her I’m responsible because I saw it and should have said something about it.”

  Samael turned on his stool and looked through the crowd to see if Jade was coming. He didn’t see her. Rachael and Chris were still seated at their table. Everything was as it should be.

  He’d heard the rumor that Lexie was a psychic. Jade hadn’t told him anything about a vision though. “Yeah. That was some vision.”

  “I have to admit, I’m a little glad you’re there to watch over her, but at the same time it goes right along with my vision. You know, the masculine hands and all.”

  The what? “I understand.” He had no idea what she was talking about. “Jade only told me a little bit about the vision. Not all of it. I think she’s scared.”

  “She should be. At least she’s taking precautions and not getting too close to her hits. I can’t even go to sleep without seeing her death replay over and over again. I think it’s time she tells Ambrose. I’m just not comfortable keeping this from him any longer. It’s been over two months now. My visions have never taken this long to come true or for them to have a different outcome.”

  Two months. Things were beginning to make sense to him now. Jade’s crazy fighting tactics, her before-battle stress—that had all started a few months ago. Something in Lexie’s vision had changed the way Jade handled herself during her missions. “She didn’t tell me the specifics of the vision. Where does she take the hit?”

  The only way to kill a vampire or demon was to decapitate them.

  “In the neck. It was too dark for me to make out much. I told her it would probably take place in a busy building, or something of the like. I could hear a lot of people in the background.”

  He shot a glance around his surroundings. “Like a club.”

  “Yeah, like a crappy club. Don’t tell me that’s where you’re at now. I can hear music in the background.”

  Samael turned toward the bathroom and saw Jade emerging. He shot a look toward Rachael and Chris. What he saw shocked the hell out of him and turned his blood cold. “Jesus.”

  “What? What is it?” Lexie asked.
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br />   He shut the phone. Rachael was actually feeding off one of the men sitting at her table. Blood trickled down his neck as he sat back with a look of ecstasy on his face while all the other patrons watched. Rachael leaned back, licked the blood off her lips and fangs, then bit him once more.

  This situation wasn’t something Alliance members were taught to control. It was absolutely unheard of for a vampire to make such a scene. The two former Alliance members were out of their fucking mind. Even Luc, the craziest bastard he knew, would never bring such attention to the immortal world.

  As he shot off his stool another immortal’s energy shattered the air around him. Humans were immune to the energy, but he’d been around it more than half of his existence. The energy could mean only one thing. The presence of an Angel of Souls.

  He moved through the crowd and followed the energy to the front of the club. The energy was the same as the energy that had met him at the vampire’s house a few days before. There, standing near the door, was Domiel. Samael was astonished when Domiel looked right through him. Samael knew that look. Domiel was assessing the individual whose life was about to end.

  Samael turned to find the individual Domiel was focused on. There were so many in the crowd he couldn’t pinpoint the person in question. Dread consumed him. Lexie’s vision penetrated his thoughts. Stole his breath.

  An ache formed in his chest as Samael recalled what Domiel said when he’d asked if he were there for one of the vampires.

  I was, however your presence has changed my course of action.

  Domiel had been there for one of the vampires—Jade. Samael had every intention of letting her take that mission, and at the last minute he’d changed his mind. That decision had moved the time and place of her death.

  He glanced back at Domiel to assess the direction of his gaze again, and back to the throng of people.

  Within the space of a heartbeat the club was shrouded in darkness as the lights went out. But not before Samael had locked gazes with the person Domiel had been staring at.

  Unfortunately for his friend, Samael couldn’t allow him to complete his job.

  * * * *

  Shouts and screams tore through the animated shadows all around her. A roar of conversation replaced the music that had been blaring, and people began pushing other people, looking for a way out of the bar. With Jade’s heightened sight she was able to see the mayhem around her.

  She kept her attention on Rachael and Chris glaring at her from their table, rising from their seats like the vamps in movies—slow, evil and methodical. She still couldn’t believe what she witnessed coming out of the bathroom. The sight of Rachael feeding off a human male had jarred Jade to her core.

  Between their table and her, humans began calming down, bumping into each other and laughing. Some danced to music that played only in their heads. The bartender behind her gave a shout and she turned around to see what he was yelling about. Patrons had jumped over the bar and were grabbing bottles.

  Before she turned back to her prey, she knew she’d made a mistake. They were gone.

  Closing her eyes she strained to feel their presence amidst the chaos. Somewhere to her left, near the dance floor. Jade shrugged out of her jacket, tossed it on floor and palmed her dagger.

  Adrenaline was not kicking in. In its place was an odd sense of calm that settled its cool hand in her gut. She pushed past the humans, intent on getting Rachael and Chris out of the club. How she was going to do that, she didn’t exactly know. But she couldn’t allow them to feed on humans in plain sight.

  Rachael suddenly stepped in front of her. Chris’s energy alerted Jade that the vampire stood just behind her. The intolerable situation had just become a nightmare.

  And still she was calm. “Not to sound like an asshole, but can we take this outside?”

  Rachael shook her head with a smile. “You do understand the vampire species is due for a change? Vampirism has been so romanticized and worshipped in the last decade that we owe it to ourselves to become part of that revolution.”

  “Have you lost your fucking mind? Humans think it’s cool because they believe we are not real. If they found out the truth there would be another uprising like the witch trials.”

  Rachael rolled her eyes and slipped a cigarette out of her pocket. After she lit it she blew the smoke in Jade’s face. “Humans have come a long way in only a few hundred years. They were religious fanatics during the witch trials, and took the law into their own hands. It would be different for us. The witches picked the wrong time to come out.”

  Jade couldn’t agree more, but why repeat the past? “Witches were helping people back then, not taking blood from them. Jesus Christ Rachael, you can’t make this decision for the entire vampire race. I’ve no choice now. None at all.”

  It wasn’t as though she’d had a choice before, but now that Rachael had been sucking on a human in front of hundreds of people she had to die.

  “You think you can take us both?” Chris asked from behind her.

  Jade didn’t move to look at Chris, knowing damn well from their training Rachael posed the biggest threat. “Let’s leave the club and do our business elsewhere.”

  “What Chris here is forgetting, is that big, bad-looking demon you have with you who’s currently beating the shit out of some immortal. I’m not that forgetful. Is he also an Alliance member?”

  Jade fought the urge to turn around and see what Rachael was referring to. She had sensed no other immortals in the club. It was a trick.

  Getting them out of the club was going to prove difficult. She had no reason to lie. They would see right through it. “Yes, he’s a member of the Alliance. He’s here to help with this mission.”

  “Fuck, Rach, what are we going to do?”

  Rachael clenched her jaw in what looked to be a painful muscle spasm and glared at Chris. “Shut up, Chris. Everything is fine.” Rachael’s gaze slid back to Jade. “Jade is under contract not to do anything in front of the humans.”

  God how she wanted Ambrose to hear that one. See what happens when you’re forced to follow the rules? “The humans won’t be around forever.”

  Rachael dropped her cigarette to the floor. “Neither will your demon.”

  Without warning Rachael pulled out a gun and started shooting—no doubt in Samael’s direction. Humans were hit in the line of fire, and the drunken party took a turn from jovial mayhem to utter chaos. Screams tore through the club, people were trampled and calling for help.

  Jade launched herself at Rachael without thought. Humans were dying, and Samael had possibly been shot. There had never been a training class to reference this sort of situation. Fighting in front of humans was the last thing on Jade’s mind. She had to stop Rachael before more humans got killed.

  Just as Jade pinned Rachael to the ground, Chris pulled her off with a knife to her neck. Pressure and warmth flooded over her skin indicating she was bleeding.

  The injury was bad, and she didn’t need a mirror to confirm what she felt. Things around her seemed to slow, voices dimmed. Still she fought. She elbowed Chris in the neck, snatched the bloody dagger from her hand and slashed Chris across the face, unable to get her aim correct with her vision blurred. Chris fell back screaming, holding her nose—or what was left of it.

  Jade quickly scanned the crowd. Trying to locate Samael in the pandemonium proved impossible. Humans were lying on the ground, blood poured from wounds.

  Another jolt of pain in her neck told her more than she wanted to know.

  Rachael was finishing the job for Chris.

  It was real. It was fucking real. One mission to go and death had shaken its head with finality. Warm liquid pooled between her breasts, white dots popped up in her line of sight, overcoming the colors of black and blue of her night vision. When she attempted to breathe she couldn’t quite get enough air into her lungs.

  This was what Lexie had seen. Her psychic abilities, though uncontrollable, were apparently accurate.

&n
bsp; Jade stumbled, unable to remain standing. She fell onto her back when her shoes slipped in the puddle of blood—hers and Chris’s. She stared up at the dark ceiling of the club while patrons bumped into each other and trod right over her limp body. She couldn’t feel a thing. Her body was numb, but her thoughts were clear as they’d ever been.

  Death was much more peaceful than she’d ever imagined. It was silence in a world of noise. It was peace in the chaos. Weakness flooded through her limbs, bringing on a serene thought process as she lay inept. While she waited patiently for the final death blow she didn’t focus on the things she should have done or said. Memories flitted through her mind, intensely strong and vibrant. She closed her eyes to see them better.

  Samael was foremost in her thoughts—his laughter, his smile, his never-ending ease right before a hit. He was the one man she could have come to love, and if she had any regrets it was not telling him how much she enjoyed his company. Silly annoyance aside, he’d been fun to hang around.

  She recalled her first meeting with him. He’d made her look like such an ass, and all she had been able to concentrate on was the way he filled out a pair of jeans. She’d known then that he would be more than a one-night stand. There was just something about him she couldn’t resist.

  “Jade!”

  Every noise in the club slammed into her, and when she opened her eyes things she couldn’t identify were twisting about her like a maddening tornado. The tranquil peace of the moment had vanished.

  “Don’t speak to him. Don’t! Take from me, Jade. Drink.”

  Speak to whom? Blood was dripping into her mouth, a sweet salvation she hadn’t the energy to latch onto. She tried to focus on someone standing over her. It wasn’t Samael. Samael was on top of her, his neck against her mouth. And yet it was a demon who stood over her. She tried desperately to focus on his face, and as soon as she wished to see him more clearly she did.