Blood for blood Page 28

  “Fucking bitch! What have you done to him? He loved you! Don’t you even care?”

  Brianna cradled Grey’s head in her lap. No. Lupa did not fucking care at all. She thought about running, but there were more men entering the large room now. Lupa could feel a few wolfbloods among them. Shit. She ran over to Brianna and Grey, placing her hand against Brianna’s throat, hoping the men would give a shit.

  “Come any closer and I’ll fucking kill her,” she yelled, the other woman giving a squeak of surprise.

  Lupa struggled with the power, if she accidently killed her, it wouldn’t make a difference to the men stopping their advance. But the thugs shrugged and kept coming, obviously not giving a shit. Brianna slammed her elbow into Lupa’s stomach and she instinctively shot her magick out at the Hunter. Fuck. Brianna’s body was alive with the lightning, it was killing her violently, blood dripped out of her eyes, nose and mouth as she convulsed. Mother-fucker, with the drugs in her system her magick was too powerful to just hurt the woman.

  Lupa scrambled to her feet, eyeing off the men. Could she get around them? How many would she have to fight? Fuck. At least with all this Gift running inside her she felt like she could take on them all. She clenched her fists, letting the magick in her body settle around them, ready to drive it into anyone she touched.

  She ran, ran at them or through them she wasn’t sure which. She just ran, throwing punches and ducking them, quicker than she’d ever been. It was like everyone else was going in slow motion…. She sent her power out, burning them, electrifying them, running and running. Hitting the street, she looked both ways, where the fuck was she? Where should she go? She turned right and just started running faster, feeling her magick pulsing into the ground with each step.

  “Lupa!” She stopped, turning towards the voice coming from an alley way. “Dun been lookin’ for you, lost track after a bit… ah shit, you takin’ the drug?”

  Lupa ran to Sledge, throwing herself into him, then pushing away quickly. “Fuck, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  Sledge smiled down at her, “Aint hurtin’ me none, you just feelin’ mighty hot. And if you rememberin’, I can take at least two of your hits, them people still followin’ you?”

  “I don’t know, I hurt most of them I think. Hey… shit, do you know where we are? I need to call… someone… fuck!”

  Lupa punched the wall, sending her magick into her fist as she did; creating scorch marks across the bricks. Fuck, she hoped that would help the power for a moment, who the fuck could she call? Shit. The bastards still had her weapons and her fucking phone.

  “What’n I needin’ to do?”

  “How’d you get here?”

  “Ran,” he responded, averting his gaze.

  Shit, he’d ran after her? “Ok, I need to go back for my phone and my knives, the fuckers took them.”

  Sledge looked down at her bare, bleeding feet, then back up and smiled. “A’right, lettin’ me carry you though.”

  He didn’t wait for her to respond, he just picked her up and started jogging towards the direction she had come from. She held onto him, feeling the magick starting to build up, focusing her mind on not letting it leak out into Sledge.

  He stopped at the truck and gently placed her back on her feet, there were at least eight men out cold on the ground. “You doin’ that?”

  “Yeah,” Lupa shrugged, “Let me check the truck, I hope my shit is in there.” She pulled the door open and saw her wolfblade and her phone sitting on the passenger seat, snatching them she dialed Dameon’s number. Sledge was checking each of the people on the floor for a pulse.

  “Lupa? Where are you? What the fuck happened? Are you ok?”

  “Sort of, look, you need to get someone down to…” she looked around, then over to Sledge.

  “Blain Street, headed east.” Sledge said, moving over to check Brianna and Grey.

  “Right, there’s a truck on Blain Street, headed east, it was fucking Brianna that took me. And Grey. They… look I can't explain right now, but get someone down here. Brianna’s father is behind it, you need to tell Slasher that. And fucking Grey was involved the whole fucking time! I’m ok, but I have to go, I took one of the pills, it’s the only reason I’m not fucking dead. But if Slasher sees me like this…”

  “Got it, I’ll think of something to tell her, where you going to go, I’ll meet you?”

  “No, I’ll call you later, I don’t want to accidently hurt you...”

  Silence. Shit. “Ok… be careful.”

  Lupa hung up and looked at Sledge who was walking over to her. He handed her boots and rubbed the back of his thick neck. “Girl bein’ dead, the guy is out cold, along with these other ones. What you needin’ me to do?”

  “Can you get me out of here?” Lupa pulled her boots on and he nodded. She handed him her phone and her weapons, her blood soaked jacket was stiffening against her skin, she didn’t want to touch it with her hands...

  “Aint far from my place, thinkin’ you can walk?”

  Lupa nodded and followed him around the truck, heading left, away from the direction she had originally ran. Giving one last glance at the truck before she turned away with a sigh. What the fuck was wrong with some people… how had she been so fooled by Grey? He’d been lying to her the whole fucking time… Lupa let her arm fly out and hit the wall, her black lightning shooting out. She didn’t really pay attention, just stared at the ground. Feeling Sledge gently touch her shoulder, she looked up, he gave her a half smile and she reluctantly smiled back. Shit.

  ⃝

  Lupa stood in Sledge’s massive shower, letting the blood run off her naked body. Her eyes were closed, and she could feel the magick building in her again. Grabbing some of his shampoo she sniffed it before washing her hair, not too bad. Chunks of her hair stuck together with dried blood, oh fuck, she felt disgusting. And she felt fucking stupid. She looked down at her feet and waited for the water to start running clear. She couldn’t spend too much longer in here, she’d need to get rid of the power in her again soon. She fought with the emotions warring inside her, they were desperately trying to escape, and that could be very dangerous with all this Gift running through her. Turning the shower off, she dried herself gently with the towel Sledge had given her.

  Standing in front of the mirror, she examined her bruised body, sadness creeping into her eyes as she tried not to think…. Her lip was swollen and split. There was a bruise running down one side of her face… Fuck this. She finished drying herself off and looked at the blood soaked pile of clothes. No, she couldn’t even wear the underwear, she sighed and put them all in the plastic bag he’d given her for them. She pulled on the t-shirt Sledge had loaned her, and smiled as the hem almost touched her knees.

  “Thanks for that,” Lupa said, as she came out of the bathroom, “I desperately needed it.”

  Sledge gave her an amused smile as he looked her up and down. “Lookin’ bit more like the witchy girl I knowin’, you wantin’ a drink?”

  “Oh, hell yes!”

  Lupa followed him over to the kitchen and climbed onto one of the stools. Sledge held up two bottles for her to choose from, picking tequila, he poured them each a large shot glass. Knocking them back, they slammed their glasses down, Sledge refilled them and looked at Lupa cautiously.

  “That guy dun bein’ the one who came round that time I was there?”

  Lupa tipped her drink back and squeezed her eyes against the watering, “Yeah, that was Grey… fuck. I can’t believe he’s been in on it the whole time. Played me for a fucking fool…”

  Sledge poured them another one, Lupa rubbed her aching head, she felt the power growing in her again; threatening to strike out at any moment.

  “You can punch that wall if’n you need,” Sledge pointed to the far wall, “It’s the thickest one here, lookin’ like you needin’ to get some of that magick out.”

  Lupa laughed, feeling strange about being told to punch a wall, but she wandered over and let the magick
slam out of her and into it, the concrete blackened in lightning marks. She turned to see Sledge bringing their glasses and the bottle to the couch, she sat down next to him as he handed her a smoke, lighting it.

  “You dun sleepin’ with him?” Sledge didn’t look at her, just placed her glass on the table.

  “I was.” Shit, why did he have to ask her that, she felt stupid enough already, “It didn’t mean anything though. It was just sex… least to me…”

  Taking her shot she rubbed her head. This whole thing was fucked. Lupa’s phone started ringing and Sledge handed it to her. She sighed and answered it.

  “Hey, Slasher.”

  “Oh fuck, I’ve been so worried about you, are you ok?”

  “I’m fine, I just… couldn’t stay there.”

  “I understand, hun, are you at home? I can come…”

  Lupa glanced over at Sledge. Shit. “No, I’m… at a friend’s, I didn’t want to be alone. Did you get everyone?”

  “Yeah,” Slasher sounded exhausted, “Brianna is dead, Grey is in a holding cell but I … how did you get out of there?”

  “I was trained well and they were stupid,” Lupa lied, taking another shot, “Have you caught Brianna’s father?”

  “Yes, he’s being interrogated by Darwin now… you’ll need to come in tomorrow and give a full report.”

  “Ok. I’ll talk to you then,” Lupa hung up as Slasher went to say something more.

  She quickly sent Dameon a text saying that she was ok and she’d call him in the morning, then leaned back on the couch, she could feel the magick in her slowing with its build up. Had it been easier this time? Or was that just because she had used her power in fighting…

  “Thinkin’ them believin’ you?”

  Lupa looked over at Sledge, he was watching her carefully. “I don’t know. And right now I don’t give a shit. This has been… crazy.” She leaned forward and took another shot, the alcohol was starting to make her feel better. Not much, but enough.

  “Hammer dun callin’ while you in the shower. He wantin’ to see you tomorrow night.” Sledge refilled her glass and his own, not looking at her.

  “Right. Guess it’s time for me to pay up, eh?”

  Sledge shrugged and threw back his drink, she did the same and sighed. Great. What would Hammer be wanting from her? Not that it mattered. He had fucking delivered on his part, and now she needed to do the same. She just hoped it wasn’t something she couldn’t handle… but then, she had been willing to owe him. And it was worth it, whatever the cost, because she had avenged Karl. Not only that, she discovered a plot to kill Slasher and all of them… had this been what Gran Marietta had seen? If Lupa hadn’t taken Gift… would they have killed her and succeeded in killing her adoptive mother too? But then… it was Hammer who had given it to her… was she off the path now?

  “You needin’ to get home tonight?”

  She looked over at Sledge apprehensively. No, she didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts… but did he want her to leave? “I… I don’t want to go home, but I can go to Hawk’s if you don’t want me here…”

  “Aint sayin’ that. Just thinkin’ you might not wantin’ to be stayin’ here… with me an’ all.”

  Lupa reached out and put her hand on Sledge’s leg. Too intimate? Fuck it, she didn’t care. He had saved her yet again. “I want to stay.”

  Sledge grinned at her, “A’right. I can take you home in the mornin’. Soundin’ like you havin’ a busy day tomorrow.”

  Lupa laughed. This shit was really weird, but she didn’t really know why. Her days had been busy for weeks now. Shit, what would happen after this? What would happen after she paid her debt to Hammer? Would she see Sledge anymore? Or Hammer? And… what would happen if she did?

  Chapter Twenty

  “All information is considered useful…”

  Lupa hopped into Sledge’s car, still only wearing his shirt, feeling far more naked in the morning light. He’d put her to sleep in his massive bed after she had passed out and slept on the couch himself. She was grateful he was such a gentleman, although she hoped her naked ass hadn’t been… She blushed and looked out the window. Best not to think about it. He started the car and began heading towards her place.

  “Thanks for everything,” Lupa said as they were almost there, she felt she needed to say something…

  “Aint needin’ to thank me.” Sledge responded, “Been interestin’ meetin’ you.”

  Lupa smiled as he pulled up out the front of her apartment building. “Hey… um… if it’s not too much to ask, my car is still at Slasher’s… would you mind driving me down to HQ after I change? I could... give your shirt back too…”

  She looked to him, he nodded and got out, opening her door for her. Her aching feet hurt with each step on the road, but she couldn’t bear to put her boots back on yet. She opened the door and they went inside.

  “I’m just going to get changed, grab a beer if you like.”

  Sledge nodded, helping himself to her almost empty fridge, and sat down on her couch as she went to get dressed. Tearing open the bag of bloody clothes, she rummaged around until she found the pill box out and then threw the clothes on the floor of the shower, turning the hot water on while she went to her room to change.

  Lupa put on her formal Hunter dress, knowing Darwin would be expecting it. Feeling an ache in her side, she winced as she clipped the silver belt around her waist. Just another fucking bruise. Whatever. She tried to cover her bruised face with makeup, but could still see the discolouration under it. Giving her hair a quick brush she went back to the bathroom to shut off the shower, and walked back out to the lounge. Handing Sledge his shirt, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  “You lookin’ very dressed up,” he said, colouring slightly.

  “It’s the formal wear, I have to wear it to meet up with the Chief Investigator. You like?” She did a twirl and pulled a silly pose.

  “Thinkin’ I do.”

  Lupa smiled and grabbed her bag, throwing her phone in and searching for a packet of smokes. Nothing. Dammit. “You good to take me now?” she asked, checking the table for a packet, and finding a lone smoke next to the over flowing ashtray.

  “Sure am.”

  ⃝

  Lupa walked into Slasher’s office that Darwin was occupying yet again, he grinned that toothy fucking smile at her as she sat down. “Ah, my dear Miss Greenstone, how wonderful to see you are looking well. Now, I won't ask for your formal report now, as I'm sure you haven’t had time yet, but I do have a few delicate questions to ask.” Lupa shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Were you aware of Grey’s involvement with Brianna?”

  “Kind of, I knew they dated, sir. But as far as he told me, she was harassing him as well. But I don’t know if that was true now…”

  Darwin wrote something down and looked back up to her. “Were you in a relationship with Grey?”

  Lupa felt her cheeks heat up, fuck. “Um… not really, sir, we had… got together a couple of times. But it wasn’t anything serious.”

  “Have you ever met Brianna’s father?”

  “No, sir.”

  Darwin nodded and wrote something else down, then folded his hands over each other and looked at Lupa very seriously. “Now, the reason I came down here in the first place, Miss Greenstone, is because Central was suspicious of the nest raid that your dear Protector died in. They suspected there was someone who tipped off the wolfbloods that came to attack while you were down there. There were… strange inconsistencies with the whole thing. I couldn’t disclose this information to anyone, not even your Commander, as Central was unsure of the degree of her involvement.”

  Lupa tried to keep her face blank. They had suspected something was going on and not even fucking told Slasher? Or… was it that they suspected Slasher was involved? Fucking hell…

  “There was no real evidence as to what was going on, but once I heard about your mass of power at the nest, I actually wond
ered if perhaps you were involved.” He paused for effect, she was certain he was thoroughly enjoying this. Enjoying that he knew more than she had all along, she just smiled at him docilely and clenched her fists underneath the desk. “But, of course, we can see now that you were not. And your discoveries have been particularly enlightening. None of us would have suspected that Mr Upton, Brianna’s father, was trying to take over this branch of The Organization. From what he’s admitted to me so far, he has been trying to get rid of your Commander for quite some time. I am very disappointed.”

  Lupa didn’t say anything. What the fuck was she supposed to say? She didn’t know the guy. She just knew he was a fucking piece of shit. Working with wolfbloods to try and… she swallowed and gave Darwin a small smile.

  “I am very sorry for what has happened, I hear that you lost another friend due to all this nasty business? A woman from your building?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “My deepest sympathies, I am truly sorry for your loss. I hope that you can be proud of yourself for avenging her and Karl’s deaths. I know nothing will bring them back, but you have surely given them justice.”

  Lupa stared down at her hands in bewilderment, why was he being so… human? Or was the control freak, sleazy thing just an act for when he was trying to find out information?

  “Miss Greenstone? Are you ok?”

  She looked up at him, her eyes feeling moist. “Yes, sir, I’m ok. Thank you.”

  “Very well. The Organization is very proud of you, dear, you have successfully brought down a plan to overthrow your Commander, and managed to take down two nests of very strong wolfbloods. You will, of course, be rewarded for your accomplishments. I will be interviewing Grey later this afternoon, but he has requested that you come and see him. Do not feel obligated, it is not required of you to have any more dealings with these people, but should you want to… he is hoping you will.”

  Lupa felt burning anger flood over her body. No fucking way would she go and see that lying scumbag. “Thank you, sir, but I think I’ll decline.”