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Bloodshed Brewing’s main entrance was in a back alley filled with garbage cans, which was the first red flag. You couldn’t see it from the street on either side, giving the vampires who used the place as a headquarters ample privacy to pull unsuspecting humans into the bowels of the building. Not only vampires, either. On my way to the front door, I spotted a succubus pulling detrimental amounts of energy from a Null, enough to make the poor man a husk of himself. A group of shifters used their excessive strength to pull a hooker in from the street, leering at her until she tried to run. She didn’t get far, but the beasts revelled in the thrill of the hunt. However short.
“Angels don’t belong here.”
The bouncer stepped in front of me before I slipped past him and inside. He was a heavyset vampire with a thick German accent, his face covered in scars. “Tell Jude I need to talk,” I said.
“Why would I do that?”
Leaning back against the dirty brick wall, I crossed my arms over my chest. I was tense and ready for a fight, but exuded calm. “I won’t leave until you do. Can’t imagine that’ll be good for your business.”
People were already turning to look at me. Angels had a different scent than other supernaturals, a clean note everyone on Earth was wary of. They scented what I was as soon as they turned into the alley, if they paid attention. The group of shifters had released the hooker they were toying with, leaving her crying and running out into the street.
“I could remove you from the premises.”
“Have fun being sent back to Zemterra, where you came from.”
He couldn’t tell I was bluffing. He didn’t take the risk and ended up humouring me, stepping inside only long enough to send someone to Jude’s office. Five minutes later, he was ushering me through the door, glaring at the now-empty alley. Even the succubus had abandoned her prey. Alive, barely. Until someone came by and finished him off.
Instead of being brought into the club, he led me up two sets of stairs to the third floor, then down a narrow hallway to an office. The door swung open before we got there and Jude was standing behind his desk. His eyes were pure black.
Just as happy to see me as I’d expected him to be.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Shan?” he asked, darting behind me to slam the door shut. “I told you never to come here.”
“If you answered my calls, I wouldn’t have to.”
“Why would I answer your calls?”
“I thought we had an understanding, Jude.”
A second later, his hand was around my throat, lifting me up so my feet dangled above the ground. I couldn’t breathe, but I wasn’t worried. Little known fact about angels — technically, we didn’t need to breathe. Nor eat or drink. It was more of a reflex. When I didn’t panic in his grip, Jude cursed, tossing me so my back banged against the door. I landed on my feet, keeping my balance. “How the fuck am I going to explain your presence to Kylan, huh?” he asked.
His big fists clenched and unclenched as he paced the room. The man was imposing, I would give him that, but didn’t have the scare factor of their bouncer. Every inch of his skin was unmarred, and he’d had his suit tailored to fit him. Gel kept his comb over looking crisp. “Tell him I’m a rat. A gambler. I owe you. There are a thousand options and I don’t care what you tell him. So long as you tell me what I need to know. It’s time for me to collect on my favour, or I’ll have the Angelic Enforcement Agency seizing all your assets by the morning.”
Glaring at me, he finally sat down. Thank the gods. I was going cross-eyed, trying to track his movements. Vampires had a speed that I couldn’t match, and I needed to be on high alert.
“What the fuck do you need to know, then?”
Jude clearly prided himself on his use of ‘fuck’ in every sentence. It was a good thing he didn’t work around children.
“Tell me about Club Chaos. Why has Kylan been interested in it?”
With a growl, Jude ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not privy to that information. Kylan’s keeping it close to the belt.”
“By my count, he’s sent ten men to the establishment. Not all of them have walked back out. He’s committed enough that there’s a rumour. Tell me what the rumour is.”
Most of them hadn’t walked back out, in fact. The murderer got to them first. Or, in the case of the two from tonight, I did. Jude’s glare went darker, his eyes shifting back to pure black orbs. If I was lucky, he would realize I had him backed against a wall with my blackmail scheme. If I was unlucky… well, Caspian would find me in a couple of months when I washed ashore on a remote beach after weeks of torture.
“Fine. A couple of months ago, Kylan caught wind of a secret Omega. One that hangs around Club Chaos, unclaimed and in hiding. He’s sending men to bring her in.”
“Know anything about how his men keep ending up dead or missing?”
“Figured you would know more about that than I do. Whoever’s killing them has some kind of professional training. He thinks it’s the Agency, and this Omega is some kind of asset.”
Not that I knew of. I wasn’t the highest up on the food chain, but the murders were creating a problem for the Agency. They didn’t want Kylan thinking it was one of their operatives, because it would disrupt the fragile balance of peace. That’s why my team was here. The murderer was some kind of outside party. I had a feeling I knew who he was protecting and facts were falling into place in my head. “Anything else you care to tell me?”
“I don’t care to tell you anything, period,” he spat. When I stared at him with a blank expression, he snarled. “No. Nothing else.”
“Then we’re done here. You’ve been a great help. I look forward to continuing our relationship, Jude.”
