I didn’t think I could be so happy to see Arrow’s BMW, but when it turned into the parking lot twenty minutes later, I could’ve jumped for joy. Every passing moment I’d spent warily eyeing the lot, expecting a demon to pop out of the shadows. But Koda and Dash were done harassing me for one night.
The BMW slid into the spot beside my dead Nova, purring like a kitten. A very expensive kitten. Rowen climbed out of the driver’s seat and motioned for me to pop the hood as he strode over to my car. After pulling the hood latch, I got out and joined him. Arrow stayed in the BMW, staring at his phone.
“Everything ok?” Rowen asked, doing a double take when he saw my face. “You look shaken.” He propped the hood open, using his phone to illuminate the engine.
I slid closer and gripped his shoulder, feeling both relieved at his presence and worried about what Koda had said. “Koda was here. The girls were already gone. He just kind of spooked me a little. That’s all.” I shrugged it off, hoping he didn’t press for details. Should I tell him what the demon had shared? I wasn’t sure if it would help or hurt.
Rowen jerked his head, tossing the long chunk of blue hawk out of his eyes. “What did he want?” Because he was busy scrutinizing the mess of parts beneath the hood, he didn’t see my expression fall.
I knew I had to be honest with Rowen. Keeping secrets wasn’t something I wanted tarnishing our relationship. I screwed up my face into a grimace and sighed. “He came to tell me why Dash wants you so bad.” I cast a glance at the BMW, ensuring Arrow couldn’t hear. “I’m still not sure he told me the truth. We should talk about it later. When we’re somewhere safe.”
Rowen nodded, fiddling with something I couldn’t identify until it popped loose in his hands. “You cracked the distributor cap. I can take care of this tomorrow. Will it be ok here over night?”
I laughed. “Can’t imagine why not. Would you want to steal this thing?”
He handed me the plastic hub and closed the hood with a slam. Then he chuckled. “Hey, The Piece has charm. It just needs a little love, which I can help with.”
“Thanks, babe. I got lucky when I found a man who can meet all of my mechanical needs.” I pulled him close for a lingering kiss, basking in the subtle but seductive scent of his cologne.
“At your service,” Rowen murmured against my lips in a low, sexy tone.
The steamy kiss was interrupted by the sound of an automatic window sliding down, followed by Arrow’s rudely barked, “Hey, fuckheads. Can we go? I gotta meet that dude.”
“Is he actually going to be there this time?” Rowen barked back. “I knew this was a bad idea.”
“Chill, bro.” Arrow was unfazed. “It’s all good. Let’s go.”
With a raised brow I met Rowen’s gaze, making a silent inquiry. With a glower he huffed, “We waited for over an hour for that guy. He never showed.”
A drug deal with Arrow? Well, it wasn’t my ideal way to end a night, but after threats and warnings from not one but two demons, could it get any worse?
I should know better than to ask that question by now.
Still I grabbed my guitar from the trunk of the Nova and shouted at Arrow to pop the BMW’s trunk. After a muttered response I couldn’t make out, he did as I’d asked.
A scream caught in my throat.
My brain struggled to make sense of what I was seeing. Mouth open, lungs heaving, a strangled sort of cry finally broke free. Vicky’s lifeless gaze stared up at me from under the gouged pentagram. Her body was a tangle of limbs, having been thrown haphazardly into the trunk. A gaping, blood-crusted wound in her chest revealed that her heart was missing.
“Holy shit.” Rowen peered into the trunk, the color draining from his face. “Um, Arrow? You may want to come take a look at this.”
Arrow flung the door open and got out with a muttered, “Is this really a three person job?”
I stepped back, a hand over my mouth, guitar bag slung over one shoulder. Adrenaline squeezed my heart. Rowen stood stiff beside me, watching Arrow for a reaction as he joined us.
“Oh,” Arrow said with a nod. “Fuck.” He reached in to touch her, making me suck in a breath. “She’s cold, like she’s been kept in a freezer or something. Another message from Dash I guess.”
“Don’t touch the body,” Rowen hissed, panic causing his voice to rise.
Arrow cast a caustic glare his way. “I fucked her, Rowen. My DNA is already all over her.”
I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. It was impossible to look away from the horror in the trunk. “What do we do?”
“We have to call the cops,” Rowen said, turning away from the gruesome mess. “This is not something we can deal with on our own.”
“The cops?” Arrow snapped. “Are you fucking mental? No fucking cops. Unless you want to spend some time behind bars after you’re both charged as my accomplices.”
Jail? Hell no. This was all on Dash. He set Arrow up, and now he might take Rowen and me down as well. I was all for doing the right thing, but… “He’s right, Rowen. Calling the cops won’t help. I think we need Cinder.”
Arrow scoffed, a bitter laugh falling from his lips. “And what exactly do you think he’s going to do? Snap his fingers and make this all go away? Angels don’t work that way.”
“He can give us some guidance. He’ll know how we should handle this.” Maybe running to Cinder seemed childish to Arrow, but I trusted him more than anyone else I knew.
“I say we go to Dash’s house and dump her on his lawn. I’m done being his whipping boy.” Before we could protest Arrow slammed the trunk shut and gestured to the car. “Get in.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Rowen was aghast.
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Arrow grabbed my guitar bag, which I surrendered to him, and put it in the back seat. “Spike you can have shotgun.”
The two brothers engaged in an epic stare down. My heart, pounding in my ears, made the only sound as they argued without a word.
“We are not doing that,” Rowen said, breaking the silence. “You need to stay away from Dash.”
“You both need to stay away from Dash,” I broke in before Arrow could fling a retort. “We need to think this through.”
My inclination was still to reach out to Cinder though I could understand why Arrow might not share that sentiment. Everything about this looked bad for him. Though it was obvious to me that Dash was pulling the strings here, there was no way of proving Arrow’s innocence. He was dark, and that did not work in his favor.
“How about this?” Arrow’s voice dropped, taking on a gentle but persuasive tone. “We go meet this asshole so I can get paid and use the time to decide on something we can all agree on.”
Rowen’s face scrunched into a skeptical frown. “You want to drive around the city with a dead body in the trunk? I think you’ve snorted too much shit up your nose.”
“Well, yeah, probably.” With a shrug, Arrow’s lips curled up into a twisted half grin. “But it’ll only take like thirty minutes. Let’s just go. The longer we stand here and argue, the longer she sits in the trunk causing a problem.”
This was blowing my mind. I gaped at Arrow, wondering how the hell he could be so chill about this. I was shaking in my trendy little boots while he stood there unfazed by the whole thing.
Rowen looked to me for an opinion, which I didn’t have. I offered him a halfhearted shrug and headshake.
“Fine,” he said, though nothing about the pinched expression he wore indicated he was actually fine with this plan. “Let’s get this over with.”
Calming breaths did little to ease the worry that slithered through me. Vicky’s body lay in the trunk. We intended to drive around with a dead freakin’ body. It was too surreal to accept.
I dropped into the passenger seat with a shaky breath. Dash had threatened me, but I couldn’t imagine he’d have done anything to incriminate Rowen in Vicky’s death. This had all been about screwing Arrow over. We’d just been lucky enough to be caught in the crosshairs by chance.
The drive to the city’s downtown core was spent in uncomfortable quiet. The local rock radio station played, breaking up the nerve-racking tension with a sense of normalcy that couldn’t penetrate the mood that had descended over us.
“Lighten up guys.” Arrow’s lazy command came from the backseat. “You know I’ll be the one to take the fall for all this shit.”
“Somehow I doubt you’ll be the only one.” With his gaze on the road, Rowen sat stiff in the driver’s seat, his hands clenched tight on the wheel.
A close study of Rowen revealed the rage he held reigned tightly. But beneath the angry spark in his eyes of fire lurked a worry rooted so deep I didn’t think he could ever be free of it. Didn’t Arrow see this? Didn’t he care?
After a glance in the backseat, I was left with my question unanswered. Arrow was staring out the window, his brow furrowed in thought. Feeling my gaze upon him, he turned to me with an inquisitive expression that spoke louder than any snarky words he could have mustered.
“We’ll deal with this,” I said, hoping to keep the peace between them. “I still think you should let me reach out to Cinder. He’ll know what we should do.”
“You don’t get it, do you? Cinder is an angel. A holy fucking boy scout. He has rules to follow. If you bring him into this, I’m going to fry.” Arrow rubbed a hand over his bruised face and winced. “It’s one thing to get my ass kicked by demons. Angels? Fuck no.”
A vigorous shake of my head was met by a scowl. Cinder wouldn’t do that; I knew he wouldn’t. “You’re wrong,” I said, leaving it at that because I had nothing to back up my claim.
“We could leave the body somewhere, back in the River Valley where she originally was,” Rowen suggested. “Then someone will find her and call it in. Not our problem anymore.”
Again Arrow scoffed, a sound that I’d come to associate with him. “That’ll never work. My DNA has got to be all over her. Maybe even inside her.”
Revolting. My jaw dropped. “Gross, Arrow, don’t you wrap up? I found your Magnum box. That’s not fooling anyone by the way.”
“Of course I wrap up.” The dark nephilim managed to appear offended. Arms crossed, he slumped against the window. “You know I don’t have a small cock, Spike. Give me a break.”
“I know you don’t have a Magnum-sized one either,” I quipped. Knowing the size of Arrow’s package definitely ranked as the most useless information I possessed. “There’s no shame in being average, Arrow.”
Rowen took a corner a little faster than necessary. I put a hand on his leg, a gentle reminder to stay calm. Ignoring our penis talk, he tried to find a way to make his idea work. “Is there any way we can scrub the body? Destroy any evidence?”
“Of course there are ways. Hell, the environment of the River Valley may have done some of it for us already. But it’s too risky. I’m not taking any chances.” There was no arguing with Arrow. He wouldn’t be swayed.
I was inclined to agree with him. Cops right now would be far more hindrance than help. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any better suggestions. My go-to was Cinder, and I wasn’t sure I even wanted him to see me caught up any further in this situation. I was still figuring out how I got here.
We turned into the parking lot of one of the many twenty-four hour convenience stores. The parking lot was empty other than one bedraggled guy lurking near the pay phone. Huh, interesting. Didn’t think those were still around.
“Is that the guy?” Rowen asked, parking as far from the front of the store as possible.
Arrow reached beneath the driver’s seat and pulled out a large plastic bag filled with smaller bags. After pulling a few small bags out, he crammed the bigger one back under the seat. For a guy who didn’t want to deal with cops, he didn’t do a very good job of hiding his shit.
“Yeah, that’s him. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
The car door slammed, and Arrow stalked across the parking lot. Dressed head to toe in black, he moved like the shadows he possessed. The guy jumped when Arrow stepped into the light. A sheepish grin broke over his face, and he greeted the dark nephilim with a fist bump.
Their exchange was silent to Rowen and I. We watched as Arrow passed the coke through a handshake so smooth I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been watching for it. His customer dug around in a pocket for money. At least, that’s what I assumed until he pulled out a knife.
I gasped.
Arrow’s reaction was far less dramatic. He laughed in the guy’s face. And then he completely lost his shit. Arrow threw both hands up in an aggressive invitation. He waited for the guy to take a swing, and then he made him pay for that mistake. As Rowen and I looked on in stunned silence, Arrow slammed his fists into the guy’s face. Shadows darted out from him, winding around the guy’s neck, choking off his air.
The meager parking lot lighting glinted off the knife as the guy swung with growing desperation. A shout echoed as the blade slashed across Arrow’s forearm.
It just fed his violence.
Throwing his weight into the guy, Arrow took him down hard on the pavement. I cringed as the hits landed. Rowen sat stiff beside me, face frozen in something between panic and exasperation.
A face appeared in the convenience store window as the cashier peered out. Immediately he went for the phone.
“I have to stop this,” Rowen said as he flung open the car door.
“Rowen, don’t,” I shouted after him, struggling out of my seatbelt as I attempted to follow. “I don’t think Arrow is all there. He could hurt you.”
Arrow was oblivious to our approach, so focused on beating the guy beneath him bloodier with every punch.
Rowen didn’t hesitate. A flash like lightning lit up the lot. It threw Arrow onto his back on the ground, but it didn’t keep him there long.
He rolled over and pushed to his feet with superhuman speed. When he turned black eyes on us, I saw why. Whatever Dash had done to make him snap, it pulled his demon half out in a terrifying way. I remembered the murderous intent in his eyes when he’d smashed me in the face with that bottle. It wasn’t Arrow. It was something so much worse.
“Stay out of this, Rowen,” Arrow spat. “This is what happens when people try to rip me off. He was asking for it.”
“Don’t you have enough blood on your hands?” Rowen asked. “Calm the fuck down before you do something you can’t take back.”
I tried to have Rowen’s back without drawing Arrow’s attention. My hands tingled with readiness, but I didn’t reach for my fire just yet.
In the distance sirens wailed. Crap.
“Guys,” I said, my gaze darting about. “We gotta go.”
Arrow’s would-be buyer lay on the ground groaning and holding his bloody face. He was barely conscious. For a moment it seemed that Arrow would turn his aggressions on us, but the approaching sirens seemed to break through the haze of rage clouding his brain.
We have a body in the trunk. It was all I could think as I waited for Arrow to make his choice. Shadows danced around his feet, waiting for his next command.
“Arrow, come on.” Rowen brazenly grabbed his brother’s arm, unafraid of the writhing serpentine shadows. “The cops are coming. We need to leave. Now.”
My lungs burned as I struggled for each shaky breath. I surveyed the scene before me, both awestruck and amazed by these two brothers, and I was afraid for us all. How had we gotten to this place?
The threats from Dash and Koda hung over my head. Somehow Cinder believed I would play a role in the fate of Rhine’s sons. Again I wished I could see what he saw. Instead I stood there awkward and frightened, wondering what the hell to do.
“Please, Arrow,” I pleaded, hands clenched at my sides. “You’re the one who said you didn’t want any cops. Do you want to spend the rest of the night behind bars?”
His head jerked up, and he pinned me with black eyes that transitioned back to hazel. “Yeah, I think I do. You guys take off. I’ll stay here and take the heat for this.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Rowen barked, his hand locked around Arrow’s wrist like a vice. “You’re really not making the best decisions tonight.”
“Get off me, Rowen. Leave now before it’s too late. I’ll take the assault charge for this. I don’t care. Just get my car out of here before we all go down.” Arrow tried to shake Rowen off before flinging his free hand toward me. “Spike, talk some sense into him, would you? Preferably sooner than later.”
“He’s right, Rowen,” I said, frantically glancing about, trying to figure out which direction the sirens were coming from. “We need to get that car out of here before we’re all in serious shit for something we didn’t do. Arrow will be fine. We’ll bail him out.”
The sirens grew louder, and urgency had my heart pounding. I backed toward the BMW, hoping like hell Rowen would follow my lead. Thrusting his chin out in stubborn refusal, he shook his head, but confusion marred his brow.
“Rowen, come on.” Panic made my voice shrill. I reached the BMW and angled for the driver’s door. If he didn’t come with me, I’d have to leave them both behind. Someone had to bail them out. “Rowen, please.”
Perhaps it was the way my voice broke or the sheer hysteria on my face, but Rowen released his hold on Arrow and sprinted for the car. I all but threw myself into the passenger side, holding on for dear life as Rowen put the car in gear and peeled out of the parking lot.
“Take it easy,” I yelped, scanning the streets for the cops I knew were coming. “Don’t draw attention to us.”
“Sorry,” he muttered, slowing to the speed limit with a glance in the rearview mirror.
A police car approached from the front, flying past us, headed for the convenience store. Hands tight on the wheel, Rowen tossed the hair out of his eyes with a jerk of his head. “I can’t believe how fast this night went from bad to worse. Every time I think life with Arrow can’t get any more screwed up, something happens to prove me wrong.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “It’ll be ok. We’ll figure this out.” To me the words sounded as empty as I felt. Starting to get a headache, I didn’t know what our next step should be.
Rowen caught my hand and gave it a warm squeeze. It was a direct contrast to the chill in his next words. “So what do we do with the body?”
“I still think we should reach out to Cinder,” I said, unable to stop turning in my seat to stare out the back window. “Anything else I can come up with feels disrespectful to Vicky and just plain wrong.”
He nodded, easing the car onto a side street. Staying off the main road was a good plan.
“Let’s go to Arrow’s house,” Rowen suggested, turning the wipers on as a few droplets hit the windshield. It was trying to snow. “We can get Cinder to come there. It’ll give us a chance to get the drugs out of the car. This thing is a heat score.”
“Ok.” Somehow my lungs began to function again. My breath came a bit smoother, albeit still rather shaky. Having a goal of some kind helped. It gave me something to focus on other than the extreme shit we’d be in if caught with Vicky in the back.
I kept waiting for the high-strung feeling to subside, but it didn’t. As long as nothing else happened between here and Arrow’s house, perhaps then I would be able to breathe easy again.
The flash of headlights came out of the dark. I saw the big black pick-up truck as it barreled through the stop sign. I opened my mouth to warn Rowen, but there was no time.
He saw the truck and cranked the wheel in an effort to dodge the oncoming mechanical monster. Miraculously, instead of slamming into my door, it only clipped the BMW’s rear end. The force combined with the speed sent us spinning in a full three-sixty.
“What the fuck?” Rowen gasped.
Before we could make sense of what had just happened, the black truck turned toward us, and the driver hit the gas. The screech of tires on pavement echoed in my ears.