Ecstasy in Darkness (Alien Huntress #5)(64)
Author: Gena Showalter

“What’d they do to deserve this, anyway?” her friend asked. “Kill someone you love? Burn your apartment down?”

“Nah. They just have information about successful vampire living.”

“Those bastards! Wait.” Noelle’s features scrunched in confusion. “What?”

“McKell doesn’t know how to live in the sunlight, and they might.”

“Suggestion,” Noelle said, raising her hand like a schoolgirl. “It’s called sunblock, and it’s sold at any local grocery.”

“The chatter can end anytime,” McKell snapped without looking at them.

Noelle rolled her eyes, and Ava drummed her fingers against the armrest. Both vampires had been watching and listening to the byplay, she realized, forgetting McKell entirely. Otherwise they would have been screaming. Still.

“She makes a good point,” Ava said.

“Ava.”

“Well, have you tried it?”

“Woman.” He whipped around and finally faced her. “I didn’t interrupt your work at the bar. Please don’t interrupt mine.”

“Sorry,” she muttered. Torturing was his job? Why did that add to his already off-the-charts sex appeal? “I won’t say another word.” She even pretended to twist a lock over her lips and toss the key aside.

He nodded and returned his attention to the men. Before he even said another word, their expressions became mulish.

“I know who you are,” one said, “and I know what you can do. But I’m not telling you shit.”

“Me, either,” the other agreed.

McKell flicked her an irritated glance, as if their refusal was her fault. Like she’d ruined his street cred or something. She blinked innocently.

“My God,” Noelle gasped. “That voice … it washes over you, consumes you. Mama wants a taste.”

“Concentrate on McKell, not—” What were their names? “Not them.” She’d just call them One and Two. “That’s what I do.” Wait. She didn’t like the thought of Noelle relying on McKell. For anything, even this. “Concentrate on me.”

“Help us,” One began, gaze locked on Noelle. There were flickers of light in that onyx gaze, stars in a silken sky. “You have only to—”

McKell punched him so hard Ava thought she heard the guy’s brain rattle against his skull. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you force me. Here’s rule number one. You will focus on me, and only me. Speak to the women again, and I’ll cut out your eyes.”

Both vampires trembled, nodded.

“I’m concentrating on you, but I still want to help him,” Noelle whispered to her.

Ava squeezed her knee, ready to fight her if she tried to stand.

“Now, then.” McKell rubbed his hands together. “I want answers, that’s all, and answers are easy enough to give, yes?” They trembled under his scrutiny. “So let’s begin. You’ve been here two years. Your skin is smooth, unburned, and you seem to have money.”

True. They were clean, their clothing unsoiled, a soft leather, and their hair had just the right amount of product. “Maybe they steal,” Ava suggested.

“Ava!” This time McKell didn’t face her, but his voice still wrapped around her, tightening, becoming a vise grip. “I thought your mouth was sealed.”

“Sorry,” she muttered, shoulders sagging.

“Maybe we steal,” One said mockingly.

Two nodded with a smug grin.

Ava was surprised McKell didn’t start hitting again. And wow, she really was undermining him. She’d spoken, and the vampires had lost their fear.

“Do you go out in the daylight?” The words sounded as if they’d been pushed through a meat grinder, rather than McKell’s throat.

“No,” Two said.

“You’re lying,” McKell replied.

One lifted his chin. “Prove it.”

McKell shrugged. “That, I can do. We can wait until morning, and I can toss you outside, tie you down, let you stay there. For hours. Maybe you’ll burn, maybe you won’t. Either way, I’ll know the truth.”

Both vampires paled. At the thought of being burned? Or at the thought of proving beyond a doubt that they’d learned how to endure the sun’s rays? She frowned, mind buzzing. Why would they care about the latter?

“You found us in a nightclub. At … what? Night.” One’s eyes narrowed, though he couldn’t quite conceal his defiance. “Anyone with sense would realize we’re telling the truth and can’t go out in daylight.”

Anyone with sense? A spark of anger bloomed in Ava’s chest. McKell had been nothing but patient. Kind of. Yet One had the nerve to call her man senseless? She pushed to her feet before she realized what she was doing, withdrew a blade from the holster around her waist, and marched over to vampires.

She couldn’t help herself. She stabbed One in the leg.

He howled.

McKell looked at her, and she thought she saw a spark of pride in those purple specks. “Thank you,” he said, surprising her.

“My pleasure.”

Noelle clapped. “I give you an eight-point-nine for form. Had to deduct for faulty finish. You didn’t twist the hilt.”

“As if you could have done any better,” McKell told her without looking away from Ava.

Ava rose on her tiptoes and placed a swift, hard kiss on McKell’s lips. He’d defended her skill, the delightful man. Even if she had forgotten to twist the hilt like any decent agent would have done. He was grinning as she returned to the couch.

When One’s howling finally ceased, tears streaming down his face, McKell said, “So. I’ll ask again. Do you have any trouble in the sunlight? And before you answer, you should know that I’ve heard rumors. Everyone in the underground has. It can be done.”

One gulped.

McKell continued, “Do you think I immediately killed every vampire I hunted and found living here? No. I returned them to the caves and … chatted with them.”

“Time out,” Noelle said, hands forming a cross. “If you chatted, why don’t you already know the answer?”

Good question. Ava imagined he was very good at chatting.

He sighed, as if he’d already resigned himself to more interruptions. “Everything I was told, I’ve tried. None of it has worked. Which means I was lied to. And it’s too late to get the truth from the liars.”