Jake (Immortals of New Orleans #8)(50)

"Like I'm going to tell you now. No way." He stumbled backward, panting as blood continued to gush from his wound.

"Tell us now, or none of these vampires will save you. I'll kill every last one of them."

Jonathon snarled at Quintus, baring his fangs.

"I'm not fucking around. Who'd like to die first?" Quintus laughed, a dark smile crossing his face. His expression went cold as he focused back on Jonathon. "You're going to bleed out. What's it goin' to be?"

"You're every bit the bastard I've heard you were. Blood first. Then I'll tell you," Jonathon spat.

"Where's the fucking Kris? The entire Acadian pack is going to rain down hell on this shithole if you don't tell me now. I've had enough of this fucking bullshit," Jake yelled.

Jonathon glared at Quintus, who nodded. "Tell him what he wants now. You've got two minutes before you start to pass out. Do you really trust that this scum watching in the wings is going to save your ass? Might be time for a new king. Maybe yes. Maybe no. You wanna find out?"

"Fuck you," the vampire sighed.

"The Kris." Jake's fangs descended, his body readying to shift.

"It's at 66689 Bourbon St."

"A house?" Jake questioned.

"That's all I'm telling you. It's been there for hundreds of years. No one can find the damn thing but it's in there. Now blood," he screamed.

"If I find out you're lying to us, I'm going to rip out your spine and shove it up your ass, you hear me?" Jake told him.

Kai lifted her eyes to Quintus, the thick walls of a tunnel closing in around her. "We're outta here," she heard him growl. Her world spun into oblivion, accepting her fate, and altogether unsure if death waited on the other side of darkness.





Chapter Nine


"Jesus, Quint." Jake struggled to catch his breath. The furniture swirled around him like he was on a fucking carnival ride. He lay on the bed, still clutching Kai. 

"There's no easy way to do it, my friend. We're here, good enough." Quintus shrugged and walked toward the door.

"We're here?" Jake glanced around the strange room. "Where exactly is that?"

"Mi casa es su casa." Quintus gave a nod of his head. "Make yourself at home, mate. Sorry I couldn't zap us back to your place, but I was runnin' on instinct and this is home base."

"No worries, man. Appreciate it."

"Jonathon and his crew won't find us here. Even if they did, Kade would kick his ass across the Mississippi before they stepped into the Quarter. Besides," Quintus rapped on the drywall. "Got wards. No one's getting in here tonight."

"Like I said, good enough." Jake smoothed the back of his hand over Kai's cheek. "Tomorrow we'll regroup."

"Is she okay?" Quintus asked.

"She's sleeping. Pulse is normal. Whatever happened to her in there … " Jake's chest tightened as he recalled how she'd partially shifted. He'd watched in awe as she fed Jonathon to the lethal school of fish. Not once did she flinch during the brutal attack. She'd only stopped after he'd commanded her.

"You're her master."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what that means. The whole thing could've been a fluke. I'll admit I'm turning into an Alpha. But this … what she did … " Jake sighed, recalling her strength. "Did you see her in there?"

"Oh, yeah. I saw all right. Wouldn't want her coming after me. Your girl looks like she can bite, too. You see those choppers?" Quintus laughed.

"She looked more like a lion than a wolf … but not really. And that light thing she does? She was like a fucking glow stick. I don't even know what the hell that was about."

"She's a pixiu. Powerful."

Jake glanced to Kai's arm. Her creamy white skin was splattered with droplets of crusty brown-colored blood. "This isn't hers."

"Jonathon has a shot of getting his hand back." Quintus shrugged. "Maybe yes. Maybe no. It's hard to tell. Some of us regenerate."

"What the hell are you talking 'bout?" Disgust washed across Jake's face; his nose scrunched at the thought.

"You know, like a lizard. Cut a tail off. Grows back."

"Now that is something I don't need to see."

"Leo does it."

"You?"

"Well, yeah. It's not like you lose an appendage every day. But you know … things can go missing." Quintus laughed.

"Things? What sort of things?" Jake's eyes widened as the possibilities ran through his mind. "Yeah … I don't want to know. I'm good stopping right there in this convo."

"Look, a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do. You never know what can happen. Lose a finger. A foot. Hell, I've seen a vamp or two lose their dick."