She was never going to see him again. It was hard to think about him because all she wanted to do was contact him, or find him on the network, and either action would only hurt her further.
He wasn’t on the network. And she was certain only two courses of action would result in contacting him: one, he’d either ignore her, or two, he’d trace her comm and come find her.
She didn’t want to be his captive again, nor be handed over to the authorities, and she couldn’t face him knowing what was between them. She would always want Hysterian and only Hysterian. It’d only ever been Hysterian for her.
But she was a liar, untrustworthy. She held the blood of his enemy in her veins.
Her broken soul had never been more complete than when she was with him. Ever since she’d fled Atrexia, buying her way on the nearest transport vessel, she’d been hollow. Empty. Numb.
She had seen him from the porthole of the ship ascending from Atrexia, watched him running across the tarmac searching for her, shouting her name. She had wanted to scream for him as the locusts swarmed the sky and the dirt drifted up to his boots. It had been easy to leave him up until that point, that moment when her sight of him was about to end. Alexa hadn’t expected to see him again after that morning. She hadn’t been prepared to see him screaming her name.
She’d cried for him, her heart shattering.
Since then, she’d been numb, putting all her focus on getting back to Elyria and finishing the job she set out to do fifteen years ago.
Thinking about Hysterian only hindered her. He was like an alluring whisper in the back of her mind telling her to stop what she was doing and go back to him.
Alexa was afraid that if she gave in and did, she’d just walk right onto his ship, straight to the brig, and bunker down, a willing captive. Just to be in his presence.
If he dragged her and tossed her out of his ship, she wouldn’t even have her pride left to keep her company. That’s why she couldn’t let him into her head anymore. She’d already been his captive for far too long.
If that wasn’t reason enough to keep her away, knowing her dad’s real murderer was walking scot-free, drinking it up, and whoring—killing others while destroying lives. It brought her back to her senses.
Alexa caught sight of Raphael on the opposite side of the club, surrounded by more men dressed as angels and several scantily clad women. One mostly naked woman was bobbing her head between his legs as he sipped his drink and laughed.
Raphael wasn’t a hard one to locate once pinned. With his bright spiky hair and his extreme jubilation, he commanded attention. If it wasn’t the jubilation that gave him away, it was the giant tiered birthday cake on the table behind him. The cake was large enough to feed the whole club and then some.
Disgust crossed her face.
The fat, meaty fucker was about to meet his end.
She straightened and headed for Raphael, threading her way through the partygoers. She pushed her hair over her shoulder and licked her lips, stopping at the barrier that kept Raphael and his minions away from the beings partying. Seduction wasn’t her forte, but she hoped…
Alexa swayed and smiled at one of Raphael’s guards, catching his attention. An attractive man, perhaps a few years younger than her, walked forward, his eyes zeroing in on her hair.
She twirled a damp strand of it around her finger.
“You a half-breed?” he asked.
“I am, unfortunately.”
His eyes shifted to her face. “Not unfortunate tonight—if you’re willing to put out?”
Alexa kept her disgust inside this time. Her eyes hooded and she saw Raphael and the woman licking his small dick like it was the best tasting popsicle she’d ever had.
“I am,” she said a little bluntly, forgetting to purr.
Thank god the guard didn’t seem to notice. He typed in a code on his wristcon and unbuckled the strap between them. He ushered her inside. She started to head for Raphael when the guard grabbed her arm.
“Not unless he wants you,” he warned, pointing her toward a private bar where several other women were hanging out. Another angel approached them and led one of them over to Raphael. Raphael pushed the woman licking his dick out from between his legs and told the new one to take her place.
Bile rose in her throat. The first woman was handed a pill. She jumped for joy, wiping the saliva from her lips, gulping it down. One of the guards threw her over his shoulder, making her laugh and kick her legs. His fake black wings flapped. He slapped her ass and carried her through a door behind the birthday cake.
“Everyone can have a good time on my birthday!” Raphael bellowed, laughing, pushing the new woman’s head down into his crotch.
“Go,” the guard next to her said. Alexa jumped and made her way to the other women still waiting by the bar.
What would Hysterian do if he saw her right now, about to subject herself to his ex-boss so she could get close enough to shoot him? It was a terrible plan if she wanted to survive, but she was done waiting.
