The enemy soldier, crumpling to the floor of the abandoned house, glassy eyes staring back at me. And Lilith’s voice, telling me I was born to become a Viper, a killer like her.
Shivering, I rose from the bed and walked to the window, gazing down at the city. Las Vegas sparkled with a million neon lights, massive hotels and casinos standing tall and glowing against the horizon. Talon’s territory. Going rogue hadn’t been what I’d thought it would be. Riley hadn’t mentioned this part—the running, the fear, being chased and shot and having to kill to survive. If I’d known what would happen after I’d left Crescent Beach, would I still have chosen to go with him?
Of course you would. A little voice, my dragon, perhaps, sneered in my head. You know yourself better than that. Riley made it very clear what being rogue was like—you heard exactly what you wanted to hear. And if you had to do it again, knowing what you do right now, your choice would be the same. You’re too stubborn for anything else.
Angrily, I stalked back to the bed and flopped down again, putting a pillow over my face. I wouldn’t regret my decision. I’d seen the dark side of Talon, knew what they really wanted, beneath the facade of “protecting our kind.” And I refused to be a part of it. I just wished I could talk to someone, sort out these crazy, unfamiliar emotions that tried to drown me whenever I was in my own head. I wished I had someone here, just so I wouldn’t be alone. Not the boys. They were part of the dilemma, part of the chaotic, confusing mess inside me. I couldn’t talk to them.
I wished…
I wished Dante were here.
Dante betrayed you. I didn’t know which voice this was, mine or the dragon’s. But it continued with ruthless logic and disdain. He sold you out to Talon. Lilith would’ve killed you and Riley that night, because Dante told her where you’d be.
“No,” I growled into my pillow. My throat felt tight, and I swallowed hard. “He didn’t know what she would do. Talon lied to him, just like they lied to me, and everyone. It wasn’t his fault.”
Great, now I was talking to myself. Nothing crazy here. Throwing off the pillow, I stood once more and gazed aimlessly around the room. Everything was unfamiliar, and even with the television babbling, the silence seemed to press down on me. A lump caught in my throat. I was homesick, I realized. I missed my friends, my town and my old life.
I missed my brother.
“Dammit,” I whispered, and felt my eyes prickle. I wanted Dante back. I wanted him to be with me, on the side of the rogues and away from Talon. Talon was using him, like they did everyone in the organization. I wished I could tell him, right now. All Talon’s dirty laundry, all their secrets, the true price of staying with the organization. Dante needed to hear it. If he only knew the truth, he would never stay with them.
Maybe I could tell him, somehow.
Hope flickered, and I paused to think. I didn’t dare call him; if Talon was looking for us, they’d be watching my brother closely, maybe even tapping his phone. The same went for texting and email. The organization had eyes everywhere; normal methods of reaching my brother could put us all in danger. Me, Garret, Riley and all the rogues under his watch. I wasn’t going to risk that.
But, there was someone who was an expert at getting past Talon’s radar unseen.
I crossed my room and opened the door a crack, peeking out. The long corridor was empty. I was probably being overcautious; Riley had said this hotel was safe enough, from Talon at least. But if there were strange humans wandering about who looked like they might be armed, I wanted to see them before they saw me.
Slipping out, I took three steps across the green-and-gold carpet and knocked on the door across from mine.
A moment later, it swung back, revealing Wes’s haggard, unkempt face. His shaggy hazel bangs hung in his eyes, and his jaw and mouth were lined with stubble. He scowled when he saw me, clearly expecting someone else—probably Riley.
“Oh, it’s you.” His gaze flicked up and down the hall before returning to me. “What do you want?”
“Hey, Wes. I have a question.” I offered a smile, making an attempt to be friendly. I knew Wes didn’t like me, but maybe I could change his opinion. He just stared blankly, and I sighed. “Can I come in? I don’t want to talk out in the open.”
“Bloody hell,” Wes muttered, but he stepped back, letting me cross the threshold into his room. It was much like mine, gold curtains, queen bed, pictures of Greek people in compromising positions on the wall. His bag had been tossed on the bed and forgotten about, but his computer sat open and glowing on the desktop.
Wes shut the door and turned to watch me with wary eyes. “Well?” he demanded as I hesitated, wondering how to convince him. “Whatever this is, can you make it quick? I really don’t have time to faff around with hatchlings right now.”
“Faff around?”
“What’s the bloody emergency?” Wes snapped. I took a deep breath, wondering how best to put it, then decided on the direct approach.
“I want to get a message to my brother.”
The human’s eyebrows shot into his hair. “Your brother,” he repeated in disbelief. “I’m sorry, you mean the bloke who sold us out to Talon? Are you off your rocker? You want to let Talon know exactly where we are?”
“He didn’t sell us out,” I snapped back. “Talon lied to him. He didn’t know what would happen when he told Lilith where we were. He didn’t know she would try to kill us.” Wes gave me a look of supreme disbelief, and I narrowed my eyes. “I know Dante. I’ve known him all my life. He wouldn’t willingly do anything that would put me in danger. Talon used him, like they used all of us.”
“Be that as it may,” Wes said, “he’s still part of the organization, or have you forgotten they’re the ones sending Vipers after us? Even if your brother is being manipulated, it doesn’t change anything. Talon will still use him to get to us. So, sorry, can’t help you there. I like our status as is—alive and breathing.”
Anger and despair rose up, and my chest squeezed tight. Half of me wanted to threaten the stubborn human before me with fire and fangs, the other half knew he was right, that he was only protecting himself and the rest of us. But still, Dante was my twin, my only family. I knew Talon didn’t approve of such things; the organization was our “family,” and we weren’t supposed to need attachments to anything, or anyone, else. But growing up, it had always been me and Dante against the world. I wouldn’t abandon him, even if he had turned his back on me in favor of Talon.