Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress 1)

Dallas pinned me with a concerned gaze. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said, but damn it, my stomach felt like an overused punching bag at boxing practice.

“Want me to kill him? He assaulted an officer, after all.”

I thought it over, then shook my head. “Nah. Too much paperwork. He’s not who we came for, anyway.”

Dallas’s lips twitched at the corners. “You going soft on me? First you allow a Ell-Rollis to disarm you, and then you—”

“Go f**k yourself.”

Chuckling, he slipped his gun back into place. With his hands free, he locked his arms under Bob’s armpits and began tugging the giant out of the way. “I’ll hide him beyond the edge. No need to help.”

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t.”

He shot me a frown. That frown quickly changed to a grimace as he strained under Bob’s weight. “Did I tell you I’ve got a date tomorrow?” he asked conversationally, changing the subject just to annoy me.

“With who?”

“Jane Marlow.”

“Christ. The  p**n  star?”

“She prefers the term professional sex advocate,” he replied, huffing from exertion.

I arched a brow. “At least with this one you’ll know there’s more than ice in her panties.”

“I resent that. Especially from you, a woman who hasn’t gone on a date since the Great Heat Wave.”

My back straightened, and my shoulders squared. “I had dinner with Kedric Coners last week.”

“He doesn’t count. His legs are so skinny, I could use them as chopsticks.”

“He’s not that skinny.”

“You can’t deny he’s got no heart, though. Hell, I bet he tosses widows and children out of that fancy apartment building he owns and into the cold, wet streets.”

Dallas rounded the corner, out of sight, and I heard a thud as he dropped Bob to the ground. Within seconds, my partner was striding toward me. When he reached me, he leaned down until our noses were only inches apart.

“Why do you only date men like that? Men you can walk all over? There’s no way in hell you can respect someone like that.”

My eyes narrowed. Anger rushed through me, growing hotter and hotter, darker and darker. I liked being in control. So what? I liked things done my way, when I wanted, where I wanted. I rarely dated, but when I did, I picked men who took what I gave them and didn’t ask for more. If I were a man, Dallas would be slapping me on the back and offering me a beer instead of chastising me. “What I like is solving a case,” I said with false calm. “I think we’ve wasted enough time outside, don’t you?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he held up his hands and shrugged. “Whatever you say. You’re the boss, right?”

The entry doors swung open.

In unison, Dallas and I spun, weapons drawn. From the open doorway, smoke billowed like a thick morning fog. Amid the haze, two Delensean females emerged. Both appeared to be in their mid-twenties, with flowing azure hair, azure skin, and four handless arms. Both wore only drunken smiles and wraparound chains. The thin silver links wound around their curves, hiding mere inches of skin.

The women giggled when they saw us, not the least concerned by our presence. We allowed them to pass without a word, then each turned and fired, stunning them. They froze in place.

All Delenseans acted like rebellious teenagers, anyway. Throw drugs into the mix, and no telling what kind of havoc they would create.

“You gonna help me this time?” Dallas asked me.

We each dragged one around the corner and dropped her beside Bob. If we didn’t get inside soon, no telling how big the pile would become.

I strode to the front door and pushed inside, Dallas right beside me. Music blasted my ears, a fast rhythm that lured in the unwary. The mingled scent of sweat, sex, and alcohol filled my nostrils, almost obscene in its headiness. Illegal cigarette smoke, too. Shadows and light constantly battled for control, blending together at times, illuminating, then hiding each other, but all the while creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

The foyer possessed no furnishings, yet still overflowed with half-dressed, undulating bodies, both human and alien. One man was bound to the wall by thick ropes, and he moaned in rapture as the woman standing behind him spanked him with a spiked, wooden paddle.

Another group was in the middle of a dog-and-pony show. Three na**d human women were on all fours, a spiked collar wrapped around each of their necks. A glowing male Mec paced them up and down the walkway.

“I’m feeling a little overdressed,” Dallas said.

I’d never seen so many people getting off in so many different ways. “Come on. Let’s find Lilla before we lose our concentration.”

“Too late for me, but go ahead and lead the way.”

As I strode in front of Dallas, a man latched his fingers around my wrist, trying to draw me into his waiting embrace. I attempted to jerk myself free, but found my efforts were paltry compared to his determination.

I was just about to introduce the man’s groin to my knee when Dallas slammed his fist into the guy’s face.

I was suddenly freed. “Thanks,” I said with a half grin.

“No prob.”

We continued toward the main room. My boots stuck to the floor in several places, and I shuddered at the thought of just what was making them stick.

Once in the center of the action, I cataloged the entire scene. Crosses decorated the walls, and moonlight dappled through red velvet curtains. Pillowed chaises in brilliant golds and purples snaked around the far corners. Sashaying in every direction were waitresses dressed as slutty nuns, each holding a tray piled high with drugs, alcohol, and sex toys. Amid the moans of titillation that rivaled the music’s volume, bodies bumped and writhed.

“Think I can get a membership?” Dallas asked, the warmth of his breath fanning my ear.

“You’re perverted enough.”

“Yes, I am,” he answered proudly.

I rolled my eyes. “Do you see her?”

“Honestly?” He slowly smiled. “I haven’t been looking. There are too many other, more interesting sights.”

I couldn’t chastise him, since I’d been distracted as well. I slid my gaze to the bar. Lilla’s file claimed she was a bartender, but I didn’t see her peddling drinks. Determined to find her, I studied every individual, every corner, every hollow. I counted two Arcadians, both female, neither Lilla.

Then suddenly…joltingly…