Death by Tara Brown

see if
Janine will let you in. Asshole."
    We walk up the stairs but Aleks flashes into the house and stands on the
stairs in our way.
    "What's going on?" His ice blue eyes are worried, or angry.
Probably angry.
    He looks over the bloodstains and arches an eyebrow, "Did Lorri call
for a mission?"
    I swallow and glance back at Ari. Aleks fills the room with warm wind.
The door opens and closes. He and Luke are standing inside looking at us.
    I scowl at Aleks, "It's cheating to flash inside and unlock the
door." I smirk at Ari. "Let's go."
    Aleks sighs, "It's annoying to lock us out when we don't know what
we did."
    Ari smiles and raises her hands fast. Both men are pinned against the
wall. Luke sighs, "Dude, I was cool with not knowing. She cools off
quickly if you don't poke the bear."
    Ari's eyes flash, "I saw you. I saw you checking her out."
    Luke looks confused. "Who?"
    Ari spits out one word, "Janine."
    Luke rolls his eyes, "Ari. She's like a hundred and eighty years
old."
    I point at Aleks. "He's way older than that." Aleks frowns at
me. Luke gives me a pleading look to stay out of it. I scowl, ignoring them
both. "We saw you, both of you. Flirting and smiling and letting her kiss
your faces."
    His cheeks flush with color. "Aimes, it's not what you guys
think."
    I roll my eyes. "She looks like she could be on the Duke's of
Hazard. Don't tell me I don’t know what it is."
    Lucas laughs. "She is the key to the elders council. They all listen
to her. She is one of the few females in the pack who is an elder. Her husband
was the alpha when he died."
    I look at Ari. She laughs. "I saw the look, Luke. She wasn't even
looking at you and you were drooling on her legs."
    He struggles with the invisible hold she has over him. "Babe, it
wasn’t like that."
    "You got caught."
    Aleks looks at me like he's disappointed in me. He can't flash when Ari
holds him. Her power can cripple him completely.
    "I don’t really want to talk about this." Ari drops them and
walks past me. I follow her up the stairs.
    She slams a door to a room. I don’t know which one to go to, so I walk to
the bathroom and pour a bath. I strip my blood soaked clothes off and climb in.
    "You can't possibly think I would find that woman attractive."
    I smile at him. "Why? I find her attractive."
    He laughs and it's like my favorite song. I can't even be angry with him.
He stands with his back to the door. I fight my smile. He points at me.
"You on the other hand, did something dangerous."
    I look down. "It was a regular day, Aleks."
    "Lorri will tell me if it was or wasn't." His tone is edgy.
    "You're not my dad."
    "No, I'm your partner."
    "I was pissed you were checking out that trashy blonde."
    "That's a pretty big tub. I need to get one of those installed at my
place."
    I smirk. "Not big enough for you and me.
    "You can sit on my lap."
    I hear his clothes drop to the floor. My face flushes as his feet cross
the huge bathroom to the large two-person tub.
     
     

Chapter Six
     
    Ophelia
     
    "There are hookers everywhere. I don’t even know where else to put
them." Trist shouts overtop of the shouting women all speaking different
languages.
    "This one is from Monte Carlo. Her family has money. I'm going to
flash her to the hospital there and wipe her mind," Phillip shouts.
    I stand there and watch it all.
    "O, honey you need to help out."
    I glance at Lydia and shrug. "I don’t know what to do."
    Trist shakes his head and shouts at a Japanese girl who is sobbing and
hugging herself. "Honey you can't sit there without underwear. That couch
is an antique."
    I laugh and want to cry at the same time.
    "Tristan, you ever feel like maybe we are too young for the shit we
deal with?"
    He rolls his eyes. "O, this is not the time to get
melodramatic."
    I laugh again and turn away from the chaos.
    I walk out the front door and out onto the street.
    Instantly he is there. "You shouldn’t be out here."
    I shake my head. "I can't be in there. They found some house