Rose OBrien - Air of Darkness

Air of Darkness

By Rose OBrien

Copyright 2018 Esther Robards-Forbes

All rights reserved.

To my mother. Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader.

And to my husband. Thank you for the gift of time.

Chapter 1

This must be what hell feels like.

Agent Alex Martinez tried not to cringe as a drop of sweat slid down his spine beneath his black T-shirt. The humid press of scantily clad bodies on the nightclubs packed dance floor had outpaced the air conditioning about an hour ago. The air was like a locker room, thick, hot, and pungent. Taking off his black leather jacket would have helped, but that would mean flashing the 9mm holstered under his arm. Not an option for an FBI agent whod gone rogue and was tracking a case that was very far outside his jurisdiction.

A throbbing headache had taken up residence behind his left eye. The sleep deprivation had started dragging on him, too.

In short, he was miserable, pissed off, and kicking himself for being stupid enough to come here. But grief could make a man do stupid things. Reckless things.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, he scanned the undulating crowd for what felt like the hundredth time that night, searching for one face. Nick Salvadin was a low-level flunky who worked the clubs up and down Sixth Street. On paper, he didnt seem like much, but he was probably the only person who could shed any light on whod killed Blanca.

Overhead, lights pulsed in a dazzling array of colors that danced over the fake stonework and stained glass that made the club, Revelations, look vaguely reminiscent of a Gothic church. There were even gargoyles leering from the corners. Weaving through the edges of the crowd, he worked his way closer to the bar. He tried to relax his notoriously military-straight posture into a more casual stance and let his features drop into something other than the ridged mask hed been wearing since his friend had been murdered. Just blend in. That was difficult, considering his clothes included zero chains or PVC and his jet-black hair was free of dye. Revelations was a club that catered to the extreme. The music was extremely loud. The patrons were covered in an extreme amount of tattoos and piercings, and hair color tended to extreme hues not found in nature.

It was definitely not his scene. Up until shed turned up dead, he would have said this wasnt Blancas scene either, but this was the last place shed been seen alive. Blanca Rodriguez had been like a sister to him, and he thought he knew what she was into. Clearly hed been wrong. In the two weeks since shed died hed been tearing himself up about that.

Theyd been through a war together. Shed saved his life more than a few times and in more than a few ways. He hadnt been able to return the favor this time, and it was ripping him apart. Blanca had survived two tours in Afghanistan only to come home and die at the hands of some psychopath, butchered and left under a bridge. An objective part of Alexs brain knew he was grieving and this probably wasnt the best time to undertake an off-the-books investigation while simultaneously bent on vengeance, but focusing on this was the only thing keeping him sane right now.

When there had been no movement on the case, Alex had started digging, calling in every favor he was owed and tapping every connection to get his hands on the case files. Austin Police had interviewed Salvadin because hed been working that night and his vehicle had shown up on security footage leaving the club. The cops had written him off as a person of interest, but something didnt sit right in Alexs gut. His gut had saved him more than a few times in that war zone. It had served him well as an agent. He trusted it.

His gut said Salvadin knew more than he was saying and Alex was going to find out, even if he had to break a few fingers.

He pushed his way through the crowd again, angling for the stairs so he could do another pass through the upper balcony that wrapped around the second story of the building. Shoulders, arms, and boobs pressed against him, and he tried not to cringe again. A woman stepped on his foot and splashed her drink on his jeans.

Everything felt raw. Too loud. Too bright. What he wanted was to hide in a dark hole and get his head under control. But he wanted to find the people who had hurt Blanca more. The need for vengeance was a dark, clawed thing that huddled in his chest, scratching to get out.

As he made it to the stairs and took the first couple of steps, movement caught his eye. Greasy dark hair, worn shaggy and long. Too-pale skin from nothing but nightshifts. Dark eyes that darted around, landing on nothing, but seeing everything at once. The man slunk through the crowd with furtive movements that reminded Alex of a rat. The pointed chin and nose added to the impression.

Nick Salvadin had put in an appearance. Alex tracked him from the corner of his eye as the man moved through the crowd. The weasel slipped into one of the booths along the back wall, sitting opposite a woman. She had alabaster skin, black hair cut in a bob and worn pin straight. Harsh red lipstick was a like a bloody slash across her face. Those lips were turned down in a severe frown as Nick started talking animatedly, his hands moving frantically and his eyes wide. The woman pointed an accusing finger at him and locked narrow eyes on the man. Someone was in trouble.

Alex glanced away, trying to keep from staring. He didnt want to get clocked as an agent. Nick needed to be oblivious if Alex was going to take him singlehandedly. He had a lot of questions for Nick. And if Nick didnt want to answer, he had an extensive knowledge of human anatomy and pain thresholds to draw on.

As his eyes drifted from the table, a flash of red in the crowd drew his attention.

She was tall, maybe six feet, with long platinum hair cascading down her shoulders and back. Black leather pants tucked into knee high black boots hugged impressive curves. The red silk of her top fluttered as she moved. Her back and neck were arched as her hips gyrated in time with the beat.

The air stopped moving in his lungs as he watched her, riveted in a moment of blistering arousal.

Her arms lifted over her head as she moved with the music, not dancing with anyone but herself. The lights caught in her hair, sparking in a dozen different colors. As she danced, she slipped through the crowd, seemingly unnoticed by the other dancers.

He was staring, and he couldnt help it, didnt even care. Even when she met his eyes and gave him a caught-you-looking half smile, his gaze stayed on her. His heart kicked hard against his ribs as something electric passed between them in that moment.

Dropping her gaze, she kept dancing, moving through a couple of turns and throwing a little shimmy in her hips. Had that been for him?

It just figured that the first woman to catch his attention in years would have to show up in the middle of a rogue op. It wasnt like he could walk up and give her his number. Besides, she was a distraction from

Shit. Alexs head snapped around, but Salvadin was gone. He scanned the booths and didnt spot the little weasel. He quickly scanned the rest of the club, trying to keep the frantic look off his face and hoping that his movements looked smooth and not hurried and jerky.

Salvadin wasnt in the club, not that he could see. Damn it all to hell!

Turning his attention back to the dance floor, he ran a nervous hand through his hair. Think!

Thats when he noticed that the wet-dream blonde had disappeared too. He resumed scanning just in time to see the door of the emergency exit into the alley slide shut.

Darting through the crowd, Alex made his way to the door without drawing too much attention to himself. He slammed the bar release on the door and stumbled into the alley and into something straight out of a nightmare.