Base Instincts by Larissa Ione Read Free Book Online Page B

Raze to his feet. “Let them do what they need to do.”
    Raze nodded numbly, grateful for the way Slake had taken over and given him a chance to step back. He was also grateful for the way Slake stood protectively close, his hand a comforting, steady presence on Raze’s shoulder.
    “I liked her,” Raze said, his voice as thick as the smoke that lingered in the air. “I liked her a lot.” He looked at the trashed club, at the pools of blood that mingled with the soot and ash, and without an adrenaline rush and victims to treat, the reality of the situation finally sank in. “So much death and destruction. Why?”
    Slake shook his head. “Looks like Thirst took the bulk of the blast. At first, I thought the human club was the target, but if you look over there—” he pointed to the restrooms “—you can see where the blast originated. It was also focused, so it blew toward the front of the club. Someone wanted to take out the club without taking out the entire building. In fact . . .”
    Slake’s voice became a muted buzz, until all Raze heard was, blah, blah, maybe humans did it, blah, blah, inspect the materials used, blah, blah, blahblahblahblahblah . . .
    “Blah.”
    Raze felt himself being shaken.
    “ Blah !”
    More shaking.
    “ Raze !”
    He blinked. Focused. Slake was standing in front of him, expression tight with concern, his hands on Raze’s shoulders.
    “Raze, man, you okay?”
    “Yeah.” No. Someone had intentionally maimed and killed dozens of people. How could he be okay with that? Making matters worse, as his adrenaline waned, his body was going through alternating hot and cold flashes, and his gut was starting to ache as the first symptoms of sexual withdrawal began. He glanced down at his watch. It was nearly 7 p.m., a little over twelve hours since Fayle had given him a release that had been so cold and clinical they might as well have been at UGH’s fertility clinic instead of their own apartment. He had no idea how long she was going to punish him for taking all of the control away from her last night, but he did know he’d need her again soon. Very soon.
    But right now, as he looked into Slake’s eyes, he needed something else. He wasn’t even sure what. All he knew was that Slake was the key.
    “Come with me.” Raze started walking, wondering if Slake would follow.
    It wasn’t until he reached the door that led to his upstairs apartment that he heard the heavy strike of Slake’s boots behind him.

 
    Slake followed Raze to an apartment across the way from Thirst, his steps leaden with exhaustion. At over a century old, Slake had seen a lot of violence—had been the cause of a lot of violence—but he’d never let himself get sucked into an emotional involvement.
    Sure, over the years he’d lost a lot of friends and lovers, but he’d learned the hard way to never get too attached, and even more importantly, to never be affected by anyone else’s attachments. To never feel empathy. Or even sympathy. Life was hard, and it only got harder when you had more to care about than just yourself. Inevitably, those you cared about had a nasty habit of kicking you in the nuts when they couldn’t accept who you were.
    But seeing Raze so affected by his failure to save everyone, especially a friend, had rattled something loose inside him. The guy had been stoic and professional from the moment they’d arrived on scene, but in the last five minutes, the hard shell surrounding Raze had cracked—as much a victim of the bombing as Thirst had been—and Slake found himself wanting to fix it.
    Weird, considering that Slake had been born to a species of demon that was all about destruction and suffering. Of course, the fact that Slake had never fit in was exactly why he’d left them behind.
    Still, his people might be barbaric and primitive, but there was something to be said for not giving a shit about anyone else’s pain. Even now, when Slake should have been doing what he always