Revelations: Book One of the Lalassu by Jennifer Carole Lewis Page B

protection.
    “You did say heads, right?” Dani grinned, punching straight from the shoulder and snapping Hulk’s head back hard enough that his teeth clicked together. She could do this all day, especially with the Huntress seeping encouragement into her veins. For once, she and her demon were in perfect agreement. This idiot needed a lesson, and she needed to release some of her frustrations in a good old-fashioned, completely justified ass kicking.
    Hulk struggled to stand, the arousal she’d scented earlier replaced with rage, suggesting that visions of murder had replaced his mental pornography. She’d humiliated him in front of others, shown that his massive size alone didn’t make him a fighter. He didn’t want to dominate her now. He wanted to kill her.
    Stand in line, asswit. It was delightfully simple. She channeled all of her frustration and fear about her brothers into teaching this steroid-enthusiast the error of judging a fighter by her appearance.
    His first blow was a haymaker that could have rung her ears if she hadn’t seen it coming a mile away. She dodged with ease, clucking contemptuously from the side as he overbalanced and wavered.
    He charged again. If this is the best you have … Boredom replaced any sense of satisfaction from the fight. This was more like dealing with a toddler’s tantrum than a battle of equals.
    The patrons had long since scattered like rats. Hulk tried to smash her into the floor with his fists. As she rolled out of the way and back onto her feet, movement attracted her attention: Chomp disappearing into the back. Crapfuck! Like a damn cockroach . No more time for games.
    “This time, I’d fucking stay down if I were you.” She swept Hulk’s legs out from under him, sending him flat on his ass again with a resounding thud. A solid punch to his skull left him limp on the floor. Spinning, she sprinted after Chomp, catching him as he fumbled with the back door.
    “Why are you doing this to me? I sell information! It’s how I earn my beer money! You don’t have to hit me!” he babbled, the stench of terror almost covering the first hints of urine.
    “What did you tell Vincent and Eric, Chomp?” Dani growled, hoisting the rotund man off his feet. “Where did you send them?”
    “I didn’t tell them anything! I swear! I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “You got them a job. Three weeks ago.” She tightened her grip on his collar.
    “What? Oh, yeah. They brought it to me. Bodyguard work. It was legit, they wanted some help with the background checks,” he whimpered. There was no scent of deceit, only terror with faint whiffs of irritation.
    “Guess again. It was a trap.” Fresh fury ignited in her, setting her hands trembling with the urge to strike. The idiot hadn’t even known he was setting her brothers up.
    “Oh God, oh God.” Chomp swallowed hard as if about to vomit. He didn’t know all her family’s secrets, but he knew enough to recognize danger. “Forgive and forget” was not in their vocabulary. “I didn’t know. It looked legit, I swear. The company wanted military veterans, so I hooked your brothers up with papers.”
    Chomp’s little network of connections and criminals had provided everything. She wished her brothers had worked with her family’s usual forgers instead, but Eric hadn’t wanted their parents to know. “Give me copies of what you gave them.”
    “I don’t have them here. They’re at home. Please, I’ll get them and bring them to you. No charge.”
    Her sharp ears caught the sound of sirens pulsing shrilly, drawing closer. Time to wind up and slip back under the radar. There was no trace of deception and the stench of cringing fear was overpowering. Chomp would do what she needed.
    He slid down the wall as she let him go, unable to support his own weight. Disgusted, Dani stepped away. A legitimate job —the one thing they had all been told would never be possible. A forbidden dream she and Eric shared.