The HOA—”
Crack.
Underneath me the metal duct started to sway. Rusted screws and bolts snapped under my weight drowning out whatever Ivan said next. I yelp as the duct broke in half, sending me shooting down the shaft like a metal ball in a ghetto version of pinball. Preparing for a crash landing, I threw my hands out in front of me and screamed.
Was I supposed to tuck my head in my knees or keep my knees together and die like a lady? I wish I would’ve paid more attention in mutant-charm school.
My two-story descent took a couple of seconds at the most, but it felt like a year. I flew through the metal grate above the bar, and hurtled toward the ground. The floor rose up to meet my face as I braced for impact.
A foot from a busted skull and a huge dentistry bill, my free fall halted. Just stopped. Pieces of metal and plaster fell around me, covering my body in layers of dust.
“My luck must be changing. I expected it to take at least one date before you fell for me.” A laugh followed.
I glanced up, my eyes boring into the amused expression in Jake’s face. His thick arms were wrapped around my waist, and his hands cupped my chest in a way that was both suggestive and possessive.
I bit him.
He yelped and dropped me on to the dirty floor. Scrambling to my feet, I stood glaring at him. “Who are you? And don’t you dare lie to me.”
“Or what?” Jake chuckled, the whiteness of his teeth glinted from his dust covered face. He suddenly sobered and took an intimidating step my way. “This isn’t a game. Forget what you overheard. Forget Resden and the Resistance. Go find a nice mutant to marry and raise a brood of kids.”
Without thought, I marched closer to him, my eyes burning with rage. But something stopped me. Fear? An unusual sense of self-preservation? Or maybe it had something to do with the gleam in his mutated eyes. My blood heated, and I swallowed back an ugly commentary on his ancestry, anatomy, and arrogance.
He snickered. “That’s a good girl.”
That was it.
I pulled my fist back and sent a hard right toward his jaw. He twisted at the last second, leaving me swinging at stale barroom air. A muscular forearm enfolded around my chest, plastering my body to his. His laughter reverberated inside my brain, which caused my blood to burn.
Jake’s hand slipped upward, his fingers brushing the curve of my breast. My rebellious nipple hardened and a flash of desire flared in my stomach. What the fuck was wrong with me?
Leaning down, Jake brushed his lips across mine. When he pulled away his grin suggested he knew exactly what I was feeling. The rat bastard.
“Don’t patronize me. I’m not some little bit of fluffy happy to be fondled by a big, bad hunter.” I shoved him away. “Kiss me again and your groping days are over.”
“Look what you did to my bar,” Ivan said interrupting Jake and my interlude. I glanced around. Broken ceiling tiles, years of cigarette dust, and some type of asbestos lay scattered around us. My eyes met Ivan’s and I blushed.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry? Sorry!” He shook his rapidly growing red head. “That’s all you can say? How am I supposed to get this cleaned up in time for tonight’s match? What’s wrong with you, girl?”
“I’ll get the broom,” I said, and wandered off in search of a way to right the mess my life had suddenly become.
Chapter 15
A couple of hours later, covered in dried sewer gunk and smelling like pickled barroom eggs, I crossed the street and knocked on the front door of a two-story brick house in one of the few decent sections of Mutant City.
A woman answered, her large green eye examining me from head to toe. The curl of her upper lip mimicked her disgust, but I hadn’t expected a friendly welcome from Nobody’s mother. In fact, in the hundreds of times we’d met in the past, she’d yet to call me by name.
“What do you want?” Her wrinkled hand clutched the doorframe, like at any moment I would force my
Crack.
Underneath me the metal duct started to sway. Rusted screws and bolts snapped under my weight drowning out whatever Ivan said next. I yelp as the duct broke in half, sending me shooting down the shaft like a metal ball in a ghetto version of pinball. Preparing for a crash landing, I threw my hands out in front of me and screamed.
Was I supposed to tuck my head in my knees or keep my knees together and die like a lady? I wish I would’ve paid more attention in mutant-charm school.
My two-story descent took a couple of seconds at the most, but it felt like a year. I flew through the metal grate above the bar, and hurtled toward the ground. The floor rose up to meet my face as I braced for impact.
A foot from a busted skull and a huge dentistry bill, my free fall halted. Just stopped. Pieces of metal and plaster fell around me, covering my body in layers of dust.
“My luck must be changing. I expected it to take at least one date before you fell for me.” A laugh followed.
I glanced up, my eyes boring into the amused expression in Jake’s face. His thick arms were wrapped around my waist, and his hands cupped my chest in a way that was both suggestive and possessive.
I bit him.
He yelped and dropped me on to the dirty floor. Scrambling to my feet, I stood glaring at him. “Who are you? And don’t you dare lie to me.”
“Or what?” Jake chuckled, the whiteness of his teeth glinted from his dust covered face. He suddenly sobered and took an intimidating step my way. “This isn’t a game. Forget what you overheard. Forget Resden and the Resistance. Go find a nice mutant to marry and raise a brood of kids.”
Without thought, I marched closer to him, my eyes burning with rage. But something stopped me. Fear? An unusual sense of self-preservation? Or maybe it had something to do with the gleam in his mutated eyes. My blood heated, and I swallowed back an ugly commentary on his ancestry, anatomy, and arrogance.
He snickered. “That’s a good girl.”
That was it.
I pulled my fist back and sent a hard right toward his jaw. He twisted at the last second, leaving me swinging at stale barroom air. A muscular forearm enfolded around my chest, plastering my body to his. His laughter reverberated inside my brain, which caused my blood to burn.
Jake’s hand slipped upward, his fingers brushing the curve of my breast. My rebellious nipple hardened and a flash of desire flared in my stomach. What the fuck was wrong with me?
Leaning down, Jake brushed his lips across mine. When he pulled away his grin suggested he knew exactly what I was feeling. The rat bastard.
“Don’t patronize me. I’m not some little bit of fluffy happy to be fondled by a big, bad hunter.” I shoved him away. “Kiss me again and your groping days are over.”
“Look what you did to my bar,” Ivan said interrupting Jake and my interlude. I glanced around. Broken ceiling tiles, years of cigarette dust, and some type of asbestos lay scattered around us. My eyes met Ivan’s and I blushed.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry? Sorry!” He shook his rapidly growing red head. “That’s all you can say? How am I supposed to get this cleaned up in time for tonight’s match? What’s wrong with you, girl?”
“I’ll get the broom,” I said, and wandered off in search of a way to right the mess my life had suddenly become.
Chapter 15
A couple of hours later, covered in dried sewer gunk and smelling like pickled barroom eggs, I crossed the street and knocked on the front door of a two-story brick house in one of the few decent sections of Mutant City.
A woman answered, her large green eye examining me from head to toe. The curl of her upper lip mimicked her disgust, but I hadn’t expected a friendly welcome from Nobody’s mother. In fact, in the hundreds of times we’d met in the past, she’d yet to call me by name.
“What do you want?” Her wrinkled hand clutched the doorframe, like at any moment I would force my
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