Chapter 7 #2
As for all the other questions swimming around my head? They were too far into the future to find answers via my mind’s eye. I would just have to come up with another plan to get my shit back.
Rounding a corner, I collided with a hulking chest of solid muscle with a thick layer of fat packed over it.
The contact presented a flash of violence that shot across my precognition.
Images of grimy hands painfully grabbing me, snarls in my ear, and foul breath in my face were among the nicer parts of the snippet of the vision.
Blinking back into the present, I tilted my head back to stare up at the face of the behemoth I had walked straight into.
Triple shit.
This day just went from unfortunate to downright craptastic.
It was none other than Rip Markov, and on either side of him were his goons, Jasper and Jinx.
We weren’t just talking run-of-the-mill demons here; we were talking darker underworld scum.
The type that started wars just to feed off the chaos.
There may not have been a lot of morality in Superbia, but there was some level of adherence to an unspoken code to ensure the whole fucking city didn’t just set itself on fire.
Rip’s yellowed flesh reminded me of watered-down piss.
Onyx horns followed the curve of his skull and tucked behind his ears.
The dull black of the horns that bore visible pitting from violent encounters contrasted sharply with his unkempt white hair.
Around his neck too many gold chains hung down against his exposed chest where his shirt was left unbuttoned.
The line of his too-thin lips was barely distinguishable, but the crinkling at his cloudy eyes suggested surprised delight.
“Lookie, lookie, I found a cookie.” Rip chuckled at his own fucking nonsense. He licked his lips lecherously and leaned forward. “And you’re looking particularly scrumptious, Evie.”
Both of Rip’s henchmen stepped up closer, their eyes assessing me from one tit to the other.
They moved like snakes, their bones rattling in skin that fell too loose on their frames.
Jasper’s vertically slit eyes glowed a neon blue, but his bestie Jinx bore a gaze that looked like active lava flow threatening to crest over his lower eyelids.
Instinctively I stepped back, arms wrapping around myself protectively. These three demons before me were not ones I wanted to fuck around with. They were the very same assholes who had gotten Tighe into the clusterfuck he was in now.
“I wish I could return the compliment.” I backed up another step to keep a healthy distance between us. They couldn’t grab what wasn’t within arm’s length, right?
Jinx pouted. “Aw, you aren’t trying to run off on us. Are you, sweetcheeks?” His voice vibrated like a plucked guitar string far out of tune.
His counterpart, Jasper, chimed in, “We have an opening on our team and could use someone with your many…talents. Our last guy didn’t work out, got busted and thrown in the slammer.” Pausing, he cocked his head with a thoughtful look on his face. “You know, I heard he wasn’t doing so hot in there.”
Gritting my teeth, I wanted to bash all their heads in, preferably with a spiked club. But not only was I outnumbered, I was severely outsized. Any one of them had hands that could crush my neck like an empty soda can.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m not for hire. Even if I were, you wouldn’t be able to afford my rates.” I hoped they couldn’t see the aggressive thumping of my heart in my chest as it threatened to launch itself up into my throat.
Rip gave a twisted smirk that bared too many teeth. “All those precious visions in your head, and you can’t see that you have no other choice? I bet if you look real hard, you’ll see how we’ll make it worth your while.”
There was a jagged laugh from Jasper as he looked at Jinx and gave him an elbow to his ribs. “She’s too distracted by visions of all of us stuffing her holes,” he said crudely.
By the grace of some unknown force, this was one time when I was spared from any intrusive glimpses into the future I hadn’t asked for.
Small favors. That particular vision would have had me retching up all my stomach contents in an instant.
As it turned out, other than the initial imagery I had seen upon contact, I saw nothing after. It was all blank.
What in the blessed fuck was wrong with my powers today? First Ace, now this? My precognition must have been suffering from impotence, if such a thing were possible.
I stared at all three demons while continuing to step back. Seeing the opening to the alleyway coming up on my left, I decided it was worth a shot to take the cut-through to the next street over.
Heels be damned, self-preservation won out, and I darted into the darkened alleyway.
The shouting behind me drove me to run faster if I wanted to lose Rip and his bootlickers. Shocking as it was, running in heels wasn’t exactly one of my fortes, but I thought I was doing a damn good job.
That was until I became too focused on making it to the other end of the alley and not on a crate that refused to get out of my damn way.
My leg clipped the sharp corner of the ill-placed box.
It left behind a bloody wound on my shin and sent me on a one-way trajectory towards the ground.
Thanks to the unexpected assault by a sentient object, I suffered the consequences of gravity.
My knees and the heels of my palms scraped against the rough, sticky concrete upon brutal impact.
“Oof!”
Frantically, I pushed myself up onto my feet.
It had been all too easy to get upright again, given a large pair of hands aided in the endeavor.
Rip shoved me toward Jasper and Jinx, who were waiting with open arms to catch me.
Stumbling straight into them, each of them grabbed an arm.
Without hesitation, I thrashed against their hold.
Trying to maintain my dignity while shouting was difficult, but I did my best—as I did with everything. “Get the fuck off me!” I demanded.
The burn of the fresh scrapes on my legs and hands was nothing in comparison to whatever horrendous hell awaited me stuck with these three jackasses.
Rip stepped into my space, towering over me. One of his chubby fingers trailed across my cheek with false tenderness. “Sweet thing you are, Evie. I think you’ll make a far better addition to our crew than your dimwitted brother ever did.”
“You’d be so lucky, but I’m not helping you do shit.” Refusing to give up, I jerked against the two who were easily overpowering me.
The struggle was wearing me out, but without glimpses of what was coming, it was all I had left.
Attempting to find the opening in the shadows of my failed foresight, I kept rotating through a series of actions inside my head in case it prompted a vision.
Every search for an outcome—good or bad—came up blank in my mind’s eye.
Radio silence and static were all that greeted me.
The air of superiority around Rip never faltered, making it clear how he remained unconvinced of how incredibly stubborn I could be. Even as he spoke, the arrogance was nearly palpable.
“Oh, Evie. Yes, you will help us, and you’ll even do it with a smile.
If not, I have methods that will have you begging to be thrown into Blackscale right alongside your pathetic excuse for a demon brother.
Imagine it, both Bechette siblings behind bars.
Each of you being subjected to living in a cell designed for one but filled with ten.
I heard the other inmates get particularly hungry for soft flesh, especially when it comes in fresh. ”
I opened my mouth to argue, but words got lost when the energy in the air shifted around us. It vibrated with crackling intensity. Looking past Rip to the other end of the alley, there loomed a dark figure.
Also seeing the shadowed form, Jinx stuttered, “U-um, boss?”
Grumbling in annoyance at the interruption, Rip begrudgingly followed Jinx’s jerky nod at the far end of the alleyway.
The shadow’s stance stood strong and tall, the presence taking up most of the opening between the buildings.
Where the figure’s eyes should have been, two orbs glowed with increasing brightness.
My own eyes widened at the sight, equally captivated and terrified.
The blazing shade rivaled the hottest hellfire, and even at this distance I could feel the heat prickling along my skin.
Accompanying the frightful sight, a growl rumbled straight from the shadowy man’s chest like it was drawn straight from the innermost circles of Hell. He didn’t make a move toward us. Rather, he remained where he was while radiating energy that screamed fuck around and find out.
Like a crack of thunder, his deep voice cut through the air. “She’s mine.”
The sound paralyzed me. Even my frantic heartbeat halted. Recognition straightened me where I stood, drawing my shoulders back, and the biggest grin spread across my face.
Despite the power that echoed off the words, I knew that voice.
Taking advantage of the unforeseen interruption from my Knight, I twisted my arms free from both frick and frack while their mouths were left hanging agape like fish out of water.
There was no hiding the smug purr in my voice now.
“You heard him, boys. I’m his.” At least until I got myself out of this shitty situation. Then I would set things straight with Ace.
Possessive fucking bastard.