The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Boxed Set One (Books 1-3): Feared By Hell, Rejected By Heaven, Eye For An Eye (The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Boxed Sets)

by Michael Anderle

  All four men burst into hearty laughter.

  James strode toward the criminal.

  I’m gonna really enjoy this.

  A few minutes earlier King Pyro had stood at a table, enjoying the newer crowd. The bar had bored him before, except for burning the man’s hand, but now some real men had shown up rather than a bunch of wimps afraid of some boogieman bounty hunter.

  He didn’t know the names of the three men sitting at the table, but they’d offered him a drink when they entered and saw the wounded man being helped outside. At least a few people in the City of Angels could recognize their king on sight and show some proper respect.

  “My last bank job was great. Blew right into a vault.” King Pyro waved a hand. “If I concentrate I can make some real fire, but even without trying that hard I can throw football-size fireballs.” He held up a hand, and a fiery aura formed around it. “I can get this hot enough to turn some poor bitch’s bones into ash.”

  The three men watched with rapt attention, like children being told some wonderful bedtime story. James shook his head, disgusted.

  “What about guns?” one of the men asked. “Cops got guns.”

  The king’s fire vanished and he sneered. “I control the power of a god. Now, it’s not like I’m bulletproof, but I’ve been shot both before and after, and it hurts less now. If I really get going, go full-on human torch and all that, I can melt ‘em out of my body, even. I heal real quick-like, too. Don’t know why. Don’t really give a shit either.”

  “Damn, man! You’re a one-man army.”

  King Pyro snickered. “You’re damn right I am.” He pointed at Tyler. “But that pussy bartender told me to get out of town. That I should run because of some asshole named Brownstone who was looking for me. I’m fucking King Pyro, and I don’t run from any bounty hunter.”

  All three men’s eyes grew wide.

  “Brownstone?” one of his fans asked quietly. “The Granite Ghost wants you?”

  “’Granite Ghost?’ What kind of bullshit is that? I hate when these bounty hunters have stupid-ass names like that. They are always bitches who think they are the shit, but they start screaming once the fire comes out.” King Pyro laughed. “Fuck the Granite Ghost. Everything turns to ash in the end.”

  One man started trembling. He yanked out his wallet and slapped some cash on the table before standing and slowly backing away.

  “What the hell has gotten into you?” King Pyro asked. He noticed that the other two men were looking not at him, but past him. He snorted. “Brownstone’s behind me, isn’t he?”

  The men nodded.

  10

  Loud techno shook the walls and floors, along with Shay’s bones. She loved every second as she shimmied and bounced to the rhythm. It’d been a long time since she’d felt so free. There were no Harriken or strange magical artifacts or traps to worry about, just a fun release.

  The DJ bobbed in time with the music, one hand on his equipment and the other in a fist in the air. Small semi-translucent orbs pulsed different colors in time to the music above the dancers. They were some sort of magical creature from what Shay could tell, but she had no clue what they might be. Even Oricerans spirits should be able to hit the club.

  The song ended, and Shay wiped the sweat from her forehead. She’d forgotten how good a workout dancing could be.

  With the music gone her normal instincts returned, and she quickly scanned the nearby crowd to make sure there were no obvious threats. It was hard to totally let her guard down, even around her friends.

  She’d killed a lot of people, and could never be sure that someone wasn’t watching her and waiting for their chance to take her out in a revenge attack she probably had coming.

  A new song started up, blasting most of the concern out of her head.

  Bella leaned close to Shay’s ear. “I think I need a break.”

  Shay nodded her agreement. A little break and some water would work for her.

  Her friend grabbed her hand and pulled her to a table in the corner. Their friends Janelle and Kara were already sitting there drinking cocktails.

  Shay eyed the cocktails lovingly, but reminded herself that she would be getting up in less than seven hours to drive to the airport. Even with the short flight time, she wanted to keep her wits. Once they hit rural Baja, they’d be dealing with an unstable area drowning in violence.

  The addition of newer Oriceran-linked drugs like Dust and Aurora had only exacerbated the existing problems. In addition, there were more than a few acolytes of Santa Muerte who now, unlike their predecessors, could call on magic to defend their cartel masters.

  “Thanks, Bella.” Shay took a seat. “I’m glad you made me come. This is great, and it’s a lot more fun than what I’ve been doing lately.”

  The other woman brushed a few blond strands out her eyes. “Yeah, digging up broken pots or mummies…I can imagine.” She made a face and shook her head.

  Shay chuckled. Pots or Inca zombie rods, same difference. That, and gunning down gangsters and hitmen.

  After a final glance at a cocktail and imagining the wonderful salty taste of a margarita on her tongue, she took a sip of her waiting glass of water. There was no way she’d risk not having the clearest head possible the following morning.

  Kara smiled at them all. “I have a little surprise.”

  The other women focused on her.

  Kara bit her lip. “I guess I should tell you, since it’s been a while since we’ve all been together.” She let out a little laugh.

  “What?” Shay asked. She liked Kara, but damn the woman liked to play games at times.

  “I’ve got a new guy,” the redhead caroled.

  “Ooohhhh,” the other women—except Shay—cooed in near unison. She gave a little golf clap instead.

  “When did this happen?” Bella asked.

  “A few weeks ago,” Kara replied. “He works at my company, although not in my department. I met him in the cafeteria.”

  Shay chuckled. “Work romance, huh?”

  Kara smiled. “Yeah. I know it can be risky, but come on…we’re all busy women. If we’re not going after the great guys we see all the time, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”

  A flash of Brownstone’s tight jeans-clad ass entered Shay’s mind, and she had to stop herself from frowning.

  Fucking Brownstone. Stay out of my head, you damn tease.

  “We’re playing it light and breezy right now,” Kara continued, “but we’ll see where this goes.”

  Bella patted her friend on the hand. “I met my ex-boyfriend at work. I think it’s going to go well for you.”

  “Telling me about your ex-boyfriend isn’t filling me with confidence.”

  Bella shrugged. “He’s my ex only because we got bored. We still hang out sometimes and have sex.”

  Kara looked at her. “I don’t really know if that makes him your ex-boyfriend then.”

  “Labels are so restrictive,” Bella argued.

  Janelle sighed and shook her head. “I didn’t want to bring y’all down, but I kicked my man to the curb yesterday.”

  “What happened?” Shay asked.

  “Darius cheated on me.” Janelle pasted on a fake smile. “And he tried to convince me he was just visiting his sister all those times. Stupid sonofabitch. I told him I better not ever see his face again if he wants to keep it.”

  “What a scumbag!” Kara exclaimed.

  Bella nodded. “You’re better off without him. I never liked him.”

  Shay leaned closer and lowered her voice, her eyes piercing. “I could go kick his ass. And I’m sure Lil’ Miss Tramp-stamp won’t be any harder to take down.” She slammed her fist into her palm to emphasize her message.

  This was the problem with men.

  Letting yourself get involved in a true relationship meant putting yourself at risk by linking yourself to another flawed person. Shay could barely keep her shit in check; the last thing she needed to worry about were someone
else’s problems.

  Brownstone probably had so many problems it’d take a fucking army of headshrinkers to deal with him.

  Janelle laughed. “Oh, girl, you’re too much sometimes. Imagine little ol’ you going after Darius?”

  The other girls joined in the laughter.

  Shay opened her mouth to make it clear she was serious about delivering the pain, but she hesitated and laughed instead as she leaned back. “Just sayin’!”

  All her time around Brownstone and Smite-Williams lately had made her almost forget that most people didn’t know what sort of work she was involved in. The more random men she went around beating up, the more likely she’d attract the wrong sort of attention. The lethal kind.

  She was just about to add another comment when two handsome guys in their mid-twenties strolled up to their table. Their tight short-sleeve shirts showed off their toned arms and chests, but they didn’t have Brownstone’s muscle, even though they were a few inches taller than him.

  Stop it. Stop thinking about him that way. Fucking traitor mind. Brownstone is just a job partner, nothing more. Well, a friend. But just that.

  I think.

  “Hey, ladies!” The first man flashed a smile so bright it had to be the result of either tooth whitening or magic. “I’m Jason,” he pointed to his friend, “and this is Patrick. We saw you lovely angels over here, and thought we’d ask if anyone was interested in dancing?”

  Shay resisted a snarky rejoinder. Just because she wasn’t interested in the guys didn’t mean Janelle or Bella might not want to have fun. She hoped those smooth operators understood they’d better keep their hands off her ass if they didn’t want their own handed to them.

  All the women at the table exchanged glances, but Bella was the one who finally responded.

  “Sorry, guys. We’re having some girl talk.”

  Jason shrugged. “No problem, ladies. We’ll be here another couple of hours if you change your minds.” He and his friend both nodded and headed back into the massive throng clogging the dance floor.

  Shay watched them walk away, trying to push down her suspicions.

  Guys were supposed to approach women in clubs, and they were a good-looking group of girls.

  Kara took a sip of her drink and peered at Shay.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” She thought she’d kept her face in check, but maybe some of her suspicion had leaked through.

  “We’ve all been talking about our men,” Kara explained, “but what about you, Shay? Hmm? Anyone special we should know about? A new boyfriend? You never talk about your love life. You can’t be so busy digging up the past that you can’t find yourself a future.”

  Damn it.

  The smart play would have been to make up a fictional boyfriend—only to conveniently break up before she had to introduce him to any of her friends— but Shay wasn’t creative enough to come up with a decent lie about a man on the spot.

  Lying about herself was easy. Lying about made-up boyfriends was not.

  Shay shifted in her seat. Now she wished she’d drunk some booze. “I… I don’t have a new boyfriend or anything, just a new guy friend.” She winced.

  She’d not intended to say anything about Brownstone, but the damn man had set up shop in her head. Maybe it was inevitable.

  A hunter’s gleam appeared in Kara’s eyes. “So, what…you’re saying he’s not a boy?”

  “He’s a boy. Well, a man. Maybe too much of a man.” Shay laughed.

  Kara exchanged glances with the other women. “What do you mean by that?”

  “He’s just not into me, or, as far as I can tell, women. He’s an interesting guy, and, uh, we’ve worked together a few times. I’ve never seen him around any women, or much interested in women. I asked him if he was gay, and he said he wasn’t, but I’m pretty sure he’s in the closet and just doesn’t know it...or something.” She rubbed the back of her neck, wondering if it was okay that she was sharing Brownstone’s personal business, even if it overlapped with hers.

  Kara laughed. “Oh, girlfriend, that’s perfect.” She had a huge grin on her face.

  Shay blinked. “Perfect? How is it perfect that the guy’s gay and not into me?” She waved her hands. “Not saying I’m into him or anything, just that, you know, if I were, it wouldn’t be perfect that he was gay. I’m hot, but I’m not so conceited that I think I can turn a gay man straight.”

  “You’re not thinking of the side benefits.” Kara shrugged. “Seriously.”

  “’Side benefits?’ Like what?”

  “All the delicious eye candy without any of the pawing. Hell, I had a gay guy friend back in college, and we’d cuddle up and watch romcoms together. I’ve never been able to get any of my boyfriends to do that.” Kara nodded, wearing a satisfied smile on her face.

  A harsh laugh erupted from Shay. “There are no romcoms in this guy’s movie list, trust me. I think he’d explode if he had to watch a romcom. He’s more into barbecue, action movies, and kicking ass.”

  “Definitely a closet case,” Janelle declared, and Bella and Kara nodded in agreement.

  “You haven’t even met him!” Shay was confused about why she felt the need to defend Brownstone’s sexuality. “I think he is, but maybe I’m wrong. Shouldn’t you all be talking me down?”

  “Does he clean?” Kara asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah, he’s a neat freak, and OCD about organization. It was a bit intimidating.”

  “He’s gay,” her friends chorused.

  “You think so?” Shay asked doubtfully, unsure if their confirmation made her feel better or worse about the situation with Brownstone.

  Bella raised an eyebrow. “Yep. He’s overcompensating with all that barbecue and action-movie stuff. Let me ask you one question: has the guy ever hit on you? At all?”

  Shay shook her head.

  “You’re hot, Shay. If the guy’s not hitting on you and he’s doing all that other stuff, he’s gay. I’m like ninety-ninety percent certain.”

  “I thought so,” she mumbled. “Good to hear someone tell me I’m not crazy.”

  “Sorry.” Bella glanced into the crowd. “Don’t mean to confirm your fears and run, but do you mind if I go dance with those guys? They were nice on the eyes.”

  “I wanted to take a shot too,” Janelle said. “I need to get back in the saddle after that crap with Darius.”

  Shay pulled out her phone to check the time. “Sure. I have an early day tomorrow anyway. I’d better get going.” She turned toward Kara. “Are you going to be all right by yourself?”

  She grinned. “I’ll just go dancing with them and the guys.”

  Shay pulled each of her friends in for a hug. “Thanks for the fun, girls. It’s been too long, and it’s nice to not deal with so much testosterone.”

  “Archaeologists are really that brotastic?” Kara wondered.

  Shay stopped herself from grimacing. She’d slipped up. This was one of the reasons why she wanted to spend time with friends, but not too much time. They would never understand her world.

  “Yeah, you know…men. They always find a way to beat their chests.” She did her best imitation of a Brownstone grunt. “Me archaeologist. Me find more bones than you.”

  The girls all laughed.

  A good lie always went down smoother with some humor.

  “Don’t let those bastards at the university work you too hard,” Bella suggested with a wink.

  “I won’t.”

  Shay’s playtime was over. Tomorrow she needed to start her search for the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

  The police cruiser barreled down the streets, lights flashing but siren silent. Dispatch had just reported a 415 followed by a possible 240: disturbance and possible assault with a deadly weapon at a bar near their patrol route.

  Officer Santos, the driver, shook his head. “What’s the report say again? That address sounds like the Black Sun.”

  His partner Johansen peered at the dispatch report on the c
ruiser’s central display. “That’s because it is the Black Sun.”

  Santos grimaced. “Shit. Maybe we should slow down.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s the fucking Black Sun. Why the hell are we going to stop them? Anyone in there is an asshole criminal, and they can all kill each other for all I care. They won’t even want our help, so we’re going to risk our lives so some scumbags can shoot us in the back?”

  Johansen tapped the screen to bring up more information. “Nope, you’re wrong.”

  “Nope?” Santos spared a glance his partner’s way. “How am I wrong?”

  “The call was from the owner. He specifically said he wanted the fight broken up by the police.”

  “Since when does that scumbag wants cops to help him? What else does the dispatch report say?”

  Johansen laughed. “I can’t believe this shit. Listen to this… ‘Additional information: Class Six bounty hunter onsite: Brownstone, James. Jordan Adams, aka ‘King Pyro,’ level-four bounty onsite.”

  “Oh, shit. Damn it!” Santos sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t believe this.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “The Granite Ghost is taking on King Pyro? I wish I had some popcorn.”

  They closed on the bar just in time to see the front door explode in a shower of burning wooden fragments.

  “What the hell?” Santos yelled.

  A body flew through the burning hole.

  11

  James stepped into the Black Sun and glanced over his shoulder at the bar. Tyler stood there with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed.

  “Fucking Brownstone!” the bartender yelled. “Don’t tear up my place. Doors aren’t cheap.”

  “I’ll pay for the door,” the bounty hunter said. “At least now the fight’s outside, right?” He shrugged and offered a playful grin. “Unless you want me to bring him back in here?”

  “Just keep it away from here.” Tyler watched Brownstone step out before mumbling, “Fucking prick.”

  King Pyro hopped up and dusted off his shoulders. “You got in a good hit, Brownstone, I’ll give you that.” He slapped a hand over his chest. “But I’m still moving. You see, the only chance you had of winning was knocking my ass out with your first hit. Now you’re going to die, and I’m going to enjoy killing you.”