The blow to the head opened up a cut on Riddick’s forehead, and a steady stream of blood oozed into his eye. But he didn’t seem to notice. He was much too focused on blocking Ken’s repeated attempts to smash his skull under the heel of his boot.
His father drew back his foot to deliver a kick, and Riddick grabbed hold of Ken’s ankle, twisting savagely and dragging him to the ground. Before Ken could scramble away, Riddick threw his left arm around Ken’s neck, then grabbed his own upper right bicep, with his right hand behind Ken’s head.
“Beautiful,” Romeo murmured. “A perfect figure four blood choke.”
“A what?” she asked, watching Ken struggle fruitlessly to escape Riddick’s hold.
“A blood choke. He’s cutting off blood flow to Ken’s brain by compressing his carotid arteries. And he’s doing it like a fuckin’ pro.”
And within thirty seconds—Romeo said it would’ve taken half as long for a normal guy—Ken Riddick, the undefeated Lykoi mafia champion, was unconscious.
Noah Riddick was the new champion of the Arena.
That’s when everything went…a little sideways.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Lykoi hadn’t anticipated this outcome. They were convinced Riddick had somehow cheated, thanks to the suggestion Hunter planted with their boss.
The Lykoi boss and his men stormed over the wall into the Arena toward Riddick. Archer and his men followed.
And of course, while no visitors or fighters in the Arena were allowed to carry weapons, the mafia was packing all manner of artillery. Harper counted ten Lykoi and nine Vrykolakas, all armed with at least three weapons apiece. Guns, knives, short swords…yep, they were armed to the fangs.
Which was pretty much what she’d expected. Didn’t mean she was happy about it, though.
The Lykoi boss, who was about six foot eight and nearly equally wide, practically bent in half to get in Archer’s face. “You have this fighter—” he gestured to Riddick “—classified as human. There’s no way a human could’ve beaten my fighter that easily. I demand his immediate disqualification.”
Archer smirked up at him. “And your fighter is classified as human as well, friend. The bout was evenly matched. There are no grounds for disqualification.”
The argument went on for about ten minutes. The audience got bored and started filing out row by row until the stadium seats were empty. Romeo handed Harper down to Riddick, then vaulted over the wall himself. They were halfway to the locker room when the Lykoi boss yelled for them to stop.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he bellowed. “Guards!”
Harper smiled. Yeah, sure, she thought, call the guards.
Hunter, Mischa, Lucas, Benny, and about twenty of Benny’s halfer friends stepped out of the shadows—armed and wearing guard uniforms—and surrounded the group in the middle of the Arena.
If everything had gone according to plan-—and it looked like it had-—the real guards were bound and unconscious in a dumpster down the street from the building that housed the Arena.
Archer sputtered. “What is the meaning of this?”
Mischa, who looked a little ridiculous in her guard uniform, especially since she’d had to roll up the sleeves and pants several times to fit her tiny frame, leveled her crossbow on him. “We didn’t really care for the offer you made to Harper earlier.”
Beside her, Riddick tensed. “What offer?”
Harper opened her mouth to answer, but Mischa beat her to it. “He said even if you won tonight, he’d demand extra payment. He wanted Harper to be his personal psychic—and whatever else he wanted—until the remainder of the debt was paid, which surely, he just intended to keep upping until he was done with her.”
Riddick growled and moved toward Archer, but Harper grabbed his arm. “Don’t. It’s not worth it.” She turned to Archer. “This ends tonight. If you let us go now, free and clear, you’ll keep your little operation going. If you don’t…I. Will. End. You.”
Archer tipped his chin to his men, and they all pulled their weapons. “I’ve tolerated a lot from you, little girl. You’re right about one thing: this ends tonight.” To his men, he yelled, “Kill them all!”
Everything went crazy all at once.
The Lykoi, who had no idea what was really going on, clashed with the Vrykolakas in a tangle of fists and steel, blades flashing and sparking against one another. The halfers joined the fray and it became an all-out barroom blitz.
“Down!” Harper shouted to her crew as the bullets started flying.
Riddick shielded her with his body as he shoved her through the door to the locker room. The showers and lockers blurred in her peripheral vision as they sprinted to the exit. “Wait!” she shouted, digging in her heels. “Where are Mischa and Hunter? Lucas and Benny and Romeo?”
“We’re all here, doll,” Benny said behind them. “That was freakin’ awesome!”
Hunter, who had Mischa tucked under his arm, glared at him. “Mischa and Harper could’ve been shot, Benny. That is not awesome.”
“Harper orchestrated a mafia war so that we could slip away while they killed each other,” Romeo said with a chuckle. “That definitely counts as awesome.”
Lucas grinned. “It was fairly awesome.”
Riddick pulled up the bottom of his t-shirt and dabbed at the bloody cut above his eye. “Let’s get out of here so that we can all enjoy Harper’s awesomeness from a good, safe distance of this place. Deal?”
She grabbed his hand. “Deal.”
They ran up what felt like a hundred flights of steps and down two crazy-long corridors before they spilled out into an alley.
And that’s when everyone’s good mood disappeared.
Eight Lykoi fighters glowered menacingly at them in the alley. All armed, all looking a little less than sane. One of them was the pathetic dude Riddick had beaten during his first Arena fight. Probably not a good idea to remind the guy about it, Harper thought. Especially since he had a machete strapped to his back and looked a little…twitchy.
Romeo snorted and pointed at the guy. “Hey, look, Harpy. It’s Enter the Dumbass.”
Riddick smirked. “Hey, dude, loved the headband.”
Harper watched the kid’s face turn red, then purple. “We’re all dead now because of you,” he ground out, stabbing a finger at Riddick. “Ken winning was the only thing keeping our team together. The boss is gonna kill us now that we’re all losers.”
“Maybe if you explain that you’ve always been losers, he’ll be more understanding,” Romeo suggested helpfully. Benny chuckled and bumped knuckles with him.
Riddick did a face-palm. He was probably lamenting his solo days when there was no one around to almost get him killed by mouthing off at the wrong time. He glanced back at Harper and she shrugged sheepishly in wordless apology.
The Lykoi fighters took a minute to crack their knuckles, roll their necks, and throw a few shadow punches. Thankfully, no one went for their weapons. Maybe they thought they actually stood a chance in this fight hand-to-hand.
Romeo nudged her. “Aw, aren’t they cute? They think they can win.”
Behind her, Lucas sighed impatiently. “Jesus, are we gonna fight, or what? I’m freakin’ bored, here.”
And that was all it took to set them off.
Riddick shoved her out of the way as the Lykoi charged, but as he was occupied with subduing the crazy flailing of his opponent, one of the smaller Lykoi moved toward her.
He cocked his arm back, but Harper was ready for him and flung her fist out, throwing her full weight behind it. Her knuckles connected with his cheekbone, making a very satisfying crunching sound. He staggered back, hands pressed to his face.
Harper took advantage of his preoccupation with his cheekbone and pivoted on one foot, kicking him in the stomach with her other foot, just like Riddick taught her. When he doubled over, she brought her knee up into his face and shoved him to the ground, hard. He hit face-first, not even able to get his hands down to
break his fall.
Feeling pretty good about herself, she glanced around, taking in the sights and sounds of battle.
Hunter had shoved Mischa behind him and was fighting off two Lykoi. Romeo had his opponent on the ground, drilling him in the face with one blow after another. Lucas had one shape shifter down on the ground under his boot heel and one pinned up against the wall by his throat. And Riddick…
Holy hell, Riddick was gone!
Well, shit. That couldn’t be good.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Glad you made the smart choice for once.”
Riddick frowned as his father tossed him a zip tie and gestured for him to cuff himself to a pipe that jutted out of the wall. “Wouldn’t say I really had any choice in the matter.”
And he hadn’t. Seeing his father with a gun trained on Harper had taken years off his life. He would’ve walked away with the devil himself if it meant keeping her safe. He glanced at the gun his father was now holding on him.
Maybe he had left with the devil.
Riddick glanced around, taking in his surroundings. They were in the middle of what looked to be a half-built apartment building. The framing was done, but the drywall and plumbing were still incomplete, hence the pipe to which his right hand was now cuffed.
Normal construction sites were littered with tools and building materials that could be used as weapons. When he worked for Sentry, he once used a two-by-four with a rusty nail sticking out of one end to fight off a coven of vampires who’d taken up residence in an under-construction shopping mall.
But this construction site wasn’t normal. It looked like it had been picked clean of every spare nail, staple, and scrap of wood. “What is this place?”
Ken squatted down and rested his elbows on his splayed knees. “Well, this was going to be mine. And not just this unit,” he said, gesturing wildly with the gun. “The entire building was going to be mine. All I had to do to get it was either kill you, or convince you to fight for the Lykoi.”
Riddick offered him a very insincere frown. “Aw, that’s too bad. Guess you’re back to living in whatever double-wide you came from.”
Ken smirked up at him. “Not quite. You’re going to call the little woman and she’s going to bring me enough money to run where not even the Lykoi can find me.”
Riddick couldn’t help it; he chuckled. “You think we have that kind of money? Man, you’re screwed worse than I thought if we’re your last hope.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that you are most likely dirt-poor. Given your girl’s disposition, I can’t imagine too many prospective clients are beating a path to her door.”
Riddick gave the cuff an experimental tug. Nothing. Damn. Pulling himself free and tearing his father’s throat out had been plan A. And coming up with a plan B was pretty much always where Harper’s special brand of creativity came into play.
“But,” his father droned on, “she does have one thing that is definitely worth enough to buy my freedom.”
Ken tapped his ring finger and raised a brow at him.
Shit. He wanted Harper’s ring. The ring his mother had given him.
Hell. No.
“I can see by the look on your face that you’re reluctant to part with it,” Ken added with a chuckle.
“If by reluctant you mean I’d rather die chained to this pipe than let you have it, then yes, you could say I’m reluctant.”
He smiled. “That can be arranged.”
Riddick eased his back against the wall and settled in. “Well, you probably know it will take me twice as long to die from lack of water and food as it would a normal person, so what should we talk about while we wait? Music? The art of interpretive dance?” He shrugged. “How long it will take for the Lykoi to find you and peel your skin like a grapefruit?”
Ken shook his head. “You’d really rather die than give up a stupid piece of jewelry?”
“Yep.”
He rolled his eyes. “If the stupid bitch had just been wearing the ring tonight, none of this would’ve been necessary.”
Riddick catalogued the insult to Harper. Which of his father’s bones would he break for that one?
Left hand, he decided. Every bone in it.
“This is a complete waste of time,” Ken said.
He stood up with a sigh and crossed the room, not stopping until he was toe-to-toe with Riddick. He pressed the barrel of the gun to the center of Riddick’s forehead. “Any last words?”
Riddick released a deep breath. This was so not how he expected this night to end. Shit, was this really how he was going to die? Was this going to be the one time Harper’s visions were wrong? Seemed like it.
I’m so sorry, Harper. I love you. “Yeah. Go to hell.”
Ken snarled at him and pulled the hammer back. “You first.”
“That’s not going to be necessary,” a cool, clear voice said from behind Ken.
A slight tremor in Ken’s gun hand was his only acknowledgment to the newcomer. Riddick squeezed his eyes shut and prayed he was just hearing things. She can’t really be here, he told himself.
But when he opened his eyes and glanced over Ken’s shoulder, there she was.
Harper stood in the doorway, backlit like an angel stepping out of heaven into the pits of hell.
The majority of her hair had escaped the tight ponytail she’d been wearing earlier and curled wildly around her head like a messy halo. Her face, arms, and shirt were streaked with dirt and grime and sweat. Her eyes promised hellfire and retribution.
God, she was magnificent.
But the best part? Well, that would be the crossbow she had trained on his father’s head.
And the sword strapped to her back was a nice touch, too.
“It’s like déjà vu all over again, isn’t it, Riddick?” she asked, her voice strong, unemotional, and completely in control.
She was, of course, referring to the time he’d rescued her from a similar situation, using the very crossbow she now held with steady hands.
He grinned at her. “It does seem vaguely familiar.”
His father shifted to stand behind him, keeping his gun raised and a wary eye on Harper, who stood in front of him like a total pro. “Put that thing down, little girl. You’re likely to hurt yourself.”
“Oh, someone’s getting hurt, all right. But it won’t be me.”
“How’d you get by the guards?” Riddick asked.
“Lucas. He tracked Ken here.”
As if to underscore her comment, the sounds of a scuffle, followed by a wolf’s snarl and bark, echoed through the empty building. The high-pitched scream that followed was downright bone-chilling.
Harper grinned savagely. “Guess your boys aren’t used to fighting a fully shifted wolf.”
Ken jammed the gun barrel into Riddick’s spine. “I’m warning you, girl. Put that bow down. You and Riddick can both leave, just as soon as I get my wife’s ring back. But if you keep up this game, neither one of you is walking away from here. Ever.”
Harper cocked her head to the side and seemed to consider his terms. “Well…I thank you for the offer, but I’m going to have to say no,” she said, voice positively laden with sarcasm. “I don’t have any desire to help you, as it turns out. Or give you my ring.” She shrugged. “Sorry about that. But before you start shooting, you should probably know that I was the top student in my marksmanship class at Sentry.”
He scoffed. “Sure you were, Angel. Now put that thing down before it goes off accidently and you shoot your future husband.”
The corners of Riddick’s mouth tipped up, but he didn’t say anything. Harper was the best goddamned shot he’d ever seen. Crossbow, guns, knives…it didn’t really matter. Harper could always hit her target. And what his father didn’t seem to realize was that just because she looked calm, she was really anything but.
She. Was. Pissed.
And when Harper Hall was pissed? Well, suffice it to say people near the blast zone usually did whatever they co
uld to appease her damn quick.
Her gaze shifted to his for a split second. “You okay?”
He grinned at her. “Right as rain, baby.”
“That’s good. Ready to go home?”
“Hell, yeah.”
Ken moved to stand next to Riddick, pressing the gun into his temple. “I’ve had enough of this bullshit,” he hissed. “Get me that ring now or he dies.”
Harper narrowed her eyes on Ken, but asked Riddick, “Do you trust me?”
It was the same thing he’d asked her when their situations had been reversed. Her answer had matched his. “Yes.”
“Trust me when I say I will kill you both,” Ken snapped irritably.
“That’s not your line,” Harper said.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re supposed to say, ‘If I so much as flinch, he’s dead.’”
Ken smirked at her. “Fine. If I so much as—”
Harper took her shot, and before he could finish his line, her crossbow bolt sliced neatly through his wrist.
The wrist on his gun hand.
The gun flew out of his now-useless grip. Ken clutched his bleeding wrist to his chest and turned wide, shocked eyes on her. She shrugged as she lowered the crossbow. “Sorry. Got bored waiting for you to finish your lines.”
God, how Riddick loved this woman.
His father made a dive for his gun, and Riddick brought his knee up into Ken’s face, and the resulting pained groan his father emitted was intensely gratifying.
By the time he managed to stagger to his feet, Harper had dropped the crossbow and had her sword at his throat. “Go ahead,” she hissed. “Give me an excuse to separate your head from your neck.”
He didn’t move a muscle, but rolled his eyes in her direction. “You don’t have the guts.”
Harper’s eyes narrowed and Riddick raised a brow at her. “Is it ’there can be only one’ time?”
Her gaze shot to his and went soft. “Aw, you remembered my movie quote. That’s so sweet.”
Ken closed his eyes. “Forget it. Go ahead and kill me. I’d rather be dead than listen to the two of you coo at each other.”
Harper Hall Investigations Complete Series Page 41