“I see you did.” He dropped my arm and I wanted to run in the bathroom and scrub where he’d touched me.
“I do things like this all the time. I’ve got a horrible memory.” I twirled a lock of my hair around my finger, as if implying, what’s a ditzy girl to do?
His lips pursed into a thin line. “You gave him your location.”
“Prove it.” My hands started shaking in anger, and the words came out before I thought about it. I wasn’t a meek person, ever. Certain pretenses were a real stretch.
“I guess it’s going to be the hard way, then.” He walked away from me toward the door to exit the suite.
He was leaving, and I had no idea what was happening to Kitty. If I asked, it gave him more control, but he had it anyway. I had to know. “What about Kitty?”
I heard him stop somewhere behind me. “We’ll call this your first infraction and leave her out of the repercussions for now.”
“Because the second she’s gone, so am I.”
“Don’t press the issue. You don’t know what I’m capable of.” He was inches away from my back now and I forced myself to remain calm.
“Are we done?” I didn’t bother turning around. I already knew it wouldn’t be this easy.
“I am. You’re not.”
I didn’t breathe right until I heard his steps retreat away from me.
He walked out and several new sets of feet walked in. The door closed. Instead of turning to see them, I kept staring straight ahead. It was an arrogant move—maybe even stupid—but I just didn’t care at the moment. I wouldn’t huddle in fear and I wouldn’t go down easy.
Three of Malokin’s thugs came and stood before me. They were all much taller than I and easily twice my weight. This wasn’t going to be pretty.
But they were human. I could tell by the dull skin and rank odor. That gave me an edge.
“Malokin said no marks on her face,” one guy with light brown hair said to his two companions.
“We allowed to rape her?” the other one asked.
I kept my face stone still, but inside I was in pure panic mode. Please, don’t let this happen.
“No.”
“Never get to touch the pretty ones.” The way he looked at me let me know exactly what he wanted to touch, too.
The relief of that being taken off the table made me cockier than I should’ve been.
“You guys are a bit overdressed for a beat down, aren’t you?” And those ties might come in handy for me. Kitty or not, I knew myself. There wasn’t a chance in hell I could do this without instinct kicking in and fighting back. Everyone has a fight or flight instinct in them, but the day I was created, they must have been handing out a double dose of the fight part.
My body went loose and limber without me even thinking about it. It was strange actually. In my mortal form, I would’ve had no idea what to do. Now, it was somehow instinctual. I’d heard that once someone’s mortal skin had been shed, what they truly were released without any constraints. Apparently, deep down, I’d always been a fighter.
I eyed up my opponents, waiting to see who’d be the first to step up. The largest of the three made a move, separating himself from the others and coming just close enough for me to nail him with a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. No one had instructed me about leaving their faces unmarked.
The other two didn’t look so smug now that their friend was holding his head, unsteady on his feet. I wasn’t unrealistic. The odds were still stacked against me, but I’d give them some souvenirs before it was over.
“Get her!” The one I’d struck said to the other two, though he wasn’t anxious to come at me again himself.
The guy I’d already hit was still keeping his distance, but the other two spread out slightly, preparing to come at me from different sides and limit my maneuvering room. They were big but slow. It was invigorating to know if it had been a fair fight, I would’ve taken one of them down with ease. As a mortal woman, more often than not, you’re at a physical disadvantage in a fight with a man. Not anymore, though; not in my case.
They inched a bit closer in conjunction. I needed to make a move soon, before they pinned me down. I wouldn’t be able to strike without being within reach of the other if I gave up another foot.
I made a quick move to the right and dropped down low. I leaned against my left hand while kicking out with my right leg. Thug two hit the ground. I quickly jumped to my feet again, like I’d been making that move since before I’d learned to crawl.
“Your turn,” I said in a singsong voice as I turned to thug number three, the only one unscathed so far. There was a chance I might walk out of this place in one piece, after all.
The other two were taking steps away from me as I eyed up my next victim. Hopping back and forth from foot to foot, I slowly inched my way closer to him. Adrenaline pulsed through me, making me feel more alive than I’d ever felt in life. I wasn’t sure if I was getting off on the physical exertion or just being able to kick these guys’ butts. But something felt really good.
Thug three would be expecting a kick to the head or a shot to the legs. The midsection wasn’t as good a target if he had a lot of muscle. It was advantageous that this guy looked the softest.
I moved in quickly, relying on the stronger strength of my legs to deliver the blow but didn’t realize my mistake until it was too late. Leg already extended and in a forward motion, I couldn’t do much when the target’s eyes shifted right above my shoulder, alerting me to the danger too late.
I tried to abort the kick and drop to the ground, planning on rolling to the side but the lamp hit my skull before I could.
My head was reeling but I still tried to get up, pushing on my hands beneath me. Unfortunately, this just made it easier for one of them to kick me in the stomach. The force of it pushed me upward and flipped me over.
I was quickly losing all ability to defend myself, when I heard one of them warn the other to stay away from my face.
“They won’t see the bruise through her hair.” The kick to my skull finished me off.
***
A scratchy cat tongue licked my eyelid, bringing me back in to reality. The tile under my face was cool and sticky with blood. It was also tan, just like the front hallway of my condo. How nice. They drove me home. I’d have to remember to thank them, next time I saw them, right after I kicked in all their teeth.
“I hope you had a better night than I did,” I said to the cat, sitting on her haunches appraising me.
Her “meow” led me to believe it had been so-so.
My right wrist folded under the pressure of my weight as I tried to use it for leverage. Good thing I had a spare. My body creaked in strange places as I pushed to my feet and limped into the kitchen.
Everything seemed to still be functioning, if not quite to the same caliber it had. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge to wash away the taste of blood in my mouth and looked down.
Smoke had fed herself, as demonstrated by the two bowls of cat food in the kitchen. In truth, she was more like having a roommate than a pet, especially when she was hogging the bathroom.
Smoke, content I was alive, went over and settled onto the couch to watch her soap operas. I wasn’t sure how much she actually understood, but I had a feeling it was quite a bit. Sometimes I’d hear a tirade of meows being shouted at the screen when they did something she didn’t care for.
Stripping down, I made my way to the shower while the bathroom was still free. I avoided the mirror as I stepped under the hot water.
There had been a price for yesterday, but the scoreboard had a one under the home team. Or were they the home team? I really hoped not. It felt better to think of them as the visitors.
The water started cooling before I would’ve gotten out and forced me into reality again. I made a large pot of coffee to recharge my battery. I was a little worse for wear today, but caffeine and a hot shower could get me pretty far. We’d see who won in the end.
&nbs
p; “I’ll see you later,” I yelled to Smoke on my way out the door. The cat raised a paw as I left.
Chapter 21
Anything but Coal
“I need you in my office.” Harold was standing next to my desk five minutes after I’d gotten there.
“Sure.” The red headed bane of my office existence—if we didn’t include Fate on his bad days—had some sick sense of exactly when I wanted to speak to him the least.
His pace was brisker than normal as he walked back. I strolled while he waited. He shut the door behind me, a little firmer than I deemed necessary; it didn’t do my headache any favors.
I took the extra chair and reclined as much as I could, but it was a fairly cheap model with limited movement.
“I’ve heard about the manual.”
I debated whether I should just tell him now that I didn’t care or should I wait and leave him in some suspense?
“I’m guessing you don’t like it?” That was definitely stating the obvious.
“It’s against the rules.” His face was becoming tinged with pink.
“How was I to be aware of that? If I’d had a manual, I would’ve known.” Speaking to him as if he were five wasn’t my smartest move, but something about Harold brought out my most immature self.
“You can’t write all this stuff down!” He was quickly turning from pink to red.
My eyes made an obvious scan of the room. Stacks of papers were everywhere I looked. It was a ridiculous argument and I said so silently.
He stared back at me, refusing to take my hint, so I stood and grabbed a stack of written down papers and waved them in front of his face.
“You’re really going to make me spell this out?” I dropped the pile in front of him.
“A manual hasn’t been approved.” He was completely unbending.
I tilted my head back and stared at the ceiling. “Can you help me out a bit? I’m really not in the mood for this today, and I could use some support here. I’m not sure if you’re on vacation or what these days but come on, already. A girl’s got her limits.” I shook my hands at the ceiling.
Harold stood and pointed at me with his bony little finger. “Stop trying to go over my head to upper management!”
I managed not to laugh at him, but I couldn’t stop the smirk. A person only has so much control. If he knew what I was dealing with lately, he’d understand it was next to impossible to worry about him.
He leaned over his desk, placing his palms flat on its surface. “Don’t think I don’t see you.”
“Well, I certainly hope so, with those glasses.” I made a circular motion with my finger towards his face. “I’m not sure there are thicker lenses available, so it’s a good thing they’re working out for you.”
“That’s right, make your jokes.” His fist slammed the desk. “But I know there’s something wrong. I knew it when you first came on. I knew it when you walked in here one day, somehow different.” He leaned as far over the desk as he could. “And I know it now.”
“Well, I did get my hair cut and caught some rays last week. Could it be the tan?” I squinted like I was pondering the changes in my appearance.
“You don’t want to make an enemy of me.” His voice was soft and low, and the threat in it threw me over the edge. I was being threatened from every side these days, and I wasn’t going to let one more go unanswered.
I stood and inched closer to him, helping him out, since he seemed to be looking for the close proximity. “Now, let me tell you something. When I came here, I was looking for help and guidance. What did I get from you? You dumped me in a parking lot and shoved me off on Fate. Still, I went to you again, asking for help. What did you say? ‘Go figure it out on your own.’”
I straightened and walked over to his door, hand on the knob and paused. “So, you should understand if I’m figuring it out on my own, now. If you don’t like the way I’m handling things, you should figure it out on your own. You know why?” I let go of the door handle and walked back over to his desk and stabbed my finger down. “Because I. Don’t. Care.”
By the time I was done, he was leaning away from me. I turned and walked out, leaving his door wide open as I did. Every head in the office swung to look at me when Harold slammed it shut a minute later.
Bernie, not far from me, nodded his head toward the office. “What’s his problem?”
“He was looking for some together time and I said I felt like playing alone. He’s feeling a bit rejected.”
Bernie accepted this information with another nod, as if it were completely logical and normal. There were some perks to working in a place where everyone was crazy. Since I’d been here, not once had I heard anyone say, ‘No way, you’ve got to be kidding.’
I grabbed my notepad out of my desk drawer and headed over to my table. Technically, it was the office’s table, but I’d staked out my claim well enough that no one sat there.
“He’s back! The big guy’s in the house!” The Jinxes did know how to make an entrance. After they lapped the place on their boards, making sure they disrupted every possible person they could, they skidded to a stop by me.
“Really? Santa’s back? I thought he wasn’t coming until next week?” I immediately told myself to shut up. Too many questions all bunched together like that and I’d sound as nervous as I was.
“Got an early flight. Said he was starting to burn,” Bobby said. He leaned in close then, “Where’s our shit?”
I’d hoped they wouldn’t ask, but I’d been prepared anyway. The corner liquor store was on my way to work and a gallon of scotch, wrapped in the prerequisite brown paper bag, sat in my car. “In my trunk. My keys are in—”
“Don’t need the keys.” Bobby signaled to Buddy and Billy. “Our target has been located in the rust bucket.”
They called my car the rust bucket? Well that was just rude.
I watched them take off on their skateboards and hoped they could hold their liquor.
They cruised through the excited crowd. Crow was doing a little hop, Murphy was clapping and everyone was heading toward the door. Santa was here.
I’d wanted to meet Santa but not anymore. What if he knew I was on the naughty list? What’s worse than not meeting Santa? Meeting him and being told you were getting a lump of coal.
Luck, as happy as the rest of them, came running over to me. “Come on!” she said, and grabbed my arm, trying to pull me toward the door and everyone else.
This was the most animated I’d seen her since Kitty disappeared.
“I don’t know. He’s got so many people going to see him. I don’t want to inundate him when he’s just getting back. We should let him get settled in.” I leaned back, resisting her urging.
She dropped her hand and stood back, assessing me. “Why are you acting so weird?”
“What do you mean?” I shrugged.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” She didn’t know what was wrong, but she knew there was something. For someone most people would write off as a flaky trollop, she had laser point instincts.
Oh no, she wasn’t getting more secrets out of me today. I plastered a smile on my face. “You’re right. I really do want to meet him. Let’s go.”
She relaxed and smiled as I stood and started to walk next to her.
I really hoped there wasn’t a physical list pinned in the office somewhere. Forget getting caught, everyone would know I was naughty!
It wasn’t like I wanted to be doing any of this or was trying to hurt anyone. Wasn’t saving Kitty a good reason? Hell, I only made sure people didn’t get hurt. If I was on that naughty list, I’d be giving Santa a piece of my mind.
Okay, time to get a grip. I was rationalizing and making excuses to Santa and I didn’t even know if I had been caught, yet. When had I changed from nerves of steel into bones of Jello? Death really had messed with me. I’d become rude, sarcastic and blood thirsty. Now I could add paranoid to the list. In the three minutes it took to ge
t to Santa’s floor, I’d talked myself into—and back out of—innocence four times.
By time we reached Santa’s door, everyone in the building was there. Mother and her gardeners, the Tooth Fairy and his assistants, Death, Bernie—basically, everyone in the building—and all I could think of was the amount of possible witnesses to my shame. I was going to have to add self-absorbed to that list of changes since death.
The door opened to a sour faced elf. “You’re all here. What a shock,” he said, in perfect deadpan delivery. Put a glass of booze in his tiny fingers, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, he’d be ready for stand up in some little dive in New York.
“What’s with the cranky elf?” I whispered to Luck as we walked into a very unimpressive office, not much different than our own.
“It was his turn to work off season. They always get really prickly when they work straight through.” She waved her hand as if it were no big deal.
“Can’t he take some time off?”
“Yes, but none of them ever want to miss the prime season.” She was whispering now, since the elf we were gossiping about was giving us the eye, like he knew.
“Single file, you know the drill,” cranky elf said.
So, I’d be going in alone? It was something, at least. Luck rattled on as we made our way up the line. My uh huhs seemed to satisfy her enough, but it was a good thing she didn’t need more. I had no idea what she was even saying to me by time we made it to the front of the line.
“Make it sometime today!” the elf said as the door loomed in front of me, no bodies buffering the way any longer.
Luck gave me a shove from behind and my feet took over after that. The door looked similar to Harold’s, so when I swung it open, I was expecting a small square office of the bland variety.
Instead, I walked into the North Pole. The place was enormous, and I realized that just like with the stables, I wasn’t in the office building anymore. Elves were running here and there in a bustle of activity. Conveyor belts ran up and down in a maze of angled paths through the three-story room.
JINXED: (Karma Series, Book Two) Page 12