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“It’s probably best if we stay out of their way,” Rafe suggested. “There are too many of them.”
Kalina had been surrounded by alpha male sharks all her life, so it was strange to hear a man talk of backing down. She found it surprisingly cute. Thane would have run right into that group all by himself, but not Rafe. He was worried. He had a good head on his shoulders and seemed to truly be concerned for her safety. She chuckled under her breath. It was obvious Rafe had no idea what she or her friend were capable of. These douchebags wouldn’t stand a chance against them, but he was right. It was better to stay out of their way. Even if they kicked these guys’ asses, they wouldn’t be able to do it without raising suspicion. She was about to agree with his plan to leave when one of the guys started walking their way. He seemed to have his sights set on them, on Faith at least.
The guy approaching had long black hair pulled up in a man bun. His face was wrecked with scars, many of them, and his right eye looked to have most of its color gone from it. He may have been half blind, but he was as confident as a man can get. He stalked toward them, his good eye fixed on Faith. A grin formed on his lips.
“What do we have here?” he asked.
He didn’t sound Aussie at all. In fact, he sounded American. Kalina found it odd that someone who’d obviously traveled so far from home would be cocky enough to incite a riot among the locals. If all the men at the party had teamed up on him and his gang of flunkies, surely the Aussies would win. Yet, he didn’t seem to have a care in the world.
As he grew closer and passed a small outdoor bar, he held out a hand and swiped it over the surface, knocking whiskey tumblers and plastic beer cups and bottles off it and onto the ground. Glass shattered, and the guy inhaled, savoring the havoc. He was reckless in a way that made Kalina wonder if he’d been sent out on a mission. Someone had told him to make a mess of things at the bonfire. Nobody would show up and do this for no good reason. Behind him, his goons caused chaos. Women screamed. Guys yelled. Painful cries rang out through the air.
“Let’s go,” Rafe said, grabbing Kalina’s arm and tugging.
She couldn’t leave. Her pride wouldn’t allow it. She needed to see what this guy was going to do when he reached them. This guy, who Kalina sensed was the leader of this ragtag band of badasses, reached out and grabbed the tit of a woman trying to cower away from him. Her man jumped to her defense.
“Motherfucker!” the boyfriend said.
The gang member didn’t respond with words. Instead, he smashed his closed fist against the guy’s throat, sending him crashing to the ground fast and hard.
Finally, the guy reached Kalina, Faith, and Rafe. Before she knew it, two of his brethren appeared at his sides. One was the bald guy she’d seen in the fight earlier. The other had his hair slicked back and sucked on a cigarette, keeping it in place with his lips the entire time he stood there.
“Look, Lobo, this fella here’s about to piss in his pants,” the bald guy said.
The leader’s name was Lobo. Kalina knew that was Spanish for wolf and she wondered if they were wolf shifters. They definitely had a strength about them, a misguided courage that she’d only seen in the dumbest of humans, that or in badass military types. These guys weren’t military. Yet, she didn’t think they were wolves either. Wolves in Queensland would definitely raise some eyebrows. The authorities would be all over a gang of them.
So, what are they?
“I’m potty trained, thank you very much,” Rafe replied coolly.
Kalina hadn’t considered that the thug had been talking about Rafe when he made his disrespectful comment. She’d been too focused on trying to figure the guys out. Rafe’s response was so chill, so childish almost, that Kalina wanted to laugh. He’d met the asshole’s comment with the same kind of cheesy sarcasm. She wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him. He was adorable.
“Got a mouth on you too, don’t cha,” the bald guy said to Rafe as he took a step closer.
Lobo slapped a heavy hand against the guy’s chest, keeping him back.
“You’re the kind of woman I like,” Lobo said to Faith. “I told Tots we’d find us some bitches here at this party.”
“Tots,” Faith said with a slight giggle. “Ridiculous. Well, lucky for us both then. I was telling my friend here that we would find some bitches too.”
Faith pointed at the men and added, “See, Kalina, bitches.”
“Oh man,” Kalina heard Rafe mutter.
“The fuck did you say to me?” Lobo asked.
Kalina wasn’t sure how he did it, but Lobo closed his eyes tightly and rolled his shoulders around. A crunching sound radiated
from them. All the other gang members stopped what they were doing and turned toward them. Slowly, they began walking their way.
This isn’t good.
A few minutes before, Kalina had been sure she could take all these guys. She was a great fighter. Thane had taught her everything he knew. But something was off about these hoodlums. She could sense a supernatural aura around them. Their anger had jump started it. Lobo had closed his eyes and she’d seen the way his eyeballs rolled around beneath tight lids, as if they had actually spun all the way around in his head.
“Faith,” Kalina said.
“You know what Thane always says,” Faith replied.
Strike first and strike hard.
