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Cindy turned her head at exactly the right moment to see me step out from behind the trees.
"Dave!" she yelped. "Watch out!"
As always, I cursed fickle, fickle luck for messing with me yet again, but there was nothing I could do but follow through with my strike.
Thanks to Cindy's warning, Dave was able to sidestep my initial attack. The giant was quicker than I expected, and he grabbed hold of my arm and shoved me into the closest tree before stepping up and driving his fist into my kidneys.
I hissed from the impact, but I returned the favor by snapping my elbow back into his ribs as hard as I could. Dave took several steps back, which put him right in Owen's path. Owen crashed through the middle of the briars, raised his gun high, and smashed the weapon into the side of Dave's head. The giant grunted, reached out, and tackled Owen. The two of them fell to the ground, rolling back and forth in front of the thorns.
I whirled to face the other giant, but Cindy must have started moving away the second she saw me, because she was already fifteen feet away from my position. Cindy kept right on moving, even as she fumbled for her walkie-talkie. I started after her, but I'd only taken three steps when my boot snagged on one of the briars, making me pull up short. Even as I tried to yank free, I knew that I wouldn't be able to get to the giant in time. Helpless, I watched as Cindy raised the radio to her lips -
Pfft!
The walkie-talkie shattered into a dozen pieces.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two holes suddenly appeared in Cindy's throat. Her eyes widened in pain and surprise, but she dropped to the ground without making another sound.
Dave managed to throw Owen off him and scramble to his feet. He turned to shout or maybe run -
Pfft! Pfft!
Two holes appeared in his forehead, and he went down as well.
I finally pulled myself free from the branch and darted behind the closest tree, wondering what this new danger might be, but there was no need.
A second later, Bria stepped into sight, Xavier right behind her, each holding a gun at the ready. I let out a tense breath and walked out where she could see me.
"Hey there, baby sister," I drawled. "It's about time you got here. "
* * *
We all stood there, listening, but the only sounds outside the museum were the wind rustling through the garden and Owen's raspy breathing. Wherever they were, the other giants hadn't heard the fight, which meant that we were safe for at least a few minutes.
Bria stalked over and hugged me tight. I returned her embrace, feeling a little bit of the worry ease from my body. Two against Clementine and the rest of her crew wasn't great odds. Four against all those giants wasn't much better, but it leveled the playing field a bit, especially given what I had in mind.
"Are you okay?" Bria whispered in my ear. "I was worried about you. "
I pulled back. "I'm fine. Just a little bruised and bloody, but that's pretty much par for the course for me, isn't it?"
Bria's gaze swept over my body, taking in the tattered dress, the long, thin scratches on my hands, arms, and legs from crawling through the briars and bushes, the blood that coated me like some sort of macabre body art. She grimaced and shook her head, telling me exactly how battered and beat-up I looked. And that didn't even take into account all of the dull, throbbing aches in my body from where the giants had hit me tonight. But I was still alive, breathing, and upright, at least.
My eyes dropped to the gun in Bria's hand. "When did you get a silencer?"
"This?" she said, holding it up so I could see it better. "It was a present from Finn for our three-month anniversary. "
"How romantic. "
She grinned. "Well, at least it's useful, and it does last longer than flowers or a box of candy. I thought it might come in handy tonight. I know how you love to keep things quiet. "
"That I do," I said, moving past her.
I went over to Owen and touched his arm, the one that wasn't injured. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, then winced as he gingerly probed a bruise that was already forming on his right cheek from where he'd been grappling with the giant. "I've been better, but I'll live. "
I turned back to Bria. "Where's Jo-Jo?"
