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I gritted my teeth. “Can you just pay attention? This isn’t a joke.”
“There’s no such thing as gargoyles.”
“Yes, they exist.” I raised my voice, then glanced at the door, expecting Gage to barge inside. “You have to stab the creature in the heart.” I mimicked the action, yet it worried me that this wasn’t going to work. Dustin wasn’t taking this seriously and what if he panicked when he saw the gargoyle? When he realized it wasn’t as easy I’d made it sound? But I didn’t want him freaked out or he’d never take the job.
“Easiest money you’ll ever make.” I forced a smile.
He scratched an ear and stood up, shadowing over me like a giant who could just as easily stomp on me if he so chose. I held back a shiver at his overbearing size. “I don’t work with myths. You’re wasting your time.” Dustin strode to the bed where a rack of clothing hung, and he reached for a cloak. “Now unless you’re here to suck my cock, fuck off.”
I cringed but held back my response and stormed after him. “All the legends are true. I’ve seen one myself.” I shoved the bag of rattling money against his arm. “One hundred gold coins is on offer. Think of how many girls you could hire with this. Your own harem. Maybe you won’t need to fight here anymore.”
His attention stayed on the bag of coins despite his frown. “I like fighting.”
“Okay, fine, keep the job, but who doesn’t need more money, right?”
He nodded, and I stuffed the purse back into the pocket of my pants, bulging like I concealed a ball.
“I’ll make an agreement with you,” I said. “If I can’t show you the gargoyle is real, I’ll suck your dick.” That time bile hit the back of my throat from disgust, and I swallowed past it. “But if I’m right, you kill it and get the coins. Win-win if you ask me.” I gripped my hips and lifted my chin, though I’d never let Dustin touch me. Sometimes showing confidence was half the trick to winning jobs. I’d learned that with getting people to help my clients with their problems. Like the time I’d convinced a cunning fox shifter to part with some of his tail hairs for a sorcerer. Two unrelated people whom I’d brought together. The magician had gotten the last ingredient for the healing spell for his daughter, and the fox shifter had gained a spell to help him run faster than any wolf chasing him down.
Dustin swiveled his chin from left to right and snatched my arm. He reached out for me with such swiftness, I lost my breath and iced over, and I gritted my teeth.
“Get off me.” I pushed against his chest, but it was like trying to move against a mountain.
“Girl, you make a fool of me and I find there’s no creature, you’ll do more than suck me off.” His large nose scrunched, lips peeled back over yellow teeth.
My insides curdled like milk, and everything about Dustin repelled me. But I couldn’t lose this challenge. “Agreed.” I wriggled out of his grasp. “Now let’s go,” I hissed.
He swung the cape over his shoulders. “Got a few more fights first. Then we leave.”
I huffed, and a sinking sensation rattled through me. I wanted to get this done now. “How long will that take?”
“I finish around dawn.”
“No, that won’t work.” I paced in a circle now. “That’s too late. We have to be there to do this before sunrise.” I clasped my hands to my stomach.
You’re cutting it too short. Forget this plan.
“What about tomorrow? Can you finish earlier?” I asked, hating my pleading voice.
“No can do.” He reached over and tenderly cupped my face, as if we had a thing going on, and trust me, nothing would ever happen between us. “Tomorrow I leave for Utaara realm, as I’ve been hired by the sultan as his personal guard for a few weeks.”
Scenario after scenario whirred through my mind. I had the perfect man to take down the gargoyle within a tiny window of time. And sure, I could find someone else, but how long would it take to track down a person with precision knife skills and brawn? I didn’t want to wait for weeks either because what if Dustin never returned or something happened to him? Nope, I couldn’t pass on this opportunity.
“Okay, fine, we do it tonight. I’ll wait in the audience. But if you want this job, we need to leave way before dawn. Or no deal.”
“Girl, such things can’t be rushed. There’s a method to my approach.” He refilled his shot glass and swung it back.
I rubbed the ache settling across my temples, not interested to get into the mind of a killer or understand his so-called methods. “Let’s just focus on you finishing your fights quickly, okay?”
“For you”—he adjusted his package, and I gagged—“I’ll try.” He headed out of the room, and I followed, finding Gage farther down the corridor arguing with another wrestler, Gage’s arms flailing about. Good. He hopefully hadn’t heard our conversation. But I now had to wait for the meathead to finish his fights.
* * *
“Run.”I glanced over my shoulder at Dustin.
He marched behind me down the narrow track in the woods, not seemingly in a rush, and I suspected this was his normal pace. “Why rush? I finished my last fight early for you.”
Branches and leaves rustled around us through the night, and sunrise wasn’t too far. Prickles hadn’t coated my arms yet, but they would soon once the sun rose. Around us, darkness permeated the woods, and only the occasional sliver of moonlight illuminated the track. But I knew exactly where we were. Not far now from my home.
