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He attempts to regain his breath, doubling over with the effort. His eyes dart side to side, searching out exits, anywhere that isn’t me.
“Answer me,” I roar so close to his ear, I spray spit on him and hope for hearing damage.
“I’ll scream,” Richard whimpers.
I smile and lean down close to his ear. In a tone that is closer to the sound of tumbling gravel than anything soothing, I whisper, “Please do.”
He swallows hard, plastering himself further against the wall, as he looks from me to Stiel.
“I won’t help you.”
If Richard wasn’t already terrified, Stiel’s calmness in the face of my rage ratchets up his fear. I can smell it on him. His sweat is sour, and he’s pissed himself.
I wrap my claws around his upper arms. I press in until I puncture the skin and see a tickle of blood flow down his arm.
“Money,” he finally yelps out. “It’s just about money.”
“It’s her money.” I dig further into the wounds.
“Yes… yes…” he stutters. “Yes… well, without me, she wouldn’t have had half of it.”
“But you aren’t going for half of it, are you? You want it all.”
My tail snakes from around my body and moves up to his throat, circling it twice and propping up his chin to force him to look at me. I unfurl my wings slowly. They fill the tiny space from floor to ceiling so my wings curve over my body and his, sealing out any light. Only my eyes shine in the pitch-black darkness.
“You will end this now,” I growl behind gritted fangs. “The lawsuit ends today, the P.I. you have tailing her ends today. You do not contact her, her mother does not contact her. You leave the state.”
Richard grows limp in my hands, his mouth permanently agape.
“If you don’t give Julianna every single cent of her money back, then I am coming for you, and I won’t be this friendly next time. Understand?”
He doesn’t move.
“Speak,” I roar.
“Yes… yes… Got it! I… I won’t contact her again, I’ll leave the state… I’ll… I’ll get her the money back.”
“If I hear something different, I’ll find you, wherever you are, and I will end you.”
I pull my wings in sharply and toss Richard to the floor. He rolls to his hands and knees, attempting to regain his breath.
“We can go now.” I turn to Stiel and start heading for the balcony.
Stiel nods and gathers the documents and starts towards the door after me.
“I… I…” Richard coughs, and I turn to face him. He can’t yet stand, and his arms are tracked with blood. “I don’t know why you are putting all this effort into some has-been slut. Are you in it for the money or the pussy?”
All I see is red.
Red anger, red fury, red blood flowing as I slash my claws across Richard’s face. I have him on the ground, and I’m tearing into flesh as the floor turns a shiny red too.
Vaguely, I recognize that there is screaming in the distance, but my focus is on the crunch of bone and the spurt of blood. I feel the drag of muscle under my claws and the quick snap of fingers breaking. My brother’s voice pricks at the edge of my consciousness, but the words are nothing but a roar in my ears—except for her name.
“Julianna… Julianna… Julianna…”
I feel it. I feel her.
The weight of her hand pressing firmly into my chest and through my stony flesh to the very center of me. The sensation doesn’t stop me, but it gives me a moment of control, and I slow long enough to listen to Stiel’s voice.
