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His expression doesn’t change. “Not really my thing.”
“How about Marcoux? You heard that name before?” I keep my volume conversational, but I know I’ve hit my mark when I hear several chairs scrape against the floor at once.
That void inside me spreads as I turn, putting my back to the bar, facing off with the four men moving to stand before me.
“You got one chance to get the fuck out of here.” The man in the front of the group tips his head back so he can look down his nose at me.
I passed six feet last summer. Gained a couple more inches since. So these guys don’t have height on me. But they have muscle. I’m just a skinny nerd who spends too much time studying to work out or eat correctly.
But things are different now.
Now, I have nothing to lose.
And I’m fucking hungry.
I square my shoulders. “You got one chance to tell me who steals girls from Comet.”
The three men in back snicker, but the one who spoke first doesn’t. “You think you’re tough?”
I shake my head. “No. But I need to find my sister.”
The snickers stop.
“If your sister is gone, accept it and get gone yourself.”
I swallow.
This man isn’t going to tell me anything.
My wallet is still in my left hand. I raise it slowly, so I don’t startle anyone, and pull out the nineteen hundred dollar bills I have left.
Bribery won’t work. But I need a distraction so I can get at least one good hit in before these guys kick my ass.
“Free money!” I shout, then toss the bills into the air.
The people closest to me, who’d been watching the interaction, lunge toward the valuable pieces of paper, getting between me and some of the bad guys. But no one is blocking the leader, and he lunges for me.
I jump to the side, dodging his first swing.
Before he can strike again, I kick out as hard as I can.
As the underdog, I’ll use any advantage. Including fighting dirty.
My kick doesn’t hit his knee like I’d hoped, but the steel toe of my heavy boot connects with his shin.
I don’t give him a second to catch his balance. This time, I’m the one to lunge.
Shouts break through the buzz of adrenaline in my ears, so I think another fight might have broken out, but it’s not enough.
I duck down so my shoulder connects with the asshole’s stomach and use all my weight and momentum to push him backward.
Right into a big, tattooed dude in a leather vest, who was about to take a shot in his game of pool.
I can’t see the table as I fall to the ground. But based on the way Vest Guy spins around, we fucked up his shot. Just as I’d hoped.
Vest Guy slams his giant fist into the face of the asshole I shoved into him.
And just like that, everyone is fighting.
