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My hands rolled into balls as I tried to ignore the loud laughs from the coeds at the bar, the hum of patrons talking, the holiday music grinding against my neck. My focus was on the man who could provide the answers I needed. The revenge I craved.
“How much?” I felt for my billfold.
He scoffed, his head wagging slightly. “Not that kind of payment.”
My stomach knotted. “You want a favor.” I gulped, realizing I should’ve seen it coming.
“It’s how genies work.” A perfume of confidence and ego rolled off the man. “You rub my lamp, and I’ll rub yours.”
“If only you meant this in the dirty way.” The need to drink down my beer in one chug, to calm the anxiety rising, almost had me doing it. A sexual advance I could handle, but what he asked was far more serious and dangerous.
Scorpion had warned me.
“As your friend knows, my favors have no time limit. I can call on you at any time, for anything. No matter what it is, you have to fulfill your part of the deal.” His brow arched up, almost hiding under his hood. “So, how bad do you want to know theirexactwhereabouts?”
Owing a genie didn’t sound much different from a vow, except instead of the vow killing you, the genie had men who would if you went back on your word.
Sucking in, I exhaled slowly, already knowing how far I’d go. “I agree to your terms.”
A smile curled his lips, and he pulled a manila envelope out of his cloak and tossed it on the table as he stood up.
“Nice doing business with you, fairy. You will know when I need to cash in.” He turned, and I watched Dzsinn stroll unnoticed out the door.
Heart thumping in my ears, I reached for the folder. Everything I needed to track them down was inside this envelope. The taste of retribution coated my tongue. They would feel my pain, suffer my vengeance, and experience my wrath.
Sonya and Iain would understand what unbearable agony was. Hell was coming for them.
Fingers grasping for the folder, I started to pull out the contents. Somewhere in my brain, my senses prickled with warning. The air in the atmosphere shifted, the environment telling me something was no longer in harmony, tightening my muscles right as the door burst open.
The room stilled, as if it also could feel the unscrupulous energy.
Five huge, dark-haired men dressed in black clothes, loaded with weapons, and looking like some Mafia-type men, went straight for the bar area. I sensed instantly they were fae, magic curling off them, their movements too quick and subtle to be human.Were they here to rob the place?Though there was nothing of value to steal, and the patrons were even less worth the effort. No riches or diamonds, just hardworking people enjoying a Friday night. Not the place to risk getting caught for such little reward.
My hand went to my gun hiding in my jacket, my gaze locked on them as the men spread out. Three of them altered their direction, confusing me when they headed for the group of students instead of the staff, guns drawn on the college kids.
Two of the students who appeared older, a blonde woman and a dark-haired man, reacted, the man fumbling for something in his clothes. Everything happened in a split second.
POP!
The shot went through his skull, blood spraying from his head, his body falling as screams of terror impaled the air.
“Reid!” A petite, dark-haired girl cried after the man. The killer stepped up to the blonde still standing in front of the brunette, his fist cracking across her face, sending her body flying into the corner.
“Eve!” The same girl reached for her friends as her other companions scrambled away, deserting her in their fear. Only one called back for her as they ran for their own lives.
The men ignored them, moving quickly for the brunette, grabbing her arms. A tall, beefy one yanked her to him, wrapping his hand around her mouth, and put a gun to her head, whispering something in her ear.
Panic whistled like a dog call through the room, sparking a resounding terror through the rest of the clientele. Shrieks and commotion exploded under the curved ceiling. A few humans jerked up from their seats, fear tramping them for the only door.
Anxiety twitched as the two men guarding the door shouted at the people to sit back down, their thick accents hard to make out. No one listened. Terror was an uncontrollable response. Some will keep calm, stay logical, and do what they are told. With others, terror takes hold. Their need to stay alive, to flee from danger, overrides any logic and usually has them run straight into the fire.
“Sit down!” A thick Russian accent ordered.Bang!A warning shot went off.
Screams pierced off the walls and people made a beeline for the exit, doing the exact opposite, the room spiraling into pandemonium. When I pushed myself out of my seat, a body rammed into my shoulder, propelling me forward onto the tile with a thud. The envelope flew from my hands, skating across the room.
I watched my only link to my enemies disappear into the stampede.
Panic shuddered through my chest. Scrambling up, more shouts and gunshots echoed off the thick stone, the assailants losing control of the situation as mobs rushed for the exit, knocking over tables and chairs. Pushing against the throng, I searched for the folder. It was my lifeline. My retribution. There was no way I could leave here without it.
