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I watched Ahura slurp down her third bowl of noodles while I worked my way through a basket of hand-wrapped egg rolls. "So, your fellow gang member betrayed you and you decided to try to kill him," I repeated. "And you managed to take out half the bar in the process?"
She shrugged. "Bastard had it coming."
Fin raised a thick red eyebrow. "No honor among thieves, isn't that the saying?"
She glared and pointed her chopsticks at him like the wooden utensils were a deadly weapon. "I don't want to hear that bullshit from a government dog like you. Association hunters are even worse. You fuckers kill your own kind. At least we stick mostly to humans." She stabbed her noodles and corralled them into her mouth, muttering, "fucking humans."
I rubbed a hand over my face. "Okay, look. We fed you. Can we just get back on topic? We've got shit to do and people waiting for results."
Her big, disturbing red eyes focused on me. "You mean you want to get paid."
I shrugged and shoved the rest of the egg rolls her way. She seemed to respond well to food bribes. "Have you heard anything about the new ruler they imported for Westhold a couple weeks ago?"
She narrowed her eyes at me. Once you got used to the blood red color, they were kind of pretty...in a creepy way. Like rubies. "Sure. Everyone's all up in arms because he uses magic and supposedly he secretly employs cur bodyguards, even though he's a piece of shit human."
I waved my hand, dismissing all that. There were a lot of humans in high places who weren't afraid to use curs and fiends to maintain their power. It wasn't something they'd admit openly, since the human public would crucify them. But it wasn't exactly a secret either.
"We had a unicorn contract," I told her, leaning my elbows on the table, avoiding a suspicious sticky spot. This place wasn't the cleanest. But the food was good, and it hadn't killed me yet. Plus, the owner of the cart was a single half-pixie cur with twelve kids. She needed the business. "Someone tried to put us out of commission, then made sure the little politician was right in the path of the unicorns."
Ahura raised her winged brows at me, tossed a cluster of beaded braids over her shoulder, and gave me a who-gives-a-shit look.
I sighed. "The baby politician has asked me to find out who did it." She obviously hated humans with a passion, but hopefully the promise of money would mean more to her than her morals.
She pushed her empty bowl aside and snagged one of the egg rolls, nibbling on it with even white teeth, her eyes narrowing in thought. Plotting, probably. "You know, poking around in this sort of shit will probably get you killed."
Fin crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. "That's what I said."
Emerson turned his big, pathetic puppy-dog eyes on the woman. "But you'll help us, right?"
I rolled my eyes. Like the dangerous, leather-clad murderer at our table was just going to cave to that look.
"Okay," she said with a shrug.
I tried not to gape at her in surprise. "Do you know who set us up?"
She shook her head as she finished her egg roll. "Not for sure. But I can find out. Might even have been my old gang. They've been being extra smug lately. Give me a few days."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "And what's that going to cost us?"
She smirked at me, her plush lips curving up into a sensuous leer. "Half of your payout."
I tipped my head back and laughed, long and hard. When I finally got myself under control, I wiped the tears from my eyes and shook my head at her. "Good one." I stood and waved at Fin and Emerson to follow. "Nice talking to you. We'll find the info some other way."
She slid out of her chair and stood in front of me, her fists planted on her curvy, leather-clad hips. I let my eyes travel over her body in what was meant to be an insulting way, but I admit, I got a little distracted by all the leather and those hips. I always did have a weak spot for women who could probably kill me on the spot. "Move it," I said, with a flick of my fingers. "Places to be."
She tilted her head and stared at me, biting her bottom lip. "One third," she demanded, crossing her arms over her leather underbust and shoving her tits up higher for effect.
I arched a brow at her obvious attempt to distract me with her...assets. "One quarter, and if you fuck us over, I'll eat your entrails with hot sauce." I bared my pointed teeth, just for good measure.
She laughed, dropping her arms and stepping closer. "Joke's on you, cat. I'm poisonous."
I stared into her heavily lashed red eyes from the mere inches that separated us, a cluster of her braids brushing my shoulder. "Take it or leave it."
I felt Fin and Emerson step closer, but the woman's eyes never left mine. Somehow, I didn't think her tough act was an act at all. And I wondered just what the hell she was. She had a lot of power for a cur, judging by what I'd felt back by the bar. She nodded. "I'll take it, since I don't have a job lined up right now anyway and those assholes back there are on my shit-list." She stepped away, shooting me a sly look over her shoulder. "Where should we meet up, pretty boy?"
A growl rumbled in my chest, but I didn't let it out.
Emerson stepped up, surprising me when he blocked me from her view with his massive body. "Sam's not a boy."
I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to facepalm. Why was he so embarrassing?
She just chuckled. "Really?" I stepped out from behind the stupid ogre to find her waggling her eyebrows at him as she taunted him. "Even more fun, then." She waved a hand at me. "I'll meet you back here at the same time in three days, gorgeous."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Just fuck off now."
She oozed away into the foot traffic on the sidewalk and disappeared.
Emerson turned to me and I planted my hands in the center of his broad chest and shoved. "What the hell, asshole?"
He didn't even sway. Just blinked down at me in confusion, a little hurt on his face. "What do you mean, Sam? I was just trying to get her to back off." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't know you were interested." He slid his gaze toward Fin, his eyes round.
I rubbed a hand over my face. "Emerson," I ground out.
"Yeah, Sam?"
"I might kill you someday," I breathed.
He hunched his big shoulders and shuffled a foot against the concrete. "Sorry, Sam. I guess I really am just a dumb ogre."
"Oh, shut up!" I said, getting in his face so he had to stop staring at the ground and meet my eyes. "That's not what I meant, and you know it." I took a breath and got myself under control. "You mean well, Em. I know. But I just don't understand why you insist on calling me a girl and bringing this crap up all the time."
He looked down at me with soft brown eyes. "I just want you to know it's okay, Sam. You can be a girl and a boy. Girl Sam doesn't deserve to be locked up all the time."
I gaped up at him. My face heated up for some damned reason, and breathing suddenly became impossible. "You...you...," I spluttered. "You asshole."
Fin shoved between us, shaking his head. "Enough," he ground out. "You two are so fucking dumb. Sam, stop being prickly. Emerson, stop crushing all over Sam." He passed between us and we both watched him go, flabbergasted. "I need a fucking drink," he muttered as he headed down the sidewalk.
I glanced at Emerson to find the green hulk had turned a fascinating shade of pink. "Em?" I breathed, completely confused and feeling like I might faint if I got any redder myself.
He refused to meet my eyes. But his bumbling and blushing now made so much more sense. "Come on Sam," he said in a deep, gruff voice. "We need to get Fin a drink before he does something to make us all unlucky."
I nodded in agreement and followed him. Because if this was us being lucky, then I didn't think I could survive unlucky.
"Hey, Fin!" I called out as I lengthened my strides to overtake him. "Can leprechauns even do that?"
Because that could be a useful weapon. And I'd much rather focus on that than the fact that big, nerdy, wonderful, kind Emerson thought I was somehow worth his attention. Or the fact that the thought made my insides go all warm and...gooey. Eew. Yuck. Gross.
I glanced at the green giant as he lumbered after Fin, trying to catch up without bumping into and crushing passing civilians. Absurd.
I shook myself. Maybe I needed a drink too.