Page 33 of Beguiled

Another thud was followed by something being pitched.

The damn door was locked. As if that would stop me. Taking a step back, I kicked in the door. A struggle was ongoing, some asshole in a suit pinning the girl down on the dressing table. To her credit, she was grabbing anything she could get her hands on, smashing makeup and bottles of hairspray and perfume against his face.

His grunts were louder than before, blocking out other noise. “Come on, sweetheart. Little flirtatious bitch. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” He was slurring his words, which would indicate a guest who’d managed to slip past the guards, hormones fueled by alcohol. It wasn’t unheard of and potentially a plausible excuse except for one thing.

With the way the girl was fighting him, his suit jacket had been ripped halfway off, revealing a weapon in a holster. Weapons weren’t allowed inside the club.

I had my fingers wrapped around his neck in a flash, yanking him backward easily even given his size. While I was taller, he had a few pounds on me. But where mine was all muscle, his were from spending way too much time overindulging.

“If you try touching her again, there won’t be enough pieces left to claim a body.”

“Fuck you, prick.”

“Wrong answer.” There was no accent, at least nothing discernable.

With a brutal toss to the wall, he slumped to the floor. I stomped on his hand, savoring the sound and managed a single quick look at the girl. She wasn’t panicked as I’d envisioned she’dbe. While her eyes were open wide, her mouth was twisted in fury. Clutched in her hand was a broken bottle, the jagged glass shimmering in the overhead light. She was still in costume, yet to take off her stage makeup.

“Get out of here,” I told her. “Find a guard.”

She nodded and that was the last opportunity I had to pay attention to her. The asshole decided to come for more, managing a single jab to my abdomen while reaching for his weapon. I sensed her continued presence, sharp grinding electricity popping in the air.

I threw several brutal punches, knocking the man to the hard floor. Even after his head was smashed against the concrete, he kept coming.

His actions weren’t those of a drunk but one pretending. The attack had been planned.

Out of nowhere, there was a flash, the light refracting off the jagged glass just before the card girl jammed the bottle into the man’s neck.

His howl was a definite reward, her actions catching me completely off guard.

Who the hell was this woman? My momentary lapse of attention allowed him to get another jump on me.

Fuck me. He’d been trained in hand-to-hand combat, which ruled out everything but that he’d come here as an assassin or for the girl. The latter didn’t make any sense. It was more likely she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, interfering with an assassination attempt.

“Get out of here,” I yelled, finally getting her to break free of her hypnotic state. But as luck would have it, the moment she bounded for the door, so did he, blocking her exit.

The asshole was more than an irritant. He’d reawakened the beast who’d just been fed. That wasn’t good for anyone, especially the son of a bitch daring to come against me. I backhanded him, pitching his body halfway across the room.

He wasn’t down for the count and I couldn’t plan on any reinforcements. I knew as well as anyone every room had been soundproofed, the space used for more than just fights three or four nights a week.

The stench of blood lingered in the stone walls.

While the beautiful card girl didn’t need to be told a third time to seek help, I hadn’t anticipated that the bastard would draw another weapon, a ten-inch jagged-edged knife. Who the fuck did he think he was, Crocodile Dundee?

He had the momentum coming off the wall, swinging his arm, the light catching the blade just before he raked it across my chest. I jumped back just enough the tip sliced through my shirt. Whether or not it had pierced my skin I’d know soon enough.

In my hurry to escape being carved like a pumpkin, I knocked the girl to the floor. She quickly scrambled while the assassin continued his attack. Even with her remaining in the room, I drew my weapon, bashing the side of his head in.

With a sharp cry, she threw her body toward the door, able to yank it open.

When another shriek escaped her luscious lips, it was a warning that might be the only reason we both remained alive.

Two more assholes appeared from the shadows. With one pointing his weapon at the girl, I had to react quickly.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

I grabbed her, dropping us both and rolling while the second newcomer tried to level his weapon in our direction. With her clawing at me, my accuracy was tested, the single shot I got off only hitting his shoulder.

“Damn it.”