Page 79 of Arresting the Warlord

Jia stopped struggling and a coldness filled her eyes.“If anything happens to Adam…”

“You’ll gut me like a fish?”

“You will die a slow, agonizing death and the old man too,”Jia promised darkly.

Uncle Jesse bared his awesome fangs and growled menacingly.

I bit back a smile as he drooled all over Jia’s face.“Now you’ve done gone and upset my uncle.”

“Please. I need to help my brother.”Desperation and anger warred in Jia’s voice.

“We’re going to free all the captives and if you do anything stupid, I’ll let Uncle Jesse eat you. Understand?”

Uncle Jesse licked Jia’s face like it was a lollipop.

“I understand.”Jia grimaced in disgust.

I patted Uncle Jesse’s furry shoulder.“Let her up.”

“She does not respect my greatness.”He climbed off Jia and as she shot to her feet, he nipped her butt.

“Touch me again you old, pervert and I’ll…”Jia yelped as Uncle Jesse’s massive jaws closed around her head.

“Apologize or he’ll eat you.”

“Sorry,”Jia mumbled.

I cocked my head.“What? I didn’t quite hear you.”

“I said, I’m sorry. Okay? Can we please go rescue Adam now?”

Uncle Jesse opened his mouth and Jia fell to the floor. There was a noticeable tremor in her hand as she wiped the slobber off her face.

I frowned. Jia wasn’t acting like a cold-blooded assassin. If Uncle Jesse was freaking her out this much, how was she going to handle a horny, seven-foot-tall Askole with tentacles?

That mournful howl sounded again.

“We’re freeing whatever that is too,”Jia announced and marched down the corridor.

Uncle Jesse lumbered after her. “She doesn’t have the soul of a killer.”

Jia was either an accomplished actress with awesome shields or Central Command’s records were wrong. If she couldn’t control lightning, Trayon would go hunting on his own. No one wanted that to happen. Keeping Sariel and Zarek happy was a necessity too.

“Adam!” Jia shouted and took off at a dead run.

Dammit! She was going to get herself killed. I followed Jia into a large burial chamber with colorful mosaics tiles covering the walls and mounds of ancient bones littering the floor. The stench of death hit me. I skidded to a stop and stared at the large pile of rotting corpses. By the monstrous deformities I knew these poor souls had been Giovanni’s test subjects.

Jia frantically checked the bodies.“Please. Please don’t be dead. Please.”

“Stop! Your brother’s not there.”I pulled Jia away from the awful remains.“They’ve been dead for weeks.”

“I can’t sense Adam anymore. Our link has been severed.”Tears rolled down Jia’s cheeks.

“You’re not an assassin or master thief, are you?”

Jia sighed wearily.“I’m not an assassin, but my cousin Bianca is.”

“Let me guess. She looks a lot like you and decided to borrow your identity.”

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