Page 86 of Twisted Fate

“Well, it certainly wasn’t your friendly demeanor,” I remark dryly.

The light fae whose name I still don’t know growls and rears back to hit me, but his fist never connects. I blink, and he’s flying through the air until he smacks against the brick side of the building.

I suck in a sharp breath as Tristan prowls toward the guy crumpled on the ground. “Don’t.” I grab his arm. No matter how much that fae deserves what he’d have coming to him, I don’t think I can watch Tristan kill someone.

“Nice suit, Westbrook,” Nik laughs from the same spot against the side of the car.

“You want to live, Sterling?” Tristan snaps.

Nik snorts. “Oh, threatening. Showing off for your girl?”

Tristan steps around me, and faster than my eyes can register, he has Nik by the collar of his jacket. Seeing fae shifting from one place to another so fast makes me queasy. “Since when do you do Jules’s dirty work?”

Nik cocks a brow. “Who says Jules sent us?” He shakes his head.

“Nikolai,” the female fae snaps.

“Whyareyou here?” Tristan demands, and his knuckles go white as he tightens his grip.

“Now where’s the fun in me giving that up?” Nik’s eyes glimmer.

“Well, you might get to keep your life. That could befun.”

“You’re so uptight, Tristan.” Nik glances over at me. “Anytime you want to get away from Mr. Broody over here, you let me know.”

Tristan growls and slams him into the car, which shatters the passenger-side window.

I offer a tight-lipped smile. “Not in your lifetime.”

He chuckles. “I’m immortal.”

“Exactly.”

Nik rolls his eyes and twists Tristan’s arm enough to slip free, stumbling to the side. “Believe it or not, Westbrook, your fight isn’t with me.”

“My fight is with the light fae,” he barks. “Until they—you—stop killing my people, my fightiswith you.”

Nik fixes his jacket where Tristan wrinkled it. “I haven’t killed anyone.”

“You’re going to act like you weren’t going to kill me?” I cut in.

He licks his lips. “I wasn’t.” He shrugs. “I was going to watch.”

Tristan backhands him so hard, he falls to his knees. Tristan hauls him to his feet and strikes again and again, slamming his fist into Nik’s face until blood is spraying from his nose and mouth. The female fae disappears at that point.

My eyes focus on the battle in front of me. Nik isn’t getting many hits on Tristan, but it doesn’t look as if Tristan is putting much effort in either, and he’s practically pummeling Nik.

Nik disappears, and Tristan whips his head around, growling.

A hand snakes around my waist and a hand clamps over my mouth.This shit is really starting to get old.

“Let. Her. Go,” Tristan says in a voice so hard, so low it hurts my ears.

“Relax, Westbrook. I’m not going to hurt your girl, especially not today.” Nik spins me around to face him and tucks my hair back. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

My mouth goes dry. I blink at him, and then he’s gone.

The fae on the ground comes to, groans, and gets to his feet. “Your days are numbered, Tristan,” he grumbles. “Jules will make sure of it.” With that, he disappears, too.

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