Page 36 of Gluttony
“Not that kind of first,” he added. “There have been many… others.” Heat rose up his neck. Aw, hell, this was coming out wrong. “Just no one I wanted to date.”
The roar of an engine blared from the street. It was so loud, it filtered through the house. Bailey tensed under his touch.
“Wait here,” she said. “I’ll check it out.”
Fear skipped up his spine. Alarm shot through his veins. He should be the one checking it out. Not her. But it had been months since he’d relied on his deadly skills. Did this situation even need those skills?
Realizing she’d already left, he jogged after her through the house and out the front door. Some kids were sitting on the porch, chatting away. Akeef had music playing on his cell phone speaker, and they all bopped and danced.
When Bailey caught sight of the vehicle making the noise, her eyes widened.
Turning toward the kids, she snapped, “Get inside now!”
Bailey ushered them through the doors. Taking her lead, he blocked any of them trying to get down the steps for a look, but before they had a chance to safely ensconce themselves inside, a prickle of intuition ran along the back of Tony’s neck. He turned back to the street.
A black Cadillac filled with rough-looking men had settled curbside. Each car window began rolling down, giving him a good look inside. A flash of metal, of promised violence, and Tony’s years of training had him moving before his mind registered what was coming for them—guns. Lots of them.
Enough to spray through the doors if the kids still stood on the other side. The blood drained from his face. He had to do something.
“Keep them inside,” he ordered Bailey.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he launched from the porch up onto the concrete balustrade and surfed on his shoes down, assessing the situation as he went.
All windows were open.
Two in the back, one in the front.
The occupants looked this way.
The narrow sidewalk made a six-foot gap to the car.
A plan formed in his head as he got to the end of the balustrade, jumped onto the top of the gate’s pillar, bounced across to the other, and then dove. He sailed over the sidewalk and landed on the Cadillac’s roof, stomach first. Skidding across, he braced, reached down and inside the opposite window. His fist closed around the scruff of a big thug and heaved. The man came shoulders-out before Tony jammed an elbow into his temple. Tony dropped to the ground. As he wrenched the door open, he let his power advance, feeling the rush inside his blood. A blue glow rose within him so swiftly that he’d wondered how he’d ever had trouble controlling it before. But this felt right. Protecting those kids was right. With the open door, the body in the window tumbled down, giving Tony ample opportunity to get in the car before its two surprised occupants realized what was happening. They adjusted their aim, but Tony’s hands snapped out and took hold of each muzzle. Then he let his fire out and couldn’t help feeling amazed as his power rushed to do his bidding. Maybe he was good at this too.
A bright blue flash blinded the interior.
The men shouted, screamed.
Heat scorched Tony’s palms and he winced. Parts of the car smoldered. Okay, maybe he wasn’t so good. But better. When the light faded, he knocked any weapon out of range. It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t have been able to discharge the guns. His power had melted them into macabre twisted sculptures.
Tony leaned back and kicked the man in the back seat, knocking him out. Then he looped the seatbelt around the driver’s neck and choked. Tony eased off the pressure as the tension left the driver’s body. Once he’d completely passed out, it was only a matter of readjusting the belt to secure his wrists. Tony did the same for the second man in the rear. The residual blue sparks from his hands almost set fire to the cab and he had to swat them out.
Bailey’s shouts warned of her approach. Tony’s heart leapt into his throat and he clamped down hard on his power. Painful heat blocked up, and he pushed it down some more. Couldn’t let her see this side of him. The complete turnabout of power direction was like shutting a valve suddenly. Everything inside him screamed in denial. The energy wanted out. It kept building inside, but he wanted to confess his truth to Bailey onhisterms. He wanted to be the one to decide. So he pushed, he stifled, and he acted calm.
Hewascalm.
My terms.
And he’d just taken down three assailants on his own. The kids were safe. Bailey was safe. He guessed he wasn’t so rusty after all.
Scooting out of the car and into the street, he quickly grabbed hold of the fallen thug under the arms and dragged him into the open passenger side.
“Tony.” Bailey breathed hard as she came around the car. She collected the dropped rifle, and then aimed it like a pro at the thugs. He put his hand on the muzzle and lowered it.
“Situation is contained.”
It took her a moment to adjust to what he was saying, but she lowered the rifle and switched her attention to Tony. “Are you okay?”
Out of the corner of Tony’s eye, he could see a twisted gun at the bottom of the car, right under the thug’s feet. Trying not to look conspicuous, he picked up the thug’s legs and folded them into the cabin, then secured the man’s hands with the seatbelt. He shut the door, straightened, and acted like nothing was wrong.
