Page 28 of Nexus
The robber groaned, then rolled over. “What happened?” he asked groggily.
“You tried to steal from Pierre and paid the price for it,” I said ominously. “If either you or your friend come back, I’ll kick both of your asses.”
Seeing me looming over him, holding up my fist in warning was enough to scare him into compliance. “We won’t be back,” he squeaked, then shakily stood up and staggered to the door.
“I would have chased them down without any problem, but you saved me the hassle,” Pierre said in gratitude as he picked up the pillowcase. “Pick anything you want from the store, no charge.”
“Great. I’ll take that lamp,” I said, pointing at it.
“That’s only worth thirty bucks,” he said with a frown, picking it up.
“I’ll take this nightstand, too,” I said with a shrug and grabbed one that stood nearby.
“Deal,” he said, carrying the lamp over to the counter. “I assume you have gold coins to exchange for cash?”
“Yep,” I replied and dug them out of my wallet after putting the nightstand down.
I handed them over and he transferred money into my account, minus the eight hundred bucks I owed him for the safe he’d sold me the last time I’d been here. “You have amazing aim and skill,” he complimented me as he wrapped my new lamp in paper. “I thought you’d killed that schmuck.”
“It’s easy to knock people out if you hit them in exactly the right spot,” I said modestly.
“Most of us monsters would have used too much force and caved the back of his head in,” he said in admiration. “You used just enough power to knock him out.”
“It’s a skill I was born with,” I said honestly. Mom hadn’t needed to teach me how much force to use when fighting my enemies. Just like I could sense how strong they were, I always knew how much strength I needed to use to take them down.
“I’ve got some spare time, if you want to have a quick shag,” he offered.
“Sorry, but I have plans,” I replied, ignoring the rapidly growing bulge in his pants. “Thanks for the lamp and nightstand,” I added, picking them up and turning away.
“See you next time,” Pierre said and winked when I glanced at him.
Snickering beneath my breath, I left before the letch could proposition me again. He was kind of gross, but at least he was amusing. He hadn’t even charged me for breaking the ugly ceramic frog.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I HAD THE WEIRDEST dream of my life a few months after officially becoming a bounty hunter. It started out normally enough, featuring Drake Gilden as usual. “You look ravishing tonight, Ms. Sterling,” the dragon said in admiration as he lifted my hand to place a kiss on my knuckles. We were in his office and he’d just paid me for my latest job. For some strange reason, he was wearing the tuxedo I’d seen him in the night we’d met.
“What, this old thing?” I said coyly, glancing down at my sheer purple gown that had replaced my work clothing. “Why are you dressed like you’re going to a ball?” I asked.
“I was waiting for you to arrive, so we could do this,” he replied as music started. He pulled me into his arms and began to waltz me around the room.
We danced to the hauntingly beautiful music, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes, lost in mutual desire. Drake bent his head to kiss me, then turned to mist right before my eyes. “What the hell?” I complained as the dream suddenly changed.
I was now standing in a strange office, with a table sitting on the far side of the room. All of the windows were covered in blinds, which were closed. I turned in a circle to see the room was devoid of other furnishings. The floor was covered in an industrial, cheap looking beige carpet. The walls and ceiling were painted white. I couldn’t see any doors anywhere.
When I came to a stop, three chairs had appeared at the table. The two that were facing me were occupied by possibly the strangest couple I’d ever seen.
“Who the hell are you?” I asked, studying them curiously.
The man was short, slender and had white-blond hair and pale green eyes. For some bizarre reason, he was wearing a jester suit. Red on one side and green on the other, it conformed to his puny body. He wore a red and green hat with spikes that had bells on the ends. “I’m Crowmon,” he replied, then hiked his thumb at his companion. “This lovely lady is Fate.”
I turned my attention to the being my mind had instinctively shied away from. Dressed in a black hooded robe, her face was hidden in shadow. I was pleased to see she wasn’t a skinny bag of bones beneath her robe. About my size, she had a curvy figure. Her hair was long and black and tendrils moved as if there was a breeze that I couldn’t feel. Several strands reached towards Crowmon. He lifted his hand without looking at them and the locks wrapped around his fingers as if they were sentient.
Fate inclined her head in greeting, then gestured at the vacant seat across the table from her. “Please, take a seat, Saige.” Her voice sounded slightly hollow, as if she was talking from the far end of a long tunnel. My entire body shuddered in reaction and I began to feel uneasy.
“This doesn’t feel like a normal dream,” I said, suddenly realizing my sheer dress was gone as I took a seat. I was now wearing one of my leather and lace hunting outfits.
“That’s because it isn’t a normal dream, girly,” Crowmon said.
