Page 46 of The Great and Terrible

“I should get a turn with him!” Natalie spread her arms. “He killed my parents in front of me.”

The protests ceased upon notice of my arrival. At my feet, Nugget bared his teeth and growled, his eyes flashing red.

Murmurs of “the rabdogs” broke out. The music halted abruptly. Women jumped to their feet, chairs skidding behind them. Everyone pressed against the same wall. Leona shoved her way to the back, hiding behind her constituents.

“Get that filthy creature out of my town,” she demanded, peeking around a woman’s shoulder.

I braced for a showdown. “I suggest you don’t insult my dog.” There would be consequences. Bad ones. I might look like a fluff of nothing, but I was farmgirl scrappy.

“I suggest you leave with it before I have you jailed,” she snarled. “I’m in charge here, and my word is law.”

At least no one brandished a weapon. Nope. Wrong. Several unsheathed daggers.

“She’s with the royal guardsman,” stated the bartender, who stood at the fore of the crowd.

Natalie nodded. “Both are under his protection.”

The mayor paled, but she also found her courage and shouldered her way forward. “What are you doing with an executioner, girl?”

“That is none of your business,” I replied, trying to cobble together a plan. Make a run for it, hoping Nugget gave chase?

A door shut with a hard thud, saving me from having to act. Jasher and his heavy footfalls entered my sphere. He carried an unconscious man over each shoulder. Men he tossed to the floor. Women rushed over to check out the males, ohhhing and ahhhing. Nugget allowed the interaction without freaking.

“I believe the price is ten silvers each,” Jasher stated, raising his chin.

He looked good. Really, really good. Dark hair tousled. Color high. Weapons strapped all over. A bruise decorated his jaw.

“Ouch.” Before I considered my actions, I reached out and grazed my knuckles over the injury. “You got popped a good one.”

Our gazes tangled as he leaned into my touch. That once sporadic, now constant sizzle of awareness flared between us, igniting flutters of desire in my belly. A skill only he possessed. Not even Theo, the guy from the diner, had roused more than a halfhearted interest.

When Jasher slipped his thumb between my hand and traced the pad over my OZ scar, the flutters amplified into a warm, delicious ache.

“Who did you capture?” I asked, pretending I wasn’t breathless.

“Bounty hunters.” He motioned to the wanted posters with a tilt of his chin without looking away from me. “Others will come until we remove the brand. A task Keren can perform without causing you pain. Not much, anyway.”

“I’ll do it,” someone piped up. Keren, I guessed, glancing over at the blonde bartender. “But in return, you will escort Leona far from this town.”

Leona gasped, rearing back. “You can’t do that.”

The rest of the crowd expressed their approval with genuine cheers.

“We can and we will, if Jasher agrees,” Natalie stated.

Keren arched a brow at the executioner. “Well?”

“That isn’t how this will go,” he stated, a dangerous edge to his tone.

Sensing an opportunity, I announced, “We’ll agree to your terms, but only if you double his bounty fee, too.” How badly did they wish to be rid of the lottery cheater?

As Leona sputtered, I tamped down a surge of guilt.Meet your consequences, Mayor.

“Jasher?” Keren asked, requiring assurance.

He worked his jaw, but he also gave a clipped nod.

The bartender and Natalie exchanged grins before saying in unison, “We have a deal.”

---