Page 153 of Fallen Omega

Then I look at him, and he stops. “You can carry it. This way.”

He opens the exit door. No alarm sounds, not that I expect it to. And we follow him out.

He turns and stupidly pulls a knife.

I push Liz behind me, getting nicked in the arm.

“Woohoo! Reaper boy ain’t so tough!” Eastman crows.

I look at her, aware of his movements. He’s showing off, but he’s no threat. And shortly he won’t be breathing.

The bag looked empty and he made a show of letting me see that when he opened it. False bottom, I’m betting.

“He’s not going to be so alive in a minute, Liz.” I say softly.

And I turn just as he swoops in, coming at me like a crazed bird.

It’s a simple matter of plucking his hand mid-flight, and his neck. I smash his hand into the wall opposite and then his head, hooking his legs from him with one of mine. I smash him into the wall again, before letting him go.

Then I stand over him, one foot on his hand, crushing it. He cries out, which is a pain in the ass, so I slam my other foot down on his windpipe and neck, effectively crushing it.

He gurgles, trying to breathe, neck broken, limbs useless. But he can’t, and for her, so she doesn’t need to witness his suffering, I smash down again.

This time, he doesn’t move.

Liz’s eyes are wide. She swallows. “Is he…?”

“Yes.”

I stare at her, to make sure she’s okay, but she’s looking at me, eyes hungry, and in her hands, money. What the dead man fucking owes.

I take the cash and shove it in my boots, and then she does the same, even putting some in the inner pockets of her jacket.

“Baby’s got game.” I look her up and down. It’smoremoney than he owes, even with the interest I wasn’t expecting to collect.

She offers a fleeting smile. “Baby’s got some moves,” Liz says. “Dad was…”

“A good teacher.”

Liz nods. Dumps the bag and skirts the body. She fusses with my arm and I completely forgot he managed to cut me. “Are you okay, Reaper?”

“Fine.”

She swallows, looking at me. The light in the alley’s coming from other buildings, the moon above. This alley’s dark and not really used. Now I can see why there’s a sign but no alarm. It looks landlocked, but I’m betting it isn’t. I’m alsobetting no one comes out here too often, not even to smoke, judging by the ground.

“I’ll take you back,” I say.

She looks up at me. “If I don’t want to?”

“Tough shit, Liz. You could’ve got hurt.”

“Not,” she says, “with you.”

That makes me smile. Inside.

I reach for her, and search for the exit.

I start dragging her into the darkness, to the back. There’s going to be a?—

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