Page 66 of The Devil's Viking

“I would be very careful how you speak to your Right-Guardian, Servant Iris,” he snarled. “You seem to have developed quite an attitude in your time away, quite a filthy little whore mouth, probably from sucking too much biker cock. I suggest you mind your manners, because you won’t like what I can do to you, at least until Master Gideon arrives. Then the fun willreallybegin.”

“Do your worst, dickface,” she snapped, struggling to her feet. She stood straight, unapologetic and unashamed of her nudity, lifted her chin to face him head-on. “Go on. You know that you want to. You’rethrilledto be able to beat on a defenceless woman, like the bully that you are. Come and give it your best shot, you prick.”

Enraged now, he stepped forward – and then suddenly he fell in a heap on the floor.

Elle blinked at his immobile body, at the blood that had appeared behind his ear, then looked up at the gorgeous blonde woman standing there; she’d hit Michael from behind with a two-by-four and she looked pretty damn pleased about it.

“What the hell?” Elle stammered. “You’re the cop – but you – you work with Gideon –”

“I quit.” The woman gave her a quick grin, threw her a men’s work shirt. “Put that on. Can you walk?”

“Yes.” She thrust her arms into the shirt sleeves and with icy fingers, started doing up the blasted buttons. “I can also hit a few assholes over the head, if required.”

“Good. I’m Briley, by the way.”

“Elle.”

Briley shot her a surprised look, then smiled. “That’s much better than Iris, huh?”

“You know it.” She finished buttoning the shirt, wished hard for some shoes, or at least socks; her feet were like blocks of ice. “So do you have a plan?”

“Yeah. This was part one of three.”

“What’s part two?”

“Do you know a woman with brown hair?” Briley asked. “Green eyes, like really light green?”

“Erm.” Elle stared at her, surprised at the bizarre conversational detour. “You mean Violet?”

“I don’t know. How many brunettes with green eyes are here as servants?”

“Uhhhh. Just one. Violet.”

“So yes, then. Violet. Part two is we go find her.”

“We – what? Why?”

“Because,” Briley announced, turning to the stairs. “I think she wants to leave too.”

“How do you know –” Elle began, hurrying after Briley. “Hey –”

“Listen. There’s no time to explain, OK?” She bent over and pulled a gun from an ankle-strap holder thing. “You need to trust me and follow me. Once we’re out of this hellhole, there will be time to explain. Alright? Can we just save question time for when we’re safe?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course you’re right.”

“OK, good. So let’s go.”

Up the stairs they tiptoed, Elle watching Briley’s feet and trying hard to understand just what the hell was going on here. How had this woman managed to get to the basement unnoticed? How did she get a gun past the Guardians? Speaking of which, wherewereall the Guardians? Where was Gideon? How had she managed all of this on her own?

Once they exited the basement and emerged into the hallway, Elle understood a bit better: she saw two sets of boots sticking out of the wardrobe, not moving.

“Are they dead?” she whispered as they crept past. “You killed them?”

“Dunno,” Briley whispered back. “I hit them pretty hard, so maybe. If the blood is any indication, I definitely bashed their heads in.”

“Good.”

Briley shot her another grin over her shoulder. “Where would Violet be at this time of night?”

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