Page 15 of Scar

She avoided trash on the sidewalk like she couldseeit. When Scar made to step out of the alleyway to follow her, her left ear immediately turned in his direction.

Scar froze, completely intrigued. People rarely surprised him anymore. They saw what they wanted to see, but Tally was sensing what was actuallythere.

What a marvel she was.

Scar did not move a muscle, didn’t even blink. After a second, she continued on. He remained where he was, needing to reevaluate how he was going to tail her home if her echolocation skills could detect his presence. Perhaps, like a submarine, he needed to disguise himself behind another object or as something else.

She was nearly a block ahead of him before he dared to move. How far was her range? He wanted to learn more, discover how she used sound tosee.

Voices carried from across the street. Scar saw two men exit out of a building up ahead. He knew the moment they’d sighted Tally too.

Oh, fuck no.

He put on a burst of speed as the two men headed straight for Tally. He didn’t care that she was Alpha’s daughter. She was blind and helpless. Scar would not stand back and allow her to be harmed. No woman deserved that fate.

She may be able to sense their presence, but her echolocation skills would not be able to detect the evil intent on their faces. Scar could. He knewexactlywhat was on their minds.

Tally paused, her cane in front of her, when she realized her path was blocked. “Hello?”

“Well, aren’t you a pretty thing? He said you would be easy pickings, but this is just pathetic.”

Scar was nearly there. Red clouded his vision when the man who had spoken to Tally lifted his hand as if to touch her face.

Tally pulled her neck back, avoiding his hand, but that only managed to piss him off when he missed. He swiped at her again and Tally took a full step backward out of his range.

“The fuck?”

Scar heard theclickof a switchblade open. He was feet away when Tally swept her walking cane out in front of her like a bow staff. She made contact with both men in front of her and nearly hit Scar behind her when she was completing her spin. Scar ducked just in time to avoid the blow.

She flicked her right foot upwards in a practiced move. The bottom of the cane tapped her shoe, and she used its momentum to bring it up in front of her, parallel to the ground.

Scar’s eyebrows drew down when he saw her feet shift into a fighting stance. She was perfectly balanced in her shallow squat. A synchronized flick of her wrists on her walking cane and the staff split into two halves. Each hand held its half in a tight fist as she swept them in front of her in wide arcs.

What the hell was going on? Was she not blind, after all?

Both men recovered from the initial hit almost immediately. She was justthat fast. They advanced on her with the skill of street thugs, not trained soldiers. Tally, though, wasallwarrior. She moved with a speed and grace that was generally only seen in martial arts movies with the help of special effects.

The clicking noise her tongue made never stopped, though the speed had picked up like the quick ticking of a metronome.

Scar could have stepped in. He could have thrown his knives and taken out both thugs in a heartbeat, but he didn’t. Watching Tally fight was like watching a stunning performance of a ballet. And, with a twisted sense of satisfaction, Scar realized she wastoyingwith them.

For the first time in a long time, Scar felt his lips twitch as if he was going to smile.

* * *

[WiseWave620: The guys played a trick on me today. I’ve been trying to grow my beard. Well, I fell asleep at my keyboard and they decided to glue a wig beard onto my face. I was so excited to see my face in the mirror until I realized it was fake.]

[WiseWave620: Sometimes it’s not easy being the kid brother.]

* * *

Tally knewthe moment the two thugs that had approached her from the front scurried off like cowards, their tails tucked between their legs. The one behind her had not joined in on the fight. She found that odd and did not drop her guard. Her back might be to him, but he would soon learn that did not mean he could sneak up on her.

There was something different about this man though. The two that had approached her were the typical street thugs that Gordon Tremont hired to do his dirty work. The real estate tycoon would never dream of soiling his hands, and unfortunately, street thugs were a dime a dozen around these parts.

The man behind her had been the one from the alley further back. She was almost sure of it. She couldn’t smellhim, not like she could other men. He wasn’t wearing cologne or aftershave. There was nothing distinctive like his shampoo or body wash. What she detected were things on him, like leather, metal, and a hint of polyester.

The scent of metal told her he was armed.

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