Page 44 of Defying the Relic Hunter

“Who’s the idiot in the white armor?” Xenia placed her pistol on her lap.

“Ivan Moretti. Believe it or not, once upon a time I was going to marry him.”

Xenia’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? What happened?”

“I thought he was my Prince Charming until I caught him in bed with my best friend. I fried his nuts with my taser and called off the engagement.”

“What did you find attractive about him?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same thing.” Beside Ethan, Ivan was a tallow-faced weasel.

“Ready for some fried ice cream?”

Even though Ethan and Quinn were outnumbered, they seemed more amused than worried. “Sure. Will the guys need our help?”

“Nah. They can handle those fools.”

Ivan pulled his sword and lunged at Ethan.

Ethan blocked his blade and beat Ivan back with a series of savage blows.

Ivan’s men attacked Quinn. He teleported in and out, slashing, punching and utterly decimating his opponents. In less than two minutes, Ivan’s men were groaning on the pavement.

“See? Nothing to worry about.” Xenia put our ice cream on the table.

“Guess not.” Keeping a wary eye on the fight, I dug into the warm crispy shell, dripping with chocolate.

His sword a blur of movement, Ethan mercilessly took Ivan’s armor apart piece by piece until my ex-fiancé stood there in his red silk jockey shorts.

Xenia shook her head in disbelief. “Where did that fool get his crappy armor?”

“Dunno. Probably Wally Mart.”

A glittering blue light formed by the front door. When it faded, an older Italian male stood there wearing a thousand-dollar silk suit. In his right hand was a laser pistol.

“Nice suit, Luigi.”

He bared his teeth in a snarl and broke into a spate of Italian.

Xenia licked the chocolate off her spoon. “What’s he saying?”

“Before he can kill me, he has to declare a Gjakmarje,” I replied.

“Gjakmarje?”

“It’s a formal ritual to announce a blood vendetta. Once he finishes reciting the rite, he can kill me.”

“Stupid rule.” Xenia stunned him.

“I always thought so too.” I picked up Luigi’s laser pistol and watched his limbs flail wildly. “Not so much fun, when you’re the one getting zapped, is it?”

“He stunned you?” Ethan’s voice was a low growl.

“He did.”

Ethan drew his sword.

“You can’t kill him until Zarek has had a chance to interrogate him,” Quinn interjected.

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