Page 19 of Taking Jenny
Right. Sure.This was casual. Just dinner with strangers who could kill us in a dozen ways before dessert.
I nodded stiffly and chose a spot near the end of the table, close to the exit—just in case. Tiger followed, taking the seat beside me. That put us across from the short man with bright, unsettling eyes.
Malice tilted his head and smiled faintly. “Interesting that you chose to sit near the deadliest one of us.”
The short man across from me beamed. “Hello.”
“Hi,” I replied, not flinching. Deadly or not, I wasn’t going to get up now. That would just be awkward and rude.
The woman across the table sitting next to him scowled. “Are you here to eat with us or gawk at us, girl?”
“I was told we were to come to mealtimes, so here we are.” My voice stayed even, despite my anxiety at the situation.
She exhaled heavily, full of disdain. “I don’t like this one, Mal.”
“Why is that?” he asked mildly, his fingers idly stroking the stem of his wineglass.
“She should be more afraid of me.”
Malice laughed. “As should we all.” The tension in the room shifted—sharpened—just before he gestured around the table. “Apologies, guests. Allow me to introduce you.”
He motioned toward the tall man sitting to his left. “This is my friend and mentor, Longshot Griel, the—”
“The sniper?” Tiger interrupted, eyes wide with recognition. Clearly, the other man’s reputation had preceded him.
Longshot inclined his head once. The gesture was quiet, but somehow menacing in its precision.
Great. A famous murderer. And his tiny friend across from me is even deadlier. Awesome.
Longshot looked down at the reptile wound tight around his bicep. “And this is Rhonda.”
I blinked in surprise. “Your snake’s name is Rhonda?”
“She is astrigella, not a snake,” he replied, seemingly annoyed by my error.
“Terribly sorry, Longshot,” I murmured apologetically.What the hell is a strigella? She looked like a snake to me.
Malice’s chin tipped toward the scowling woman. “And this is my friend, Discord Scrylock. If you ever want to know how to destroy a man from his balls to his brain to his ghost, she is the person to consult.”
Discord smirked at Malice. “Flatterer.”
He then turned his attention to the tiny man across from me. “And that villain is Surge Footwick. Watch your wallet around him.”
Surge gasped dramatically and placed a hand to his chest. “Hey! I don’t steal wallets.”
“No,” Malice said, chuckling, “you steal money.”
“I won that bet fair, and you know it,” Surge said indignantly.
Malice arched a brow. “That’s cina waste, and you know it. You cheated. I don’t know how you did it, but I know that you did.”
Surge grinned. “Sore loser.”
Malice grinned back, but there was a flicker of something predatory in his eyes. “Sore winner.”
“So, what is your name, little human?” Discord asked me, her tone edged with something akin to a challenge.
“Jenny Hollinger.”
