Page 22 of Flirting with Death

Sam stepped into his space, the threat clear in her stance. "I'm sorry. Would you like to insult my friend again?"

The mall cop’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his hand drifted to his nightstick.

"I wouldn't," I cautioned.

His nostrils flared wide as noisy breath parted his lips in angry pants. My attention caught on a vein in the side of his head that pulsed. He didn't like the fact that a bunch of young people were questioning him. I could see it in his stance, the way the debate shone in his eyes as if he thought he could take us all. This guy was a wannabe cop, I'd known a lot of them as a firefighter, and this one would have fallen into the bad category. It was probably a good thing that he didn't make it.

"I suggest walking away," I added.

He doubled down, cracking his knuckles as his face flushed a bright red. When his fingers wrapped around Samantha's arm in a painful-looking grip, I saw red. "You're all coming with me."

"Don't touch me," Sammy growled.

Before I could step forward, the man was on his back; the air knocked from his lungs if his gasping like a fish was any indication. If the confrontation hadn't caught attention already, it did at that point. Several bystanders had cellphones in hand filming.

"I got it," Brook murmured, seeing the same thing I did. Each person gasped as their phones sparked and went dead. Wow, Sam's previously mousey best friend had really grown up. The old Brook would never have thought to do that, even if she could. My past impression of her was that she was a nerdy bookworm. The guys surrounding her really brought her out of her shell.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down and let us move on." Lex stepped over the prone body of the security guard. The others followed suit. I waited until everyone passed him by before I knelt next to him.

"If I so much as get wind that you've touched another female the way you just manhandled my girlfriend, I will end you. Do you understand?" A puff of smoke trailed from my nose, like an exhale of a vape pen I didn't use, filling the space with the scent of fire. He nodded once, his face still, tension lining his jaw. He took my threat as exactly what it was, a future promise. My girl could protect herself, others might not have the same skills.

When I caught up with the others, Sam had looped her arm with Brook’s again as they strolled through the mall with the entourage of men, all of which looked like they belonged in a fighting pit or somewhere not as bright as the fluorescent lit stores lining the open hall.

"We should go shopping," Sam said.

"We should focus," I said dryly.

"I didn't mean now." She rolled her eyes at me. "And with only Brook, I need some time with my bestie." Her fingers squeezed around her friend's forearm, and she grinned up at her.

A commotion up ahead cut off any response that might have come. Demons, a large group of them, stalked in our direction. They didn't bother to disguise themselves, and a regal-looking man led them. It took a minute for me to also notice that Sam's dad was being dragged between two of them. He was unconscious, his legs scraping along the vinyl floor.

"Dad!" Sam sprinted forward.

CHAPTER 14

Samantha

I unsheathed my blade, ready to cut through the group of them to get to my father. His head was lolled to the side at an angle that was anything but reassuring.

"Let him go," I demanded.

The man in front looked like a silver fox, gray at his temples, neat and short stubble along his jawline. He commanded attention. His gaze roved over me, lighting up with satisfaction.

"That didn't take long at all," he said, cocking his head to study me.

Bellamy stepped between us, cutting off my sight. "I'm not dead. Let her dad go."

A shocked gasp filled the space. "Bellamy?" the man asked, as if he was a mirage and not really standing in front of him. The man launched himself at his son. Their bodies crashed together in a tight hug as Bellamy stumbled back a step, not expecting the reaction. "I thought I lost you."

I skated around them, the demons still held my father between them. I held up my dagger. "Let him go."

They grunted but didn't move to release him. The King of Demons may be standing right behind me, but I didn't give a fuck, they were going to let him go, or I'd murder every one of them. Let them bring the war then. Unease flitted over their faces as they flicked their attention from me to their king, still wrapped up in his reunion.

"It's your funeral." I shrugged.

My blade was inches from its intended target when the King said, "Idiots, release him."

My father crumpled to the ground. I tried to catch him as he fell, gathering him into my lap. Time moved differently at that moment. It was fast, everything happened at once, yet it was slow, and it all took too long. I heard talk around me about calling an ambulance, but I couldn’t focus on anything but my father’s unconscious body.

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