Page 32 of The Echo of Violence

“Are you his girlfriend?” I tense because if she says yes, I’m knocking this motherfucker out. Hot or not, cheating really pisses me off, especially when both parties aren’t aware of it.

“Fuck no. I love him like a brother, but that’s as far as it goes. I’m Mercy, by the way.” She holds her hand out, surprising me. Not many women do that anymore, outside the workplace, at least.

“Jinx. Nice to meet you.”

“Jinx. Cool name. So, how do you know Knight?”

“I don’t know him. He hit on me last night, and I turned him down. If I had to hazard a guess, not many people tell him no, and now he’s pissed.”

Mercy bursts out laughing as another guy walks over and sits on the other side of her. He looks from her to me with interest, but not the kind that brings on the warm and fuzzies. There is an absence of warmth in his eyes. A coldness I’ve seen a few times in my line of work that immediately puts me on guard. This guy is not a playboy like Knight. This man is a natural-born killer.

“What’s funny?”

“Jinx turned Knight down, and now he’s pissed.”

“She already had a prospect on the hook. Ain’t that right, babe? It seems when you go slumming it, you really give it your all,” Knight drawls.

“Knight!” Mercy hisses at him.

“Aw, poor baby. Did I hurt your itty-bitty feelings?”

“Bitch—”

I lean over the table and glare at him, just barely refraining from wrapping my hand around his throat.

“I said I wasn’t interested. That should have been the end of it. You don’t get to come up to me and throw shit my way because of it. You want a woman to drop to her knees for you? Grab a club bunny, I’m sure you’ve done it a million times before. But don’t act like a prick because I refused to become another notch on your bedpost.”

The table goes quiet for a minute before I feel heat at my back.

“There a problem, baby girl?” Nico’s hand squeezes my shoulder. I should have known they’d have picked up on the hostility a mile away.

“No, Nico. No problem. Let’s just leave. My Sunday’s been shot to shit now anyway.”

“No, wait, please stay. Ignore Knight, I do. It’s nice to talk to a woman who isn’t interested in getting into a biker’s pants.”

I hesitate, wanting to get the fuck out of here, but Mercy seems genuine. I sigh and nod quickly for her, but my patience is wearing thin. She seems nice, but I owe her nothing, and if she can’t keep her dog under control, I’m gone.

Lifting my head, I lean back so Nico can lean down over me.

“Where’s Rex?”

“Just waiting for the food. You sure you want to stay?”

“I’m good for now.”

He leans over me and presses a kiss to my lips for show before straddling the seat next to me.

“How’s it going? I’m Nico.” He offers his hand to the guy beside Mercy.

The man stares at it for a minute before shaking it. “Scope.”

“Sniper?”

The man tenses before narrowing his eyes and nodding sharply. “You?”

“Like recognizes like,” Nico replies before smiling at Mercy.

“Hey, I’m Mercy, and this is Knight.”

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