Page 14 of Dark OZ

“You are such a stubborn ass, Dan. If North is planning something, I’d much rather have a stand-off here than at some shitty apartment on the west end of New Munich.”

I could feel my patience begin to fray on both ends. Honestly, these two could make bickering into an Olympic sport.

“I’m standing right here. You could maybe address me directly instead of talking about me like I’m a child. And, Danny, was it?” I added, popping my hip out. It was a mirror of Eastin’s stance. I didn’t have the shiny silver shoes, but that didn’t make it any less confident. There was one undeniable fact, Eastin Witcher had perfected the Boss Bitch pose, and I wasn’t so proud as to avoid using it now.

“I don’t even have pants on. I doubt you need to worry about me pulling a weapon on you. So how about you stop swinging your big gun energy around.”

Danny huffed a long sigh. Flipping the safety on the rifle, he finally lowered it. The red laser centered over my breast disappeared.

“Ok, Princess. Just remember, I don’t need this to kill you.”

“That’s fine, just so long as you remember that I don’t need pants to knee you in the balls.”

Crowe barked out a laugh and shoved Danny out of the way.

“Careful, Dan, this one is a firecracker. She’s bright and fun to play with, but if you choke her, she’ll blow your fucking hand off.” Crowe disappeared into the darkness of the house, his voice trailing behind him. “Come on, Thea. Don’t let this Neanderthal scare you. He’s got a big roar, but deep down, he’s nothing but a coward.”

I quickly caught up to him, smiling with saccharine sweetness as we passed Danny. If scowls could kill, then the way his brows were dipping as Crowe’s hand locked around mine were lethal. Maybe that was all the incentive I needed, or maybe I was still pissed he’d pulled a gun big enough to floor a small army. Or, maybe, I just had so much bottled-up rage in me that I needed an outlet, making this the perfect time to prove to him that I don’t make idle threats. Whatever it was, it felt damn good to ram my knee straight into his groin.

Danny buckled forward, and rather than letting him fall to his knees where he could whimper in peace, I crowded his space until his gasping breaths were sharing the same air as my controlled ones. With all the sensuality of a lover, I slid my hands along his chest and up to his shoulders until I had pushed him back against the door frame.

My whispering lips brushed his ear, “I’m no one’s Princess.” I pressed a kiss to his cheek before following Crowe into the building.

Had I pushed the man with the big gun too far? Probably. At this point, I was starting to wonder if it even mattered anymore.

Crowe stood a few feet inside, shaking his head in astonishment.

“What?” I said with an innocent shrug.

“You are just full of surprises, is all. Seeing a man taking a knee to the dick shouldn’t have been hot, but fuck if that wasn’t the sexiest thing I’ve seen all night.”

“Only all night? Maybe I should be trying harder. Let me know if you need an encore.” I pointedly looked down at the swelling line of his zipper.

Crowe coughed a laugh, but his hand moved protectively to guard against any repeat performances. If there was one thing these boys needed to understand clearly, it was that I may be beaten, homeless, and pantless, but I wasn’t something to be preyed upon. I had spent too much of my life being pushed around, and now that I was out from under Em’s thumb, I wasn’t going to let anyone else put me under theirs.

We moved another few feet into the connecting hall before entering a large open-plan room, complete with exposed rafters and ductwork, more like we’d walked into a converted warehouse than a home. A dining table and chairs sat off to one side, with the kitchen island next to it. On the opposite side of the space there was a large sitting area. It was cozy, in a clinical sort of way.

“I say we cash in on the reward and just hand her over to Westin now.” A cold, level voice drifted down to us. There was a softness to his letters that hinted at an accent, but I couldn’t place where it was from. I craned my neck to look up at a dark figure leaning over the loft railing.

He was almost entirely hidden by the shadows looming around him. They cloaked his identity like they heeled to his command. Beneath his thick hood, I could only make out the sharp edges of his jaw, giving him a distinctly ghoulish appearance. I shivered like it was the grim reaper staring death down at me.

Crowe pulled me tight to his back, but stopped moving when the gleam of a gun muzzle flashed ominously at us.

“Seriously? Another one?” I muttered into Crowe’s shoulder. “What happened to there’snothing to be afraid of here, Thea? Have you actually met the assholes you live with?”

To prove my point, something hard nudged my back, pushing into the brutalized skin. I hissed at Danny, prompting him to continue prodding me with the tip of his rifle.

“You would be wise to watch the words that come out of your mouth around here,Princess.”

I looked him up and down, laying the disgust in my eyes on thick. “I’ll start speaking with respect when you start acting like you deserve it.”

Danny’s face flared red, but whatever he was about to say was cut short by Crowe’s reply. “Nobody is going to do anything until we figure out what is actually going on.”

The man looming above us yelled down, “I know what’s going on. A fifty thousand dollar payout just walked through our doors. This is the easiest score we’ve ever made. Come on, Crowe, even you aren’t that brainless.”

“Nobody is handing shit over to Westin,” Crowe spat. “That miserable, two-faced witch doesn’t deserve anything. I don’t care how much she’s paying.”

I should be pleased that he was defending me, except that it sounded more like if anyone other than Westin was paying for me, then it would be up for discussion.