Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“I’m a Jedi,” I say confidently. “The Rebellion needs me to, uh, bye.”
Summoning more energy, I shove the guy into his friend and they both stumble to the ground. Ryder and I get Leo outside and thankfully right in time for him to bend over and puke into the gravel.
“You deal with that,” I tell Ryder. “I’m going to make sure Leo doesn’t actually have a tab.” I turn on my heel and go around the front, getting a confused look from the bouncer. I’m not dressed for this kind of place, not having had a chance to change out of the dress I wore at the news station.
I close out Leo’s tab, get a trash bag from the bartender, and then go out the front. I’m on my way to the back when someone grabs my shoulder. I whirl around, fingers already curled into fists.
“Tonight is not the night,” I tell one of the guys who were trying to pick a fight with Leo. Whatever he started, I’m going to finish.
“Wait a second, bitch,” the guy who I stopped from punching Leo says, words slurring a bit. His breath reeks like tequila.
“Bitch?” I echo, raising my eyebrows.
“Dude,” his friend says, trying to get him to back off. “She’s a chick.”
“I don’t fucking care,” the guys says and reaches for me, grabbing the neckline of my dress. He’s quite a bit taller than me, even in my heels, and an untrained woman could easily panic, which is why I’m such an advocate for all women to take a self defense course at least once in their life. How to break out of a hold like this is a move I’ve practiced a thousand times, and I don’t even blink an eye as I bring one hand up and step in, bringing my elbow down hard on the guy’s arm. It forces him to break contact immediately, and I whirl around, raising my other arm and using that elbow to bring a blow to his face. He stumbles back and I drop down, sweeping one leg out and causing him to fall.
I turn to his friend, who just holds his hands up defensively, letting me know he doesn’t want to go up against me.
“Smart,” I tell him, raising my eyebrows. “I'm not in the mood for misogynistic bullshit today. Actually, no one is ever in the mood for it. Get your friend, call an Uber, and go home.”
I hike my purse back up on my arm and turn, hurrying through the uneven pavement to get to Ryder and Leo. We get him in the car and buckle him into the back. I open the trash bag, praying Leo doesn’t puke all over Xavier’s expensive SUV.
“Thanks,” I tell Ryder, closing the door and stepping to the side so I can get into the driver’s seat.
“I’m glad you could get him,” he tells me and looks at the back door. He’s waiting for that girl to join us, I can feel it. And she does, coming out the back. I open the driver’s door.
“Is everything okay?” Ryder asks, and I can’t tell if he’s stalling to buy enough time for me to see him put his arm around that girl or if he’s genuinely concerned. “Something isn’t adding up.”
“There’s a lot going in. If, uh, it’s necessary, we’ll reach out.”
“Hey,” the female hunter says. “Wren, right?”
“Yeah,” I reply, telling myself I’m being stupid for instantly not liking her. I don’t know this woman at all. “Thanks for helping my brother.”
“Of course. Us hunters have to stick together.”
I hold her gaze for a second, trying to decipher if she's referring to just the guys or if she's including me as a hunter as well.
“Yeah,” I say. “I need to get him home.”
“Wren,” Ryder says, catching the door before I get in. “Here’s his phone. I disabled the location settings, but we both know that’s probably not enough.”
“You’re right. Thanks.”
Ryder’s brows push together and the concern on his face is real. “If you get a hold of Toni, let me know. Like I said, something isn’t adding up. Even my parents are questioning things and you know how they are.”
“Yeah. I do. Thank you again, Ryder.” I close the door and look back at Leo before taking off. He's slumped against the window, eyes shut, and is passed out cold by the time I get back to the gas station to get Antonio.
“I’ll drive,” I tell him, wanting the distraction.
“Fuck, he reeks,” Antonio quips, pulling his seatbelt into place. “He better not puke.”
“I thought the same thing.” I plug in the home address into the GPS and let out a sigh. “Ryder is suspicious something is going on,” I tell Antonio.
“See? Told you he’s questioning things. And I know you’re going to hate to hear it, Wren, but when it comes to getting info on your demon…I think we’re going to need his help.”