Primal Pursuit

“No record of that. Got a receipt?” He breathes on me as he comes in, and somewhere down the hall a door opens, just as footsteps bang, then slow on the stairs below.

“I gave you the money. You never gave me the receipt.”

Giovanni’s drunk, and drunk, sleazy men aren’t a favorite thing of mine. He moves close, one paw reaching for my breast, and I don’t think. I react. Instinct.

I bring my arm up and block him as I throw my weight into my other arm, jabbing him hard in the eye.

“Cunt!” he yells.

The man staggers, grabbing his face with one hand, swinging in the air with the other.

I stamp hard on his foot, the stiletto crunching down through his sneakers and holding him there while I knee him hard in the balls. I shove him, and he pinwheels back, slamming into the other wall on the hall landing.

“Consider this notice,” he snarls, hunched over.

“Consider this sexual harassment and a whole host of charges coming your way.”

From around me a cheer rises and one or two people clap. Apparently, we have an audience. Clearly, he’s pissed off all his tenants, and they all want his ass handed to him.

Giovanni manages to get himself up and hobble, pushing a girl out of the way.

“You go, sister!” She grins. “Been wanting to do that for years.”

I just nod and let myself back in my apartment, leaning against the door, trying to give myself some room to come back down into my calm place. Right now, all I want to do is get my gun and shoot the bastard. In the head. Maybe I’ll shoot his dick off first, then go for the death blow.

I gulp air, go to the kitchen, and find the whiskey. I pour a big shot and down it, needing the courage the alcohol burns into my stomach. Leaning back against the fridge, I close my eyes briefly, calming my thoughts. I should be mooning over boys. Going on dates. Dreaming of white picket fences. Not thinking of killing people in cold blood, and going on dangerous, hot, sex-filled games with my parents’ killer.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I’ve always been moving down this dark road I’m on, but I’ve never been this deep in the black rabbit hole.

Rabbit.

The ache for Davian doesn’t diminish one bit, no matter all the other pain that swirls in me, the sadness, the shame, the confusion.

Crap. I’m late. But I need to give it some more time, just to make sure my landlord isn’t hanging about—and what the fuck am I meant to do about that? I’m not convinced he’ll kick me out. There were too manywitnesses, but it might be time to start looking for another place.

Pouring one more drink and hitting it back, cringing as I swallow, I grab my things to head out.

The moment I step out of my shitty apartment, the world blows up in chaos.

Before I can think, someone tangles a fist in my hair and slams me face-first into the wall. Once. Twice.

Agony pierces my body like a million tiny daggers, and flashes of light burst into my vision. A deep ringing in my ears blots out all sound until he slams me one more time.

My lungs are on fire as I gasp for air, and every nerve in my body screams with pain. But I haven’t trained for nothing. I fling my head back and smash it into Giovanni’s face with a sickening crunch. A wild kick to his leg has him loosening his grip, giving me the perfect opportunity to spin and punch him in the chest. Without hesitation, I reach out and twist his balls so hard and fast that his body folds right at my feet.

He’s down, but I don’t stop.

I slam a foot on his neck, knowing exactly where my heel’s poised. One wrong move and he’ll have himself a tracheotomy he doesn’t need. “That was attempted rape,” I say, voice thick, the taste of copper in my mouth enraging me more. “I expect two month’s free rent. Or one of my friends will come and visit you to finish the job. Permanently.”

The only person I know is Davian, but the fuckface here doesn’t know.

“Do I make myself clear?”

“Ye-es…”

“Good.”