Spooky Business (The Spectral Files #3) - S.E. Harmon Page 0,51

coming. Kane was just too volatile to fuck with. He had the upper hand in strength and anger, but his technique was weak. All you have to do is hold him off a few more seconds. Just a few more. That was pretty much the soundtrack playing on repeat in my mind, until Kane grabbed a handful of my hair and slammed my face into the table.

Okaaay, so playing defense wasn’t working.

I weaseled out of his grasp and managed a quick uppercut to his jaw, so solid that it reverberated in my knuckles. His head jerked slightly, but he absorbed it with a grunt. He grabbed me in a hold that took me off my feet—less virgin bride over the threshold and more I’m about to WWE this motherfucker and body slam him through the table.

Clearly, my offense also needed some work.

Even though his squeeze was starting to restrict my air, I stayed calm, ramming my arm backward as hard and high up as I could. He howled as my elbow connected with something soft, and suddenly I was free. I hit the floor hard as he staggered backward, a hand cupped around his nose.

Guards began shouting and locks began sliding. I got to my feet, eyeing Kane warily, almost certain there would be a counterattack. When he moved his hand and stared at the smear of blood across his palm, I swallowed. Yeah, there would probably be consequences for that.

The heavy door swung open and two guards spilled into the room. They set upon Kane immediately, each grabbing one of his thick arms. Kane managed to clip one of them in the jaw before they threw him back into his chair so violently that the momentum sent him crashing into the wall. Kane roared as he struggled to his feet. He looked ready to go another round until one of the guards threatened him with mace.

I resisted the urge to rub my aching knee, which had taken the brunt of my fall. Or my tender cheek, which he’d slammed into the table. Instead, I leaned against the cement wall, arms crossed, and watched the guards shackle him. It was going to take some effort to reestablish our power dynamic.

He glared at me as the chains went around his wrists. In the tussle, the blood dripping from his nose had been smeared across his face and jumpsuit. “I think you b’oke by bucking dose,” he growled.

“Doubtful,” I said, my mouth set with grim satisfaction. “Just bruised it a bit. You about done with your temper tantrum?”

He rocked up out of his chair, and the guards slammed him back down. “I want you out of here,” he snarled. “I’m done with this shit.”

“That is your choice. We’ll continue this another day.”

He didn’t speak again as they prepared him for transport. He gazed at me the entire time, eyes dark and troubled. His leg jiggled nervously. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what kind of dark thoughts disturbed a man like Kane.

A particular quote came to mind, something from my grad school days, when the only monsters in my world were on TV.

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process, he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

I broke our impromptu stare down first.

Here’s hoping Nietzsche was profoundly wrong.

Chapter 14

Traffic was light and I made good time getting back to Brickell Bay. I got off two exits earlier on the highway and headed for my sister’s house for an impromptu visit. I’d checked my phone after leaving the prison and found three missed calls from her and no messages. My return call went straight to voicemail, which wasn’t surprising either. She was good at making calls but not answering them, and one of her superpowers was constantly letting her phone run out of battery.

Five minutes later, I pulled into her driveway, which was rough and unpaved enough to make my car’s suspension whine. Using “driveway” for the strip of gravel was probably a little too lofty. The term “house” to describe her domicile was probably a little generous as well.

As far as I was concerned, her place was a few steps above a yurt in structure, seeing as how it was built into a hill and the roof was entirely grass. With the handmade wooden door and tiny lights on the outside, it looked like something straight out of a fairytale… just like the