drunk every night? Maybe working a PI or a security job until he got fired for being a derelict? Living alone in that two-room apartment until his liver kicked it?
He'd never been one for plans, but maybe it was time he made some.
“You didn't like that one?” Abby said, framing the shot glass with her breasts.
Reflexively, he reached for the damn thing, brought it to his lips, and tossed it back.
“That's my man.”
But when she went to pour him another, he covered the top with his hand. “I think I'm done tonight.”
“Yeah, right.” She smiled when he shook his head. “Well, you know where to find me.”
Yeah, unfortunately.
José took longer than ten minutes. It was a good half hour before Butch saw the detective cutting through the crowd of drinkers, a grim figure in his casual clothes.
“Do we know her?” Butch asked before the man could sit down.
“Another one of Big Daddy's. Carla Rizzoli. A.k.a. Candy.”
“Same MO?”
José ordered a vodka straight up. “Yup. Throat slit, blood everywhere. There was some residue on her lips like she'd been foaming at the mouth.”
“H?”
“Probably. The medical examiner's going to do the autopsy first thing tomorrow.”
“Anything found at the scene?”
“A dart. Like you'd shoot an animal with. We're having it analyzed.” José polished off the vodka with a quick tilt of his head. “And I heard Big Daddy's pissed. He's looking for revenge.”
“Yeah, well, hopefully he'll take it out on Beth's boyfriend. Maybe a war will drive that bastard out of hiding.” Butch set his elbows onto the bar. Rubbed his achy eyes. “Goddamn it, I can't believe she's protecting him.”
“Man, I never saw that one coming. She finally picks someone—”
“And he's a total lowlife.”
José looked over. “We're going to have to call her in.”
“I figured.” Butch focused his eyes by squinting. “Listen, I'm supposed to meet her tomorrow. Give me a crack at her first, will ya?”
“I can't do that, O'Neal. You're not—”
“Yeah, you can. You just schedule her for the day after.”
“The investigation is moving forward—”
“Please.” Butch couldn't believe he was begging. “Come on, José”. I've got a better shot than anyone at getting through to her."
“Why's that?”
“Because she watched him almost kill me.”
José looked down at the grotty bar top. “You've got one day. And nobody'd better find out, because the captain will have my head. Then no matter what, I gotta interrogate her at the station.”
Butch nodded while Abby came dancing back over with a Scotch bottle in one hand and a liter of vodka in the other.
“You're looking dry, boys,” she said with a giggle. The message in her lusty smile and her vacant eyes was getting louder, more desperate, as the night crawled to an end.
Butch thought of his empty wallet. His empty holster. His empty apartment.
“I gotta get out of her,” he muttered, sliding off the stool. “I mean, here.”
Wrath's arm absorbed the shotgun's load, and the impact twisted his torso like rope. He went with the force of the hit, spinning to the ground, but he didn't stay down. Moving fast and low, he got the hell out of the way, not giving the shooter a chance to nail him again.
The fifth lesser had come out of nowhere. And it was packing a heavy load in that sawed-off.
Behind a pine tree, Wrath quickly took stock of the injury. Nothing too deep. Some skin and muscle stripped off his biceps. Bone was intact. He could still fight.
He took out a throwingstar and stepped into the open.
And that was when a tremendous flash of light illuminated the clearing.
He leaped back into the shadows. “Aw, Christ!”
Now they were all in for it. The beast was coming out of Rhage. And the shit was going to hit the fan.
Rhage's eyes glowed white as headlights as his body mutated in a ghastly display of tearing and ruptures. Something horrible took his place, its scales glistening in the moonlight, its claws slicing through the air. The lessers didn't know what hit them as the creature attacked with a full set of fangs, going after them until their blood ran down its huge chest in a river.
Wrath stayed back. He'd seen this before, and the beast didn't need help. Hell, if you got too close, you were liable to get a body trim.
When it was all over, the creature let out a howl so loud, the trees bowed away, their branches blown asunder.
The slaughter was absolute. There was no hope of getting any identification off the lessers because there were no bodies. Even