His lips twitched. “Before I make an offer, I want you to know how serious I am. Each time I call on your services, you’ll receive ten thousand.”
My breath caught. This was serious money.
He gestured toward the pouch behind the passenger seat. “Reach in there.”
When I tucked my fingers inside, I gripped paper and pulled out a yellow envelope. Inside were three stacks of bills.
“Count it if you like,” he said. “It’s all there. You might want to start carrying a purse.”
“I don’t get it. You know I can’t stay away from work that long. Is this an advance?”
“I want you to see how serious I am about my offer. Money speaks louder than words.”
I shoved the cash back into the pouch. “Okay. You’re serious, but what’s the offer?”
He glanced out the back window. “I want you to juice me.”
What the hell? “Is this a test?”
“I like rough play,” he said. “I like to resist, and I need a strong woman who can take it from me by force.”
I blinked in surprise. “That’s what this is about? Why all the cloak and dagger? You could ask any woman at the club to do this. I bet there’s even a room for it.”
My blood pressure skyrocketed, and I shifted in my seat. What a waste of time.
“They won’t indulge fantasies like mine.” When he touched his phone, the LCD in front of us lit up with an image. “I need visual stimulation for this transaction to work.”
When I glanced at the screen, my blood chilled. A girl no older than seven was crying. I steered my gaze away when a large hand entered the frame to slap her. That hand wore the same ring as the one on Crawford’s middle finger.
My fangs punched out, and blood roared in my ears. Fury stole my reasoning like a thief in the night. John Crawford represented the villains I used to hunt and kill—loathsome men who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as everyone else. Most were human killers, but Crawford was special. He was my white whale.
His eyes rounded when he saw my fangs. “Impossible! I saw you flash. I saw—”
Before he could flee, I lunged and pulled his hand away from the door handle. We tussled for a minute, and I sank my fangs into his neck and drank his noxious blood. Like poison on my tongue, I could taste every wicked thing about him. Something inside me took over—something dark. I wasn’t Raven anymore.
I was the Shadow.
My mask fell off as I drank. It didn’t take much to weaken this pathetic slug. Before he could even think about fighting me off, I gripped his hands and locked fingers. “You like it rough? Well, you’re in luck.” I pulled his light so fast that it snapped against my palms.
Crawford bit his bottom lip. What an absolute fucking nightmare. As the video continued, all I heard was the plaintive sound of a sobbing child.
And this evil little toad was getting off on it.
I glared down at him with cutthroat eyes. “Lights out.” His energy surged through me like a roaring freight train. An audible snap sounded, followed by a flash of light. Crawford’s core light—the light that preserved his immortality—was now mine, leaving him a shell of a man.
He gasped in horror. “You can’t… You can’t!”
I tipped my head and grinned foolishly. “But I did.” After opening my door, I detached his sword from the interior roof and stepped out. I preferred knives, but the sword felt good in my hands. Like it knew exactly what to do. “Come face your death, mortal.”
Anticipating his every move, I coolly walked around to his door and tapped the blade against the glass. There was no escape, and he knew it. I could flash, and he couldn’t.
Crawford dove between the seats to drive off, but he wasn’t fast enough. I already had the driver’s door open, casually leaning against it as I waited for his next move. No need to make this a gory death. Crawford was a human now, and all it would take was one little poke through the gut.
His car turned on and off using a push button, and I had no idea where the key fob was. All I could do was wait, and my patience was as thin as his grey hair.
Crawford climbed out of the passenger seat and looked at me over the top of the car. “That money is just a drop in the