Outfoxed (The Fox Witch #1) - R.J. Blain Page 0,75

around a corner where I wouldn’t spot him. Hunger and irritation warred over each other, and while I had no interest in actually hurting the bounty hunter, of the ones I knew, I disliked him the most.

He had thoughts about women like me, thoughts that made the rich assholes seeking courtesans look like angels in comparison.

He had no scruples about breaking and bending the rules, especially if it got him paid.

Damned asshole bounty hunters.

I expected Carlos would try to head me off at the other end of the alley, and we’d have a scuffle. He’d probably use brute force to get his way, since smacking me upside the head with a brick might kill me.

Everyone in Tulsa had heard about the time Carlos had smacked an asshole upside the head with a brick and battered his brains out. Generally, nobody had cared about the asshole he’d whacked, as the bounty had stated dead or alive for good reason. Hell, my boss had given Carlos a free drink the first night he’d come in afterwards as thanks for getting rid of the piece of shit.

As expected, Carlos circled around the block in an attempt to cut me off. I beat him out of the alley, flicking my tail at him.

“You’re a pest!” he hollered at my back.

“I’m a priceless beauty,” I countered, careful to keep out of his reach and monitoring him from the sounds of his pursuit and cautious glances over my shoulder. “Admit it, Carlos. You love me.”

“I can’t afford to love you. Your price tag’s high. I’ll give you credit, girl. You’re slippery. Come along nicely. I’d rather not have to bruise you.”

“Sorry, Carlos. I’d love to chat, but today is not my day to get shipped off to another quadrant.”

I hoped.

I really, really hoped.

“It’s a good deal for you, Jade.”

Oh, hey. He knew my name. Fancy that. Usually, he called me a vixen and left it at that. I didn’t blame him for that. He was who he was, I was who I was, and we got along about as well as a lit match and some gasoline, especially when he was out to take me hostage for a nice paycheck.

My fox preferred Sandro, and I bet the little traitor would go out of her way to ensure he got his hands on me.

Then again, when life offered the choice between lemons and a hot ass bounty hunter, maybe going with the hot ass bounty hunter’s flow might make the hassle worth my while. For about an hour.

I needed some time to think about my general inclination to flirt with trouble.

“Damn it, Jade!”

I expected a lot from Carlos, but him flinging wood at my head counted as rude. His first toss missed, but his second one beaned me right between the ears. I yelped, staggered, and recovered in time for him to close the distance between us.

All right. If he wanted a fight, I’d give him a fight. I snatched the stick, whirled, and cracked him in the face with it.

What was one extra break in his stupid nose? He yelped, I snorted at him with the same general grace of a raging bull, and I hopped out of his reach, careful to keep my abused tail away from his outstretched hands.

To drive across the point he could look but not touch, I smacked his wrists with his own damned stick before I flung it in his face and bolted.

I ran like I meant it, debating my options. Most bounty hunters wouldn’t have access to Asylum, so if I could make it to one of the legitimate entry points, I could gain access to the sanctuary. As long as I made it to the entry and talked with one of the Asylum guards, the smart bounty hunters would back off and wait until a better time to try to grab me.

How the hell had my life become such a damned mess in a matter of days?

Getting to one of Asylum’s entries would be the true problem, as most were deep within Inner Tulsa’s heart. While I could make use of the maintenance tunnels, the last thing I needed was someone like Carlos spotting me dropping into a manhole.

No, I couldn’t afford to play that card yet.

Of my options, sticking to familiar turf would help the most, and I’d have far better odds of hiding out in one of my cellars than reaching Asylum. Every time a storm blew through, some alleys got blocked while other paths opened.