Proof of Life (The Potentate of Atlanta #4) - Hailey Edwards Page 0,30
is a weapon.”
He spread his hands wide in answer, and I didn’t argue. Why would I, when he had stacked the deck in my favor as well as his?
Hope you don’t get papercut when your house of cards falls down.
Okay, okay.
That was a lie.
Deep down, I hoped he got decapitated by the Queen of Hearts.
Angling my head toward Bishop, I flicked my gaze skyward. “Can you make sure we get this on film?”
“Reece has been recording since we hit the streets,” he assured me. “There will be a record of this.”
That both simplified and complicated things. Ambrose wasn’t a natural talent, more like unnatural, but he was a part of me, so I figured that counted. Which meant using him could bite me on the butt when the footage was reviewed, and it definitely would be. I just didn’t have much choice in the matter.
“Okay then.” I spread my arms. “Ready when you are.”
Credit where credit was due. The guy was fast. He charged me while the change took him, and the beast in him burst free in a crimson wave that threatened to crest over my head and crush me beneath him.
Whirling aside with seconds to spare, I laughed at the near miss to rile him. I was determined to win this without laying a finger on Lon. More than defeating him, I wanted to humiliate him. Ruin him. Destroy his credibility as a fighter and prove he had no right to call himself an alpha.
Petty? Yes. But so was killing Claudia for the crime of having a heart within hours of it being broken.
Bon appétit, I thought at Ambrose. Make it convincing.
Ambrose wove in and out of Lon, gulping chunks of his innate magic with each violent strike, forcing him to struggle to hold his form. For my part, I spun aside, almost dancing and still avoiding his clumsy lunges by miles. The crowd was enthralled. Or terrified. Or some combination of the two. Their eyes were wide, their lips parted, and they shivered and shook as if a taste of violence had made them hungry for it too.
A sour tang hit the back of my throat, and I gagged as Ambrose shuddered against the disgusting flavor.
Shifters weren’t to his tastes, but I hadn’t fed him since the battle, so he wasn’t passing up free food.
A low growl poured from Lon, the biggest threat he could muster, as crimson magic dripped from his fur.
Lurching toward me, Lon gathered his strength to pounce. I sidestepped his graceless jump then booped him on the nose with the tip of my finger. That perked him up, and he snarled, throwing more weight behind his next wobbly attack. I hopped to the left to avoid his teeth, and Bishop cackled with delight.
The urge to mime waving a flag while shouting Toro almost overcame me, for which I blamed all the cartoons I watched as a kid, but I behaved for the cameras.
Pity for Lon, Ambrose enjoyed his job. Too much at times. This was one of them.
Lon landed wrong on his next leap, turning an ankle, and he fell onto the asphalt, his sides heaving.
“I can do this all night,” I warned him. “Are we done here?”
Rather than answer, Lon closed his eyes and let rip a snore of epic proportions.
“I don’t understand.” One of the two witnesses inched closer. “He’s…asleep?”
“No, he’s an asshole.” I shrugged. “But yes, an unconscious one.”
The second glanced at me then hit his knees and bowed his head. “Alpha.”
Others I hadn’t noticed stepped into the light and joined in the chorus.
“Alpha.”
“Alpha.”
“Alpha.”
“Whoa.” I bent down to restrain Lon’s wrists with a sigil. “I’m not your alpha.”
“You defeated him,” the first to speak reminded me. “You won his position.”
“Goddess,” I breathed. “Just give me a minute, okay?” I turned to Bishop. “Milo?”
“Safe,” he assured me. “He’s splitting off to patrol now that we have this under control.”
Walking away from the pack, I pulled out my phone and called Tisdale, who was less likely to yell at me.
“Why do I expect the worst every time your number flashes on my screen?”
“You’re smart?”
Amusement laced her voice. “What’s happened now?”
“The asshat who murdered Claudia last night jumped me on the street and challenged me for beta.”
A string of curses blistered my ear before Tisdale regained control of herself. “Are you all right?”
“I won,” I assured her. “Midas is still beta.”
“Don’t make me drive all the way into town to throttle you,” she growled. “Are you all right?”