He checked the gun as he ran, dropping the magazine into
the palm of his other hand to make sure it was full. Heโd
be screwed if he caught up with the bad guys only to find
out the weapon was empty. Not only would that be
embarrassing, but painful, too. Luckily, it was loaded.
He slammed the magazine back in, lifting his head just in
time to catch sight of the three men a hundred yards in
front of him. They slipped in and out of the dim lights
coming from the various restaurants and businesses lining
the alley. Clearly, they hadnโt expected anyone to follow
them because they werenโt moving very fast. He might just
catch up to them, after all. Admittedly, one of him
against three of them wasnโt the best math in the world,
but he was the one whoโd decided to chase after them.
What did he expect?
Hand tightening around the pistolโs grip, he sped up, his
boots echoing in the alley as he raced down it at warp
speed. At least it seemed like warp speed until Ninja
Girl ran past him like he was standing still. Holy crap,
she was fast. Speed like that might have left a guy with
less self-esteem with a few inferiority issues, but
fortunately, lack of self-esteem had never been a problem
for him.
Up ahead, Big Guy suddenly stopped and spun around to
face them. Travis swore and ran faster. Ninja Girl was
closing in on Big Guy at breakneck speed. She was going
to get herself shot for sure.
But Big Guy didnโt pull out a gun. Instead, he spread his
arms and legs wide like he was daring Ninja Girl to bring
it. Then he roared.
The sound was so animalistic and primal it made the hair
on the back Travisโs neck stand on end. Any sane person
probably would have turned and run the other way. But
Travis always thought he had to have a couple screws
loose to be a Special Forces soldier. So he kept charging
forward even though the manโs roar hit him with an almost
physical force.
Then things got really weird.
At first, Travis thought it was the near darkness in the
alley playing tricks on him because he could have sworn
Big Guyโs eyes were glowing gold and his teeth were
suddenly frigging huge. But as Travis got closer, he
realized he wasnโt seeing things. Big Guy really did have
a mouth full of enormous f**king teeth that hadnโt been
there before, including two fangs that protruded almost
an inch past his lower lip. And if that wasnโt completely
freaky beyond all possible definitions of the word, the
guyโs fingertips now ended in long straight claws that
looked like something out of a horror movie.
Travis expected Ninja Girl to slam on the brakes, whirl
around, and run screaming. He lifted his pistol and aimed
it at Big Guy, ready to cover her escape, but she never
even slowed down. Instead she let out a high-pitched
growl of her own and went in swinging, spinning, and
kicking.
That was when Travis realized Big Guy wasnโt the only one
with fangs and claws. Ninja Girl had a matching set,
except hers were sharper, and more curved. And oh yeah,
her eyes were glowing green instead of yellow.
Well, shit.
There were two people with fangs, claws, and glowing
f**king eyes fighting like animals right in front of him,
so slowing down would probably have been the intelligent
thing to do. But there was a woman fighting a man who
outweighed her by more than a hundred pounds. Ninja Girl
might have more speed than a Ferrari, but Big Guy didnโt
seem fazed by her speed, not even when her curved claws
slashed right through his T-shirt to scratch his chest.
He simply kept raking at her with his claws. Something
told Travis that if Big Guy landed one of his blows,
Ninja Girl wasnโt going to be able to shake it off quite
as easily.
Travis stopped and aimed his gun at Big Guy, but he and
Ninja Girl were moving too fast to get a clear shot. He
swore. The hell with it. Taking a deep breath, he ran
toward them at a flat-out sprint.
โIncoming!โ he shouted.
God, he hoped this didnโt end in disaster. Because if
Ninja Girl didnโt move, he was going to end up hitting
her. But thankfully, she spun to the side just in time
for Travis to lower his shoulder and slam it into Big
Guyโs chest. The move caught the freaky guy with the
glowing yellow eyes completely by surprise and he flew
backward, landing on his ass. Travis immediately jumped
to his feet and leveled his gun at Big Guyโs head.
Travis might have gloated a little if he hadnโt heard the
distinctive metal-on-metal clack that was as familiar to
him as a babyโs cry to its mother. That was the sound of
the bolt closing on an M16 and loading a round into the
chamber.
Travis lifted his head just in time to see the two
remaining bad guys standing ten feet away, matching
assault rifles in their hands.
Double shit.
Travis spun around to get Ninja Girl to safety, but she
was already running for cover of the nearest building.
Two weapons on full automatic chewed up the ground around
them as Travis wrapped his arms protectively around her
and got them both out of the line of fire. They hit the
ground hard, rolling once to reach safety. But even as
they flattened themselves to the dirt, a hail of bullets
smashed into the wall around them, and Travis yanked her
closer to his chest.
Fragments from the brick building beside them covered his
back, and his ears were ringing by the time the shooting
stopped. Travis had been shot at enough times in battle
to know better than to poke his head out for a look-see,
though. That would only get it shot off.
Even after tires squealed on asphalt and he knew the bad
guys had left, he stayed where he was, hugging Ninja Girl
close to his body. Not because he thought they were in
danger any longer, but because she felt exceedingly nice
there. If she wasnโt going to complain, neither was he.
Hell, heโd be fine with her staying there all night.
After a few moments, she stirred on his chest, twisting
around to look at him. Her fangs were still out and her
eyes had that amazing green-thing going on, but a second
later, both slowly disappeared. Bummer. Heโd never seen a
woman with fangs before, but he had to admit they looked
good on her.
Travis was still gazing into her now blue eyesโwhich were
just as devastating even without the glowโwhen she arched
a brow and gave him a questioning look.
โSo, do you tackle all the girls you meet, or am I
special?โ she asked in the sexiest voice heโd ever heard.
Oh, youโre special all right, he mused to himself as she
gracefully got to her feet and looked down the alley in
the direction the heavily armed men had vanished. Very
special.
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