Amaury's Hellion
Page 28
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“Why did you do it?” she asked.
Benny gave her a nonchalant look. “Why not? You don’t exactly pay premium when it comes to the information you want. A man’s got to live.”
Her old dilemma—money. Nina was aware she couldn’t always pay enough for the things she needed. Ever since Eddie’s death, she’d barely kept above water. Her brother had been the main breadwinner, and she’d gone back to school to improve her chances of getting a good job. But now that she had to avenge him, she clearly didn’t have time to get a job or continue with school. She barely had enough time to figure out where she could steal the necessities she needed to survive. The little savings she’d had were gone.
“You little rat.” Nina took two steps toward him, her arms stretched out to her sides, ready for combat. “Go ahead, take a swipe at me. Winner takes all.”
“Fuck you,” he replied.
She gave him a once-over. It was time to show the little jerk in front of her that he shouldn’t mess with her.
With a shout, Benny suddenly launched himself at her. She dove to the side and avoided him by a hair’s breadth. Her side hit the wall and brought back the pain of her already bruised ribs, but she had no time to dwell on it. She swiveled on her heel and faced him as he lunged at her again. Her arm blocked his knife not a second too soon.
“Ready to give me an answer?” she grunted through clenched teeth.
“You haven’t won,” Benny countered and pulled back only to wield his knife at her again.
Nina gave as good as she got. Stab after stab she avoided, just as he escaped her attempts to do damage. For a while they were evenly matched.
She felt exhaustion overwhelm her. The pain in her ribs hindered her flexibility. Maybe she should have postponed her showdown with Benny until she’d recovered. She wasn’t in top condition tonight. The fight with the two vampires had taken too much out of her already, and resisting Amaury had done the rest.
The next stab of her opponent’s knife landed on target. The gash on her arm was only a flesh wound, but the resulting pain wasn’t as fleeting as the stab had been.
“Fucking bastard,” she yelled and charged toward him, utterly pissed off. The pain gave her another badly needed shot of adrenaline, revving up her engine.
As she aimed her knife at him, her leg landed a well-placed kick at his shin, taking him off balance. He buckled. She took the second’s advantage and sliced through his hand, making him drop the knife as a result.
“You bitch!” he bit out.
Nina grabbed his injured hand and twisted it, kicked her knee into his back and held her knife to his neck. His body quivered. Good—he should fear her.
“Maybe now you’re ready to talk. You’ve got ten seconds.”
Her ribs pulsated with pain, and she only had a few more minutes of energy left before she would collapse. She was out of time.
“They’ll kill me if I talk.”
“Guess what—I’ll kill you if you don’t. And I’m right here. You’ve got a choice: die now, or die later,” she offered and hoped the idiot was smart enough to choose later.
Benny breathed heavily. “Okay. Just don’t hurt me anymore.”
“Talk fast. My hand’s twitching, and who knows what’ll happen if I slip,” she warned.
“When I asked around for you, this guy approached me, said he’d pay me triple what you paid if I sent you into that trap.”
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t give a name. Paid cash right there. I didn’t ask anything.”
“That’s not good enough. Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did he want to get rid of me?”
Benny’s shoulders moved as if he was trying to shrug. “Said something about you putting your nose into something that’s none of your business.”
Nina shook her head. It was her business to find out what had really happened to her brother. She couldn’t accept that he was a murderer. “You must know something else.”
“No. That’s all I know.”
“Use your damn brain,” she hissed and pressed her knee harder into his back. He groaned.
“I heard him say to his friend that he’s going to a staff meeting tomorrow night.”
“What staff meeting?”
“Some company with scanners or something.”
Nina blinked. “Scanguards?”
“Yes, yes—that’s the one. He said he’d be at a staff meeting at Scanguards.”
Benny gave her a nonchalant look. “Why not? You don’t exactly pay premium when it comes to the information you want. A man’s got to live.”
Her old dilemma—money. Nina was aware she couldn’t always pay enough for the things she needed. Ever since Eddie’s death, she’d barely kept above water. Her brother had been the main breadwinner, and she’d gone back to school to improve her chances of getting a good job. But now that she had to avenge him, she clearly didn’t have time to get a job or continue with school. She barely had enough time to figure out where she could steal the necessities she needed to survive. The little savings she’d had were gone.
“You little rat.” Nina took two steps toward him, her arms stretched out to her sides, ready for combat. “Go ahead, take a swipe at me. Winner takes all.”
“Fuck you,” he replied.
She gave him a once-over. It was time to show the little jerk in front of her that he shouldn’t mess with her.
With a shout, Benny suddenly launched himself at her. She dove to the side and avoided him by a hair’s breadth. Her side hit the wall and brought back the pain of her already bruised ribs, but she had no time to dwell on it. She swiveled on her heel and faced him as he lunged at her again. Her arm blocked his knife not a second too soon.
“Ready to give me an answer?” she grunted through clenched teeth.
“You haven’t won,” Benny countered and pulled back only to wield his knife at her again.
Nina gave as good as she got. Stab after stab she avoided, just as he escaped her attempts to do damage. For a while they were evenly matched.
She felt exhaustion overwhelm her. The pain in her ribs hindered her flexibility. Maybe she should have postponed her showdown with Benny until she’d recovered. She wasn’t in top condition tonight. The fight with the two vampires had taken too much out of her already, and resisting Amaury had done the rest.
The next stab of her opponent’s knife landed on target. The gash on her arm was only a flesh wound, but the resulting pain wasn’t as fleeting as the stab had been.
“Fucking bastard,” she yelled and charged toward him, utterly pissed off. The pain gave her another badly needed shot of adrenaline, revving up her engine.
As she aimed her knife at him, her leg landed a well-placed kick at his shin, taking him off balance. He buckled. She took the second’s advantage and sliced through his hand, making him drop the knife as a result.
“You bitch!” he bit out.
Nina grabbed his injured hand and twisted it, kicked her knee into his back and held her knife to his neck. His body quivered. Good—he should fear her.
“Maybe now you’re ready to talk. You’ve got ten seconds.”
Her ribs pulsated with pain, and she only had a few more minutes of energy left before she would collapse. She was out of time.
“They’ll kill me if I talk.”
“Guess what—I’ll kill you if you don’t. And I’m right here. You’ve got a choice: die now, or die later,” she offered and hoped the idiot was smart enough to choose later.
Benny breathed heavily. “Okay. Just don’t hurt me anymore.”
“Talk fast. My hand’s twitching, and who knows what’ll happen if I slip,” she warned.
“When I asked around for you, this guy approached me, said he’d pay me triple what you paid if I sent you into that trap.”
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t give a name. Paid cash right there. I didn’t ask anything.”
“That’s not good enough. Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did he want to get rid of me?”
Benny’s shoulders moved as if he was trying to shrug. “Said something about you putting your nose into something that’s none of your business.”
Nina shook her head. It was her business to find out what had really happened to her brother. She couldn’t accept that he was a murderer. “You must know something else.”
“No. That’s all I know.”
“Use your damn brain,” she hissed and pressed her knee harder into his back. He groaned.
“I heard him say to his friend that he’s going to a staff meeting tomorrow night.”
“What staff meeting?”
“Some company with scanners or something.”
Nina blinked. “Scanguards?”
“Yes, yes—that’s the one. He said he’d be at a staff meeting at Scanguards.”
