Page 46 of Beastly Armory
He waves his hand at the bartender for another. Instead of downing this glass, Ace takes a sip and shrugs, then turns to me and throws the full beer in my face.
Dry cleaning bill. That’s all that goes through my mind as my fist flies, darkness covering my vision as rage takes over. Turns out, he is a boxer. Ace is ready for my hook with an elbow block, but I grapple him and take him down in a choke hold. Before I can squeeze too hard, his men descend on me, tearing me off his body, their claws gripping my throat. Ace chokes and gasps, but stands, then kicks me in the groin. The sheer pain doubles me over in agony, and if I yelp, I can’t hear it with the amount of blood rushing through my ears. My knees can’t hit the ground because my arms are being held back in a tight squeeze by a few of the guys. Spluttering a few breaths, I swallow back my vomit.
Once my hearing stops its ringing, vicious echoes of laughter call out like howls on a moonlit night.
“Take him downstairs,” Ace says, then narrows his gaze at Livia. “And her, too.”
I don’t think they’d hurt her. Cal would already be here if that were the case. He’s probably watching this whole scene now from one of his trusty monitors. Hopefully, it looks like we were just here for a friendly welcome visit that went sour, leaving the Von Dovish clan leader none the wiser. Tomorrow, I’ll be sore… if I even live to see another day.
Livia’s strategy better work.
Once we exit the elevator in the basement, the wolf pack continues to force my shuffles to a windowless room filled with cinderblocks. It looks like any interrogation room I’ve been in. And I’ve been inside plenty of police stations. A lone wooden table with two chairs on either side squats in the middle as I scan the area for any weapons.
I know what comes next. My only regret is that I spent my money on veneers thinking I was done fighting. Looks like I may have to pay for them all over again as I take the first hit to the jaw. Walrus boy behind me locks my arms up until they almost snap. Another guy with electric blue hair circles the man punching me, waiting for his turn. Blue hair gets one in my stomach as the first man busts me in the nose.
My eyes are bleary from the flurry of hits, tears involuntarily dripping from my sockets. Blood seeps into my mouth from my broken septum. To keep from choking onit, I spit on the floor. The beating doesn’t hurt, yet. Adrenaline is pumping through all my arteries, so the only thing I feel is numb.
Hit after hit lands on my body with rank precision, and I take it, hoping to get knocked out quickly. Blinking rapidly, I scan the tiny room as Walrus turns me for another pelting, and my already quickened pulse rate skyrockets. I wasn’t planning on fighting back, until I don’t see my little fox anywhere. She’s supposed to be here with me. If they’ve done something to her...
Shaking the cobwebs from my head, I try to scan the room, but another hit makes my vision double. The lids over my eyes are so thick with swelling, I struggle to keep them open, but I still don’t see her, terror replacing the rage within my soul.
“Foxy!” I manage to yell, but my tongue is fat in my mouth, my lips distorted in size. My heart beats faster than I thought possible as I struggle against the man holding me back.
The guy hitting me laughs. “Oh, we’ll be taking turns with her, too. Right, fellas?” Like a pack of hyenas, they all cackle, probably not understanding their sheer demise were they to try such a thing with the Von Dovish sister.
That’s it. With what’s left of my strength, I flip the guy holding my arms over my back, throwing him into the man trying to punch me. The two of them barrel over and tangle up together on the floor. I box blue hair with three quick jabs before he knows what hit him, the last landing on his windpipe. Grabbing him around the waist, I thrusthis body into the other two, and the three almost fall over as I make a run for the exit.
Snagging the doorknob, I twist, but it’s locked. My vulnerable backside is open, and someone gets a lick at the back of my skull. Everything fades to black as I yell, “Livia!”
“I told you. He needs a necro. Not just a fucking healer. Your pack did this to him. Get your necro here. Now.”
Livia’s voice is commanding, and it soothes the sheer shock of pain erupting throughout my body. She’s operating the plan. If I can just keep it together and see straight, I’ll be able to focus on the next step.
Blinking rapidly, I rub my face. Fuck! My nose is broken again. Popping it back as straight as I can, I hock out some blood from the back of my throat as I sit up. Strings of mucus cling to my bottom lip, but I cut them off with a brush of the back of my tremulous hand. The cold concrete floor of the interrogation room offers no cushion for my aching bones. Putting my head between my knees, I take inventory of my body. I’m good. I’ve had worse.
“You okay, lion? Can you do this?” Livia squats next to me and grabs my fingers with both her little hands.
“Yeah, baby. I can do it.” I swallow, then poke around my mouth with my tongue. My teeth seem to be intact. “I yelled for you. I couldn’t see you. I was worried…”
“Oh, they stuck me in another room. Ace knows whoI am. He knows there would’ve been war if they’d hurt me. Cal’s likely watching every move.” She eyes the door at approaching footsteps. “He’s in here!”
A lanky guy with some outdated dyed navy emo haircut billows inside the room, his long black lab coat giving away his profession. Pretty sure he’s never seen the sun. It must be our boy.
“This guy’s alive,” he says with a bass voice that rattles the doorknob, one lanky finger pointing at me sitting on the floor. Man’s a genius.
“Who are you?” Livia asks as if she didn’t call him in here.
“Ken. You asked for a necro. I’m not a fucking healer.” He looks like he’s about to leave, but Livia jumps up and shuts the door before he can escape.
My voice sounds dry and cracked, but I manage to get out, “It’s the strangest thing. I was dead, but I just came back to life. Does that make me some kind of god?”
“Where are the ears, Ken?” Livia asks from behind him, pressing her lithe body against the door.
Ken looks from me to her. “Huh?”
“The ears? Lavinio’s ears. Where do you keep them?”
His face darkens as his black eyebrows pull closer together. “The fuck? You workin’ for him or something? That’ll be a problem with Donovan.”