Richard nailed Evan in the nose, and his entire skull clamored. His vision blurred.
“Stop it.” Tabi jumped back into the fray, punching Richard in the neck and trying to protect Evan from the blows.
“Damn it.” Evan grasped her arm to pull her out of the way.
Richard jumped to his feet and kicked Evan in the gut. Agony ripped throughout Evan’s rib cage. He shoved himself to his feet, pulling Tabi up and shoving her behind him.
She pushed to his side and kicked up, nailing Richard beneath the jaw.
The demon’s head snapped back, and he quickly recomposed himself, his fangs dropping even lower and his eyes swirling to a lighter gray. His reach was long enough that he swung out, smashing her right in the temple with his large fist.
She smashed into Evan’s side, crying out.
Fury swelled and heated inside Evan, and he moved without thinking, punching with all his strength toward Richard’s neck. His fist kept going through flesh, cartilage and bone, snapping a vertebra at the back. Growling, beyond rational thought, he swept his arm right and then left, decapitating the threat.
Richard’s head dropped to the ground, rolling under the car. His body fell forward, landing on the wet pavement, his legs kicking out. Blood poured from the neck and covered the pavement.
Tabitha held her cheek and backed away, her wide eyes staring at the decapitated corpse. “You punched through his neck.”
Evan stepped away, the demon’s blood on his hand burning. He shook it and released the cartilage sticking to his palm. “Yeah.” He came back into himself, his breath fast.
Tabi looked at him, her mouth open and shock freezing her features. “You really punched his head off.”
Evan looked down at his fist. “I guess I did. I must’ve gotten stronger with the mating?”
She lowered her hand, revealing two large and mottled bruises forming. “You don’t understand. You can’t just punch through an immortal’s neck. I mean, you…can’t.”
Evan frowned. “I did.” He winced at the sight of the decapitated body. “Do demons have weak necks?”
“No.” Tabi’s voice trembled.
He looked at her, a cold pit settling in his gut. “Maybe Richard had some sort of neck disease?”
She slowly shook her head, watching him likehe’dbecome the threat.
Huh. Evan held his hand out to let the light rain wash off the burning blood. “You’ve never heard of that happening?”
“Maybe during battle or in extreme duress, but only when an enemy is already on the ground,” she whispered. “Nobody should be able to do what you just did. I mean, we take heads, but we usually use a sword or boot or blade. Not just a punch.”
Evan sighed. “So I’m not normal.”
She took another step away from him, slicing his heart in two. “No. Which means you’re in more danger than we thought. We have to get rid of this body. Now.”
Chapter 12
The buzzing of her cell phone awoke Tabi from a deep sleep. She reached for it before remembering where she was. A glance to the side, and she confirmed she was in Evan’s bed next to the ex-cop and his incredibly hard body. Two snoring dogs sprawled out on the floor. “Hello?” she answered, trying to center herself.
“Hi, Tabi. It’s Emma. I’m sorry to have awakened you,” the queen said, sounding distracted.
Tabi sat up, her breath catching. “That’s all right. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I just finished the blood tests, and your blood is reacting like any new mate’s would. Evan’s is different, but I think it’s just because he’s the only enhanced human male I’ve ever tested. The cells are wild, really. How is he doing?”
“Great,” Tabi said. “How is his blood different?”
Evan turned on his side, his blue eyes clear as he watched her.
“His blood is changing much faster than I’ve ever seen a mate’s blood change, which might be unique to him, rather than all human males. The cells are amping up like they’ve been shot full of adrenaline, and the chromosomal pair advancement is almost already done. I just don’t know. He might be stronger than most immortals as well, but we’ll see. I assume he’ll be like most mates and gain your skills, but his might be enhanced on their own, which would be something new. I’d like to conduct more tests on him.”
