Page 33 of In the Dark

And I liked to think I was better than most at all those things.

I sighed, then turned in his chair to face his bookshelf. Maybe it’d all been for nothing, though. Paolo’s bookshelf filled with first editions mocked me. He’d bought book after book with no intention of reading them. He just liked the aesthetic even if it was astronomical in price. “You were never a good investor,” I grumbled, because we’d have to sell this place for sure.

Honestly, I’d have to get a freaking job to help my aunt care for my cousins at this point.

The idea was enough that I dropped my head back on the headrest of the chair right before I heard it.

A floorboard creaked.

It was small, but I had a trained ear, one that was listening for attackers even on a night of mourning like tonight.

I froze first, all my muscles tightening, and then opened my eyes very slowly without making a movement at all. I scanned the bookshelf for anything that could help, but a reflection and the gong was all I got. A blur of a movement over the glossy finish.

I’d locked the doors, but an intruder could have come through a window.

Only problem was I didn’t know who I was up against. And I figured the best defense was a great offense. So, I spun as fast as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough.

A large, muscular arm looped around my throat and yanked me backward into the air up over my chair, the crook of the elbow locking under my jaw, crushing my windpipe. With the tumbler still in my hand, I used the momentum to break it against the desk. Tequila and glass flew everywhere, hopefully catching my attacker off guard enough for me to swipe the glass shard in my hand up methodically.

Aim to kill. And aim quick.

The sweet scent of agave mixed with that metallic smell of blood hit me almost immediately as the man screamed while I twisted the glass into his face before jerking it back and jabbing it again into his arm as hard as I could.

I needed him to let me go, but he didn’t.

His grip loosened enough as I heard him grunt in pain, and I gasped for breath before twisting in his arms and driving my heel back to kick him. He yelped this time, but I stayed focused. I had knives at my thigh that I needed to grab. I kept his attention on the hand with the tumbler that I was flailing about as I reached for my deadly weapon.

And that’s when I saw them.

Two more men were in my peripheral vision.

Fuck.

Three against one was never good odds, especially when one was already choking me out.

I figured the tumbler would have to do for one of them. I hurled it like a dagger at the closest one’s face. It cracked against his cheekbone with a satisfying thud.

The first man lunged again. I ducked low, sweeping my leg out, knocking him off balance. My palm hit the floor, and I sprang back up, adrenaline turning everything crisp and sharp.

“Grab her,” one of them barked in accented Spanish.

The second man rushed. I met him halfway. I moved my wrist just right so my knife slid out and sliced at his jaw. He staggered in disbelief, eyes wide.

I didn’t even take a second to breathe; I drove my knee into his stomach, then stabbed him again in the gut before he fell over, choking like he might be down for the night. That gave me a second to look toward the entryway, but the third man came from behind and slammed me into the desk.

My ribs screamed, but his hands gripped my arm, banging it onto the desk over and over until I lost hold of my blade. Another set of hands pinned my shoulders. I thrashed, twisted, bit, kicked, fighting with every bit of training I’d completed over the years.

“Quit fighting, bitch,” one hissed and hit me hard in the mouth.

“Fuck you,” I spat back before managing to get an elbow into his gut.

I heard an oof, but it wasn’t enough to get him down.

“Then you die,” he growled, and his knife came out fast.

I blocked the first strike with my forearm against his wrist, just barely missing the blade. The second strike landed across my stomach, though, shallow but enough to burn.

I hissed and drove my head backward, cracking my skull against a nose behind me. Warm blood sprayed.