Page 75 of New Nebraska Heat

The chipper Mariachi scream seemed to rile him. “Come on, hero. Take me down. Think of the fun I had with those girls—”

Bang! Bang! Bang! I gave him a burst of three right where he’d asked for them… and they pinged off him.

Whizz! I ducked for cover behind the large desk as the bullets ricocheted around the room.

What in hot fuck!?!

He stalked toward me, completely unhurt, fangs lengthening as he grinned. “What’s wrong,police man? Gun malfunction?”

Bang! I gave him another hollow point straight—and I mean straight—between the eyes. Then I again had to duck as the bullet whizzed off him and into the brickwork.

Fuck it. I hurriedly holstered my Colt and ripped my vest and shirt off, readying in boxer stance. My animal was roaring inside me, ready to come out.

The motherfucker salsa danced closer.

Mucha alegria!

Mucha alegria!

Mucha alegria!

As he moved to the happy rhythm, I caught a glimpse of a faint blue sheen glimmering across his skin. Like a forcefield from a sci-fi movie.

Except this shit was real. He was using some powerful magic. I needed to even things up. “Jac—”

The vamp flew, thumping me straight in my mouth and sending me reeling into the back wall. I held my palm to my aching teeth and looked at it. Drenched in blood.

He charged at me again, swinging blows left and right. I ducked and weaved, waiting for the best moment to strike.

Wham! I popped him in the jaw with a vicious left jab that would have floored anyone in New Nebraska.

With this fucker though, nothing. His blue sheen flickered, and he grabbed hold of my neck, catapulting me about ten feet. I soared into the small office and smashed into a table that explodedinto splinters. The shards of wood spiked into my skin as, woozy, I clambered to my feet.

Smack! He clocked me with a right hook that blurred one eye. My jaguar was raging, desperate to get out, but I couldn’t muster the strength or focus to shift. And what could claws really do against this impregnable fuck?

Mucha alegria!

Mucha alegria!

Mucha alegria!

He grabbed my shoulders face on, smirking as he rasped, “How does it feel to be the prey for a change?”

Like shit. I was getting my ass handed to me. “Jackie, where the fuck are you!?!” I called, gasping and half blind.

“Giving up already? That’s not the shifter way.”

Wham! I headbutted him right on the nose. The knock did more damage to me than him. I collapsed to one knee, swiping, and stabbing at his midriff with the claws that had stretched out from my fingers. The blows just bounced off.

“That’s the spirit,” he snickered, before grabbing me in a bear hug and using me as a battering ram against the wall.

Boom! The bricks flew apart in clouds of dust and grit, covering my face and filling my lungs. I staggered to my feet, coughing, my whole back numb from the impact, as I tried to get my bearings. We were in the basement of the adjoining business—some kind of workshop.

I was grabbed again and thrown along a work counter laden with tools, they clanged and battered off me and onto the floor as I skidded the entire length, smacking my head on a large iron bench vice at the end, before falling off and thudding onto concrete.

Groaning, I managed to get to my knees before he belted me across each cheek with a monkey wrench. I sank back down to my ass as he stood over me, a swaggering blur. Savoring his dominance.

I was gonna fucking die.