Anton.
The cocky fucker hadn’t even moved. No sir, he remained exactly where he was, a sadistic smirk on his face. So he wanted a fight? Good. So did I.
I clicked on the safety to the Browning and tucked it back under my arm. I wouldn’t go easy on the half-demon. I would make him suffer for what he’d done. He’d taken not only my friend, but the man Disco considered a brother. Although nothing could bring Paine back, I could make sure that his death was avenged. I owed him that much at least.
“I’ve grown tired of you,” I said, advancing on him, gauging his response.
“So you’re going to kill me?” Anton asked, arching a brow. “That is what your master said before I ripped apart his chest and feasted on his heart’s blood.”
“Oh yeah, I’m going to kill you.” My voice lowered into a snarl, a mirror of my misery. “Dead. Deaded. Gone.”
He placed his hands on the arms of his chair, preparing to rise. “I’m going to love seeing you try.”
Then he was flying at me, barreling across the short distance. We met in a flurry of fists, hard punches landing on each of our faces. I embraced the pain, allowed it to feed me. I tasted the blood creeping from the corner of my mouth, saw that despite my fist, Anton showed no signs of injury. He tried to use his incredible speed to get behind me and seemed shocked when I countered his move, ensuring we remained facing each other.
“So it wasn’t a hoax. You are not what you seem,” he said, eyes narrowed, green irises glowing like neon.
I refused to answer as we circled each other, looking for an opening, anxious to make a move. He threw another punch and I slapped his fist away with my open hand. When he repeated himself, I did the same thing, only this time I used my free arm to clock him in the chin. His next move was a kick that landed in the center of my stomach, knocking me back several feet. I huffed and tried to breathe, remaining upright. Again we circled, two animals searching for weaknesses, beasts on the hunt for blood. One wrong move and a victor would be chosen.
I knew I was prolonging the inevitable. All I had to do was to take the bastard down, pull out Sucker and put an end to the miserable creature’s life. But it didn’t seem fair to let him go so easily, to kill him without removing the arrogance from his face.
This time when he came at me, he held nothing back. Despite my blocks, he kept coming, lashing out, the tips of his fingernails forming into crazy-looking claws. He got two good swipes in—one across my left shoulder and another at my mid-section. I wasn’t surprised at the lack of pain. The amulet blocked those sorts of things, keeping its owner in proper fighting form. When he swung his hand around and aimed for my face, I wrapped my arm around his wrist, pushed my body into his chest, and sent him sailing to the ground. I landed on top of him, staying in position even as he wrapped his fingers around my throat and tried to buck free.
I pulled out Sucker, searched for a decent location to bury the blade, and grinned when I sliced the side of his face and removed his right ear. That arrogance I detested faded away, becoming pure agony as he let me go and reached for his missing appendage.
Excellent.
Now for the other side.