Page 23 of Brandon’s Mate

“Shut the fuck up, Danvers,” Leader Guy snarled. They spread out, flexing their muscles, trying to come at him from three directions at once.

This might be a little fun after all.

Leader Guy and Minion One rushed him, while Minion Two tried to edge around behind him. Brandon pivoted out of the way of Leader Guy at the last second, throwing him off balance, and then caught Minion One with a hip throw and sent him slamming into a broken-down SUV.

That was going to leave a mark.

He turned and drove his knee into Minion Two’s gut, leaving himself open to a kidney blow from Leader Guy. Ouch. He turned and swung, but Leader Guy blocked him.

They were all circling, looking for another opening, when they heard the rumble of a car engine. V8, he thought automatically. Low, throaty and sexy.

They all paused, waiting for it to go by so they could continue beating the shit out of each other without any witnesses.

Instead, the engine gave a roar, and the tires squealed as the driver dropped the clutch and a sweet, totally cherry candy-apple-red ‘64 Pontiac Catalina convertible burned into the parking lot and barreled toward them. At the last second it did a bootlegger slide into a one-eighty and skidded to a stop in a spray of gravel.

The driver tossed her blond hair, took off her designer shades and said, “Need a hand?”

Kitty Jameson.

Brandon’s brain exploded in a mushroom cloud. The Black Talon leader took that opportunity to sucker punch him right in the face.

Brandon staggered back, blood pouring down from a cut over his eyebrow. He blocked a second punch and kicked Leader Guy’s legs out from under him.

He glanced over at the car again. Not a mirage. Fucking Kitty Jameson.

He couldn’t even wrap his mind around it. All he knew was that letting Ray Danvers get rescued by Bootlegger Barbie would kill the rep he’d been carefully building since he arrived.

The Minions attacked, and Brandon swept Minion Two’s legs out from under him before he hip-checked Minion One again and flung him into the same SUV. He got up slower this time.

“Nah, I wouldn’t want you to mess up your outfit, sweetheart,” he said to Kitty. “I’m good.”

For a minute he thought she was going to jump in anyway, but then she caught his tiny headshake and shrugged instead. “If you say so.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded. Minion Two, on his knees, tried to pull his weapon and Brandon grabbed the barrel, twisted his wrist until it broke, and kneed him under the chin.

He went down. Brandon ejected the clip on the gun and tossed it over his shoulder.

Kitty climbed out of the car and leaned against the fender. “I had some free time in my schedule,” she said. “Sure you don’t need a hand?”

Brandon blocked a punch from Minion One and landed one on Leader Guy. “I’m sure. This will be over soon.”

The leader muttered to Minion One, “Get the girl.”

Kitty materialized a handgun from somewhere and had it aimed at Minion One before he could take two steps. She shook her head at him as he slid to a stop. “You should never split your focus in a fight, darlin’.”

“What?” he said.

Brandon blocked another punch, then whirled into a roundhouse kick and clocked Minion One from behind. He hit the gravel with a satisfying thud.

Kitty gave an exaggerated sigh. “They never listen.”

Brandon finished the leader with a solar plexus hit followed by two jabs and an uppercut. Two seconds later all three of them were lying in his parking lot, bleeding.

Kitty looked down at the aftermath. “Friendly town,” she said.

Brandon pulled his t-shirt off and tried to mop the blood off his face. “You have no idea.”

His head was spinning. Her scent cut through the smell of blood and sweaty crow shifters like the first breath of spring, and she looked like an angel from heaven. With better boobs. His panther was going insane. Bite Kitty love friend enemies kill crew blood death Kitty bite…