Holy Socks And Dirtier Demons Read Online Free Page A

stepped away. She winked, blew me a kiss, and disappeared into the
    crowd. I watched until she vanished from my view before turning to face the
    hulking figure behind me.
    “The boss wants to have a word with you.” The hulk grabbed my arm
    and propelled me toward the back of the club. I glanced at our table,
    searching for the angel, but he had disappeared. Some fucking help he was.
    Damn, I was about to find out Lilith’s ultimate price. I hoped like
    hell that I could afford it.
    19

    Five

    The bruiser twisted my arm from its socket, forcing me through the
    crowd. The pain was severe, but I ignored it, having more important matters
    to attend to; namely, staying alive for the next hour or so.
    He pushed me through a set of double doors and into a dark storage
    area. The coppery stench of drying blood and vomit in the room promised a
    less than desirable outcome.
    The lights flicked on with blinding intensity. My pupils pinpricked,
    and I blinked until my eyes focused. Thick pools of brownish red blood
    stained the concrete floor. I was in serious trouble.
    The “boss” sat in the center of the room, picking his teeth with the tip
    of a switchblade. A typical tough guy with slick backed hair and an evil grin.
    I glanced around the warehouse, noting the one and only exit, twenty feet
    behind eight thugs with baseball bats and tire irons.
    Eight. Shit. I only had six bullets. Even though math wasn’t my
    strong suit, I was pretty sure that left two assholes standing.
    The boss stood, taking a step toward me. “What’s your name, boy?”
    Boy? I laughed. “Does it matter?”
    He grinned, stroking his goatee. “Not to me. Did you think you could
    come into my club, and touch my woman without a little payback?”
    “Your woman?” I smiled. “My mistake. I assumed she was a free
    agent when she cupped my nuts on the dance floor.”
    The first punch was expected. The second and third were a bit of
    overkill, at least in my mind. Blood poured from a gash above my eye,
    blinding me. I wiped it away with the sleeve of my corpse coat, my stomach
    burning with rage and bile.
    By the sixth and seventh hit, I had dropped to my knees. I wasn’t a
    pussy. Hell, I’d taken my fair share of hits since reaching puberty, but this
    was different. Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t move, couldn’t fight back.
    It was as if some inhuman force had seized me.
    “Nobody messes with one of Samuel’s toys,” the closest thug yelled,
    bashing a steel pipe into my ribs. They cracked under the assault, puncturing
    my left lung. Blood exploded from my mouth, showering the boss, Samuel.
    20

    I would die here. I knew it, and so did he. Had Lilith? Was this all
    some sort of setup to keep me from finding the kid?
    Pop, pop, pop.
    My knuckles crunched under his boot heel. The sound released me
    from the trance I had slipped into, and I reacted by pulling my gun. Broken
    and slick with blood, my fingers gripped the metal with complete calm.
    “Don’t make me do it.” I chambered a round, aiming the weapon at Samuel’s
    pretty-boy head.
    He laughed a malicious sound that echoed off the blood-splattered
    walls.
    Fuck it. I fired the first round into his heart. Boom, boom, boom. I
    fired until the click of metal against metal filled the room. A neat circle of
    bullets, dead center of his chest, flowed with blood. His eyes went wide and
    he dropped to the floor.
    Revenge was sweet, but short lived. One of the remaining seven
    thugs smashed a tire iron into my skull. Bolts of light flashed behind my
    shattered eye sockets. A hollow ping echoed in the depths of my brainpan.
    Blackness closed in, but before I died, I prayed the kid was safe.
    ~ * ~
    “Owww!”
    “Remain still.” The angel soared above me.
    A warmth spread through my frozen limbs as my heart began to beat
    again. I blinked, trying to focus. Where was I? It smelled like rotting flesh
    and urine. Rats squeaked, fighting over putrid garbage, and cold wetness
    seeped into my