Pride Before the Fall Read Online Free Page B

"Twelve?"
    "I gave Bristow a grand."
    Vivian's jaw tensed. "Asshole."
    "I'm sorry, but I had to know what was going on."
    Vivian shook her head. "No. Bristow. Asshole said you only paid eight hundred."
    "I'd be happy to have a talk with him." Kasey's timbre changed into his alpha mode. No one hurt what belonged to him.
    "I can handle my own business," she hissed.
    "Clearly." Kasey caught Vivian by the shoulders. "You know this has to end, right? You will stop doing this. Amilynn, too."
    Vivian brought her arms up to break his hold. At the same time she kicked one high heel right into his knee. "Don't think just because you let off some stench that you suddenly have the right to tell me what to do. I submit to no one. Man or beast."
    Kasey rubbed at his leg and let his wolf come out just enough to snarl at her. "You're mine now, Vivian. The wolf claims you."
    "The wolf can fuck himself." Vivian threw open the door and walked out, leaving Kasey hunched over.
    His kitty had some claws and he liked it.

    * * * * *
    Vivian, Amilynn and Conall walked into Bristow's office half an hour later. "How much have you screwed us out of?" She and Ami had added up how many private dances they had done in the last month alone and if Bristow was taking two hundred off the top, he owed them a nice chunk.
    "I don't know what you mean," he said, feigning innocence.
    Vivian jumped up on his desk, crouched down and grabbed his collar. "Listen to me, dick face, we know. You've been skimming off the top before you make the cut. That's not what we agreed to."
    Bristow, who was about to piss himself, shook his head. "No, no, Vivian. I wouldn't steal from you!"
    "Liar." She picked him up out of his chair and held him up off the ground with one hand. "I don't like crooks and I don't like liars. You're both. Tell me why I shouldn't flay your hide one layer at a time."
    Bristow kicked out his legs, his hands trying to pry Vivian off his neck. "I'll pay you back, I swear! I—I'm sorry."
    "You bet your ass you will." Vivian dropped him in his chair, nearly breaking the cheap plastic. "Then you can find yourself a new act. I don't work for people like you."
    The groveling began. Vivian knew it would. Bristow's nightclub had doubled its revenue since they'd come to work here. As he groveled, Bristow opened his safe and pulled out a stack of hundred dollar bills. "Here, take this. A—a—and that's only the beginning."
    If there was one thing that Vivian couldn't stand, it was weak, scummy men—human men even more so.  
    Amilynn gathered the cash and saluted him with her middle finger. She and Conall backed off while Vivian left Bristow with a final promise.
    "You don't want to stay on my bad side. I'm not a nice person when you screw with my family." Vivian's nails elongated slightly and she drug her claws down the side of his desk leaving five scratches in the polished wood.  
    Bristow pissed himself and it sickened her. She huffed at his lack of physical control and left.
    "Well, that was fun!" Amilynn grinned from ear to ear and fanned herself with the cash. Vivian rolled her eyes. Leave it to Ami to get off on intimidating humans.
    That morning, they went home and counted out the cash, dividing it equally between the five of them.
    "I know what I want to do this weekend!" Amilynn said enthusiastically. "I'm going dancing!"
    Conall sighed heavily, knowing he would have to go with her. "Ami, come on. You dance all the time. Have a little mercy, will ya?"
    Ami hopped into Conall's lap and snuggled against his neck. "You know you love taking me dancing." He hugged her, his arms nearly covering her whole body.
    He chuckled. "No, I really don't. Threatening off human perverts doesn't do it for me."
    Vivian, feeling rebellious, said, "I think we should all go out." Four sets of stunned eyes looked her way. "What?"
    "You want to go dancing... at a club... with human men making body contact?" Amilynn asked, her brows nearly reaching her hairline.
    "Yeah."