Semi-Human (Harper Hall Investigations Book 2) (24 page)

Feeling pretty good about herself, she glanced around, taking in the sights and sounds of battle.

Hunter had shoved Mischa behind him and was fighting off two Lykoi. Romeo had his opponent on the ground, drilling him in the face with one blow after another. Lucas had one shape shifter down on the ground under his boot heel and one pinned up against the wall by his throat. And Riddick…

Holy hell, Riddick was gone!

Well, shit. That couldn’t be good.

“Glad you made the smart choice for once.”

Riddick frowned as his father tossed him a zip tie and gestured for him to cuff himself to a pipe that jutted out of the wall. “Wouldn’t say I really had any choice in the matter.”

And he hadn’t. Seeing his father with a gun trained on Harper had taken years off his life. He would’ve walked away with the devil himself if it meant keeping her safe. He glanced at the gun his father was now holding on
him
.

Maybe he
had
left with the devil.

Riddick glanced around, taking in his surroundings. They were in the middle of what looked to be a half-built apartment building. The framing was done, but the drywall and plumbing were still incomplete, hence the pipe to which his right hand was now cuffed.

Normal construction sites were littered with tools and building materials that could be used as weapons. When he worked for Sentry, he once used a two-by-four with a rusty nail sticking out of one end to fight off a coven of vampires who’d taken up residence in an under-construction shopping mall.

But this construction site wasn’t normal. It looked like it had been picked clean of every spare nail, staple, and scrap of wood. “What is this place?”

Ken squatted down and rested his elbows on his splayed knees. “Well, this was going to be mine. And not just this unit,” he said, gesturing wildly with the gun. “The entire building was going to be mine. All I had to do to get it was either kill you, or convince you to fight for the Lykoi.”

Riddick offered him a very insincere frown. “Aw, that’s too bad. Guess you’re back to living in whatever double-wide you came from.”

Ken smirked up at him. “Not quite. You’re going to call the little woman and she’s going to bring me enough money to run where not even the Lykoi can find me.”

Riddick couldn’t help it; he chuckled. “You think we have that kind of money? Man, you’re screwed worse than I thought if
we’re
your last hope.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that you are most likely dirt-poor. Given your girl’s disposition, I can’t imagine too many prospective clients are beating a path to her door.”

Riddick gave the cuff an experimental tug. Nothing. Damn. Pulling himself free and tearing his father’s throat out had been plan A. And coming up with a plan B was pretty much always where Harper’s special brand of
creativity
came into play.

“But,” his father droned on, “she does have one thing that is definitely worth enough to buy my freedom.”

Ken tapped his ring finger and raised a brow at him.

Shit. He wanted Harper’s ring. The ring his mother had given him.

Hell. No.

“I can see by the look on your face that you’re reluctant to part with it,” Ken added with a chuckle.

“If by
reluctant
you mean I’d rather die chained to this pipe than let you have it, then yes, you could say I’m
reluctant
.”

He smiled. “That can be arranged.”

Riddick eased his back against the wall and settled in. “Well, you probably know it will take me twice as long to die from lack of water and food as it would a normal person, so what should we talk about while we wait? Music? The art of interpretive dance?” He shrugged. “How long it will take for the Lykoi to find you and peel your skin like a grapefruit?”

Ken shook his head. “You’d really rather die than give up a stupid piece of jewelry?”

“Yep.”

He rolled his eyes. “If the stupid bitch had just been wearing the ring tonight, none of this would’ve been necessary.”

Riddick catalogued the insult to Harper. Which of his father’s bones would he break for that one?

Left hand, he decided. Every bone in it.

“This is a complete waste of time,” Ken said.

He stood up with a sigh and crossed the room, not stopping until he was toe-to-toe with Riddick. He pressed the barrel of the gun to the center of Riddick’s forehead. “Any last words?”

Riddick released a deep breath. This was
so
not how he expected this night to end. Shit, was this really how he was going to die? Was this going to be the one time Harper’s visions were wrong? Seemed like it.

I’m so sorry, Harper. I love you
. “Yeah. Go to hell.”

Ken snarled at him and pulled the hammer back. “You first.”

“That’s not going to be necessary,” a cool, clear voice said from behind Ken.

A slight tremor in Ken’s gun hand was his only acknowledgment to the newcomer. Riddick squeezed his eyes shut and prayed he was just hearing things. She can’t really be here, he told himself.

But when he opened his eyes and glanced over Ken’s shoulder, there she was.

Harper stood in the doorway, backlit like an angel stepping out of heaven into the pits of hell.

The majority of her hair had escaped the tight ponytail she’d been wearing earlier and curled wildly around her head like a messy halo. Her face, arms, and shirt were streaked with dirt and grime and sweat. Her eyes promised hellfire and retribution.

God, she was magnificent.

But the best part? Well, that would be the crossbow she had trained on his father’s head.

And the sword strapped to her back was a nice touch, too.

“It’s like déjà vu all over again, isn’t it, Riddick?” she asked, her voice strong, unemotional, and completely in control.

She was, of course, referring to the time he’d rescued her from a similar situation, using the very crossbow she now held with steady hands.

He grinned at her. “It
does
seem vaguely familiar.”

His father shifted to stand behind him, keeping his gun raised and a wary eye on Harper, who stood in front of him like a total pro. “Put that thing down, little girl. You’re likely to hurt yourself.”

“Oh, someone’s getting hurt, all right. But it won’t be me.”

“How’d you get by the guards?” Riddick asked.

“Lucas. He tracked Ken here.”

As if to underscore her comment, the sounds of a scuffle, followed by a wolf’s snarl and bark, echoed through the empty building. The high-pitched scream that followed was downright bone-chilling.

Harper grinned savagely. “Guess your boys aren’t used to fighting a fully shifted wolf.”

Ken jammed the gun barrel into Riddick’s spine. “I’m warning you, girl. Put that bow down. You and Riddick can both leave, just as soon as I get my wife’s ring back. But if you keep up this game, neither one of you is walking away from here. Ever.”

Harper cocked her head to the side and seemed to consider his terms. “Well…I thank you for the offer, but I’m going to have to say no,” she said, voice positively
laden
with sarcasm. “I don’t have any desire to help you, as it turns out. Or give you
my
ring.” She shrugged. “Sorry about that. But before you start shooting, you should probably know that I was the top student in my marksmanship class at Sentry.”

He scoffed. “Sure you were, Angel. Now put that thing down before it goes off accidently and you shoot your future husband.”

The corners of Riddick’s mouth tipped up, but he didn’t say anything. Harper was the best goddamned shot he’d ever seen. Crossbow, guns, knives…it didn’t really matter. Harper could always hit her target. And what his father didn’t seem to realize was that just because she looked calm, she was really anything but.

She. Was. Pissed.

And when Harper Hall was pissed? Well, suffice it to say people near the blast zone usually did whatever they could to appease her damn quick.

Her gaze shifted to his for a split second. “You okay?”

He grinned at her. “Right as rain, baby.”

“That’s good. Ready to go home?”

“Hell, yeah.”

Ken moved to stand next to Riddick, pressing the gun into his temple. “I’ve had enough of this bullshit,” he hissed. “Get me that ring
now
or he dies.”

Harper narrowed her eyes on Ken, but asked Riddick, “Do you trust me?”

It was the same thing he’d asked her when their situations had been reversed. Her answer had matched his. “Yes.”

“Trust
me
when I say I will kill you both,” Ken snapped irritably.

“That’s not your line,” Harper said.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re supposed to say, ‘If I so much as flinch, he’s dead.’”

Ken smirked at her. “Fine. If I so much as—”

Harper took her shot, and before he could finish his line, her crossbow bolt sliced neatly through his wrist.

The wrist on his gun hand.

The gun flew out of his now-useless grip. Ken clutched his bleeding wrist to his chest and turned wide, shocked eyes on her. She shrugged as she lowered the crossbow. “Sorry. Got bored waiting for you to finish your lines.”

God, how Riddick loved this woman.

His father made a dive for his gun, and Riddick brought his knee up into Ken’s face, and the resulting pained groan his father emitted was intensely gratifying.

By the time he managed to stagger to his feet, Harper had dropped the crossbow and had her sword at his throat. “Go ahead,” she hissed. “Give me an excuse to separate your head from your neck.”

He didn’t move a muscle, but rolled his eyes in her direction. “You don’t have the guts.”

Harper’s eyes narrowed and Riddick raised a brow at her. “Is it ’there can be only one’ time?”

Her gaze shot to his and went soft. “Aw, you remembered my movie quote. That’s so sweet.”

Ken closed his eyes. “Forget it. Go ahead and kill me. I’d rather be dead than listen to the two of you coo at each other.”

“Knife in my back pocket,” Harper told Riddick, who grabbed it and made quick work of the tie at his wrist.

“I’ll take the sword now,” he told her.

She shook her head. “Nope. We’re not killing him.”

He sputtered for a moment. “
Of course
we’re killing him. Do you think he’s going to go away and leave us alone? After this?” He shook his head, incredulous. “We’ll be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives.”

Ken’s grin could only be described a maniacal. “He’s right, doll. You’ll be better off taking my head right now. I. Won’t. Ever. Stop.”

Harper smirked. “That’d be scary if you weren’t going to be in jail for the rest of your life.”

He barked out a laugh. “You think there’s a judge in Vegas who will convict me? The Lykoi and the Vrykolakas own the police and the court system here. I’ll be back on the street before you can spit.”

Her nose crinkled up. “Gross. I don’t spit. But here’s the thing about the dirty cops and judges here in Vegas. They’re only on your side as long as you’re the highest bidder for their services. And guess what? The Lykoi and the Vrykolakas aren’t the highest bidder anymore.”

“They aren’t?” Riddick and Ken asked in stereo, then frowned at each other.

“Nope,” she said, making a popping sound on the
p
.

The color drained from Ken’s face as he—most likely— imagined the rest of his life in gen pop. Harper wore a smug expression that Riddick found sexy and adorable and…well, frankly, a little scary all at the same time.

“Did you…” he trailed off, irritated with himself for almost asking a stupid question.
Of course she did it
. “
How
did you do that? Who do you know who has those kinds of connections and that kind of money?”

When she merely continued to smirk at him, it dawned on him. “Wait…Mickey really
is
mafia? I thought that was just some Petrocelli family urban legend.”

She blinked at him. “I can neither confirm nor deny,” she said blandly.

“I’m crazy in love with you,” he said, completely awed.

Her answering smile was damn near blinding. “I know.”

Lucas shoved Ken into a police cruiser driven by one of Vegas’ finest (aka: Uncle Mickey’s newest employees) and accompanied them to the station.

When they were finally alone, Harper looked up at Riddick. “Ready to go pick up Leon and get my cure?”

He shook his head, still looking a little overwhelmed. “You really did plan everything out, didn’t you? You didn’t need me at all.”

She frowned. “That’s not true. I needed you to kick Ken’s ass in the Arena, which you did nicely. If this is just another thing you’re going to punish yourself over—”

He swallowed her words with a kiss that left her breathless and speechless. He took full advantage of her condition by saying, “No. I’m not going to punish myself anymore. The fact of the matter is that you don’t need me to protect you, and I’m…glad.”

Had the kiss also rendered her dumb? Because that sounded very un-Riddick like. Surely she’d misunderstood. “Come again?”

He brushed a loose curl off her forehead. “You’re the strongest, most capable woman I’ve ever met. You don’t need me to protect you. I see that so clearly now. What you need is a partner. An equal. I don’t know if I’ll ever be good enough to be considered your equal—”

She opened her mouth to object, but he kissed her again, effectively silencing her. When he pulled away, she whispered, “That’s not fair.”

He grinned down at her. “It’s the only way I’ve ever found to keep you quiet for any length of time. So, as I was saying before you so rudely tried to interrupt me—”

Should I kick him in the shin, or stomp on his foot?

“—is that I don’t know if I’ll ever be good enough to be considered your equal, but no one will ever try harder to earn his place at your side.”

Okay, so no kicking or stomping, then.

Her eyes filled with the happiest of happy tears. She didn’t even bother to brush them away. “You’re the best man I’ve ever known, Noah Riddick, and if you don’t quit badmouthing yourself, I’m going to kick your ass, Arena champion or not. And with Katy Perry I could totally take you.”