This Side of the Grave (#5 Night Huntress)

I still couldn’t see him behind the wall of vampires, but I was betting this was the reporter we were looking for. And as soon as they took him off
the premises, he was in deep shit. Vampires and ghouls would do anything to ensure that all but a few, select humans were happily unaware they
shared the planet with creatures that were supposed to be myth.
“Give him to me,” I said, thinking fast. “I’ll wipe his mind and destroy all his gadgets. No harm, no foul.”
“But I’m hungry,” one of them protested.
Oh yeah, the damage control they’d intended was far more permanent. “Lots of people here would be happy to help you with that, but you’re not
getting him,” I said, my words soft but steely.
The apparent leader of the group ignored me as he pulled out a cigarette, sticking it between his teeth.
“No need to fight. You want him? I’ll bargain,” he said to Bones.
I was past my initial amusement over how these vampires were so focused on Bones that I seemed to be invisible to them. Plus, Bones had said
it would be better if we were recognized. Well, let this serve as my introduction.
“I have an idea. How about we arm wrestle? Winner gets the human.”
That switched their attention to me. Laughter broke out from the group and the leader’s gaze actually became pink with tears of mirth.
“You’ve got to be joking,” he managed.
I gave him a sweet smile. “Not at all.”
His gaze flicked to Bones. “You’re not going to let her do this, are you?”
Bones snorted. “Let her? Mate, if you think you can control a woman, you must be single—and a thousand pounds says she beats your arse.”
“We can use this,” I went on, walking over to a high-top table that butted against the half wall separating the booth area from the dance floor.
“Come on. Moonlight’s burning.”
A small crowd started to form. I didn’t look at them, reserving my attention for the leader as I cocked a brow in invitation. I could have suggested
we take this off the premises. Upped the stakes to a brawl instead of a simple test of strength, but though I wasn’t about to be dismissed as arm
candy, I wasn’t looking to make new enemies, either.
The vampire handed his cigarette to one of his friends before coming over. He rolled up his right sleeve with a confident glance at my very
average build. If he was measuring my aura to gauge my power level, he’d find nothing intimidating there, either. Bones told me I felt like a new
vampire, which was as much of a disguise as my heartbeat had been when I was half human. In comparison, the vampire was almost as tall as
Bones, but with black hair and a burly build that spoke of thick muscle underneath a layer of firmly packed fat. His appearance wasn’t what I paid
the most attention to, however. It was his aura, dating him at around a buck fifty, and he carried his big form with easy grace.
Not an unbeatable opponent, but not one to half-ass my efforts with, either. I set my elbow on the table, not needing to do any more prep because
my halter top didn’t have sleeves. All around us, bets were being placed. It amused me to hear my low odds.
The vampire’s hand curled around mine as he placed his arm on the table, having to bend a little due to his greater height. His grip was firm but
not punishing, raising my opinion of him a notch. A schmuck would’ve ground my fingers in his fist trying to make a point.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Verses shoulder his way to the front of the other onlookers. He was probably wishing he hadn’t let us in after all.
“Count of three?” I suggested to the vampire.
Blue eyes tinged with emerald met mine. “Why not?”
Calls of “Show her what you’re made of, Nitro!” and “Knock her on her pretty ass!” rang out when I began to count, never taking my eyes from my
opponent. As soon as the word three left my lips, that previously steady grip tightened and Nitro hammered his hand downward, going for the quick
win with a blast of inhuman strength.
Except our arms stayed in their same vertical position. Nitro’s biceps bulged almost as much as his gaze when his efforts didn’t move my arm so
much as an inch. I flashed him a smile as I held my position, mentally counting to ten before I began to edge his arm in a slow, steady arc
downward. After all, I didn’t want to embarrass him by slamming his hand on the table before he’d even realized what happened. It wasn’t Nitro’s
fault he had no idea I’d been born with unusual strength, or that I still had some of Bones’s power in me from drinking his blood. Poor burly vampire
didn’t stand a chance.
Murmurs rose from the crowd, drowning out even the music as Nitro’s arm inched closer to the table. Lines formed in his face and a harsh grunt
escaped him as he put more effort into holding me off. I let him raise his arm up a few inches—the male ego was such a fragile thing, after all—
before sending it down onto the table with a thunk hard enough to crack the Formica.
We’ll have to pay for that before we leave, I thought amidst the burst of surprised exclamations from the watchers around us.
Nitro stared at his arm in disbelief. Then his gaze swung back up to me even as I disentangled my grip and shook the temporary numbness out