Love Croakies Sam Cheever (red queen ebook txt) 📖

to his feet and ran. Daisy was already straightening as I cleared the door. But Ralph was messing with something on the edge of the opening.

“What are you doing?”

“Closing her in.”

Daisy’s eyes found me and locked on. With one arm still wrapped protectively around her middle, she stumbled forward, growling. Her fingers curved into claws. “I’ll kill you, you little pipsqueak.”

“Ralph?” I braced my feet wide, twirling the purse as she lumbered closer.

“Almost…” There was a clanking sound and then the sound of metal unrolling as Ralph tugged the security door across the wide opening.

Daisy was so focused on me that it took her a moment to realize what he was doing. When it finally sank in, her head shot in his direction and she howled. “No, Ralph! Don’t leave with her.”

He slammed the door home just as she reached it. For a terrifying moment, she fought him for control of the unlocked door.

I could do nothing. My weapon of choice wouldn’t work through the heavy metal mesh. I threw myself at the door and held it closed while Ralph dug in his pocket.

“What are you doing?” I shrieked.

“The key!” he yelled back.

Daisy was probably a lot stronger than I was normally. But under the influence of the Cupid’s poisonous magic, she was a beast. I’d wrapped my fingers around the mesh and was leaning back, putting all my weight behind holding it closed, and still she was managing to wrench it open by inches.

Ralph had found the key. “You need to keep it closed so I can lock it!” he yelled.

Red-faced and sweating, I threw him a look. “I’m open to suggestions!”

He threw his weight into getting it closed, but when he released it with one hand, Daisy yanked it open again. She got it far enough open to snake one thick hand through to claw at me. Her fingernails were short but sharp, and she clawed bloody tracks in the soft skin of my wrist before I could yank my hand away.

As soon as I let go, she roared and yanked the door open another foot.

It was enough for her to wedge herself into the breach.

She got hold of Ralph’s shirt front and slammed him into the mesh.

I panicked and did the only thing I could think of to do.

I hit her with a blast of my Keeper energy.

She jerked to a stop, Ralph droopy and bleeding in her hand, and her eyes went wide. All the hair on her head rolled up into Shirley Temple curls, and she released Ralph to clutch herself. “I have to pee!”

Without another glance, the big woman spun on her heel and crab-walked as fast as she could toward the back room.

Ralph shoved the door closed and fumbled with the key for a moment, his fingers shaking so badly he could barely insert it into the lock.

“Won’t she have a key too?” I asked, panting.

He shook his head. “New security measures in the mall. Only management and security have keys to the security doors.”

“Thank the goddess,” I said, slumping against the wall. “That’s one strong woman.”

Ralph shook his head. “She’s always been really gentle and kind.”

“She’s not herself,” I said.

“Why?” he asked. His expression was a mix of confused and sad. “What’s going on in my mall?”

A blood-curdling scream pierced the silence.

Thank the goddess I didn’t have to answer his question. I took off running toward the sound.

11

Just Another Ugly Dirigible

The screaming turned shrill as Ralph and I ran toward the center of the floor. A large tree dominated the area in front of the crosswalk, blocking the view of what was happening until we were almost on top of it.

As we reached the tree, a man jumped out at us, an enormous knife clutched in one strong hand and a feral look in his eyes. His short, straight brown hair stuck up in clumps all over his head as if he’d been continually running his fingers through it, and blood painted the front of his hooded sweatshirt in large drops.

My eyes went wide at the sight of the blood.

Ralph lifted his hands when he spotted the knife. To his credit, he tried to block me with his own, quivering form. “Now, let’s just calm down, okay?” He nodded toward the woman cringing behind a bench along the railing. “Is she hurt? Do we need to call an ambulance?”

The man with the knife lunged forward, causing us to backtrack quickly to avoid being jabbed. “She’s not going anywhere without me.”

Dang those cherubs and their arrows!

I took a careful step to the side, the purse clutched in my left hand. It wasn’t optimal since I was right-handed. But if I tried to shift it to the other side, Ralph would be in the way.

I realized in a moment of pure terror that I’d brought a purse to a knife fight. The one benefit of my weapon was that nobody looked twice at it. Everyone just thought it was my purse.

The man’s hostile glare spun my way. “You stay back now. I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

I nodded toward his sweatshirt. “Too late for that, eh?”

He blinked, looking down at himself in surprise. The man shook his head. “That’s my blood. I’ve just been trying to protect her.” His tone was angry, determined. “I can’t believe this. I must be paying for the sins of my youth.”

“Please help,” the woman said, her face a pale oval from the shadows behind the bench.

The knife-wielding man whipped around as he shushed her. “I need to think, honey. They’re going to be back.”

She nodded, her pretty face stark with fear. The woman was clutching the side of the bench with one hand, and I took note of the deep scratches in her flesh.

I jerked my head toward her. “How did she get those scratches?”

The man straightened his shoulders in a jerky motion. Then he ran a hand over his face, wiping a gloss of sweat away as his eyes jerked around the space. “I told