Back Deadly Sting
Chapters (40)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Chapter 1
  5. Chapter 2
  6. Chapter 3
  7. Chapter 4
  8. Chapter 5
  9. Chapter 6
  10. Chapter 7
  11. Chapter 8
  12. Chapter 9
  13. Chapter 10
  14. Chapter 11
  15. Chapter 12
  16. Chapter 13
  17. Chapter 14
  18. Chapter 15
  19. Chapter 16
  20. Chapter 17
  21. Chapter 18
  22. Chapter 19
  23. Chapter 20
  24. Chapter 21
  25. Chapter 22
  26. Chapter 23
  27. Chapter 24
  28. Chapter 25
  29. Chapter 26
  30. Chapter 27
  31. Chapter 28
  32. Chapter 29
  33. Chapter 30
  34. Chapter 31
  35. Chapter 32
  36. Chapter 33
  37. Chapter 34
  38. ‘Heart of Venom’ Excerpt
  39. About Jennifer Estep
  40. Copyright

Xavier laughed again and took the would-be robber outside, where a dark sedan with flashing blue and white lights waited by the curb.

I went over to the others. Finn leaned against the case, his elbows on the glass and his face propped up in his hands. He stared dreamily at Bria as she crouched down and examined some of the diamond jewelry scattered on the floor. Red and Blondie were still standing against the wall, although they’d now focused their laser-hot glares on Finn. Not that he noticed; Finn excelled at ignoring little unpleasantries like that.

I elbowed him in the side. “I think you’ve officially lost your fan club.”

“Hmm?” Finn said, unabashedly admiring Bria’s ass. “What did you say?”

I elbowed him a little harder and jerked my head at the two women. He finally deigned to glance in that direction.

“Oh, them? No worries,” he murmured.

Finn straightened up, adjusted his tie, and plastered a smile on his face. Then he squared his shoulders and swaggered over to them with all the confidence in the world, even though anger still pinched their faces. But that was Finn for you—always ready, willing, and eager to tame the savage female beast. Or beasts, in this case.

“Ladies,” he said. “Have I told you both how very brave you were? Why, it was just amazing the way you both kept your cool when that horrible thug stormed into the store . . .”

And he was off, telling the saleswomen just how much he admired their levelheaded gumption in the face of such terrible danger and other such nonsense. He only stopped talking long enough to draw in a necessary breath here and there, dazzling them with smile after toothy smile.

While Finn soothed their ruffled feathers and bruised egos, I stepped around the display case.

“Hey there, baby sister,” I said.

Bria smiled and got to her feet. “Hey there yourself. You know, when Finn told me that he was taking you shopping this afternoon, I didn’t imagine things would turn out quite like this.”

My gaze dropped to the bloodstains on the thick gray carpet. “Me either.”

“Still, you made my day a little easier,” she continued.

“How so?”

She gestured at the store windows, through which I could see that Xavier had stuffed the dwarf into the backseat of the sedan and was now leaning against the side of the car. He had his sunglasses on and his head tilted back, enjoying the warm, early June sun.

“By catching the bad guy for me.” Bria paused. “Or, rather, knocking him unconscious.”

I grinned. “You know me and my methods.”

“That I do.”

She returned my grin before swiveling back around to the case. Bria picked up a necklace set with square diamonds that were the size of gumballs. She studied the flashing gems for a few seconds before putting the piece down on top of the glass.