Phantom Warriors: Linx Read Free Page A

was right about his temporary blindness.
    “Why
were you fighting a man three times your size?” he asked.
    “I
wasn’t fighting. I was trying to sneak into the club.” She looked at him, her
gaze far too assessing for his comfort.
    “Why?”
    “That’s
none of your business.”
    Linx
tilted his head. “You made it my business, when you cried out and I had to step
in to save you.”
    Her
jaw clenched. “I could’ve handled Boris. I just needed more time,” she said. “I
never asked for your help. You took it upon yourself to intervene.”
    He
shook his head in amazement. “I suppose that’s true. But the fact that you
didn’t ask for my help either makes you insane or stupid.”
    Her
nostrils flared. “I am not stupid.”
    “So
you’re insane.” That made the most sense given what he’d witnessed of her
behavior thus far.
    “Guess
that makes two of us, since you just pissed off an under boss in the Russian
mob,” she said, as if that should mean something to him.
    Linx
couldn’t quite figure her out. Tabitha was full of bluff and bluster, yet he
could smell the fear clinging to her pale skin. Like a good soldier, she didn’t
allow it to stop her from her mission. He just couldn’t figure out what kind of
mission a woman like her could be on.
    “What
were you doing in there?” he asked, this time using a gentler tone.
    She
crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. For several seconds, she
didn’t speak.
    “The
sooner you tell me, the sooner I’ll leave you alone,” Linx said.
    That
seemed to brighten her mood, which in turn soured his. “I was looking for my
sister.”
    He
stiffened. “Was she one of the women I was with?” The idea left him feeling
oddly uncomfortable.
    “No.”
Tabitha shook her head, sending her hair into her face. She quickly scooped it
out of the way. “Taylor is Sergei’s girlfriend. At least that’s what he calls
her. She’s more like his sex slave.”
    “And
you know this how?” His discomfort grew.
    “Because
she won’t return my phone calls. Won’t answer her email,” she said in
frustration.
    Linx
frowned at her. “That doesn’t mean that he’s holding her against her will. It
just means that she doesn’t want to speak to you.”
    “Do
you have any siblings?”
    “No.”
    Tabitha
sighed. “Then you wouldn’t understand. Taylor and I are close. We’re twins. We
aren’t identical, but I can sense when something is wrong. And something is
definitely wrong.”
    Her
distress bothered Linx. “What is your name?” he asked, though he’d already knew the answer.
    “Sorry.”
She blushed. “My name is Tabitha. Tabitha Shelley. My friends call me Tabby.”
    “Tabitha.”
He let her name slide across his tongue. “Tabby…like the cat?”
    She
rolled her eyes again. “Yes.”
    He
grinned to himself. “I am called Linx.”
    “Like
the cat?” she asked teasingly.
    His
smile widened. “Very much so.”
    She
held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
    Linx
took it, but instead of shaking her outstretched hand, he brought it to his
lips and placed a chaste kiss on the back of her knuckles.
    “What
are you doing?” Tabby snatched her hand back.
    His
brows rose in surprise. Linx had never had that kind of reaction from a woman
before.
    Tabby
rubbed the back of her hand on her pants’ leg, then scowled at him. “Don’t do that again,” she hissed like an angry kitten. “I’m
not one of those bimbos you hooked up with in the club.”
    “I--”
was all he managed to get out before she backed away.
    “If
you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from the Molotov Club. Sergei
won’t forget what you’ve done,” she said. “He’s a vindictive bastard that gets
off on hurting people. Kind of comes with the job description.” Tabitha turned
to leave, but stopped short. “Why did Boris call you, Tchort ?”
    Linx
frowned in confusion. “I know not what that means.”
    Her
eyes narrowed. “It means ‘Dark God’ or devil.