I turn, confused, just in time to see his fist come hurtling through the air. The punch catches me off-guard and sends me spinning into a velvet-covered wall. I bounce off it and square up.
He roars and lunges towards me, hoping to finish me sooner rather than later. He’s got a fifty-pound advantage at least.
But he’s no O’Sullivan.
As soon as he’s within range, I uppercut him. His teeth clack together and his eyes roll back in his head. I don’t rest there—I keep up the assault. Another punch to the gut. When his hands drop, I clock him across the jaw. A jab to the nose. Bone breaks. Blood spurts.
He punches back feebly, but all the strength is evaporating from him. I press forward and he stumbles backwards. We’re approaching the railing. I punch again and again and again. And then, with a lurching cry, he backs up one step too far.
The railing hits him in the back of the legs. If he were ordinary height, it wouldn’t matter. But the bastard is almost seven feet tall. So when the railing catches him, his center of gravity tips over and he falls.
I look over the railing just in time to see him hit the ground. He narrowly misses a group of partiers huddling for cover down there. I thought he’d be dead as soon as he landed, but a low, guttural moan drifts up to me here. Blood starts to pool beneath him.
“Should’ve minded your own fucking business,” I mutter.
Phoenix is busy dragging the body of the other guard out of the way. The VIP section has emptied, with blood and broken glass mingling on the floor.
“You go,” he says. “I’ll keep watch down here.”
I nod. Then, I turn back to the stairs and race up, taking them two steps at a time. There’s a door at the top, painted dark gold and shimmering in the strobe lights.
I don’t bother knocking. I just kick it as hard as I fucking can and burst through with my gun raised.
I’m roaring “Put your fucking hands—!” when my eyes fall on the stunning brunette standing just a few feet away from me.
Then my original words die on my lips.
Instead, I grimace and say, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”