Free Sylvia's Torment (Enforcers and Coterie Book 2) by Veronica Del Rosa

her. She’d already shifted several times today, more than she should have, and a partial took extra energy to maintain. She was tapped dry.
    They traded several blows, each trying to get the upper hand. D surprised her with his speed and ability to take the punishment she dished out. Like fighting against a werewolf except he didn’t heal from the wounds she caused. Blood streaked across his face and dripped on the floor. He winced a few times when she snuck under his guard and nailed his chest. Broken bones were a bitch in a fight.
    With the siren wailing, she nearly missed the rustle of clothing behind her. Keeping D in sight, she twisted her head to assess the threat behind her. Jeff had succeeded in cleaning the blood from his eyes and was sneaking up on her. As she shifted her body weight to attack, cold steel brushed past her bicep.
    A knife bristled in Jeff’s shoulder, not a mortal wound, but one that put him out of play. He stumbled backwards, landing near Baby. Too far away for her to grab the knife. Damn it.
    She whirled back towards D, and he gave her a creepy, unsettling smile.
    “This is between you and me. You’re mine.”
    He lifted his hand and flicked his fingers toward himself, the universal sign for Bring it. She’d underestimated the depth of his insanity. He had no sense of loyalty or even care that he’d attacked a fellow guard.
    And yet he hadn’t pulled any weapons on her. He could’ve attacked her with the knife at any time. He said no weapons, and he’d used no weapons against her.
    She rolled her shoulders, not caring about his mental psychosis. Fucker was crazy and keeping her from freedom.
    Sylvia placed her weight on her left foot, knowing he’d expect her to kick with her right. Instead she snapped out her right fist, punching hard into his side. Air burst from his lungs, and he fought against the instinct to double over. If he had, Sylvia had planned to meet his face with her knee.
    She swiftly recalculated her next moves as she assessed his weaknesses. While his speed was more on par with a werewolf, his healing was all human. A sheen of sweat and a slight increase in breathing told her he was tiring.
    Drawing on her energy, she let loose a flurry of punches, attacking his face and chest. Unable to block all her punches, D began to sway, loss of blood and pain finally overwhelming him. A hard jab to the stomach and finally he doubled over for her. Instead of kneeing his face, she laced her fingers together to make one giant fist and slammed it down onto his back.
    A groan slipped from his lips as he dropped to the ground unconscious.
    Chest heaving and the end of her endurance threatening to envelop her, she glanced around. Baby stayed slumped against the opposite wall, unmoving, with Jeff next to him. Shock kept him still. Neither of them were a threat now.
    Racing down the hallway, she continued past the checkpoint they had been guarding. Caution kept her tread light, her body tense and ready to attack.

Chapter Eight
    Victor and Zmitro followed close behind Markus and Derek as they exited the holding room. Lights in the hallway near the entrance had gone out due to the blast. The werewolves didn’t need any extra illumination, and Victor had great night vision due to an ancestor.
    The mages, though, needed a light source. Stumbling occurred behind him as mages lost their footing on the uneven ground. Rocks and chunks of the ceiling littered the floor.
    A few curses broke the heavy silence before a mage – ah, Jackson, the only one now without invis – conjured a small ball of light, letting it float low to the ground. The sighs of relief were the last noise heard from the group as they picked their way through the rubble.
    Halt, Markus sent the command to the group, although he continued forward with Derek.
    Zmitro tensed next to him and pressed against Victor, indicating for him to stop. Werewolves, he thought. They love pretending it was their idea to do something.
    Not