A Demon Does It Better (40 page)

Maggie didn’t miss that most of the females were much more generously endowed than she was. She normally didn’t mind her slender athletic figure, but sometimes she’d like to have enough to fill more than a middling B cup.

No time to play, pretty boy
.
Maggie’s got other creatures to fry. But stick around, and maybe we can fit in a dance later on.

What a concept. Your everyday witch having an evening out where she could flirt with a gorgeous guy, get in some dancing, and just talk. When was the last time she’d had a date? Did she have enough fingers and toes to count back that far?

She purposely looked away until her gaze slammed into an odd-looking creature standing at the rear bar.

“Okay, that thing is butt ugly.” Maggie noted the bloated body dressed in rags. She was positive he wouldn’t smell all that good, either. Not that the smell seemed to bother those around him.

“Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, blondie,” Meech’s disembodied voice reminded her. She caught a glimpse of the big, blue-skinned monster on the other side of the room, guarding a side door. He was grinning as his voice continued through the mic. “While some think you’re smokin’, all I see is that you’re damn scrawny, your nose is out of place, and those pearly whites aren’t jagged enough. Plus, they’re not healthy unless they’re gray or yellow.”

“Aw, baby, you know just what to say to make a girl feel good about herself.” She took a quick glance down to make sure the girls were at their best advantage. Nothing like giving a perp something to look at while she took him down.

Not that anyone around here would notice. They’d just think it was another S and M show. Another thing Damnation Alley was known for. Although at present she wasn’t seeing the kind of sex shows that had gone on here when Ratchet owned the club.

“Oh, Frebus, you bring me to the classiest of places,” she purred.

“Better than that tavern two months ago. Plus, this one needs to be put down quick before he causes any more trouble. Him being here tonight is pure luck for us.”

“Just stay on alert in case I need backup. Bloaters aren’t the type to go quietly.” Maggie put her hips to work as she glided over to the bar. She could feel the dark-haired man’s eyes on her with a searing intensity, but she kept him on the back burner.

“Hi.” She flashed her sultriest smile at her quarry.

The creature looked up, revealing a puce-colored fleshy face, round chartreuse eyes, and a dark slit for a mouth.

“You are witch.” He looked at her from the top of her head to the tips of her shoes.

“No one’s perfect.” She rested an arm on the bar top, acting as if the putrid stench emanating from his skin didn’t assault her nose. “Buy me a drink?”

“Witches do not drink maiden grog.” His gray claws wrapped around a clay goblet.

“The main element in the grog is a virgin’s urine,” Tita whispered in her earpiece.

Maggie’s smile didn’t slip even as her brain screamed
euuwwww
!

“You’d be surprised what I drink.” She cocked a delicate brow. “They have private rooms here.” She ran a scarlet polished nail over his claws while moving forward enough to brush her breasts against his arm.

At the same time that the creature’s gaze fastened on her bare skin, she whipped iron-laced restraints out and slapped them on his wrists.

“You bitch!”

“Aw, now you’re just sweet talking me.”

The Bloater roared, rearing back and striking her with his chained claws, sending her sailing onto the top of the bar.

Maggie didn’t have time to react, finding herself thrown down the slippery slab. Drinks scattered everywhere, and earsplitting shrieks rose above the din. As she slid to a stop, she saw her quarry trying to escape, scrambled to her feet, and ran after him while others tried to stop her.

“Hellion Guard!” she shouted, even as she knew there would be those who didn’t appreciate the authorities being there.

Before her prey reached an exit door, Maggie launched herself with a leap worthy of a football player and tackled him to the floor.

“You are under arrest,” she began even as she realized he was inflating like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon, and it didn’t look like he intended stopping any time soon.

“We’re on our way!” she heard Frebus shout from her earring.

The second her three team members shouldered their way through the watching crowd, Maggie’s prisoner reached the breaking point.

And that’s when he blew up, splattering pea-green goo everywhere.

Linda Wisdom was born and raised in Huntington Beach, California. She majored in journalism in college, then switched to fashion merchandising when she was told there was no future for her in fiction writing. She held a variety of positions, ranging from retail sales to executive secretary in advertising and office manager for a personnel agency.

Her career began when she sold her first two novels to Silhouette Romance on her wedding anniversary in 1979. Since then, she has sold almost eighty novels and two novellas to five different publishers. Her books have appeared on various romance and mass market bestseller lists and have been nominated for a number of Romantic Times awards. She has been a two-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA Award.

She lives with her husband, one dog, one parrot, and a tortoise in Murrieta, California.

When Linda first moved to Murrieta, there were three romance writers living in the town. At this time, there is just Linda. So far, the police have not suspected her of any wrongdoing.