I pistol-whipped him across the face with the gun. My fist might not have had much of an impact, but the sharp edges and heavy, solid weight of the weapon did. His nose cracked from the force, and blood arced through the air, the warm, sticky drops spattering onto my skin.
The robber howled with pain, but he reached for me again. I tightened my grip on the gun and slammed it into his face once more. And I didn't stop there. Again and again, I hit him, smashing the weapon into his features as hard as I could. The dwarf fought back, wildly swinging his fists at me. Despite the blood running into his eyes, he was a decent fighter, so I grabbed hold of my Stone magic and pushed the cool power outward, hardening my skin into an impenetrable shell.
Good thing, since the dwarf's fist finally connected with my face.
Given his strength, the blow rocked me back, and I felt the force of it reverberate through my entire body, but it didn't break my jaw like it would have if I hadn't been using my magic to protect myself. Still, the dwarf took it as a sign of encouragement that he'd finally been able to hit me.
"Not so tough now, are you?" he snarled, advancing on me again.
"Tough enough to do this," I said.
I waited until he was back in range, blocked his next blow, and then used the gun to coldcock him in the temple. His eyes widened, taking on a glassy sheen, and then rolled up in the back of his head as he slumped to the floor.
"You know, Gin, you really should warm up before you tee off on somebody like that," Finn murmured, leaning across the counter and staring down at the dwarf. "Wouldn't want you to pull a muscle or anything."
"Oh, no," I sniped, letting go of my Stone magic so that my skin would revert back to its normal texture. "We wouldn't want that. Have I told you how much I hate shopping?"
Finn just grinned and pulled out his cell phone from his jacket pocket to call Bria and report the attempted robbery. I used the long skirt of the dress to wipe my prints off the gun and then put the weapon down on top of the jewelry case.
I'd just started to head to the fitting room to change back into my own clothes, when the two saleswomen blocked my path. They both looked at me with serious expressions. They were probably going to thank me for saving them -
"You know you have to pay for that," Red said.
"Oh, yeah," Blondie chimed in. "That's a ten-thousand-dollar dress you just got blood all over."
Blood? There hadn't been that much blood. It wasn't like I'd sliced the dwarf's throat open with one of my knives, which is what I usually did when bad folks crossed my path.
I had opened my mouth to respond, when I caught sight of my reflection in one of the mirrors on the wall. Dark brown hair, gray eyes, pale skin. I looked the same as always, except for the flowing yellow dress - and the blood that covered my hands, arms, and chest. Actually, being covered in blood pretty much was the same as always for me. But the robber had bled more than I'd thought, and the fancy gown now looked like it had come straight out of a horror movie where everyone dies at the big dance.
I started to push past the two women, but they crossed their arms over their chests and held their ground. Apparently, the sight of a ruined dress was more offensive than the fact that I had bludgeoned someone unconscious right in front of them.
"I saved your snotty little store from getting robbed, not to mention that I kept that dwarf from probably killing you both, and you actually think you're going to charge me for it?" I stepped forward. "Keep talking, and this dress won't be the only thing in here with blood on it, sugar."
Red paled. After a moment, she stepped aside. I turned my cold gaze to Blondie, who sucked in a breath and stepped aside too.
I stomped past them, went into the fitting room, closed the door behind me, and peeled off the gown. I put it on its hanger and hung it on the back of the door. Now, instead of being canary yellow, the top of the dress had taken on a bright crimson color, and blood had also oozed down the full skirt, giving the whole garment a garish, tie-dye effect.
Still, as I stared at the disastrous dress, I couldn't help but smile.
Finn was right.
Yellow really wasn't my color - red was.
Chapter 2
I grabbed some tissues out of a box in the fitting room and spent the next ten minutes scrubbing the dwarf's blood off my skin. After peering at my reflection in the mirror to make sure I'd gotten as much of it as I could, I put my own clothes back on, tucked my knives into their appropriate slots, and slipped on my boots.
That electronic chime sounded again, telling me that someone new had come into the store. So I stepped out of the fitting room and went into the front of the boutique.
Finn was once again standing in front of the jewelry case, but he'd been joined by my sister, Bria Coolidge. Bria wore her usual black boots and dark jeans, along with a light blue button-up shirt. A silverstone primrose rune rested in the hollow of her throat, and her gold badge was clipped to her black leather belt, along with her gun.
Red and Blondie stood against the wall behind the case, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, glossy lips puckered with displeasure. They were none too happy about my sister's arrival. Even in her cop clothes, Bria was quite lovely, with her shaggy blond hair, rosy skin, and vivid blue eyes. Not to mention the adoring way Finn looked at her. He might flirt with every woman who crossed his path, but Bria was the one who made his eyes soften and his face brighten in that warm, special way. She was the one who had his heart, and Red and Blondie could see it just as easily as everyone else could.
But Bria hadn't come alone. A giant who was around seven feet tall reached down and hauled the dwarf to his feet before slapping a set of silverstone handcuffs on the robber. The giant's hair, skin, and eyes were all a rich shade of ebony, while his shaved head gleamed in the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the windows. Xavier, Bria's partner on the force, was another member of my makeshift extended family.
Xavier finished securing the cuffs, then put one hand on the robber's shoulder to keep the much shorter man from falling over. The dwarf's eyes were slightly unfocused, and blood still dripped from the cuts I'd opened up on his face when I'd pistol-whipped him. Still, he surged forward at the sight of me.
"You bitch!" he screamed. "I'll kill you for this!"
"Sure you will," I said in an easy voice. "Take a number and get in line."
Xavier tightened his grip on the dwarf's shoulder, holding him in place, and let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "I'll say this, Gin. There's never a dull moment when you're around."
I winked at him. "I do my best to keep y'all employed - and entertained."