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Thwack!
Kinga swung the umbrella through the air and brought it straight down on the temple of the ringleader. The crack was like a whip, deafening against the walls of the car park. Clay clamped his hands against his ears. A futile motion, the sound of bone against metal wormed deep, demanded attention. His breath drew shallow, blood thrumming at his temples. Do something his mind screamed but he was anchored by the weight of Rolf's thumb.
Yet even as Clay willed his eyes closed, he couldn't tear them away. Before him, Kinga had transformed into a cyclone. A flurry of hunger and noise. Clay hadn't taken her seriously when she had claimed to be a killer, now he began to reconsider. The thought should have scared him. Should have.
"Any of you betting men? Because I'm really feeling my odds and I'm willing to take the wager." Kinga taunted to no reply. "Damn, lighten up a little. Someone could mistake the silence for fear. Surely you're not scared."
Her arm arched with grace. She flipped the umbrella to its handle, jamming it into the ringleader's gut. He made a sound like a deflating balloon. Weakened, he didn't resist as Kinga shoved him backwards with a kick. A wrecking ball, his body thrust from the momentum and knocked two clean to the ground beneath his dead weight. Clay caught the flicker of disquiet among the men. They had sorely underestimated her.
"If you are, I wouldn't judge you for it." Kinga tapped the end of the umbrella against the side of her nose. "In fact, anyone who just wants to confess and get outta dodge, be my guest."
There it was again, a silent ripple. At least two were considering it.
"Scared? Pah! Just waiting for you run out of steam."
The speaker was a hair shy of her height, bronze with tan, bulky jawed. He lurched forward and yanked her cap clean from her head. Grabbed a fist full of her dark hair. Kinga let out a yowl that sounded close to a battle cry. Her leg shot out beneath her, toe connecting to shin. Clay winced reflexively, ducking his head as though the blow had been his. The man had reacted much the same way, hand loosening just enough to free Kinga. She whirled the umbrella in the air.
Thwack! Kinga struck him in the nose. Thwack! Thwack! A hit to the jaw, the sound like splitting wood. Another in the soft plush of his lower belly. He collapsed to his knees. A house without foundations. Thwack! One last for good measure, the top of the head. In the span of a wheeze, her had fallen completely.
