Brady’s Hellion
by
Linda Wisdom
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Linda Wisdom on Smashwords
Brady’s Hellion
Copyright © 2010 by Linda Wisdom
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BRADY’S HELLION
Prologue
Favors made up Brady Hayes’ life. Calling them in.
Owing them. Personally, he preferred the former since it made his
job easier when someone could provide whatever he needed. That same
job was miserable when an owed favor had to do with Shar, one of
the lords of the Underworld. That kind of deal was pure hell,
pardon the pun. But it wasn’t a good idea to just didn't blow off
Shar. Not if you wanted to remain intact. The last guy who blew
Shar off was shipped home in a million tiny boxes tied in neat
little bows using the guy's guts. Nope, not a pleasant prospect at
all.
This was why Brady was down here in the intense heat
and darkness in response to Shar’s command. He tried not to make
eye contact with the woman seated behind the reception desk. She
had to be as tall as him and he was a hefty six foot four. He bet
she could take down a tank on a good day, her skin was pale as
chalk instead of the tan he'd picked up while working in the Middle
East, her black hair showed no gleam of health and her lips and
nails were the same ebony as her hair. He was amazed she wasn't
sweating buckets in the black leather dress that fit her like a
condom. She kept looking at him as if he was dinner. He didn't
think she was thinking of a few sexy little nibbles either. More
like she wanted him in every damn course including dessert! He kept
his eyes trained on the coffee table in front of him and ignored
the severed fingers that wiggled inside the cursed wood.
"There you are, Brady." The tall portly man in a
charcoal wool suit straight from Amani’s latest collection appeared
at the inner office door looking more like a successful financier
than your typical everyday dark lord. Brady knew better than to
underestimate him. The guy had balls of sulfuric acid. Literally.
"Come in, come in. Hold my calls, Morticia," he instructed.
"Morticia? You're kidding, right?" Brady followed him
into a large rock-walled office that seemed a good fifty degrees
hotter than the reception area.
"Better than her real name, which is Annabelle.
Besides, I always had a hard-on for Morticia Addams." Shar gestured
for him to be seated and took his place behind a mile-long desk
hand-carved from lava. "Thank you for coming so swiftly."
"You said I owed you one." Brady preferred to remind
the man exactly why he came so quickly. He wondered if anyone had
the guts to tell Shar he resembled the actor who played Elwood in
The Blues Brothers except the dark lord was a better dresser. And
if they did were they still intact.
"Still, I appreciate it.” Shar beamed which was also
downright scary. The man didn't seem to understand that smiles were
meant to be happy, not horrific. "I have a job for you."
"A job," he repeated, getting that sinking feeling in
the pit of his stomach. Shar’s jobs never ended well for
anyone.
"I used the term you owing me a favor because I knew
you would respond to my summons faster, but I am more than willing
to pay you for your time. What I need here is the best and we all
know you're the best in your business." Shar grimaced. He fisted
his hand and struck his chest. "I apologize. Lunch is just not
settling right today.” He released a belch that rocked the room
along with a smell of something rotting. "There, that's
Maggie Brendan
Barbara O'Connor
Jan Washburn
Terri Blackstock
Norah Simone
Barry Kemp
G.P. Taylor
Alan Cumyn
Linda Barnes
Lisa Jackson