Warriors of Poseidon 05 - Atlantis Redeemed

Poseidon 05
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    The last thing she needed was him thinking he could take over her life. She had a job and a goal to get back to when this mission was done. She was going to expose every single one of the monsters who were behind this horrible plot to enthrall humanity, and she had a feeling Litton and his cronies were only the tip of the iceberg.
    Right on cue, a matching pair of no-neck, muscle-bound thugs stepped in front of them as they sauntered toward the exit.
    “Sorry, sir, but we’re asking guests to remain in the hotel tonight. Just a precaution, you understand,” Tweedle Dumb said.
    “Yeah. Precautions. Don’t want anybody to gobble you up, do ya?” Tweedle Dumber chimed in, leering at her boobs.
    Brennan’s hand shot out and he gripped Dumber by the throat, lifting him so far up in the air that the man’s toes barely scraped the floor. “I am inclined to consider your lascivious actions to be an offense to my lady. What do you say to that?”
    Dumber said nothing, which wasn’t surprising since Brennan was choking him. The man’s face turned a mottled red and he gasped out a few strangled noises while ineffectually trying to pull Brennan’s hand away from his neck.
    His partner went for a gun under his jacket, and Brennan raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think you want to do that?”
    The thug froze, considering his options. Thinking was apparently not in his job description.
    Tiernan put a hand on Brennan’s arm. “Stop. Let him go. I don’t need you to defend my honor, and you’re causing quite a scene.”
    Brennan gave another squeeze, but released the man just as his face turned an interesting shade of deep purple.
    “I’ll kill you,” the man managed to growl between gasping in deep breaths.
    “You can try,” Brennan returned calmly. “Now, if we’re done with this, my date and I are going for a short walk. Detain us further at your own risk, not to mention Dr. Litton might be very unhappy with you if his prize billionaire were to walk out on this whole enterprise.”
    Dumb and Dumber gaped at each other, clearly at a loss to calculate this new variable. Tiernan didn’t wait for them to figure it out, especially when the one with the gun grabbed his radio and toggled it on. She grabbed Brennan by the hand and pulled him toward the glass doors. At first it was like trying to pull a mountain, but finally, the testosterone-driven staring match with the goons apparently over, he followed her. When they were outside, she didn’t stop but dropped his hand and strode rapidly down the sidewalk toward the road, having no idea in what direction they were headed but not really caring. He caught up in seconds and shot a sidelong Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
    Page 84 of 232
    glance at her as she kept hiking along, still moving at top speed.
    “Are you angry with me?” he finally ventured.
    “Gee, Sherlock, what gave you that idea?” She muttered some of the worst words she knew under her breath. “Just because you endanger the mission and risk blowing our cover all over some stupid guy staring at my boobs? Why would I be angry?”
    “I should apologize for defending your honor?” Brennan viciously kicked a fallen tree limb out of his way. “Let them act like degenerate scum while I do nothing? And then what? Perhaps lie down and have a fit of the vapors while they put their hands on you?”
    She clamped her lips shut to fight the grin threatening to break free, and then stopped and pivoted to face him. “Okay, so many things. First, nobody says ‘fit of the vapors.’ Try to join this century. Second, overreact much? They were leering. They were thugs, with probably five brain cells to share between them, and they were copping a visual feel. Big deal. I get worse every time I walk past a construction site in Boston.”
    He folded his arms across that broad chest of his, which made his muscles tighten and strain the fabric of his shirt, and for a moment she lost track of what she’d been saying. The man was flat-out gorgeous. But then she looked up, and the mutinous expression on his face brought her back to the point, fast.
    “You know, you look like a two-year-old who needs juice and a nap,” she pointed out, but then she came to a startling realization. “In fact, that’s probably what a lot of this is about, isn’t this?
    Everybody else learns to control their emotions as a child, but you’ve had no opportunity to do that. Or whatever