Marked: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Thrice Cursed Mage Book 2) by J. A. Cipriano Page A

black Glock .45s with what looked like fifteen round magazines.
    “That doesn’t surprise me.” She shoved the guns into my hands. “Those have silver ammunition, so they’ll work on any shifters you find. Aim for the head.” She slung the bag over her shoulder.
    “Are we likely to encounter a lot of shifters?” I asked, tucking the guns into the waistband of my slacks and wishing I had a holster or two.
    “Well, yeah. Pierce Ambrose is the alpha werewolf of this state. So you’ll probably run into some werewolves sooner or later. It’s best to be prepared.” Ricky shot me a look and realization settled over me. We were going after a werewolf powerful enough to control a whole state. If Ricky was this strong, how strong was Pierce? How strong were the people around him?
    “That’s why your pack isn’t here. You’re acting on your own, aren’t you?” I sighed. This just kept getting better and better.
    “Guess all our secrets are out in the open now. Feel better?” She gave me an annoyed look.
    “Actually, yeah. I’m not a huge fan of surprises,” I replied. “Now let’s go kill us a werewolf.”
     

Chapter 10
    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. We were in the middle of Little Tokyo standing outside a bar named, I shit you not, “The Devil’s Bargain.” It looked like the type of place where Yakuza hung out drinking sake and shooting people stupid enough to walk inside unawares. The parking lot was filled with expensive black luxury cars and motorcycles way more expensive than the Yamaha we’d stolen earlier. There was even a doorman who looked like he’d been on the winning end of several fights and from the look of the bulge under his jacket, was clearly packing something dangerous and semi-automatic.
    “Hey, I didn’t build the place. I just took you to it.” Ricky shrugged at me like that was supposed to make everything better. She’d changed out of her workout clothing and was wearing a black leather jacket over a white dress shirt and khaki pants.
    “So what’s the plan exactly? Walk in, demand Pierce’s location, and start beating up thugs until we find someone who tells us?” I asked while surveying the surroundings for any surprises. I had no way of knowing what we’d find inside, but even from here I could see a distinct lack of security cameras. That told me one thing. They did things here they didn’t want others to see. Wonderful.
    “No, we’re after the owner. She’ll be here. She always is since she lives upstairs with her cadre of men.” Ricky shot me a nervous glance. “She isn’t super friendly, but she’ll tell us what we want to know if we ask the right way. Just follow my lead, okay?”
    “Okay,” I replied because what else could I do?
    Ricky began walking forward uncomfortably while her left hand nervously twirled a stray lock of red hair before tucking it behind her ear. I wasn’t sure who we were going to meet inside, but I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. I’d seen Ricky less worried for our survival when driving straight at a helicopter shooting at us with a machinegun.
    Thankfully, the doorman didn’t bother to frisk us, but that was probably because he seemed to recognize Ricky which was good since it let us bypass the line of patrons waiting outside the door. I wasn’t sure what would have happened otherwise. It was already after five in the evening, and I was running out of time. I hadn’t been keen on the idea of shooting my way inside, but I would be lying if I didn’t say the possibility had crossed my mind.
    The inside of the Devil’s Bargain was exactly like what I’d have seen in one of those Japanese Samurai movies. You know, the ones with a big glass floor over a koi pond and a waterfall in the corner. It was the kind of setup that demanded a guy would get killed and fall in the water below so the pond could turn crimson.
    A line of teppanyaki tables stood across the left wall while a sushi bar took up the center