Goddess for Hire by Sonia Singh Read Free Book Online Page A

plastic bag and began unloading. “I know where the button is, hombre . Don’t even think of pushing it and calling the cops.”
    I sat back against the shelf. I should have called the Goddess Within outside, then entered the store. I should have taken my chance with the 911 operator. I should have bought Microsoft stock back in 1986.
    I could cry over my regrets on my deathbed. Time to summon the goddess.
    Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, and—
    â€œWell, look at this!” A rough hand closed down on thesoft part of my upper arm. My eyes flew open. Dragged to my feet, I found myself face-to-face with the white, hairless hooligan.
    I definitely preferred the view from the back.
    His eyes were the color of thick phlegm, his face a blotchy red. He also happened to have the wispiest goatee I’d ever seen. My grandmother had more hairs on her chin when she went a day without plucking.
    I struggled to free my arm. “Let go of me!”
    Instead of obliging, he tightened his already bruising grip and pulled me to the front of the store. “Check out this bitch.” He raked his eyes over my body from head to toe. “What do I do with her?”
    The braided brute’s eyes never left the clerk. “Make sure she don’t call the cops.”
    Mr. Waste of Anatomy—seriously, where were organ thieves when you needed them—grabbed my other arm and pulled both roughly behind my back. If only I’d worn my new steel-heeled stilettos, I could’ve stepped back and sliced off his toe.
    Oh right, the goddess thing.
    I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and—
    BOOM!
    A massive gunshot ricocheted through the store. My eyes flew open to see the Hispanic heavy glaring at the clerk, smoking gun pointed at the ceiling. “Faster!”
    The gunshot momentarily surprised the Big Nasty breathing down my neck, and he loosened his grip. Quickly, I kicked back and caught him squarely in theknee. Cursing, he let go of one of my arms, and I hefted my bag and swung it at his face.
    One of the sharp silver buckles caught him in the eye. He howled.
    I pulled away and ran, trying to summon the goddess, but it was slightly difficult to visualize anything under the circumstances. All I could think about was getting away and calling the police.
    I was almost to the door when my pursuer tackled me and we went flying into a rack of Twinkies and Ding Dongs. The baked goods were stale and did nothing to cushion my fall.
    He whipped me around so we were again face-to-face. His hot fetid breath nearly made me black out. Talk about a serious Altoid moment.
    I had just the one self-defense move, and it only worked when the person I wanted to flip was polite enough to stand across from me.
    There was only one thing to do.
    Fight like a girl.
    I screamed like a maniac and went for his eyes, lashing out with my sharp, manicured nails.
    Shaved head’s thug-in-crime turned, brandishing his gun at me. “What the fuck’s going on?”
    I didn’t know if I was impervious to bullets, and I didn’t want to find out.
    The thick-necked troglodyte rose to his feet, pulling me up painfully by my roots. My follicles screamed for José Eber.
    I cried out, but not loud enough to miss the grate of metal against metal.
    Click. Click.
    The convenience store clerk stood there, legs spread, a rifle in each hand. “Let her go, or I’ll blow both your bastard brains to Karachi.”
    Both men froze, gaping.
    Wordlessly I was released, my ass making contact with a heap of Hostess cakes.
    â€œIn the corner, bastards,” the clerk ordered. The legally challenged losers moved and stood, glaring.
    I stared up at my hero. “Thanks.”
    The clerk nodded, putting one rifle on the counter and keeping the other trained on the robbers. “I’ve pushed the button to activate the alarm. The bastard cops will be here in thirty minutes.”
    â€œThirty minutes?” I gasped.
    He