Sidekick by Auralee Wallace Read Free Book Online Page A

bank. She had recognized me. Maybe the clown had too.
    Sure enough, a comic look of concern crossed over his face.
    “He’ll blame you,” I gasped out. “Look up. There’s a news-copter. It’s filming us. My father will know you could have saved me.”
    Fake concern melded into disappointment as the clown reached a hand towards me.
    Another gust of wind blew. This time it was strong enough that my left hand lost its grip. I looked frantically to the clown.
    A smile spread over his face as he pulled back his hand. Disappointment had switched out with crazy-ass craziness. He didn’t care about the consequences anymore. He wanted to see me fall.
    I felt my life sliding away in tiny fractions of inches. The fingers on my right hand were slipping. And here I had really thought I was going to make it. I had truly believed that Mr. Pushkin would get his money. Queenie would be my friend. Mr. Raj would find me a desk job that didn’t involve a furry thong. And I would make it in this mean city.
    Then I was going to get Jenny.
    I closed my eyes and saw her face. I hoped that one day, if she ever did find out about my father, this would all make sense.
    I squeezed my eyes shut.
    My fingers lost their grip.
    A half-second of free fall sucked the air out of my lungs right before I was jerked from oblivion.
    I snapped my eyes open. Yup, the view was the same, still up high, still a few feet from the platform, but I was dangling like a puppet. Something had me by the jacket. I tried to see what it was but air didn’t make for good leverage. I looked to the clown instead.
    Oh wow, he did not look happy.
    He had leaned over the railing to see what had happened. “You!” he said with venom.
    Who? I thought. Who? Who?
    “It’s my job to look over this city.” It was a strong feminine voice, accented, maybe something African, and coming from behind me. “I tend to notice when someone drops a ship on it.”
    “Goodie! Goodie!” the clown said switching from anger to maniacal glee. “My mistress was hoping you’d stop by, Dark Ryder.”
    Dark Ryder! Dark Ryder was holding me! This was awesome! Maybe Santa Claus was real too. Maybe I could ask her once she put an end to all this nasty business. Wait, how was she holding me? Could Dark Ryder fly? I had so many questions. Like, how—
    “I can’t say the feeling is mutual. Now lay down your weapon.”
    “Humpty Dumpty, don’t be grumpy. My mistress and I have a job to do that can’t wait.” The clown raised his semi-automatic. I could feel Dark Ryder tense, and I suddenly realized I could actually help her with this.
    “Don’t worry!” I shouted. “The gun’s fake!”
    And that’s when all the gunfire broke out. Bullets tore through the air. We would have been hit for sure, but something had knocked the clown off his feet, and the bullets went high. Before I could process any of it, Ryder launched me into the air in an arc, sending me up and over the edge of the railing. I landed hard on the wood floor of the small platform. I whirled around just in time to see the clown flying through the air. Well, he seemed to be flying for a few seconds, then he was falling over the edge of the ship. Hopefully he had some training in acrobatics.
    I turned my focus back to my own surroundings to make sure I was safe…and that’s when I saw her.
    Standing in front of me was six feet of pure female awesomeness.
    It was a freeze frame moment. She stood tall, feet slightly apart, ready to fight. Head to toe shiny black leather glided over her muscled curves in an intimidating display of beauty and power. Her skin, almost as dark as her catsuit, gleamed in the dying sun while her flame-colored hair burned down to her waist in a long braid. Incredibly, her ice-blue eyes were even more startling than the rest of her. Contrasted against the dark of her skin, they were terrifying…almost alien. Hey, maybe she was an alien? If that reporter guy ever called me, I’d tell him to look into