Holidays are Hell by Kim Harrison

Author:Kim Harrison [Harrison, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2012-08-05T02:23:49+00:00

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LYNSAY SANDS is the national bestselling author of the Argeneau vampire series as well as more than fifteen historical novels and anthologies known for their humorous edge.

For more information, go to www.lynsaysands.net.

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Six

Marjorie M. Liu

To my parents,

with love

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Chapter 1

It was an accident that the Foreign Minister's wife was found—her body had been hidden quite carefully, in several different locations—but the fortuitous combination of the harsh Beijing winter and several hungry dogs made her discovery quite immediate, without time for decay, and once the forensic team had finished analyzing the woman's remains it was only a matter of time before the military became involved.

Which explained how, on the eve of Spring Festival, with the thunder of fireworks shaking the streets, Six found herself in a murky massage parlor in the heart of Shanghai, her hands covered in oil as she pounded the brown filthy feet of a man in a wrinkled black suit.

The air reeked. Cigarette smoke, cheap cologne, a multitude of unwashed bodies that had circulated through the room for hours upon hours, for days on end. The scents made Six's nose run, her eyes itch, and though she had held her job for only 360 minutes—by her watch, anyway, which was atomic in nature and government issued—her brief tenure here was more than enough. As far as she was concerned, the other girls who worked in this place—legitimately, without pretense—deserved medals.

Not that Six had met any of them. As per the agreement with the massage parlor's owner—who, according to his file, had long ago given up his Chinese name for the ridiculous foreign moniker of "Lucky John"—Six had remained virtually locked inside this small room, forced to massage the feet and bodies of one man after another. If any of those paying guests asked for a different girl, Lucky John was to insist all the others were busy. And if he did not do exactly that—or if any one of the men discovered Six's true identity—the repercussions had been made quite clear.

Police clear. Prison clear. End of life, clear.

Six rolled her shoulders, glancing at the man reclining in front of her on the wide red chair. His eyes were closed, his breathing deep and even. Not asleep, but certainly relaxed. His face was broad and flat; a large mole, replete with long black hair, made a target of his chin. A toothpick jutted from between his lips.

Six slid her thumbs along the arch of his foot, pushing between his toes. She pinched hard on the bone. He jerked, grunting, and she applied more pressure. The man opened his eyes and kicked at her. Six allowed his big toe to connect with her chin, though she angled her head just enough to make it a glancing blow.

"Bitch," he growled, slapping the padded arm of his chair with one hard palm. "Careful."

As Six was supposed to be deaf—like all the other girls of Lucky John's massage parlor—she did not respond. Merely ducked her head,

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