Rhysto jerked toward her. She'd already injected the full dose of sedative before he understood anything was wrong. He tried to drag the knife across her neck but caught her forearm instead.
Loretta pulled her other arm from behind him and jabbed the empty hypo into the back of his hand. He screamed and dropped the knife into her lap. Her palm was already slick with blood when she picked it up, so she gripped the copper-wrapped hilt with both hands.
"What's the matter, Rhysto?" She pushed the tip against the hollow of his throat, pushing until he moved back onto his hands and knees. "Not so eager to punish me anymore?"
He tried to reach for his revolver, but she jabbed hard enough to break the skin. With that much of the drug inside his body, and probably more than a little booze from t
