Chi was caught off guard by the power blast from Joey - he had been offering Dodger a comforting smile. A quick scan of the bar revealed no other leopards but he and Dodger, so Joey focused on shielding her as much as he could while still shielding himself. He was strong, certainly, but he knew Joey could wear him down and the last thing Malachi wanted was for Dodger to become a pawn.
"Let her go," he growled at Joey, barely remembering to be civil to the vampire.