“Charlene,” her name came out quiet. “I won’t change. Even if I’m under
your command, my team comes first.”
A flash of white gave away her smile. “I’m counting on it, Cyn.” She
rounded the hood of the SUV and opened the driver’s side door. Standing on the
running board, she looked at me over the roof. “When this is over, when you have justice for Kelsey, we’ll talk about your future.”
Meeting her gaze, I thought about her unspoken offer. Agreeing to talk was
easy to promise, but she might not like my answer. I gave a slow nod.
She returned it, and then disappeared into the SUV. The engine rumbled
through the night, and the lights came on, blinding me.
I watched her reverse out of the parking lot and kept my gaze on the
disappearing red taillights. Alone in the dark, the urge to walk away from her, Kayden and Tag, and their expectations beckoned. Too many memories, too
many emotions kept knocking me off kilter. I wanted to scream, crawl into a hole, rail at a perverse universe that stole my sister, my best friend, and my parents. But I made a promise to make the monsters pay, so for now, as long as it
got me what I wanted, I’d play by the rules.
And what I wanted most right now was Ellery’s blood. As for afterward?
Well, I’d just have to wait and see.
I took my time heading back to the cabin. Slipping inside, I found Kayden sprawled on the couch, Tag once again in the chair. The low drone of a sportscaster’s voice played in the background. Locking the door behind me, I made my way down the short hall. I stepped into the dining room and they both
looked up.
“You good?” Tag asked.
“Yeah, just tired.” It wasn’t a lie. Exhaustion curled around me. “I’m going
to crash.”
Wishing the guys a quiet good night, I headed to the second bedroom. As I
prepared for bed, the images in my head made me yearn for a stiff shot, or five,
of whiskey. I tried a warm shower, flipped through a battered paperback, and tried some meditative breathing.
Nothing worked.
In the end, I grabbed my pillow and slipped back into the now deserted
living room. Curled up into the corner of the couch, I turned the TV down low
and let the late-night chatter chase away my nightmares.
CHAPTER 10
Downtown Phoenix was a sharp edge mixture of glass and steel, with
pockets of dark, fetid poverty. Sometimes the bright sunlight would
briefly illuminate the invisible homeless before the shadows swallowed them up
again. The corporate drones moved along, completely oblivious as their wireless
worlds consumed them. Sadly, the scene was a familiar one.
Different city, same picture.
Kayden wove his way through the maze of one-way streets, guiding us
deeper into the graffiti-enhanced neighborhood. Checking out our unsettling
surroundings, apprehension curled along my skin. Eyes hidden behind dark
lenses, Kayden frowned. “Nice neighborhood.”
“Guess drug dealing doesn’t pay as good as it used to.” Despite my flippant
answer, I wondered how anyone survived in this urban jungle. Neighborhoods like this ate people for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
