Page 44 of Terror at the Gates

Just as he slammed the door closed, it started pouring.

The driver looked at me in the rearview mirror. He was an older man with rounded glasses. He wore a gray hat and a light jean jacket.

“Temperature okay?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you,” I said.

He put the car into gear, and I settled in for the short ride, grateful the driver didn’t seem interested in conversation. I would have listened to my own music, but I liked the sound of the rain tapping against the car. My eyes felt gritty and heavy. I wanted so badly to sleep, butI knew it was a bad idea. Gabriel might have paid this guy extra to get me home safely, but that didn’t mean anything. If I fell asleep, I might wake up in a warehouse without a kidney.

I looked out the window into the neon night and tried focusing on things that would help me stay awake. The problem was my mind chose Zahariev and how he’d handled me during my dance.

I could still feel his hands on my ass, his fingers pressing into my skin. I hadn’t expected him to touch me, but I wasn’t mad about it. I just couldn’t let myself think it meant anything. He’d only done it to fuck with me because I’d fucked with him.

Payback’s a bitch.

“You’re off Providence?” the driver asked as he glanced in the rearview mirror when something darted in front of the car.

“Watch out!” I shouted, but it was too late. There was a loud thump before he slammed on his brakes. My seat belt locked, cutting across my body as I jerked forward.

Then it was over, and for a few seconds, we sat in stunned silence.

I was definitely awake now.

“Are you all right?” the driver asked.

“Yeah,” I breathed, though I wasn’t exactly sure.

“Stay here,” he said.

No fucking problem, I thought.

As he went to open his door, I noticed his hands were shaking.

He stepped out of the car and shut the door. I waited in the eerie quiet, interrupted only by the squeak of the wipers as they dragged across the windshield, dry now that the rainhad let up.

I clenched my teeth harder with each grating sound before I decided I could no longer stand it. I unbuckled my seat belt and squeezed between the seats, reaching for the switch that would shut them off. As I did, I looked up and saw the driver on his phone. His back was to me, but then he turned, his face illuminated by the headlights of his car. A second later, I bore witness to his murder.

Two gloved hands shot out of the rainy dark. One gripped the driver’s head, while the other drove a knife into his neck over and over.

A partial scream tore from my throat before I clapped a hand over my mouth and fell back into the seat, watching as the attacker released the driver.

I recognized him.

It was Burke, the younger of the two enforcers. He looked different in a way that made me think I was seeing things. His eyes seemed to glow with a faint violet hue. In his hand, he held the gold dagger he was supposed to have returned to Hiram.

I catapulted into the front seat, shaking as I fumbled for the locks. They clicked in place just as Burke slammed his hands against my window. A scream tore from my throat as I tried to move the gearshift, but it seemed to be locked.

I was doing something wrong, but the problem was I couldn’t fucking drive.I wasn’t allowed.

Fuck!I hit the steering wheel with the palm of my hand, and the horn sounded.

Yes! The horn.

I laid on it, letting the shrill sound fill the night.

Burke’s pounding ceased, and when I looked, I saw he had drawn a gun. I screamed and ducked. Unlocking thedoor, I opened it and shoved my foot against it. The door flew into him. He stumbled back but latched on to the window. I grabbed the handle and tried to slam it closed. Despite crushing his fingers, he held on.

I let go of the door and reached for my gun, leveling the weapon at him, but then he jerked me by the ankle, and suddenly, I was out of the car, the back of my head striking the pavement. The pain was instant and numbed my entire body. Briefly, I felt panicked, unable to move as a faint ringing grew louder and louder, but then Burke was over me, and I remembered I had a gun.