Page 86 of Ignite

I shake my head. “No way. I stay with you.”

The crack of a gun splits the night. A bullet crumbles the brick right over Rev’s head. He whirls around and fires a shot to the corner of a roof overlooking us, dropping a body to the street with a sickening crunch. “Guess you’re getting baptized by gunfire.”

Heart hammering against my ribcage, I whip out my gun and sweep my eyes over the streets.

Another bullet whizzes by, and Rev orders me behind the cover of a dumpster in the alley. Peeking around it, I catch a silhouette in the second-story window of the building across from us. I aim my gun at the lower level window and pull the trigger when the shadow appears. It drops out of sight, and my heart dips in my chest as I stare at the broken glass, ears ringing from the blast of my gun.

Rev takes my chin in a gloved hand. He turns my head to meet his icy eyes. “You with me? First one can fuck you up.”

A slow grin eases onto my face. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Two guys down.

“Do you think all the addresses were a setup?” I ask, pressing my back against the dumpster. I keep my eyes moving over the streets.

“Not sure. Can you call in for back-up?”

I fumble for the comm piece in a vest pocket. Jamming it in my ear, I hit the call button.

“Alaric. We’ve got company. Not sure how many gunmen.”

“You and three of the other teams,” Alaric replies. “I’ll send reinforcements.”

Dread sluices through my body as Alaric hangs up. Was Cain safe? I had to trust that he would make it home. I couldn’t let my brain spiral me into a panic right now.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a figure darting across the street behind us.

“Got another one,” I mutter.

“Go fetch,” Rev says, and I take off, loaded gun in hand.

Adrenaline streams through me, propelling me forward. I can run miles without tiring. This guy is as good as dead.

I know Cain’s going to be pissed about this entire situation, but I’ve never felt so alive. Never felt so in control of my thoughts and emotions.

Never felt so powerful.

I don’t know what that says about me that I get off on chasing down bad guys, but I want to keep fucking doing it.

I raise my gun to fire. The shot misses. Aiming while running is more difficult than I expected, but I’ve trained far too hard to let someone who traffics kids get away.

A thought strikes me, and I lower my gun. Eventually rats have to go back to their nests, right? Hopefully Rev doesn’t get mad at me for going a bit off the books here.

I pull back, slinking in and out of alleyways, letting the guy think he’s gotten away. I stalk him all the way to a building pulsing with industrial music and strobe lights in East Bank.

Shedding my tactical gear behind a pallet of empty cardboard boxes, I slip into a group of young, scantily clad partiers as they enter the club.

Heavy bass assaults my eardrums. Multi-colored lasers flash across the dim interior, the beams reflecting off thick clouds of smoke.

Shit. It’s gonna be hard to spot the guy in here. I slip onto a stool at the bar, checking that my gun is still tucked into my waistband, and order a drink with a fake ID I swiped as a teen.

After Alaric’s admission about catching me on security cameras when I thought I’d snuck into Sinro, I don’t feel so confident about my ability to track this guy. I should probably call Rev or Alaric.

But then I spot him darting up the metal staircase in the back, leading to an overhanging balcony for VIPs.

My heart stutters. From my spot, I can make out Gabriel lounged on a red sectional between two women and three other dangerous looking men dressed in black. My guy leans down to speak in Gabriel’s ear.

I stiffen as a pair of hands slide around my waist. A body leans against my back. “You want to have some fun tonight?”