Page 32 of Martyr (Sterling Falls Rogues #3)

Reese. Saint. Kade. Jace. Apollo. Gabriel. Me .

Daniel is in our ears, tapped into CCTV around the city. He’s at home with Kora, Wolfe, Antonio, Vittoria, and the recluse. Wolfe is armed, Daniel is on guard, and the boat is ready to go in case they need to evacuate.

I grip my gun tighter. There’s a lot at stake here, and the first step is exterminating the vermin currently infesting my home.

North Falls feels different without a nightlife.

There are no tourists. The restaurants that line the boardwalk are shut down, and my beloved club is silent.

At this time of year, with winter roaring through the town, there wouldn’t be that many tourists anyway.

But there would still be a buzz of life that is absent at the moment.

We ditched our vehicles blocks away. It was easier to avoid the roadblocks by cutting through alleys and clinging to the shadows.

Gabriel stands to my left. His spine is straight, and his hands are still cuffed. Reese stands directly behind him, one hand on his shoulder and a gun jammed into his lower back.

Overkill , I want to say, but my voice stopped working some time ago.

Before we left, Antonio reminded us of the second tunnel to get into Terror. So that’s our plan—we’re taking the back way in to my club. My bravado was a lot stronger back in the safety of my brother’s home.

“You really did put lipstick on a pig,” Gabriel says.

I glance at him.

He gestures with both hands to the building. “It’s like building an amusement park on stilts on top of an active volcano.”

“Say what you really mean,” I mumble.

“It’s like running a cat sanctuary when you’re deathly allergic,” he continues. “Or trying to get a hair out of your eye with a knife. Or playing a million-dollar violin with a chainsaw. Or?—”

“She gets it.” Reese jabs the gun into the small of his back.

Gabriel twists around. “I was hoping you would be here.”

I roll my eyes.

“All clear,” Daniel says in our ears.

“Move,” Jace orders.

“Kade isn’t in handcuffs,” Gabriel observes. “And I am?”

“You’re a bit more murderous,” Reese grunts. “And a wild card.”

He shoves him forward, keeping up with the force of men in front of us. We’re at the tail end of our little pack. Everyone else is single file: Jace then Apollo, Saint, Kade. Then me, Gabriel, and Reese.

Speaking of cards—there’s a trump card in my back pocket that I haven’t revealed yet.

I’m holding that as a just in case . Gabriel hasn’t asked about Lyssa, which makes me think he’s unaware of the bomb Reese set off, or the disruption to the entire island.

Yes, he made some claims about not being able to go to her. His urgency seemed… lacking.

As far as everyone on Isle of Paradise knows, save Dr. Hawthorne, she’s been transferred off the island.

Does he know she’s awake? Probably not.

Does he think she’s been moved? Definitely not.

His freak-out would be much more severe.

That is the card Ouranos will play. We can’t be trusted because we stole Lyssa. Only he can help Gabriel find her.

I grit my teeth. We enter the darkened alley, the street now at our backs still empty. It’s been quiet, which is good. It feels wrong, but it’s a good thing. We cut through the darkness like a surgeon’s blade, quick and efficient.

Gabriel even keeps his mouth shut.

Jace gets to the door and positions himself just to the side. Apollo wraps his hand around the handle and waits for Jace’s signal.

The door opens with a sharp squeal, and Jace enters in a rush. The rest of us follow, flooding the hallway. We click on our flashlights. I feel Gabriel’s fingers grasping at the back of my jacket as we move along.

Apollo is now at the back of the pack. He closes the door behind us and moves to catch up.

“All good?” he asks me.

I nod once. He checks in with Reese, but his gaze lingers on Gabriel.

Gabriel has gone very, very still. Yes, his legs still move. He is propelled forward by Reese. But the rest of his body is all locked up.

“You’ve been down here plenty of times,” I say.

“Yes, yes.” He shakes his head hard. “Just old memories, sweet Artemis. You know.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. I would know if I let myself think on it. But I don’t. Apollo squeezes my forearm.

“Wonder if those files have donor information,” Reese muses.

Gabriel cranes back. “What?”

“There are files on everyone who went through Terror,” Apollo explains. “We have them. We haven’t gone through everything?—”

“So there could be some sort of… blackmail,” Reese finishes.

“No one cares.” I quicken my pace. “No one gives a damn about Terror. It existed under everyone’s noses for years. That’s why…”

“I tried to blow it up,” Gabriel says. “I was stopped.”

“Because the nightclub above it was full of innocent people,” Reese says.

Right. That was just at the beginning, wasn’t it? When Gabriel fought at Olympus and promised ruin, when Kade asked for the day with me to get my help with locating Reese…

“You weren’t trying to destroy Terror. You were sending me a message.” I push my shoulders back. This hallway has gone on forever, but we’re nearly at the end. Then we’ll truly be back in Terror.

One of the guys’ flashlights sweeps back and shines in our faces.

“Enough,” Kade says. “You won’t solve anything right now. Focus.”

He faces forward again, and I stick out my tongue at his back.

He’s right—I just don’t like being told what to do.

We’re all dressed in pseudo-military gear that Jace pulled out of a locked cabinet in the basement.

The Kevlar vest is strapped tight to my torso.

My hair is in two braids. The comms are wired, threaded down the back of my shirt and into a tiny pack on the utility belt Wolfe tossed at me.

I wasn’t ready for the pants Kora presented me with. Black canvas, with way more pockets than I was expecting. They’re a little long, the hem rolled so I don’t trip, and the hips are tight. Otherwise, they fit pretty well.

I also wasn’t ready for the blisteringly hot look Kade gave me when I emerged in it, a tight long-sleeve black shirt, and the vest. I felt that look down to my toes. If we weren’t in a room full of people, I had the impression that he would’ve been tempted to do something.

Like haul me in and kiss me senseless?

Focus, idiot.

I have a handgun in a holster at my hip. A knife with a wicked blade on my left side. Extra magazines tucked in every available pocket— and there are a lot of pockets .

The true beauty is the semi-automatic rifle that Wolfe handed to me. That weapon is currently in my hands, the flashlight attached to the top of it. Jace and Apollo have them, too, which left smaller firearms for Saint and Reese.

While Kade is free, he wasn’t given a weapon.

Fine by me .

We reach the familiar, heavy door, but it’s been left open. Jace goes first, as always, with Saint on his heel. Kade moves with him, his steps fluid. He’s done this before, and the lack of weapon doesn’t seem to cause any hitch in his gait. No hesitation.

Me next, then Gabriel, Reese, and Apollo. We collect together in the hallway, trading glances.

The emergency lights are on. They buzz overhead.

Gabriel flinches.

Without thinking, I reach across and put my hand over his balled fist. I squeeze gently, then move away. He needs to be okay for this part.

In all honesty, he probably could’ve stayed at the house. The risk of leaving him with Kora, Antonio, and Vittoria, though, outweighed the danger of bringing him with us. He’s already gotten away with too much. What if he was tempted to do something… worse? To them?

Anyway. The plan is simple: we take control of Bow & Arrow. We don’t know who is currently here, or what sort of traps they have rigged. We do know, thanks to Gabriel and Kade, that Ouranos has set up the Cyclopes here. They aren’t sleeping here, as far as I know, but it’s a meeting point.

Which means we could be walking into fifty Cyclopes or five.

Gabriel said Ouranos is still operating his meetings out of Madness, the bar in West Falls. It was his brother’s bar—before it got caught in an explosion—so it makes sense that he’d want to be there. A bit of optimism.

Too bad the subway tunnels are all caved in , Apollo had said.

I smiled even though I also wanted to punch him. That damn subway car full of explosives nearly killed us. And while we were dealing with that, Saint was losing Nyx.

We stay in a loose formation until we reach the exit that will lead us up into the club. Gabriel withholds any other physical reaction, which is good. I don’t know if I can deal with a breakdown. The walls already feel like they’re closing in, the ceiling lowering.

Up, up, up. To the main level, then higher.

To the offices on the top floor. My legs are tingling with fatigue by the time we reach our destination.

I suck in a deep breath and motion that I’ll take the lead.

Yes, Jace and Apollo—and Saint, not that he freaking remembers—have been here plenty of times before. They know where my office is.

But… I need to see what they’ve done. I need to see it first.

Someone calls after me, but there’s a rushing noise in my ears that muffles the sound. I’m in my own world as I creep down toward my office. The hallway is dark, which lends a certain level of comfort. There are no bright lights to expose us. Nothing coming from under my or Antonio’s office doors.

Still, when I open mine—it’s unlocked—my breath catches in my chest.

It’s been ransacked. The desk is in pieces, chunks of splintered wood on the floor.

The computer had been previously removed when Bradshaw raided it, and most of the paper files were in Antonio’s…

but that doesn’t mean it’s not jarring. There’s glass mixed in amongst the wood, the few framed photos and art on the walls knocked down and ruined.

Even chunks of drywall have been kicked in.

Unnecessary. The safe is built into the floor of Antonio’s office. Which might be in danger judging by the level of destruction.

Apollo comes up behind me and sucks in a sharp breath. “Sorry, Tem.”

I shake my head and turn away. “We’ll fix it. When we take back this city. It’s all things that can be repaired.”

He grabs my hand. “So long as we don’t lose anyone else who we love.”

I wish I could say the lump that closes my throat is unexpected.