Page 135 of Queen of Volts

“Nice try,” Levi told him. He squeezed his wrists so tight Harvey winced. “But I am this close to locking you in one of these rooms, so you can burn the same way Zula did.”

Harvey’s expression darkened. “I’m telling the truth. I thought Bryce and Rebecca created that shade to lure the Mizer to New Reynes. To you. It shouldn’t still exist.”

“But that isn’t how I met Levi,” Enne said. “I found Levi because of a letter my mother sent. The shade doesn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Your mother didn’t send you that letter,” Harvey said softly.

Enne froze, making Harvey and Levi collide with her back. “What do you mean?” she whispered hoarsely.

But even if Levi shared her shock, he didn’t need Harvey to answer. From the first day he and Enne met, it had struck Levi as bizarre that a woman he’d encountered in passing would send Enne to him. Now it all made sense.

“Why would Bryce have done that?” Levi growled at him.

Before Harvey could answer, Tock called out from the front of the group. “Stop walking! Stand back!”

Levi bumped into Harvey’s back, who bumped into Enne.

“I don’t understand what she’s going to do,” Roy hissed at Grace ahead of them.

“She’s going to blow up the wall.”

Roy’s eyes widened. “She’sthe same girl who blew up Revolution Bridge? That’s why I lost my job! I knew Hector was hiding... I can’t believe—”

Levi didn’t have time to brace himself. An explosion rumbled down the hallway, the noise ringing in his ears, ricocheting in his ribs, and blowing a cloud of dust over their heads. Levi wiped the debris off his face and looked ahead. True to her word, Tock had blown a hole through the wall. The blast had damaged the foundation of the boardwalk, spilling out onto the dunes.

“Muck,” Tock breathed.

“What is it?” Levi asked.

“Whiteboots. A lot of them.”

Of course, all the backup Hector had brought awaited them outside.

“I’ll talk to them,” Roy assured them. “Come on.” He pushed Narinder forward, still carrying Harrison’s body. They emerged first from the casino, stumbling on the dunes.

“Help!” he called. “I’m Sergeant Roy Pritchard, and we have a man injured! We need a paramedic.”

They filed out, one by one. A crowd had formed around the building, a mixture of whiteboots and onlookers, many of them guests from the pre-opening. Though the paramedics did as instructed, the whiteboots quickly flooded them. They broke Levi’s grasp on Harvey and jerked Levi back, locking his arms behind him.

“Roy?” someone asked incredulously. While the rest of them were rounded up, several whiteboots grinned and slapped Roy on the back. “Where have you been? We thought you were dead! You—”

“The captain is dead,” he said, making all of them quiet and their mouths hang open. “Who is in charge?”

“Sergeant Nicollo—”

“She’s dead, too. Who’s the highest ranking officer out here?”

“Captain Roxborough, from the Casino District’s fifth precinct. But...the fire! We couldn’t get into the building, and—”

“Let me speak to Roxborough. No reporters. And let these kids go. They’ve just been through an ordeal, and what matters right now is handling that fire.” It must’ve been the authority in Roy’s voice, because the other whiteboots nodded and released whomever they’d been carrying. They ran back into the crowd in search of the captain and fire department.

“Nice going,” Levi told Roy.

Roy shot him a grin. “I wasn’t publicly discharged. I might still have a few friends.” Then he frowned. “But Hector shot Harrison on the Chancellor’s orders. She might make an attempt on his life again.”

Levi nodded in agreement. “Then we don’t leave Harrison’s side. We stay with him, and we think of our next move.”

“And we contact Poppy,” Delaney said. “She’s still with Lola. And the Bargainer...” She paled.