Page 2

“Well, well. What are you doing here, brother?”

Gabriel lounges on the wall across from another hall. A thick black curtain hangs halfway up that one, blocking my view of what’s beyond. There’s another man with him, a Cyclops who has no problem getting bloody. He’s recognizable even with the bandana pulled up over the lower half of his face.

“I came to put an end to this,” I say.

I don’t bother to refute the brother statement.

Gabriel and I are not related—but some days, it feels like we may as well be. Forces outside of our control pushed us together, and while we don’t see eye to eye most of the time, there’s a familial bond that was created out of devastation.

And desperation.

A wild gleam enters his eyes at my statement, and he straightens slowly. He’s unarmed, as far as I can tell. The same cannot be said of the other man, whose gaze bounces back and forth between us with sudden uncertainty.

He’s not sure who to follow.

When we were set loose on this city, it was to cause an upheaval. To secure our position in West Falls, then push east. The bounties we were promised…

Well, I suppose I should’ve paid more attention to what Gabriel wanted. He figured out what I was after and then realized I had Artemis.

Not that I ever had her—but his perception of it was enough for him to move against me.

It was a trade. Artemis for Reese.

But now, that seems unfair. Unfair when I slid the needle into Reese’s IV port and watched the drug be injected into his vein. Unfair when his body immediately began to respond, but I couldn’t force myself to stay and watch him wake.

The important thing, though, is that he did.

“You don’t even want to know what our experiment is?” Gabriel bares his teeth. “It’s a little tough love for my nemesis.”

“I don’t understand.”

I am painfully aware that Saint and Reese will be growing impatient at this conversation. That at any moment, they could round the corner.

Gabriel sighs and kicks his foot into the floor. “You’re no fun, Kade. I’m not going to kill her. No, no, no. That’s not enough suffering.”

“And what is enough suffering?”

He brightens. “She’s not doing so hot in there, brother. She’s bleeding out, in pain… but the true agony will be watching the man she looks up to as a father kill himself in front of her.”

Fuck.

Antonio. The stern Italian man’s features flash in front of my face, and I take a step forward. The man is loved by more than just Artemis.

Right now, the Cyclopes have a foothold in Sterling Falls, but it’s not stable by any means. We’ve managed to stay under the radar of the Olympians, and I fully believe that’s the only reason we’ve come as far as we have.

One wrong move, and we lose it.

What will happen if Jace King mobilizes before we’re ready? If the Hell Hounds strike?

It suddenly occurs to me that Artemis being attacked, not once but twice in West Falls, wasn’t an accident.

It was Gabriel.

I lunge forward and grab him by the front of his shirt. I drag him toward me, our chests bumping. He’s leaner than I am, and shorter, but his expression is no less vicious. Or gleeful.

“What do you think will happen when one of the most beloved men comes up dead? How long do you think it would take them to carve us out of Sterling Falls before we have roots?” I don’t have to say more.

His expression shutters, closing down, and he sighs.

“Fine. Go in there and try to save the day. He’s probably already dead.”

I release him and point. Away from where Saint and Reese stand around the corner, toward what I hope is another exit. Gabriel smirks and jerks his head at the other man, who follows him wordlessly down the hall.

“Come on,” I hiss to Saint and Reese. Without waiting for them, I rush up the hall and burst past the curtain?—

Just in time to witness Antonio standing over Artemis, driving the knife into his chest.

“No!” I run for the older man, stilling his hand from pushing the blade any deeper. He folds, and I bring him down to the floor. Artemis lies across from him, blood seeping from wounds in her stomach, and her face is deathly pale.

Too much going on.

He stabbed himself, but I don’t think it went too deep. It’s in the wrong position, though. Or the right one to inflict as much damage as possible.

“You’re not dying,” I tell him.

Saint and Reese skid to a halt beside me, and I wordlessly point to Artemis. I don’t need to give them orders, they both fall to their knees beside her.

Antonio is running out of time.

And Artemis…

“Fuck.” I lift Antonio into my arms. He’s stockier than Artemis, but no trouble. I leave Saint to scoop Artemis up, and Reese to follow.

He’s not dying today. Neither of them are.

We get upstairs, breaking out into the stairwell that leads to her offices and the restaurant. I shoulder my way outside, not stopping until we reach my car.

“Can you drive?” I ask Reese.

His jaw tics, but he nods firmly. He takes the keys and puts himself behind the wheel. Saint takes the front seat, cradling Artemis in his arms. He’s struggling to keep pressure on the wounds. I slide into the back with Antonio, laying him down and folding myself into the space next to his legs.

He isn’t losing blood as fast, but he seems to be struggling to breathe.

He’s panting, even unconscious. He gurgles.

The knife could be poking into his heart or lung with every inhale, and I can’t do anything about it right now.

Taking it out would be a death sentence, bleeding out before we even reach the hospital.

Reese drives like the enemy is riding hot on our heels.

We practically drift into the Emergency Department’s ambulance bay. He heralds our arrival with his horn, and doctors rush to greet us. One stretcher for Artemis, another quickly following for Antonio. The three of us hurry after them, but we’re stopped at the inner doors by a burly security guard.

I bristle.

Saint grabs my wrist, nodding back to Reese.

Reese, who just escaped from the hospital himself.

He looks a bit bloodless, and he sways on his feet.

Damn it.

“We’re going to need another stretcher,” I warn, meeting Reese right as his legs give out.