Page 28

“Antonio called.” Saint holds up his phone.

I wriggle back into my leggings and push the thick curtain of hair out of my face. It wouldn’t be unusual , exactly, since they know each other. Antonio has been a fixture in my life, and Saint was forced to come along with me on some nights. Not saying they got close, but…

“Four times,” he adds.

I pause. “Did he leave a message?”

“Yeah.” He taps on his phone, and a minute later, Antonio’s voice plays between us.

“Saint. Antonio here. I hope you’re with Artemis. Something strange is happening in North Falls… I’d feel better if we had some extra bodies. Call me back.”

I take the phone from him and redial.

It goes straight to voicemail.

“Okay…”

I shift my weight, then look up at Saint. He didn’t have much adjusting to do—I was the one completely naked by the end of it, and he only lost his shirt and his pushed-down pants. His shirt is back on now, hiding the tattoos that decorate his chest.

Shame about that.

There’s a dragon, of course, that matched Nyx’s. The galaxy. The hourglass brand front and center. A snake, flowers, geometric lines, a skull.

“I don’t suppose you have any guns here?”

He must be worried—he doesn’t even crack a smile. Instead, he turns and disappears into the back room. I follow, still straightening my shirt. My lips are puffy from the intense kisses, my skin tingling with residual arousal.

The back room has a cot set up in the corner, with a pillow and folded blankets neatly stacked at the head of it, but the majority of the space is taken up by his desk. Where he draws, I imagine, and creates the visually stunning tattoos.

In the supply closet, he taps in a code to a tall safe against the back wall. The interior automatically lights up when it cracks open, and he removes two handguns. One for me, plus two magazines, and another for him.

“What, no rifles?”

He grimaces. “You’re not concerned?”

“I’m trying not to think about it.”

“We don’t have a vehicle.”

Oh, shit. “And I don’t have my phone.”

He tosses me his. “Call Reese.”

I unlock it, and it immediately fills with Reese’s contact info.

Oh—he’s calling me. Well. Not me. Saint.

Because he wants to talk to Saint, or because I don’t have my phone on me? Do these guys talk to each other when I’m not around?

I knew Reese and Saint were hitting it off, but this feeling in my chest is unusual.

Jealousy?

Fuck .

“Are you going to answer it?” Saint looms over my shoulder.

“Uh—” I mean, yeah . I accept the call and hand it back to him wordlessly.

“Reese?” Saint quirks a brow at me, but I just shake my head. He puts the call on speaker phone.

How the hell would I explain my weird reaction to Reese calling him?

“Did Antonio call you?” His voice comes through clipped, almost hurried.

“Yeah, we missed it. I’m with Artemis.” Saint clears his throat. “You heading to Bow & Arrow?”

“He asked me to.”

“Swing by Starlight and pick us up.”

Reese makes a noise of agreement. “Be there in two minutes.”

I lace my boots and tuck the gun in the waistband of my leggings, stashing the extra magazine in my hoodie. My adrenaline is picking up, but it isn’t quite the rush I need. My attention homes in on the craving inside me.

There’s a low chance of me ever being normal again.

Saint locks up behind us, and I glance both ways down the empty street. It’s usually busy, but today is quiet.

I take a deep breath and pause.

There’s smoke on the air.

“Look.” Saint points.

Behind Starlight, thick white smoke rises. It shouldn’t be visible against the dark sky, but light from the city catches in its plumes.

“What’s burning?” I question.

Reese’s truck comes swinging around the corner, and he slams to a halt at the curb in front of us.

“No time to figure that out.” Saint ushers me around and into the middle seat.

This is a bit of déjà vu. Reese rescuing us, the darkness pressing in on his truck. At least we’re not feeling the stranglehold the Cyclopes had in West Falls.

And yet, as soon as I think that, I take in the sharpness of Reese’s gaze.

“What?” I question.

“Antonio said something bad was going down at Bow & Arrow.” His attention shifts to Saint. “You guys armed?”

“Yes,” I respond. “He left Saint a voice message, but he just said something strange seemed to be happening.”

“Because he couldn’t reach anyone,” Reese retorts.

He drives faster than I’ve experienced from him, flying toward North Falls. I hurry to buckle my seat belt. Saint takes over before I can click it in, securing mine first and then his.

“You talked to him?” Saint asks Reese. “What did he say?”

“Something about the Cyclopes.”

A chill skates down my spine.

Saint and I trade a look. There’s an obvious connection between the Cyclopes, Gabriel, and Kade.

So who’s running them toward North Falls?

That section of town, historically touristy, has been neutral for decades.

Gangs stay away because it brings money in, and their activity would scare the crowds away.

But as we move toward winter, something in me alarms that the new gang doesn’t really give a shit about previous rules.

“I need to call my brother,” I whisper.

Saint nods and wordlessly hands me his phone. I hold on to it for a long moment, then shake my head. He can’t always come straight to my rescue, right? Apollo has always done that for me. With Wolfe and Jace, they’ve done their best to protect me from every bump in the night.

It’s just their way. They knew my past—they were there to receive me when Apollo brought me back to the Hell Hounds’ compound, after all—and they’ve always been careful to steer both the Titans and Hell Hounds away from human trafficking.

They didn’t tolerate it because of me .

But their attention couldn’t remain locked on it. At the time, they were under Wolfe’s father’s thumb. They were teenagers… we all were. And because their lives were dictated by someone else, I was left on my own for a lot of the time.

Hidden away, even.

That was a dark time. I’ll admit—I spiraled. I didn’t know what I had done to deserve it, I was grappling with my parents’ role in it and also survivor’s guilt. While I got out, and everyone else in that outpost location, the boys and girls in Terror were still there.

After , when Terror was dismantled, the building sat empy for almost two years.

Until I bought it. And transformed it.

But did I really? Or did I just put a pretty mask over it?

Reese finds my hand and squeezes my fingers. I don’t know how he knows I need it, but I cling to him and focus on reality. The truck, the wind slipping in through his open windows, the increasing smell of smoke.

“Did you see a fire on your way over?” Saint jars me from my thoughts.

Reese dips his chin. “Before Antonio called me. A line of fire trucks was parked at the top of Main Street, redirecting traffic away. A guy told me to keep moving.”

He doesn’t sound confident in that.

“Why would fire trucks be parked away from an active fire? He gave some bullshit answer about a house fire getting too close to a gas line.”

Saint scoffs. “An underground gas line?”

“The last time that happened…”

Well, a fire started in the basement of a house right near Sterling Falls University. They couldn’t really save it then either, but I think that was more due to the arson than anything else.

“Let’s figure out what’s going on at Bow & Arrow, first,” Reese mutters. He suddenly straightens. “Wait.”

“What?” Saint questions.

“I, uh, have something valuable in the back of the truck. Is there somewhere we can stash it?”

A headache has been creeping over me, but it pulses pain between my eyes.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and focus on taking a deep breath.

Suddenly, all I can think about is heroin.

The rush, sure, but also the way it takes the pain and floats it away.

I’ve been going cold turkey—halfway out of necessity and also because fuck that .

Gabriel had me unconscious again. He manipulated Reese by using me.

Nearly got me caught… although that’s more my fault than his.

My body feels like it’s gone through a meat grinder, but I somehow stay upright. Even when my skin gets too tight, and the world seems to narrow down to how I feel. Clammy, aching.

It could be blamed on low blood sugar. A little tremor runs through me.

“…Apollo’s house.”

I lift my head. They want to make a detour all the way across town? Absolutely not . I don’t know if I can last that long. Already, my mind keeps ticking back to finding Gabriel. I could sneak away and beg him for more.

You cannot do that .

“We don’t have time for that,” I say. “Park it on a side street in North Falls. No one will know the difference.”

Reese grunts, but he doesn’t argue. And he doesn’t turn away. If anything, he just presses down harder on the gas pedal. The truck engine whines as our speed climbs, and I swallow down my nausea.

Damn body.

Damn drugs.

I touch the cool metal of the gun at the small of my back, then make sure my shirt and sweatshirt cover it. We park two blocks from Bow & Arrow and hop out. I stagger and catch myself on the door, but neither say anything.

Which is good.

I can’t come up with yet another lie right now.

And I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold up to whatever we’re about to face in my club.