Page 187 of Lethal King

The vulnerable warmth that fell over that table still lingers on my skin as I stumble through the dark alleyway.

Somehow, for the briefest moment, that stupid table felt like home.

Then, it was all ripped away.

Reaching behind a dumpster, I find the jacket I left out here earlier. It’s heavy, filled to the brim with the dozen or so devices I brought in case I had to fight my way out of a trap. They all feel so useless now.

Pushing them aside, I search for my phone.

I want to figure out what’s actually going on.

But when I pull up my home screen, I don’t find answers. Instead, I’m immediately confronted by a slew of new questions. And a huge stone of dread.

My home screen is overflowing with unread texts.

With great hesitation, I open up the first one. Then the second. And the third…

They all say the same thing.

It’s all going to be alright. Just go back to where it all began. That’s where you’ll find your answers. I promise.

Just like the text I thought Rian sent me, there’s no ID, no number. And while I don’t know who sent it, I do immediately understand what it means.

It’s all going to be alright. Just go back to where it all began.

My chest tightens at the implication.

Home.

Someone’s trying to get me to go home.

My pounding heart sinks.

I have no home.

Not in a place, and definitely not in a person.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not desperate to be proven wrong—anything to rekindle the warmth I just experienced… and lost.

Fuck it.

What else do I have to lose?

25

Rian

“They did what?”

My tires screech across the pavement as I make a sharp turn down an empty street.

“They razed the place to the ground. Trapped everyone inside and took a torch to union headquarters,” Maksim repeats. “Then they spelled out the Kilpatrick name on the sidewalk out front—from the photos I saw, it looks like they used blood.”

“Fuck!” I curse.

Punching my steering wheel, I kick down extra hard on the gas pedal. My engine roars like an angry lion as I speed through a red light.

“I’m still trying to figure out exactly who did it, but that’s kind of hard to do without being out there. Rian, I—”