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Almost instantly his flesh began to ripple and pulsate as his body fought to heal his bones. I raised the brick and said, “Stop that now, or I’ll break more than your fucking leg.”
He stopped the shift and glared up at me balefully, anger mingling with pain in his eyes. Then he lunged sideways at me, his hand grasping for my ankle. I leapt backward, a gasp surging up my throat but not quite reaching my lips, then brought the brick down, smashing it against his hand, trapping it between the brick and the concrete. He howled a second time.
“Move again, and I’ll break every bone in your hand.”
Sweat trickled down his twisted face. “What do you want?”
“I want your name and the name of your boss. I want to know why you’re after me.” They might have said my father was the reason I was being hunted, but it never hurt to be certain.
“My name is Graham Turner.” He hesitated, and something flickered in his eyes. “I can’t tell you who my boss is.”
I pressed all my weight down onto the brick, and he screamed again. I eased up, then said, “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true,” he all but spat. Pain and fury were etched deep into his expression. Maybe it was just as well the Directorate had a kill policy, because otherwise my life would not have been worth much. “Marcus is the only one who knows how to contact him. I’ve only ever heard his voice over the phone.”
“Marcus is the human who was with you at the parking lot?”
“Yes.”
“His last name?”
He hesitated, and I leaned a little on the brick. “For fuck’s sake,” he said, licking the sweat from his lips. “It’s Handberry. Marcus Handberry.”
I eased up again. “And where might I find this Marcus Handberry?”
“He’s at the club most nights after eleven.”
“What club?”
“The Phoenix. He owns it. Has an office out the back. Jesus, woman, let me go. I’ve given you everything you want.”
“You haven’t told me why you were assigned to me in the first place.”
“Marc had to get some information out of you, that’s all.”
“What sort of information?”
“About your father. I don’t know any more than that—honest.”
I didn’t believe him. Or maybe I didn’t want to believe him. “And then you intended to kill me afterward.”
“No—”
I didn’t let him finish the lie, just rammed the brick down a little harder. The part of me that wasn’t comfortable with violence didn’t seem to be making an appearance right now.
“Okay, okay, yes,” he yelled. “We were to determine your father’s whereabouts, then get rid of you. I don’t know why and I don’t really care. It was just part of the job.”
How come everyone seemed to be aware of what he was doing but me? And if they were so aware of his actions, why the hell where they even after me? Surely they’d know he hadn’t contacted me.
“Why go after Ilianna?”
The dog shifter stared at me with wild eyes. “Who?”
“Ilianna. The mare.”
“Oh, she was just bait. To get you, like.”
Bait they were going to shoot. Bait they were going to kill. Bastards, I thought, and resisted the urge to crush his hand once again.
