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17
Mercy
Kaige tossedme the car key, which I caught easily. “That was one hell of a detour,” he said with a grin.
“Thanks,” I said, ignoring his innuendo. Yes, we’d just had mind-blowing sex, but his ego clearly didn’t need any stroking on that score. It was time for me to get down to work.
Kaige gave me a strange look as I climbed into the Audi. You’d have thought he’d be happier about my easy-going approach. I mean, we’d just had our first hook-up on the hood of his car. Presumably he hadn’t thought we’d be holding hands and whispering sweet nothings next.
I started the engine and smiled. This beat a taxi by a mile.
Kaige hit the button to open the garage door for me, and I thanked him with a little wave as I cruised past. I pulled out of the driveway and swung the car around the corner to careen down the steep hill that led into the center of Paradise City. As the car zoomed toward the bend, I leaned back in the buttery leather seat.
It smelled like Kaige—musky with a bit of a spicy bite, like ginger or something. To my annoyance, the scent set off a flare of heat low in my belly. When I squeezed my thighs, I could feel the lingering wetness between them.
Okay, maybe atinypart of me hoped our hook-up would turn out to be more than a one-time thing.
As Paradise City’s pretty streets gave way to the Bend’s grittiness, a twinge of homesickness rippled through my chest. I knew each and every corner of the place. Before my formal education had even begun, Dad had made me memorize the street names and the by-lanes that ran past them. I’d made so many nooks and ledges my own, sneaking in my parkour practice when I could. This neighborhood had beenmine, and now Colt had me running scared.
He’d pay for that like he would for so much else.
I found a quiet street in Claws territory and parked the Audi there out of view, because even if it wasn’t especially flashy, a car this nice would draw the wrong kind of attention. As I stepped out, I pulled on my hoodie, yanking the hood up to hide my ponytail and shadow my face. The sun was starting to sink, thank God, because one minute in these clothes and I was already sweating.
There were a few bars in the neighborhood where disreputable types tended to gather. I headed toward the nearest one. Passing my favorite diner, Joe’s Morning, a whiff of pancakes-for-dinner filled my nose and made my mouth water. Whenever I’d been feeling low, I’d stop by here.
Movement caught my eye. Up ahead, a grey car had stopped in the middle of the street. Three guys got out. One was swinging a baseball bat idly, though there definitely wasn’t anywhere to play around here, and they all had red bandanas tied around their upper arms. Red bandanas with an emblem of a knight’s helmet on them.
I froze. I hadn’t expected to run into a whole squad of Steel Knights in the middle of Claws territory. With a lurch of my heart, I ducked into the closest alley, clutching the switchblade.
They didn’t seem to be at all interested in a young woman walking down the street, though. They stalked right past my alley with a thrum of energy around them that told me something was about to go down. Frowning, I edged closer to the mouth of the alley to watch.
The guys marched up to the barber shop right across from Joe’s. The leader rapped on the door with his bat.
A few moments later, a man poked his head out, his eyes wide. “What’s going on here?”
“Where’s our payment?” one demanded. “We sent out a message a few days ago. Now we’re here to collect.”
The man stared at them, bewildered. “I already paid my tithe to the Claws.”
“The Claws are gone and dust,” one of the Steel Knights replied. All three of them looked younger than me. That and their exaggerated swagger made me think they had to be new recruits. “These streets belong to us now.”
My jaw clenched at his words. I was about to take a step forward when I remembered where I was—whoI was. If I blew my cover, I was as good as dead. One little knife wouldn’t do much good against the guns they were all undoubtedly packing.
But who the hell were these pricks to claim this territory as their own? The Claws leadership had barely been dead a week, and Colt was already mass-recruiting to fill the gap?
Not just recruiting but terrorizing the people who didn’t fall in line as fast as the Steel Knights wanted.
“I—I don’t know about this,” the man stammered, and one of the guys grabbed him by the collar. As he dragged him out onto the sidewalk, the one with the bat smashed the shop’s front window with a brutal swing.
I flinched at the shattering sound. Panicked people down the street started rushing away without making too much noise.
This wasn’t exactly a new sight around here, but the streets were almost safe once each gang had established their territory. The Steel Knights were changing the very face of the Bend.
The guy who’d grabbed the shop owner shoved him down on his hands and knees. The man’s shoulders shook. “I’ll get your money. Please, this is my livelihood. Please.”
His begging fell on deaf ears. When the guy with the bat stepped inside the barber shop, more smashing sounds followed in his wake. The third Steel Knight grabbed a can of gasoline from the car.
No. Anger built up inside of me like a whirlwind. My hands itched to find a gun or anything else to end this senseless violence, even if I had to use violence to do that.
