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"I just wanted to make sure you were alright...that you weren't in danger," she murmured. She walked further into the room and sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"Jered luckily had some self-preservation and didn't risk the Cantil. He just revealed anything he could about me or you."
"Can you do anything about it?" Mykie smoothed her hands on her pants as she watched the only parental figure she had left. He was always the strong one in their relationship, but in that moment, she felt he was no older than her. It was strange to see such a lost and confused look on his face.
"I've done everything I could, I believe. Now that Jered and..." he paused, visibly swallowing before he continued, "and Adam have been taken care of, I don't think anyone would attempt something like this again."
Mykie shook her head. "I never thought it would get this far. Sure, I knew Adam wasn't exactly happy being older than you but below you in rank, but I never thought he'd try to undermine you." After a few seconds of thinking, she added, "Jered, either."
"I couldn't avoid it," Chance said, but she could tell that he was trying to convince himself more than her. "I just wish that Jezebeth didn't have to see it. Someone's going have to tell his youngest daughter and his wife, too."
Meredith, his youngest, didn't come near the Snake Pit often. She was part of the Cantil, but she avoided her father most of the time due to his behavior towards her. His wife, Juliet, was a reluctant Hatchling that only came when it was necessary. According to Jezebeth, her mother didn't understand the appeal of being part of some "street gang".
She pitied the man that would have to deliver the news to the women.
"Someone else can do it. You've done enough for the night," Mykie reasoned.
"So have you. Go ahead and go home, Myk. My second in command has to get some sleep," he said, smiling weakly.
Mykie groaned. She leaned her head back against the seat. "I can't believe you announced that to everyone, Chance. You're going have another mutiny on your hands if I don't do it right."
"Mykie, I trusted the wrong people before. You're the only one I could possibly trust right now," he argued.
"What about Ghost? You seem to trust him."
Chance seemed to freeze when she said the title so casually. He shook his head slightly to clear whatever he was thinking. "Where did you hear that?"
"I met him. He seems to trust you, and you trust him. Don't you?" she questioned.
"If he revealed himself to you, you must be careful, Myk. He has a reputation, and I don't know where his mind is at now that he seems to have a use for you."
"A use for me?" she repeated.
Chance shook his head again. "Forget I said anything. I'm not thinking straight, and we both obviously need sleep."
He waved her off and she stood up, knowing when she was being dismissed. She walked out of Pearl's and to her car alone, more confused than ever.
This was going to be a new era of the Cantil. She could already feel it. For a gang that didn’t accept a lot of women as official members, she wondered what people really thought of her being named as Chance’s second. Would they really accept her as a leader, if Chance died?
She knew this was just the beginning of a bigger threat, too. The Vultures weren’t afraid to come after Chance publicly. This meant that being a Cantil just became more dangerous. She would be walking into this alone. Jezebeth had every right if she told her that she didn’t want to speak with her. She also needed Dexter if she was going to make it through the loss.
As she walked up the steps to her apartment, she couldn’t help but to think that everything was about to change for her.
Epilogue
Blaine Holland stood outside Mykie’s apartment, first watching her enter the front door before he moved around the building and up the fire escape. He stayed a level below her window, but sat on the stairs so he could see her. Her blonde hair was wrapped up in a bun on her head, and her eye makeup was a little runny, as if she had been crying before. He watched as she skipped the shower and instead, had grabbed a washcloth to wipe down her body.
He looked at her more closely. What was the appeal? What was it that made not only his friends, but the Cantils and Vultures be interested in her?
He suspected that she had a deeper connection with the Cantil than she let on, but how did a girl like her get wrapped up in that? He didn't know a lot about the Cantil culture, but he knew that they had a lot of snake terms. They called their friends and family 'hatchlings', or something just as pun-like. Was she one of them? If so, which one of her friends was protecting her? Why wasn’t he or she doing a better job keeping her safe?
He had to appreciate his friend for being so stupid. Sure, she didn't look like anything special from the outside, but from a few minutes in her presence, it wasn't hard to assume that she had a lot of secrets. He couldn't help but to think her involvement with the Cantil was just the tip of the iceberg.
He shook his head and snorted. What were the odds that Renly would meet herandbring her home?
He wanted to avert his eyes as she took her top off, but his eyes were drawn to her bandaged shoulder. Did she get hurt? She wasn’t supposed to…
"What are you doing?"
