Page 32 of Ravage
“I’m positive. I’ve been doing this for years. Don’t worry about me. Now, I at least have access to quick cash and a place to sleep every night. I’m better off now than I’ve ever been,” I promise.
It’s sad that it’s actually the truth.
We walk to the door, and he pauses in the hallway. “Be safe, Rae.”
I nod and smile reassuringly at him, then close the door.
The worst thing that can happen is that I die in the process of fighting for something I believe in.
That’s far better than where I could have ended up.
Chapter ten
Raegan
Now I’m running late.
I pocket my phone, double check all of my knives are in place, and then head out.
The paramedic should be asleep in his apartment now, based on the routine I’ve been tracking the last week. He works the day shift and sleeps alone in his apartment. It’s a relief he doesn’t have a family or roommate with him. Now, I can use his apartment for some one-on-one time.
Once I make it there, I slip around the back and begin my climb up the metal balconies. They’re all independent of one another but close enough that I can stand on one and jump to pull myself up to the next one. I have to take it slow to keep from making enough noise to draw attention, which only adds more time to the plan. It’s an exhausting exercise, and I’m glad I took a city bus to this area rather than walking.
The last thing I need is to be too tired to get this guy restrained and wind up getting myself killed because of poor planning.
I really wish I had my gun.
I count the six balconies that I’ve climbed and carefully step down on the metal floor so as not to make a sound. I peel off one of my gloves to expose my hand and then hold my palm against the glass door.
My gift warms in my gut as I call on it, pulling it to my exposed hand until it burns. Fuck, does it burn. I don’t let my enemies know that it hurts me to use my gift. That I’d rather use a gun or a knife than pull on this little trick to destroy whatever I touch. But I’ll also use it when I need to.
I grit my teeth and thrust my gift out from my palm in a rush. If I do this too slowly, the glass will crack and make noise as it falls apart. If I do it fast and hard, I can force the glass to dust in a matter of seconds with minimal sound.
The burning pain spreads down my arm, but then the glass is gone, and crystal dust falls in front of me like ash. I shake my hand in the cool night air, but it’ll take a good fifteen minutes before the burning pain stops.
I carefully tug the glove back on and then flex my hand to make sure I can still move it through the pain. With my right, I grab a knife and point it ahead of me.
Then I push aside the curtain and step inside.
The apartment is dark, as I’d planned, except for the thin line of light under the bedroom door at the end of the hallway.
Fuck. Is he still awake?
I creep closer, focusing on silence and stealth more than speed, then freeze when I hear bone breaking followed by a groan.
“—where it is. One bone every time you don’t answer the question,” someone growls from inside the bedroom.
“Did you know there are 206 bones in the human body?” a nonchalant second voice adds.
Son of a bitch.
The first one roars with laughter. “Did you hear that? Sounds like you have 203 chances left. I guess we’ve got some time together still.”
Kellan and Jackson.
I turn the door handle and throw it open. There’s no point trying to sneak in. Jackson would kill me before I could even see the room. At least this way, they’ll see me before they act.
I’m taking the risk, though, because neither of them tried to kill me the last time. So far, it seems like we want nothing to do with one another, and that’s it.
