Page 104 of Where Angels Fall

Everything in me goes still, and I can still hear his fingers tapping furiously on the keys.

“Where?” The word is low.

“She’s underground, which we already know,” he says. “Under the fucking grey zone. There’s an old sublevel beneath the shipping yard. Zeke must have turned it into his home base.”

Under. Under the fucking grey zone.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel until my knuckles go white, my foot pressing harder on the accelerator.

“He’s baiting you,” Leon continues quickly. “He wants you to show up fighting. You fire first; it’s done. Every crew in the state will turn. They will fucking hunt us like animals.”

I take another turn too fast. The ute fishtails slightly before straightening. In the back, Howard slams against the side again with a hoarse shout.

“She’s under the grey zone,” I repeat, barely hearing Leon anymore.

“She is,” Leon confirms. “But listen to me, Ash. Zeke knows you. He knows you’ll shoot first.”

My vision edges read.

In my head, I see her again. Blood on her lips. Bruises on her face. The fucking rope around her throat. And Kai, hanging up like an animal.

“She could be dying,” I say, more voice quieter now.

My chest feels like it’s splitting open.

The ute roars down the wet highway toward the docks. Rain streaks across the windshield, blurring the world into grey and red.

“I know,” Leon says urgently. “I’m begging you, Boss. For us. For her. Please. Don’t shoot first.”

Chapter 33

Maddison

Kai’s arms are iron around me. His steady arms hold me tight to his firm body, his heat seeping into my freezing body. My cheek is pressed to his chest, to the hard plane of muscle beneath torn fabric. His heartbeats steady and slow against my ear. Not fast and panicked, not anything that would match the way my pulse is stuttering and falling over itself like it can’t decide whether to keep going.

The room spins anyway.

The fluorescent light above us hums like an angry wasp, echoing in my head. The light burning into my skull every time my eyes flutter open.

“Stay with me,” Kai says, voice low. His breath dusts over my hair.

I try to nod, but my head is too heavy, neck too weak. Every cell in my body feels languid.

I grit my teeth. If Kai can be strong for me, I can be strong for him.

“I’m... here,” I manage.

Kai’s grip tightens as he leans over and grabs something on the ground. Lifting it, he presses a blood-slick knife into my hand. My fingers wrap around the handle.

“Sink it into any motherfucker that gets close enough,” he growls, grabbing the second knife for himself.

My breath stutters as I look at the weapon that is tainted with my own blood. Could I really use it? Even if it meant getting out of here and seeing my devil.

My grip tightens as I come to a conclusion.

Silent as the night, Kai moves through the shadowy corridor with me in his grip. My eyes dart around in the dark space. Hallways and ramps, stairs and crevices lead every which way. It’s like a damn maze, every single turn leading to ten more.

Kai doesn’t stop to think, taking each turn with confidence. Until voices rattle in the small space. He falls against the concrete wall, damp with dripping water, his dark eyes flicking to mine. If he’s scared, he doesn’t show it.