“You and I are in a toxic relationship,” I tell the shovel as I yank it free.
I start digging—quick movements, controlled, pushing aside the soil I packed down in a fury last night. My heart thrums faster. Not from exertion.
From dread.
If the Guild erased his contract…
If they framed me…
Then whoever this guy is, he matters.
Not as a target.
As a message.
I shovel faster. Dirt loosens. A smear of gray cloth appears underneath, right where I left him.
I toss the shovel aside and switch to my hands, digging until my fingers brush the fabric stretched across his chest.
“Okay,” I breathe, leaning in. “Let’s see what the hell you were worth dying for.”
His face comes into view first.
Of course it does.
And the expression is exactly as stupid as I remember it—eyes wide, mouth slack, like he died confused and mildly disappointed in himself. If he weren’t covered in dirt and currently being exhumed by a woman he unintentionally ruined, it might almost be funny.
But the eyes ruin it.
Wide open. Packed full of soil.
Just… gritty little horror marbles.
“Nope,” I mutter, grimacing. “Absolutely not.”
I pull the sunglasses off my head—my favorite pair, the ones I stole from that French arms dealer I slept with once—and shove them onto his face.
Much better. Creepy, but better.
I search his jacket pockets first, patting down fabric still damp from burial. Nothing in the left. Nothing in the right—until my fingertip catches on a slip of paper. A crumpled receipt.
I smooth it open.
A small restaurant logo in Little China, New York.
A timestamp from two days ago and a menu order I can’t pronounce.
“Perfect,” I say, pocketing it. “Exactly what I wanted—a scavenger hunt.”
I dig through the remaining pockets. More nothing. My irritation spikes so fast it almost warms me. Iyank my backpack off with a huff and shove more dirt aside, checking his front pants pockets.
Empty.
I need to roll him over so I can check the back. Maybe the waistband or his boots. Something.
I stand, brushing dirt off my thighs, shifting my stance?—
A blade whistles past my cheek and buries itself in the earth next to my head.
