The door opens a second later and suddenly there’s hands under my arms, dragging me up. I stumble into the office with more loud complaints, but stop as soon as I have a look around. It’s loaded with way too much gold for this to be some small-time boss.
I stand at the center of the room, anxiety building in my chest. A man sits behind a big, expensive desk at the far end, and two more men stand in flanking positions.
It’s Zhao Shang.
I may have made an error…
He leans back, his hands folded on his tidy chest. He’s wearing a black, three-piece suit, bowtie and all. My knees are a little wobbly, so I take a deep breath and tighten my core muscles, strengthening my foundation like my parents taught me.
“Your grandmother has good luck,” Shang says, his voice dark and weathered, like he’s smoked a pack a day his entire life.
I don’t want to disagree with him, but I also want to know where he’s going with this while still being respectful. “In many ways, yes, but which way has caught your attention?”
He smiles. “I love when my victims cut to the chase.”
My stomach bottoms out at the word. I reassess the danger in the room. Four men, one seated, and one much too close for comfort.
“Your grandmother has been winning a lot of small wagers. I wasn’t aware that she was a gambler, given how that worked out for her son.”
It’s as if his words are hands squeezing me around the ribs. I breathe through the tension and think about what he said. Nai Nai doesn’t gamble,ever.This could be him trying to get us like he got my parents.
I fake being calm and shrug. “Maybe her fortune told her to take chances this month. She likes those quack zodiacs.”
Quackisn’t true, she only goes to the authentic tellers, but Zhao is a businessman and I’m sure he doesn’t subscribe to the occult. Maybe I could get her out of this by making her seem infirm…
He smiles again and this one seems nastier.Feral.
He stands and the men at his sides step away, giving him space. I lean back on my heels on instinct but refuse to let myself take a step away. He walks around the desk and comes to stand in front of me. Every step is slow, leisurely, like he has the time to intimidate me.
Zhao is taller than me by a full foot, and still in good shape for being in his late fifties. I look up at him, trying to keep my face innocent. He leans forward and grabs my chin. I want to pull away, but again, I’m smarter than upsetting him further. He turns my head over my shoulder, and a chill races down my spine.
The doorway is heavily framed in protection runes. He points to one midway up that’s blackened. Destroyed.
“You see that?” he asks but doesn’t wait for me to reply. “That’s the ward you just ruptured when you tried to break in here.”
I recognize several others, things Nai Nai has taught me over the years to block out demons and protect from people with bad intentions. Zhao’s name is listed in many places around the doorframe, smudged with dried blood. Most of these runes are designed to protect him, and his blood family.
Whatever rune I destroyed on the doorway allows my sense to extend beyond it into the hall. I can’t project myself without him seeing it in my eyes, but I canfeelthe space and its occupants. There’s another goon standing at the end of the hall, but I don’t sense much past that. Still, it’s something. If I get the chance to run, only one dude stands in my way.
He turns my chin front, but doesn’t let go of me. I try to judge his eyes, his stance. He’s not spring-loaded like me. He’s not ready to fight. It doesn’t stop my heart from thundering in my ears.
“You’ve been paying your parents’ debt for a long time now, Jiahui. You take care of Grandma Feng and little Zixin. You’re a good girl, with a bad habit. Gambling, just like your parents.”
I nod, trying to sneak my chin from his fingers.
He grips it tighter. “But you don’tgamble, do you, Jade?”
Calm your breathing. Remember your training.
His eyes narrow. “No, I think you cheat better than most. I think you can see and move things. I’m not sure what kind of mage you are, but still…” He releases my chin and stands tall, getting out of my space.
My breath comes deeper but my heart only beats faster.
He straightens his jacket and looks down his nose at me. “I would like to offer you better-paying work than skimming pennies off my patrons.”
My mouth pops open to retort, but I snap it shut. I thought he was going to punish me. Increase our debts, maybe kick me around to teach me a lesson, but work? I’ll be in forever. And then they’ll drag my little brother Ace in, too. We’ll be embroiled in mafia bullshit for the rest of our—probably very short—days.
But I can’t say no, either.
