I should have agreed to the guards that Atlas tried to foist upon me after I argued with Raze about my privacy.Now it made that much more sense.I wouldn’t have any privacy if I was a dead woman.
Instead, I’d waved him off like I always did—too stubborn to be watched, too used to handling my own problems.So I would handle this one, too.
I drove deeper into the quiet.Past shuttered warehouses.Empty loading docks.A stretch of road where no one would hear anything if things went wrong.This could work either in my favor,or against.
My eyes slid to the glovebox where I kept my gun, loaded and ready.I’d learned from a young age how to use it, and I wouldn’t hesitate if I needed to use it now.
If they wanted something from me, they were going to have a problem on their hands.A mechanical one.
I slowed slightly.The car behind me also slowed.
I tapped the console, bringing the car’s system to life.
“Call Raze,” I said, my voice steady despite the tension tightening in my chest.
The line began to connect—then headlights flared suddenly behind the other car, flooding my rear windshield with light.
The screech of a car came out of nowhere, engine roaring as it closed the distance in seconds, cutting hard across the road in front of the tailing vehicle, putting distance between me and my trailers.
The second car was fast.Aggressive.
The driver behind me slammed on the brakes.Tires screamed against asphalt as his car fishtailed and came to a sudden halt.
I heard gunfire.Loud.Violent.Contained.
The sound didn’t echo across the city.It stayed here—trapped between empty buildings and dead space.
I braked instinctively, my car jerking to a stop a safe distance away.
My heart slammed once—hard enough to hurt—then steadied as I grabbed my gun and switched the safety off.
The second car idled at an angle, cutting off any escape.
The driver’s door opened.A man stepped out like this was nothing more than a scheduled appointment.
Archie.
What the fuck!
He walked straight to the driver’s side of the other car and fired through the window.Once.Then a second shot.
The glass collapsed inward, the man inside snapping back before he even understood what was happening.
The passenger tried to move, but he was too slow.
Archie adjusted his stance and fired again.The body slumped halfway out of the car, hitting the pavement with a dull, final sound.
Silence followed, heavy and final.Archie lowered the gun.
He didn’t rush as he turned and looked at me.The look on his face told me he thought this had all been mildly inconvenient.
9
Flashback - Archie
By the time I was thirteen, I knew how to read a room before I opened my mouth.
By fifteen, I knew how to shoot without blinking.
