“Bone Breakers don’t form relationships like this,” Havoc points out.
“And why the fuck not?” Locke yells back.
“Because you’re going to get her killed!” Havoc snarls, getting in Locke’s face. “Or worse, you’ll be the one to kill her yourself!”
Locke blinks and takes a quick step back, confused. “Why would I do that?”
Havoc spins toward me. “How many times has Cipher warned you about Locke?”
Locke turns to me expectantly. He knows that Cipher doesn’t like him, but . . . I haven’t mentioned the warnings. Mostly because it doesn’t matter.
“I make my own decisions,” I say.
Locke sucks in a heavy breath. “So, the fucking machine is constantly telling you to stay away from me?” he asks. “Not just talking trash?”
“It doesn’t matter—” I growl.
“You should listen to Cipher,” Havoc interrupts. “He’s not warning you because it’s fun. Bone Breakers have a reputation.”
“That no one wants to fucking explain!” I snarl. “Everyone keeps warning me against Locke, but no one wants to say why!”
Havoc straightens. “It’s not my place to?—”
“Oh, fuck you,” I snarl. “Fuck both of you. All of you. You, too, Cipher!” I add to the sky like that’s where he is.
I turn and storm off in the direction of the safehouse, leaving the two men to stare at each other, tired of everyone’s bullshit.
My regret for inviting Havoc grows bigger. I should have just left it alone. We had a good thing going, and now Havoc is going to mess everything up.
Fucking men.
CHAPTER49
LOCKE
It’s starting to feel like there’s this great big secret I’m at the center of that no one is telling me.Don’t do this. Don’t trust the Bone Breaker. Pity you’re a Bone Breaker.
Why? Why is this Glitch looked down upon so badly?
What have I fucking done to deserve this shit?
Why have previous Bone Breakers solidified some mysterious reputation?
Even the fucking system keeps telling Vesper to leave me, to stay away from me. She doesn’t know why or else she’d tell me. Instead, we’re just constantly in this loop, listening to other people give us shit about traveling together.
She’d stormed off. Rightfully so. I wouldn’t want to stick around for this bullshit either, but Havoc is still standing in front of me, watching me with that smug ass look on his face, clearly pleased at the outcome. He doesn’t understand that Vesper storming away has nothing to do with her deciding to leave me behind and everything to do with her being tired of our bullshit. She’s not leaving me. At least, not yet.
But Havoc had saidImight be the one to kill her . . .
I’m a fuck up. I was a fuck up in Dross, always making the wrong choices. I’d assumed the Harrow would be the same . . . until I’d met Vesper. She’s a spot of brightness in a dark world, one I never expected to find. Yeah, I still make terrible choices, clearly, but I try to make the right ones sometimes. For her.
But had I fucked up so far back that there’s no hope for me now?
The way Havoc is looking at me right now, that thought feels like it has some merit to it.
“What is it you’re not telling me?” I ask. My words are more of a growl, danger in every word. I don’t like Havoc. At first it was because of the propaganda used to trick us Wastrels into the Harrow. Havoc hasn’t been one of those people in a long time, not when he’s Luxe’s golden boy. Not when he seems to be everywhere, on every wall, every building, in Dross. Now, I don’t like him for a different reason.
He doesn’t fucking deserve to be in Vesper’s presence. Fucking asshole.
