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He glanced over his shoulder at Ken. “Tell you what, you give us the dope, and my buddy here can supply whatever you need. Sky’s the limit.”

Ashley looked behind him and nodded at the sight of Ken, who opened his mouth in protest, but Alex shook his head to shut him up.

Ashley hummed as she got out her phone to send a quick text. “Alright. Follow me, boys.” As she skipped past them, she turned back, winked, and put a glittery pink fingernail to her cat mouth mask. “You can’t tell anyone, okay? It’s a secret!”

25

Fall

Jun’s eyes shot open as his lungs clawed for air. He coughed—wet, choking—into something pressed against his mouth, fabric soaked through with spit and sweat.

The left side of his skull throbbed against a cold, hard surface. His hands wouldn’t move. He pulled, and fire shot through his wrists where the bindings bit into raw skin. His stomach lurched from the stench of blood and body odor, but the gag sealed everything in.

He forced his head up. The room swam. Gray, too bright, too open. Cars. Parked cars. A garage? But it was nothing like Hal’s. No tools, no clutter. Just clean, smooth black stone all over like a sleek showcase room for the latest car commercial.

Jun tried to push himself up, but his arms and legs were bound. He rolled onto his back, and the world detonated. Pain ripped through his torso so hard his vision whited out. Tears came before he could stop them.

How did he get here? His brain couldn’t hold the pieces.

Robin’s distressed voice.

Covey’s face at the door.

Then nothing.

A snap. The room flooded with light so harsh it drilled straight through his skull. Footsteps. He couldn’t tell from where. Then dirty black Converse sneakers filled his vision. Before he could look up, something slammed into his stomach.

Jun almost choked on the gag and sputtered out slobbery coughs. A snicker cut through the ringing in his ears.

“Look how far the perfect little driver has fallen.”

The voice was familiar. Jun couldn’t place it, not through the fog, not with his skull ringing.

The shoe drew back. Drove into his stomach again. Harder.

Jun’s scream died in the gag.

“First, you make a fool out of me in front of everyone by stealing the boss’s car.”

Another kick. This one landed where Covey’s blow had already left him raw. Jun’s whole body seized. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

“Then you make a punk-ass move by replacing me!”

A hand fisted his hair and wrenched him up. Strands tore at the roots. Jun blinked through the tears until the blur sharpened into a face—young, Asian, thin mustache twitching above a snarl.

Luis.

“And then you have the fucking audacity to steal his guest away in his own fucking car!”

The slap cracked across Jun’s cheek like a gunshot. His head snapped sideways. Drool spilled from the gag in a long, swinging thread.

“You ain’t a nobody! Who the fuck are you!? Why do you know Alex Garza?”

Luis’s free hand yanked Jun’s collar down, exposing his chest to the cold air.

He spat. “Of course you don’t have the talon. Or any other marks.”

Jun’s blood went cold. He’d checked. While Jun was unconscious, Luis had gone through his entire body looking for gang affiliations. The violation crawled over his skin like insects.