Come on, get the fuck away.
The tomb raider pushed herself, her lungs burning as she tried to catch up. The night might still have to end with gunfire. She wouldn’t let assholes like the Demon Generals kill these kids.
The fleeing teens didn’t turn. Instead, they dropped straight down off the edge of the building.
“What the fuck?” Shay froze and stared at the teens.
The now-falling teens kicked off the wall, which sent them sailing toward the crane. Shay held her breath as they flew toward the crane and jerked to a halt as they landed on different parts of the boom lattice. Their gloves saved their hands from being shredded, and they immediately scrambled down the boom.
Okay, that was pretty badass. I was getting good at parkour, but I guess I have a lot of things to learn if I want to be on these kids’ level. Like always wear gloves.
The Demon Generals who’d chased them stood at the edge of the building. One threw his hands up in the air.
You guys are too chickenshit to try to follow them, or maybe too smart. Just walk away. This shit is over.
Shay looked past the gang members for Harry and Lily. The pair were bounding between the walls of two buildings to make their way back to the ground. She couldn’t see Casey.
The Demon Generals milled around on the roof, clearly uncertain what their next move should be.
The teens on the crane reached the ground and disappeared into an alley. Shay sped toward it and caught up with Harry, Lily, and Casey.
“Another hidden manhole cover?” Shay asked between pants.
Harry nodded. “Let’s hurry.”
“No complaints here.”
When they hit the alley, it was empty. Harry ran to the center and knelt, again tracing a pattern with his finger. The manhole cover popped into existence, and he pulled it up. The sweat-covered teen girls hurried in.
Harry gestured to the hole. “Hurry. I’ve got to seal it.”
Shay wasn’t used to taking orders from teens, but he was the local expert. She nodded and went to the ladder.
A few minutes later, all the teens and Shay were making their way back toward the main nuclear escape tunnels with Harry in the lead. No one said much of anything as they tried to calm their hearts and catch their breath. A few of the rescued teens eyed Shay with suspicion, but they didn’t talk to her.
They reached the original junction where Shay and Lily had run into Harry.
The boy put his fingers to his lips and made another bird call, something more like a songbird than an owl. He sighed and wiped the sweat off his forehead. A few teens popped out of the tunnel with cautious looks on their faces.
Shay glanced at Lily.
“It’s his all-clear call,” the girl explained.
Harry turned toward the tomb raider, his breathing no longer labored. “Thanks, Shay. First, we saved you, but now you helped save us, and we don’t forget things like that.” His gaze cut to Lily for a moment, subtle emotion playing on his face.
Not all that long ago Shay might not have recognized that look, but given that she was in a relationship, she could spot love.
Shay took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It’d be best if Lily pulled away from her friends entirely and started a new life, but it wasn’t like the tomb raider could ask her to do that. Which meant that if she wanted to help the girl, she’d need to help all of them.
She sighed. Not only that, but she could relate to these kids—even if they all had strange, if unreliable, magic powers. She’d also been forced to make her own way when she was a teenager, and at least Lily and her friends’ path didn’t involve murder for hire.
Shay offered Harry a slight smile. “If you need anything, let me know. Supplies, another rescue. Just reach out.” She nodded at Lily. “She knows how to get in touch with me.”
The tomb raider wasn’t worried about the girl betraying the locations of the warehouses. She’d already had the chance and hadn’t. Trusting people still tightened Shay’s stomach, but between Peyton, James, and Lily, she was slowly getting used to it.
Harry offered his hand. “Same here. I get that you probably don’t need supplies from us tunnel rats, but you’ve seen how we travel all over the city. We see things—things that some people don’t want to be seen—so if you ever need good intel or a few extra eyes, we’re for hire.”
Lily laughed. “Harry’s always looking for ways we can make money. Guess that’s why he leads us.”
Shay shrugged. “Not a bad instinct for a man to have, leader or not.”
“Yeah, not bad.”
Harry averted his gaze.
Lily sighed. “I need to take you back to the entrance, Shay. I don’t think you’ll be able to get back yourself.”
Shay laughed. “Yeah, without my gadgets, I’m more of a surface kind of woman.”
By the time they returned to the entrance, Shay was struck by the extensive knowledge Lily and the other teens had demonstrated about the tunnels under the city. Without that knowledge, they wouldn’t have been able to help their friends.
These kids might be more useful than I thought.
Shay sucked in a breath. “You sure you don’t want to stay at a warehouse? Way more comfortable than some musty old tunnel.”
Lily nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
They stared at each other for a moment.
Fuck it. I can do warm and fuzzy without kicking someone.
Shay swallowed and leaned in for something very unnatural to her—a friendly hug. “See you around, Lily.”
Chapter Four
An hour later, Shay settled into a chair and sighed. She’d just meant to drop Lily off, not run halfway across the city and fight gangbangers. It’d been a busy couple of nights.
Still, need to get my notes together for my lecture tomorrow. Glad I at least skimmed the material before I went to Connecticut.
As
