I won’t let any speck of the Nuevo Gulf Cartel ever rise again.
Shay shook her head and glanced around. Despite all the violence and blood, they now stood atop a 33-story building that provided a wonderful view of the panorama of the city at night. From this height, the lights all joined together, an almost hypnotic rendering of a cityscape.
“Everything okay?” Peyton asked.
“Yeah. We’re both fine. The reinforcements here yet?”
“Almost. A couple of minutes.”
Shay snorted. “Too slow. We can catch our breath.”
A dark shadow in the distance caught her attention, and concern swallowed the wonder.
“Shit. What now?” She pulled binoculars from her backpack and looked toward the movement.
It was no Ice Witch looking to steal from her or flying gangster reinforcements. It was a man swinging from the top of City National Tower. A man she recognized, even in the darkness, his face burned into her soul.
Marcus, you son of a bitch. Of course, the one time I run into you, you’re too far away for a rematch.
Shay shook her head as the thief leaped off his line, falling backward before snapping his arm up to catch a flagpole and spinning around several times. He released the pole and flew upward, where he caught the edge of another roof one-handed.
The timing was exquisite. Even the smallest miscalculation would have sent him plummeting to the street below.
“It’s like the guy thinks he can’t fall. Like he doesn’t give a shit in the world. He’s just…free to move. No cares, no worries.”
Lily moved to Shay’s side and watched Marcus. “That’s insane. No one from the tunnels would try something like that at the distance he just swung and jumped. So that’s what it’s supposed to look like.”
The tomb raider looked at the girl with an arched eyebrow. A strong wind cut over their roof, their hair fluttering in the wind.
Shay burst out laughing. Lily blinked and looked at Shay, a confused look on her face.
There’d been so much blood even after Shay had left behind killing. Every moment had been a struggle with her assuming her next encounter might cost her life. She’d told herself that she had a life plan, but all she’d had was a vague idea to make money. She wasn’t sure if she expected to live as long as she had.
James had changed that. Alison had changed that. Now Lily had changed that, too.
Shay finally realized what she’d lacked before. All animals might want to live, but not all animals had a reason to live.
I should have died so many times, but I haven’t. And I’m just glad to still be alive and have a reason for it.
She laughed harder. Gratitude. What a novel feeling.
“It’s a great night to be alive, Lily,” Shay explained. “Maybe every night’s a great night, but I’m really feeling it this night.” She threw her head back and howled at the moon.
Lily’s eyes widened, and then she threw her own head back to join her mentor.
They howled over the course of a half a minute before stopping and grinning at each other.
They heard shifters in the distance howling back.
Shay and Lily laughed hard.
“Um, I have no idea what you’re doing right now,” Peyton reported, “but the reinforcements are at the front. So, maybe stop being crazy and get the hell out of there.”
Shay chuckled and shook her head. She reached into her backpack to pull out a grappling gun, then nodded to Lily. The girl pulled one out of her backpack.
“We got what we came for.” Shay spared another quick glance at the dead Tío. “And I’ve nipped a problem in the bud. The Demon Generals won’t be bothering my department head anymore. Still wonder what their new boss wanted from him, though.” She walked to the edge to aim the gun at the roof of a parking garage below them. “For now, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Chapter Sixteen
Shay smiled and tapped her foot. It hadn’t been that hard to track down Carver. He lived in a run-down apartment building in Elf Town, which suggested his information brokering wasn’t as lucrative as she might have expected. A little early-morning visit wasn’t out of order, and people would probably wait to call the cops if he ended up screaming for whatever reason.
Don’t know why this guy lives in such a shitty place. The asshole took money from me and from the other guys. He should be living in a mansion if he does that kind of double-dealing all the time.
She lifted her hand and knocked lightly. It didn’t take that long before the door opened. The elf’s eyes widened. He hadn’t been expecting her, probably for more than one reason.
“Hey, Shay,” he mumbled. “Didn’t know you knew where I live.”
“You’d be surprised what I can find out.” She shrugged. “May I come in?” she asked, her voice full of forced sweetness.
“Sure, sure.” He swallowed and motioned inside.
Shay stepped inside, and he closed the door behind her.
Carver stepped back. “How did your—"
The tomb raider had an adamantine knife out and at his neck before he could even blink.
“So, funny thing happened the other day. Despite the fact that I’d disabled the alarms, communications, and all of that kind of shit, a bunch of reinforcements showed up. Fortunately, I got away before they could get to me, but it really got me to thinking.” She slowly moved the knife up and down but kept it as his neck. “What if someone sold me out? That led me to my second question: Who sold me out?”
Carver gritted his teeth. “I wouldn’t sell you out. I told you before, I don’t want to be on Brownstone’s bad side.”
Shay
