Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Fucking finally.
Kierse laughed and trotted up the stairs. Five Points was a nightclub run by the Dreadlords, but it was also their werewolf headquarters. The three nights surrounding the full moon, which had ended last night, the wolves went underground and locked the place down to keep it safe for the city, in accordance with the Monster Treaty.
“Kierse McKenna,” a voice said as she approached Nate’s office. “I’d heard you were back in town.”
Kierse smirked at the sight of Nate’s second, Ronan. He was tall and slim with black hair parted down the middle and severe black circles under his dark eyes. His family had emigrated from Korea, and he’d joined up with Nate’s pack for their protection. He’d moved up the ranks like he was born to it. And she supposed he was.
“Hey, Ronan. Who did you hear that from? Gen?” she teased.
Ronan shrugged. “I’m glad she’s home. She’s not trouble like you.”
“Oh, she’s certainly trouble,” Kierse said.
“She’s the kind of trouble I like, though.” He slid a cigarette behind his ear and lifted a shoulder. “She doesn’t drag the whole pack into her schemes.”
“Fair,” Kierse conceded. “And if you’re asking, I think she’d see you.”
Ronan grinned as he melted into the shadows. “Oh, I know she will.”
Kierse laughed. Of course she’d run into Ronan and not Finn, his partner in crime. Finn was a burly Black man who was all golden retriever to Ronan’s edge, and the best friends made the most unlikely of pairs.
Kierse turned her attention from the shadows, knocked once on the office door, and pushed her way inside to find Nathaniel O’Connor seated at his desk, head bowed, curly chestnut hair falling into his eyes. His tawny-brown complexion was waxen from the early hour. A giant thermos of coffee rested on the desk before him, wrapped in his large hands.
“You’ve looked better,” Kierse said.
Nate’s chin jerked up, and those hazel eyes met hers. “It was a rough moon.” He got to his feet and held his arms wide. “Kierse McKenna, in my house. Didn’t think I’d have to go so long. At least it wasn’t a whole year.”
“It might have been if not for the situation.”
“Graves?”
She shrugged. “As you can imagine.”
“Colette sent a runner over after you left. You two are living with him?”
“Yes.”
“And working together.”
“Yes.”
He leaned back against his desk. “So what’s the plan? Where’s the double cross?”
Kierse hesitated. She was always the girl with the plan. With an exit. That was her favorite rule in thieving. She needed ways out of every situation—physical and otherwise. But she didn’t have one here. The deeper she got into this with Graves, the more she felt like there were no exits.
“Fuck,” Nate said, standing again. “What’s going on?”
“It’s fine. I’m working on it.”
“And you trust him?”
She gasped out a laugh. “No. That’s a big no.”
He blew out a breath. “Well, that’s good. He royally fucked you over last year. I thought you had better brains than that.”
“He’s…trying to regain my trust,” she told him.
“By fucking you?”
She laughed again. “No. Well, maybe,” she said with a shrug. “But no, he’s bringing me in on his business operations and introducing me to the people he works with and trying to help me with a magic problem.”
“Hmm,” Nate grunted. “I still don’t trust him.”
“I know. I told him that I’d let him prove himself, but it’s not easy for me.”
“With good reason.”
“Am I being foolish?”
Nate crossed his arms and looked to the ceiling. “I don’t know. Maybe. The fact that you’d even consider letting him back in after what he did says that you’ve come a long way. If anyone else had hurt you like that, you’d be gone.” He slapped his hands together. “That fast.”
“Yeah.”
“Graves, though…he’s got his claws in you.”
She bristled. “I don’t know…”
“Not with me,” he said. “You can’t lie about him with me.”
“Fine. Yes, I want to trust him again.”
“Then just let him show his cards and make an informed decision the best you can with your heart in his hands.”
Kierse hated that plan, and Nate must have seen it on her face, because he just laughed and pulled her in for a hug.
“A little discomfort is good for you. And I’m still here if you need a good double cross.”
She shook her head with a laugh. The last time they’d worked together against Graves, they’d decided she would feed him information to help the pro-human cause. There were monsters out there trying to destroy the hard work that had been put into the treaty. The last thing they wanted was another monster war. “What’s the monster situation been?”
Nate took the out. “Quiet.”
“Third Floor?”
“Quiet,” he repeated. “The whole city has been suspiciously quiet since you left. Like killing King Louis destroyed the monster rebellion.”
Kierse frowned. “That’s optimistic.”
“It’s deceptive. They’ve gone underground. Burrowed in deeper.”
“Any evidence of that?”