Page 50 of Pulling Strings

Jette snickered, and York crossed his arms. They stood aside, observing our interaction like sentry soldiers.

“It’s good you’re taking a break,” Jax said. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown, am I right? And what with all the media attention, you’re more famous than ever, I’d think.”

“Apparently, I’m trending,” I said through a tight smile.

“Marionetteis trending,” Clyde muttered—his first contribution to the conversation.

I twisted to fix him with a bewildered look. “IamMarionette, big fella. You know that, right?”

Clyde’s thick lips pursed as he gave me a sweeping glance. “I don’t see the resemblance.”

Jax threw back his head in a roaring laugh. “You killme, Big C,” he said, sniggering.

I wanted to stab something. Magically. Sweep my hands and clear the table. Crank Jax’s neck till it snapped, but the absence of power left a vacuum inside. It was a sinking sort of misery that I was, reluctantly, getting used to. The nearest thing I had to a weapon was the plastic spork that would break in half if I looked at it wrong. Like the safety razor that had boasted the efficacy of a cat’s claw, I could do little damage, which was precisely the point.

“You know, I think you’re onto something, Clyde.” Jax stepped around and sat beside me, sidling close. This time, I didn’t just feel his breath, I smelled it. Rank, like carrion, either from a severe case of halitosis or something to do with his magic that I hadn’t quite sorted out yet.

“You’re a bit of a fraud, aren’t you?” Jax asked me.

My ego was still bruised from Clyde’s denial, so I countered, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve heard the story about how you got started,” Jax said. “Snot-nosed investigator’s kid ripped up one of the most dangerous villains in this city. Tore him in half with your brain. That’s a hell of a tall tale.”

“You don’t believe it?”

On my right, Clyde emptied his milk carton with a noisy slurp.

“I think it was an accident,” Jax replied in a low voice. “I don’t think you had what it takes then, and I don’t think you have it now.”

I turned to face him. “An accident?”

If I’d had killer instincts at fourteen years old, they were only that. But it was not a truth I wanted spread around, so I waggled my tattooed fingers.

“Then I guess I must be accident-prone.”

The other man snorted. “Fucking cocky’s what youare. Coasting on your reputation. People like to talk about you, Fitch Farrow, but talk’s real cheap.”

Jette and York pressed against my back, ensuring I couldn’t make a break for the exit. Jax slid his arm around my waist. His fingernails, sharp as a cat’s claws, found the tender skin on the side of my stomach. They pricked like needles despite the thick fabric.

I lifted the spork from my tray.

“Grimm passed over a dozen better options when he let you in that gang,” Jax seethed. “Everybody thought it was a joke because it should have been. Becauseyou’rea fucking joke.” The words came out with such force, they spritzed my cheek with saliva.

“You’d better get out of my face,” I said, wiping the spit away.

Surely, he wouldn’t start something here. In a room full of people, witnesses abounded. Even with Clyde failing to be the deterrent I needed, the guard staff should have been enough to discourage a brawl. Unless this wasn’t another fistfight, and they were here for blood.

“You want me to back off, pup?” Jax asked. “You think I’m scared of you?”

“You should be,” I replied.

With Jax on my left, Clyde completely checked out on my right, and York and Jette crushing against my back, the air felt tight. Any one of them could pull a shiv and bury it in me. There was little, if anything, I could do to prevent it.

Jax shook his head. “You’re all bark. Got no bite. But I do.”

He glanced at York, breathing down my spine. “Grab him,” Jax told him.

York looped an arm around my throat and heaved back, lifting till I caught myself with bent legs under thebench seat.

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