Page 93 of Property of Legend

Another slap.Harder this time.My vision goes white around the edges, my ears ringing.

I collapse against the wall of the abandoned barn they’ve dragged me into, wrists still tied, ribs bruised from being kicked earlier when I tried to bite the first one who touched me.

Their president steps in then.Swagger.Yeah, that’s really what they call him.Swagger.Like a man named after cheap bourbon and inflated ego.Mid-forties, thick leather coat, white beard stained with chew spit, and cold, pale eyes that don’t blink much.

“That’s enough,” he says coolly, brushing his hand down his beard.“Not yet.We need her face unbroken for now.”

One of the others snorts.“Why?Legend gonna want her back the way she came?”

Swagger smiles like a shark.“We’re not after the girl.This is for our national brothers.You know Big Daddy killed our Prez, Meko and Whiz, too.We’re after the city.Lexington belongs to the Sinners now.”

“Lexington’s barely a city,” I say, trying to get under their skin.

“Even so, it should be ours.And that bastard’s been sittin’ on it too long.Thinks just ‘cause he’s got some hotshot rep and some bars spread wide, it means he owns the whole damn state.”He steps closer.“So, sweetheart, you’re leverage.He gives up Lexington, or we take pieces of you.First your pride, then your life.”

A boot nudges my leg.

“She’s soft.Bet she screams real pretty.”

Swagger doesn’t correct him this time.

My heart thuds in my chest, fast and panicked, but I don’t let it show.

Think.Think, Sophie.

I inhale sharp, tasting blood and bile.

“You think I matter to him?”I ask, my voice rasping but cold.“Legend and I aren’t even a thing anymore.”

That makes a few of them pause.

Swagger raises a brow.

“Jokes on you.We hate each other now,” I continue, steadying my breath.“I caught him with someone else, Becki Crowley.He’s in love with her.Go check.They’re probably in bed right now.You can snatch her from it.”

Swagger eyes me.

“Besides,” I go on.“This whole damn legend about him?It’s bullshit.”

That gets a reaction.

“The creature?”I say, louder now.“That cryptid crap you all whisper about?It’s not real.It never was.Someone was working for my father.My daddy hired men to get rid of that horse and cover his tracks.That’s all it was.Not some monster.”

One of the younger Sinners looks around, uncertain.

“I should know,” I lie smoothly.“I was there.It’s my farm.I saw the evidence.Legend doesn’t know.He still believes it’s real.That makes him reckless.”

Swagger tilts his head, like he’s studying a chess piece instead of a woman tied to a post.

I keep my face neutral, like this is just a transaction.A story they can believe in.

But inside?

I’m screaming.

Because Idobelieve in him.

In Legend.

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