Page 101 of Warrior

“I, uh, have something valuable in the back of the truck. Is there somewhere we can stash it?”

A headache has been creeping over me, but it pulses pain between my eyes. I pinch the bridge of my nose and focus on taking a deep breath. Suddenly, all I can think about is heroin. The rush, sure, but also the way it takes the pain and floats it away. I’ve been going cold turkey—halfway out of necessity and also becausefuck that. Gabriel had me unconscious again. He manipulated Reese by using me.

Nearly got me caught… although that’s more my fault than his.

My body feels like it’s gone through a meat grinder, but I somehow stay upright. Even when my skin gets too tight, and the world seems to narrow down to how I feel. Clammy, aching.

It could be blamed on low blood sugar. A little tremor runs through me.

“…Apollo’s house.”

I lift my head. They want to make a detour all the way across town?Absolutely not. I don’t know if I can last that long. Already, my mind keeps ticking back to finding Gabriel. I could sneak away and beg him for more.

You cannot do that.

“We don’t have time for that,” I say. “Park it on a side street in North Falls. No one will know the difference.”

Reese grunts, but he doesn’t argue. And he doesn’t turn away. If anything, he just presses down harder on the gas pedal.The truck engine whines as our speed climbs, and I swallow down my nausea.

Damn body.

Damn drugs.

I touch the cool metal of the gun at the small of my back, then make sure my shirt and sweatshirt cover it. We park two blocks from Bow & Arrow and hop out. I stagger and catch myself on the door, but neither say anything.

Which is good.

I can’t come up with yet another lie right now.

And I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold up to whatever we’re about to face in my club.

25SAINT

We makegood time to the club, but Artemis stops dead when we step onto the sidewalk. I almost bump into her, and Reese into me, but we both manage to avoid the collision.

“What is it?” he asks.

I spot it a second before she says, “There’s no line.”

The front of the club isn’tempty—there’s just no one stopping people from entering.

She throws her shoulders back and heads for the front door. We join the masses slipping in, and I try to keep track of both her in front of me and Reese at my side.

What’s normally a relaxed-but-energized crowd is…not.

“Come on,” she calls over her shoulder. “I need to find Antonio.”

I reach out and grab the back of her shirt, covering the handgun stuffed in her leggings. No need to freak out her patrons, right? Although from the look of it, no one is paying a cover. Definitely not the people who’ve followed us inside and are dispersing.

She immediately turns for the stairs that lead to the rooftop restaurant. Reese and I are at her heels. She bursts through the door, then cuts across the empty space and into the kitchen. Itseems like they all left suddenly—the normally spotless kitchen has remnants of food, utensils, and pots and pans spread out. The dishwashing rack is full of dirty plates.

It may as well be a ghost town.

“What the hell is going on?” Tem murmurs.

She steadies herself on one of the counters. I eye her. Her face is pale, almost green-hued. She wipes her brow with the back of her hand, but doesn’t say anything about it.

I trade a look with Reese. He’s more looking around than at Artemis.

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