Page 22 of Warrior

“How is Reese?” he asks suddenly.

I narrow my eyes. “That’s not what we should be discussing.”

He scoffs. “It’s okay, Kade. I owe him a visit anyway. I’ll just ask him myself?—”

Rage. I’m up and in his face in an instant. Both hands wrap around his throat, yanking him closer. I squeeze, and something sharp digs into my side.

Hoarsely, he makes a clicking noise.

I glance down at the knife he holds, perfectly poised to drive up under my rib cage. My anger is still boiling, though it doesn’t completely cloud my judgment. I throw him back onto the couch and ignore his burst of laughter.

He straightens his shirt, grinning, while I sit.

“So. Artemis, Reese, they’re off the table.”

His gaze sharpens. “Are we bargaining?”

“No. But I’ll fucking kill you if you touch Reese again.”

Gabriel waves me off. “Let’s talk about your men.”

Mymen. The ones coming in daily from South Falls, slowly replacing the workers there. It’s been quiet, since we don’t know who has allegiance to those at Olympus. Ships go out, fishing boats go out, factories open.

Diligence, crawling along and doing exactly what is asked of me, the weight of responsibility pushes and shoves at me like the tide.

If I walk through South Falls, almost half of the people are mine.

“Another cargo ship comes in on Monday,” I inform him. It’s not the cargo that’s important—again, it’s about the people. The ones who come and stay, while others receive an exorbitant amount of money to get on the boat. Although the cargo matters, too.

Weapons. Drugs.

“And West Falls?”

Gabriel has been filling in the gaps the Titans left. They weren’t just holed up in those neighborhoods—the gang leader, Kronos, owned a lot of properties speckled around the western side of Sterling Falls. It’s what secured his territory. His lookouts lived there, had friends and family there. When something happened, he was the first one they called.

“It’s going.” He picks at his fingernail, too nonchalant for my taste. “I want to push east.”

I narrow my eyes. “No.”

“You don’t get to deny me, brother.”

“You’re too eager,” I argue.

This is why we’re here, but it feels too soon.

“They’re in Emerald Cove.” Gabriel looks at me plainly. “They’ll be stuck in Emerald Cove for the foreseeable future.”

A stone plummets in my stomach. “Why?”

“Because I led them there,” he says simply.

He rises and brushes off invisible dust from his jeans.

I follow him out, pausing in the doorway. He hops onto the dock, hands in his pockets, and strolls away.

He hasn’t always been like this. In Emerald Cove, he operated with precision, his movements and decisions tacticallyefficient. But now that we’re back in Sterling Falls, it’s like a screw has wound itself loose.

He gets into a convertible, sliding sunglasses on his face, and flips me off before he shoots off down the street.

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