Page 68 of Warrior

Gross.

So, so gross.

“What happened with Kade?”

He shrugs. “They wanted to prove their mettle.”

My stomach knots. “And…?”

“And one walked away with a blade in his stomach.”

I grimace. “Is this payback?”

“No, Artemis.” He stares down at me. “The knife to the gut was the punishment for trespassing. This was… something else entirely.”

Great.

Someone calls an all-clear, and the Hell Hounds come out of the woodwork. They’re armed to the teeth, their leather cuts gleaming in the sunlight. They busy themself yanking away the savable pieces of roof and porch. Someone sprays a still-smoking wall with a fire extinguisher.

Malik and I venture closer to the blast zone. The dirt and gravel, in a ring starting at the heavy metal door that now lies flat inside the club, is charred. There are nails and bits of metal everywhere.

“It was a package.” He dips his chin toward one of the guys sitting on the far end of the porch. He’s being taken care of by another guy. “He didn’t notice it, and opening the door jostled it. He was partially behind the door, which saved his life.”

“Damn.”

He sighs. “I thought we’d hold on to peace a while longer.”

“Because you want peace, or because Wolfe does?”

His palm rests on the butt of his gun, strapped at his hip. Realizing he’s armed isn’t shocking—I’d be more shocked if it was absent. I grew up around the Hell Hounds, and ninety-nine percent of them carry.

“I wanted it. I wanted to stop my guys from dying in the streets. But… I think this will be worse.”

“How so?” My skin prickles at his words.

I just need him to say something that I can refute. Like that this gang is bigger, meaner, or stronger… he doesn’t know that. He couldn’t possibly.

“They want it more,” he says quietly. “There’s a desperation underlining their actions.”

Shit.

I don’t think I can argue with that.

15KADE

I storminto Gabriel’s creepy room under Madness. To no one’s surprise, he isn’t there. He’s like a ghost sometimes, only appearing when you least want to see him.

Hebombedthe Hell Hounds.

I knew… I mean, he gave me the box, but I didn’t do anything with it. I didn’t write Malikai’s name on the box—he did. I didn’t mail it. I carried it up and left it, forgotten, at the base of the stairs that hides Gabriel’s underground world from above.

But now, he’s gone and blown up their front porch—a nice little welcome gift, he’d probably say. But the madness that will fall upon us…

I don’t feel ready.

I’m not convinced this was the way to go about things—I didn’t want it to come to violent terms. I didn’t want to coat Sterling Falls’ streets in blood after they just recovered from one war.

“Gabriel!” I spin around, but the room is most certainly empty. The boxes that lined one shelf are gone, too.

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