Page 35 of City of the Lost
A woman appeared to our left, toting a huge gun and a smirk. It was the woman from my memory. The one who’d saved Hound. Our gazes locked.
“They seem to like you,” she drawled.
The rest of the machines whirred, and then all hell broke loose.
9
Men dressed in black combat clothes came streaming into the clearing at the front of the mill, weapons at the ready. For long seconds, there was nothing but gunfire, smoke, and the screech of metallic joints. Blue fire flew through the air, but the metal monsters were too fast; they turned and ran.
“Fuck!” The woman turned away, hand on hip, gun hanging at her side. “Dammit.”
“It’s okay, Hon, we’ll get them next time,” a guy dressed in similar clothes to her said. He’d been in the alley too.
“Hey!” I hobbled toward her, ignoring the guys in black combat gear who were staring at the bodies of the Lost in horror and confusion. “You. Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck are those things?”
The woman turned to face me with a grimace. “They’re called Genisi, and they seem to have a hard-on for you.”
Tay’s raised voice drew my attention. He was facing down one of the black-clothed dudes, eyes flashing dangerously. The set of his shoulders, the fists at his sides, and the way his thighs had bunched beneath his jeans screamed that he was close to lashing out. In normal circumstances, he’d have been the epitome of control, but he’d just semi trolled out and the adrenaline was still pumping.
Mack had a hold of one of Tay’s arms, a weak insurance, but it was something. Hound was nowhere to be seen and Azren was watching the scene, arms crossed, lips pressed together in silent survey.
“Hey.” I made my way back over to Tay, biting back a wince at the ache in my ankle. “Back off, unless you want him to go all smash and crash on your arse.”
The dark-haired guy turned to me. “Canyouexplain all these dead bodies?”
“Yeah, I can.” But I made no move to do so. Instead, I crossed my arms under my breasts and glared at him.
“Well?” he said. “What are you waiting for?”
“For you to pull the stick outta your arse and show some manners. How about an introduction and a fucking please?”
His jaw flexed and he ducked his head, composing himself. “I’m Rowan Adams, Collective Elite. Now explain yourself. Please.”
Better. “Wilomena Bastion of Bastion Investigations, and you can kiss my ass for saving you some trouble in taking out these Lost.”
His brow furrowed and then realization dawned. “There are no Lost.”
I gave him a flat look. “I beg to bloody differ.”
He pressed his lips together. “You’re going to have to come with me.”
Oh, his tone was beginning to rankle. “I don’thaveto go anywhere.”
The click of numerous safeties being removed filled the air as several weapons trained themselves on me.
“Seriously? You’re going to shoot me if I don’t come with you?” Okay, so my ankle hurt and I was tired, and ever since I’d mentioned it earlier, I really, really wanted ice cream. But now that it looked like I wasn’t going to get any delicious frozen goodness, not anytime soon, hot anger pooled in my belly. “My friends and I just risked our arses to take down fuck knows how many Lost, and you want to shoot me?” My voice was an incredulous screech.
“Put the weapons down,” Hon said. She strolled over to us. “I don’t know what the fuck these creatures are.” She nudged one of the dead Lost with a steel-capped toe. “But I’m assuming there are more?”
I met her gaze levelly. “You’d assume right.”
“Yeah? Well, in that case maybe we can help each other.”
“I’m listening.”
She smiled thinly, her gray eyes eerily calm in her heart-shaped face. “I could do with some help catching the Genisi. Come with us and maybe we can help each other.”
Who was this woman? Not Collective, that was for sure. She didn’t have the insert-rolling-pin-here look. She was something else, something new, but she seemed to be in charge. There weren’t many people I clicked with instantly. Most just pissed me off, or were tolerated, but once in a while, I’d come across a kindred spirit, and when I looked into Hon’s eyes, I saw myself looking back. On top of that, giving The Collective the finger so brazenly really wasn’t an option.
