What’s the Pack?”
“Hounds. Those who work with the police, and those who work against them, and any others who will join. Not all of them are as stupid as Ant.”
I heard Anthony mutter, “Fuck you.”
My ears were good too.
“You put together a support group for Hounds?” I asked. “That’s just . . . that’s just so . . .”
“Allie . . .” he warned.
“. . . sweet.” I grinned.
He gave me a level stare and I was glad he didn’t have a gun in his hand, and that he and I were, if not on the same side, not on opposing sides.
“Things are changing in this city, with magic. With everything,” he said. “We either watch each other’s backs, or we’ll be used up—used against each other. Dead. If you’re on our side, call and come to a meeting.”
“And what if I don’t want to be on any side? I like being on my side—alone.”
“Then don’t come.” The way he said it, he made it sound like a threat.
“Nice. So I don’t come,” I said, dead serious myself now, “what will you do? Hunt me down?”
“I won’t have to.” He held my gaze long enough that I knew what he meant. Someone else would find me, like Lon Trager’s men, or maybe I’d just bite it working for the cursed Detective Stotts. Hounding alone meant I’d end up dead eventually, maybe even anonymously, like the sixteen I hadn’t even known had died in the last six years. And even though I liked the idea of living on my own, having my own independence, and not being held responsible to anyone, the idea of dying alone, with no one to even know I was gone or how I’d died, made my chest hurt.
He was right. Things were changing in the city. The strange tension of something—a fight, a fire, a storm, something—hung heavy on the air. I had felt it after I saw my dad’s ghost, I had felt it at the police station, and I felt it now.
I leaned in and whispered, “I need to talk to you alone, Pike. It’s about Trager.”
He didn’t show any change of emotion. Just nodded. “Come to the meeting, and we’ll talk.”
“How about I skip the meeting and we talk anyway?”
“Nope.”
I rubbed at my face. I didn’t care what he said. Nothing could convince me meeting up with a bunch of Hounds would make my life any kind of easy.
“Have you ever seen a ghost?” I asked.
Pike’s eyes widened. I was pretty sure this was the first time I’d ever seen him surprised. “Don’t believe in them,” he said, dead flat and poker-faced.
“That’s not what I asked.”
He looked down at his shoe, his body language turning inward, as if trying to dodge an old pain. When he straightened and squared his shoulders, he was nothing but steel cold killer again. “Can’t live as long as I have without seeing things.”
“Like ghosts?”
“You want to talk, call the number and come to the meeting.”
“Oh, come on,” I said. “When did you give up on talking straight?”
The light changed; traffic stopped. My bus had pulled up on the other side of the street. Passengers were getting on. I really wanted some coffee and a chance at being warm and out of the wet. I took a step, but Pike did not follow. I glanced over at him. He had already turned and was walking away, back the way we’d come.
“What? You giving up on coffee too?” I yelled.
“Call the damn number,” he yelled back without turning.
I shook my head and then jogged across the street before the light changed again. I didn’t care how many times he ordered me to do something. I wasn’t going to join his little club.
I got to the other side of the street but not soon enough. My bus pulled away from the curb, gunned the engine, and rolled through the yellow light, leaving me behind.
“Damn it!”
And all I heard was Anthony’s shrill laughter.
Chapter Five
O kay, so far today I’d been haunted, stabbed, strong-armed by an ex-con, interrogated by the police, hired by a cursed criminal-magic-enforcement guy, and threatened and/or invited by a
“Hounds. Those who work with the police, and those who work against them, and any others who will join. Not all of them are as stupid as Ant.”
I heard Anthony mutter, “Fuck you.”
My ears were good too.
“You put together a support group for Hounds?” I asked. “That’s just . . . that’s just so . . .”
“Allie . . .” he warned.
“. . . sweet.” I grinned.
He gave me a level stare and I was glad he didn’t have a gun in his hand, and that he and I were, if not on the same side, not on opposing sides.
“Things are changing in this city, with magic. With everything,” he said. “We either watch each other’s backs, or we’ll be used up—used against each other. Dead. If you’re on our side, call and come to a meeting.”
“And what if I don’t want to be on any side? I like being on my side—alone.”
“Then don’t come.” The way he said it, he made it sound like a threat.
“Nice. So I don’t come,” I said, dead serious myself now, “what will you do? Hunt me down?”
“I won’t have to.” He held my gaze long enough that I knew what he meant. Someone else would find me, like Lon Trager’s men, or maybe I’d just bite it working for the cursed Detective Stotts. Hounding alone meant I’d end up dead eventually, maybe even anonymously, like the sixteen I hadn’t even known had died in the last six years. And even though I liked the idea of living on my own, having my own independence, and not being held responsible to anyone, the idea of dying alone, with no one to even know I was gone or how I’d died, made my chest hurt.
He was right. Things were changing in the city. The strange tension of something—a fight, a fire, a storm, something—hung heavy on the air. I had felt it after I saw my dad’s ghost, I had felt it at the police station, and I felt it now.
I leaned in and whispered, “I need to talk to you alone, Pike. It’s about Trager.”
He didn’t show any change of emotion. Just nodded. “Come to the meeting, and we’ll talk.”
“How about I skip the meeting and we talk anyway?”
“Nope.”
I rubbed at my face. I didn’t care what he said. Nothing could convince me meeting up with a bunch of Hounds would make my life any kind of easy.
“Have you ever seen a ghost?” I asked.
Pike’s eyes widened. I was pretty sure this was the first time I’d ever seen him surprised. “Don’t believe in them,” he said, dead flat and poker-faced.
“That’s not what I asked.”
He looked down at his shoe, his body language turning inward, as if trying to dodge an old pain. When he straightened and squared his shoulders, he was nothing but steel cold killer again. “Can’t live as long as I have without seeing things.”
“Like ghosts?”
“You want to talk, call the number and come to the meeting.”
“Oh, come on,” I said. “When did you give up on talking straight?”
The light changed; traffic stopped. My bus had pulled up on the other side of the street. Passengers were getting on. I really wanted some coffee and a chance at being warm and out of the wet. I took a step, but Pike did not follow. I glanced over at him. He had already turned and was walking away, back the way we’d come.
“What? You giving up on coffee too?” I yelled.
“Call the damn number,” he yelled back without turning.
I shook my head and then jogged across the street before the light changed again. I didn’t care how many times he ordered me to do something. I wasn’t going to join his little club.
I got to the other side of the street but not soon enough. My bus pulled away from the curb, gunned the engine, and rolled through the yellow light, leaving me behind.
“Damn it!”
And all I heard was Anthony’s shrill laughter.
Chapter Five
O kay, so far today I’d been haunted, stabbed, strong-armed by an ex-con, interrogated by the police, hired by a cursed criminal-magic-enforcement guy, and threatened and/or invited by a
Similar Books
