Page 53 of Deadly Wolf Bite

She nods and falls into step with me.

“What’s in the box?” she asks.

“The weapon that will finally finish this,” I tell her as we exit the warehouse and climb back into the car. “It’s time to move on to the next phase of this war.”

Downtown is crowded with a lunchtime rush hour that’s busier than usual. I have no doubt word of Anthony’s death has already spread through the city. They’ll want to gather and gossip and speculate about whether my father will retaliate and how bad the fallout will be. I wish I knew. By the time we pull to a stop in front of Mia’s building, I’ve already gotten texts from both her and Dutch asking where the hell we are.

“I thought we were going to Mia’s,” Lexi says once we’re out of the car.

I glance at the city block of high rises. The first floor houses stores like Les Haut, a high-end clothing boutique. The middle floors are home to a couple of attorneys’ offices and a plastic surgeon.

The penthouse, however, has one resident.

“We are,” I say.

“I don’t understand. Doesn’t she live in Pine Hill with Dutch and the others?”

“Not anymore. See that top level?” I ask, pointing.

“Yeah.”

“It’s a penthouse apartment.”

“Mia lives here?” She pauses then adds, “You know what?” She shakes her head, the disbelief disappearing. “I don’t even know why I’m surprised. Of course she lives upstairs from her favorite places to shop.”

I smirk. “Come on.”

We take the elevator up, using the secure code Mia gave us to allow access to her floor—just like my place. The fact that she and I both live in penthouse apartments with top-notch security, however, is where the similarity ends. The doors open to what Dutch describes as a vomit of color. A bright yellow sectional faces a wall of windows, allowing sunlight to saturate the rich hues. A pink ottoman and accent chair complete the sitting area, with the throw-pillow-to-person ratio at least six to one. It’s cozy and inviting—and bright as fuck.

Lexi slows, taking it all in.

“Wow,” she manages, staring up at the art piece Mia keeps telling me is post-modern-something-or-other. It’s an abstract splash of bright blues, greens, and yellows, which is basically the decorating scheme of the entire place.

“If you squint, it’s not quite so overwhelming,” I tell her.

“I heard that,” Mia calls, her voice ringing out from around the corner.

She appears a second later, a tray of drinks in her hand. “Stop talking shit about my decorating, Grey. Your namesake’s the only color you’re capable of using, so you’re in no position to talk.”

Lexi grins, and I glare at her. “You’re taking her side?”

Lexi shrugs. “She’s not wrong.”

“I never am.” Mia softens as she looks at Lexi. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Lexi tells her.

“Everyone’s outside,” Mia says. “Come on.”

We follow her out, where Dutch, Razor, and Crow are all sitting at the covered patio table. Mia slides the tray onto the table, and Razor reaches for the bottle of whiskey and starts pouring shots. There’s another bottle beside him, but it’s empty.

We’re clearly late to the party.

“Where’s Ramsey?” I ask.

“I sent him to take a shower,” Mia says with a huff.

“What? Why?”

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