Page 1 of Serpent King's Revenge

Chapter One: Nathan

I’d been in this hole for three fucking hours.

Three hours without talking to Abby.

Three hours without knowing if anyone in my family was okay.

Three hours since I’d watched my father murder my mother.

I couldn’t shake the ache in my jaw, a steady throb that kept time with my racing heart. The tension was giving me a fucking headache, distracted only by the cold cuffs chaining me to a table at the San Mateo County jail.

I’d demanded a lawyer again and again—in this situation, there wasn’t much else I could do. The bruising on my face was their answer. My request for a phone call met the same stony silence.

I knew the score; killing a cop gets you a special kind of hell, even if the badge belonged to a snake like Tyler Matthews. This was the worst possible place I could have ended up in the aftermath of my mother’s murder…and I had no idea if my father would bother coming to find me.

The door creaked open, and Agent Diane Hayes stepped into the interrogation room. She took the seat across from me, laying down a file folder on the table. My right eye might have been swollen shut, but I could still see the self-satisfied tilt of her lips.

"Agent Hayes," I croaked. “You here to get me a lawyer or break more protocol?”

"Mr. Zhou," she replied, her tone light, almost teasing. Her gaze flickered over my face, taking in the damage. "Looks like you've had better days."

I bit back the retort itching at the tip of my tongue. No point in giving her the satisfaction. Instead, I settled for silence, watching her with wary eyes.

I knew the game well. I'd been playing it since I was old enough to understand the rules. The Serpents had their tendrils wrapped around the city's underbelly, covering up whatever I didn’t…and I was good. I’d been a killer for years, knew the game.

Witnesses? They either got a wad of cash thick enough to buy their silence or a bullet—whichever was cheaper. It was simple; we left nothing to chance. I was good at what I did, always had been.

Until Abby.

The thought of her sent an unfamiliar pang through my chest. Abby, with her indomitable spirit, her green eyes that could get right to the heart of me…that looked at me like I wasn’t just another coldblooded killer. Like I could be someone else, someone better.

She knew everything I’d done, but she wanted to join me in the dark…or maybe pull me up to the light.

I had to get back to her.

"Thinking about someone?" Agent Hayes' voice cut through my thoughts, sharp and knowing.

"None of your damn business," I grunted, fighting the urge to glance down at the folder she'd yet to open. Whatever was in there, it wouldn't be good for me. But she didn't have the evidence, couldn't have. I'd made sure of it.

"Come on, Nathan," she coaxed, her fingers tapping on the closed folder. "Don't you want to see what's inside?"

"Lawyer," I spat out. It was the only word that mattered now. If I was going down, I wasn’t going alone. And without a doubt, I wasn’t giving them anything until I had someone on my side—someone who wasn't looking to bury me.

"Suit yourself." Diane shrugged. But she didn't open the folder. Not yet. She was waiting, biding her time.

And so was I.

Because when it came down to it, I had to protect Abby—even if it meant staring down Agent Diane Hayes and whatever hell she had tucked away in that folder. Abby was my line in the sand, the one thing I hadn’t corrupted.

Yet.

"Looking pretty rough there, Nathan," Diane observed with a tilt of her head, her eyes scanning my face. The bruises and swelling were badges of the last few hours' hospitality.

I met her gaze, my expression locked down tight. "Yeah, well, you know how it is. Occupational hazard."

She let out a short laugh. "I suppose when your occupation involves killing people, you'd expect some pushback."

"Pushback's one thing," I allowed myself to say. "Beating the hell out of a guy who hasn't been charged? That's something else."

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