Page 46 of Root

Safe. Nothing about this seems safe.

I’m in the devil’s house and the hounds bay outside. There’s no safety, because—I suck in a breath. “Show me whatever your cousin wants me to see.”

He slides me a curious look as we walk the grounds. Some of it’s wild, with trees that bend and twist and give shade.

It looks like anyone can get in. Except for the fact that the whole place is surrounded by a stone wall and I’m betting it’s wired for sound and vision and probably nasty electric shocks.

Not to mention every entry point’s guarded.

There’s a guard house positioned at a vantage point to see the gates and road in, and the mansion. It’s probably got state of the art weapons and CCTV feeds.

If the Ten64’s think they can infiltrate this compound, they’re in for a rude awakening.

“I am. The property.” He pauses and I wait. “The gang that jumped me?”

There it is, and he’s not even hiding it. I cast him a suspicious look.

Rush might be a lot of things, like a guy who dates boring girls because they have money and probably wet themselves over him. Unlike me. I’m poor. But he’s not stupid.

So why is he being so blatant?

I shrug. “I know there’s activity of gangs. You know that, too. But I’m betting your cousin’s got a finger on the pulse of Queenstown more than I do.”

“Help me help you,” he says.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Fuck,” he mutters.

Fuck indeed.

He heads to the side of the house where the gardens are more curated and there’s a path to a walled area. Out here, someone could sit and enjoy the morning or whatever. I don’t fucking know. I live above a fast-food joint. I don’t live the high life.

Rush spins into me, his finger touching my nose and I swat him away.

“You’re a savvy, stabby chick, Jessie, you know the score. Help out Nikolai and you’ve got backing.”

My heart thumps hard. “Why would I need backing?”

“Because Bunny’s was rougher than I remember.”

“Clientele has waves, it changes. Or maybe you got weak.” I glare. “It’s the same to me.”

“That’s a lie. You wouldn’t’ve warned me if you fucking believed that. You wouldn’t have come out after me.”

“You looked helpless.”

He ignores me. “Unless you set it up. Did you set it up?”

“No!” At least this is true.

“We can help you, Jess.”

“You wanna help?” I ask. “I need my phone and I need my life, and I need out of here. And we?”

“Nikolai.”

“Oh, the one with the power, that’s who you mean by we? Nikolai?”

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