Page 61 of Hell Breaks Loose

“Then I’ll look into finding what we came here for.”

“Don’t wait too long.”

“It’s going to take as long as it will, Sing.”

He shrugs, and I know exactly what he means. Marco will only tolerate my excursion for so long before he expects results. And I don’t mean the safety and wellbeing of the townsfolk.

I pause as I enter the office, noticing the papers on the desk, the disarray.

“Someone’s been here.”

“Before we arrived, yes.”

“And they were looking for something.”

“Did they find it?” he asks, leading.

“Good question,” I comment absently, swiping through the mess. Old family files, mostly. Titles to land. A lot of it is useful, if only for the sake of property ownership and rights.

Even at a glance, I’m floored by the scope of the deeds.

Tell’s family…

Owns most of Sanctum Harbor and the surrounding lands.

Which begs the question, why was Mayor Vanderbelt not a seated member of the Seven?

Well, that and about a thousand other questions I can’t wrap my brain around.

Like the fact that Tell technically owns most of the city now that his dad is dead. Not that it matters if there’s no town to save.

Just like that, another light switch clicks.

“Sing. I need you to do something for me.”

“I’m already worried.”

“Shut up. Actually, do the opposite. Make a lot of noise around town. Put on a show. Let every single person in the vicinity of Sanctum, in the nearby radius, know we’re here. And give the order to our guys to help wherever they can. Let them all know that Hellena Michaels is back in town, and she’s here to stay.”

“Shall I paint a target on your back while we’re at it?”

“Bring it on.”

11

ORA

I’m a freaking idiot.

Whoever else thought that I was responsible enough, or in any way, shape, or form qualified to be in charge of other people, is also a mega-super-fucking idiot.

And while I know that my grandfather was not a fucking idiot, the fact that he thought that I could lead these people means that he was a fucking idiot, and I'm a fucking idiot for going along with it.

No offense to the entire town relying on me.

I don’t know how Grandaddy did it.

Actually, I do. I watched him.

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