Page 38 of War Games

I scoff. “I work alone.”

A smirk stretches across Siren’s lips, and as she glances at me, a strange fluttering occurs deep in my stomach. “Ahh, so you don’t need me then,” she states, her voice lowered. “You’re content with jerking off alone in a cold shower.”

My gaze narrows on her. Maybe she has a point. Perhaps I don’t always prefer working alone.

“Watch yourself, Little Siren.”

Shadow watches us from across the table, scrunching her lips into a disgusted cringe. “You two are gross.”

Siren simply smiles, more than proud of herself as she settles her stare back on the kid. “Why were you watching me anyway? Do you do that often?” she asks, right as the waiter returns with a burger bigger than the kid’s head.

Shadow can hardly answer the question because she’s staring at the burger as though she can’t possibly think about anything else. “Ummm . . . What?” Shadow grunts, her hands already scooping up the burger.

“You were following me,” Siren repeats. “Why?”

Shadow takes a bite, and her eyes roll in her head. “Ohmygod,” she groans around the food, her words smooshed together. “Thisissogood.”

“Shadow,” Siren pushes.

“I follow everyone.”

“Everyone?”

“That’s what I said.”

“You’re able to track everyone? Just like that?”

She takes another bite, barely having finished off the first one, and before she even chews her food, she shoves the straw of her soda into her mouth as well. The fuck is up with this kid? She’s acting as though she hasn’t eaten in months, but that couldn’t be right because I only just gave her money to make sure she had everything she needed.

Shadow simply shrugs. “You gotta be the best to beat the best,” she says, and as she eats her burger, I watch as she relaxes, getting chatty as she eats. “And you two? You’re the best. Right after me, of course. But you know who’s not the best? Those brothers.”

“You knew they were brothers?” Siren asks, her brow arching, clearly impressed.

“Doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out,” Shadow continues, and I do what I can to not take offense. I didn’t realizethat immediately, and it wasn’t until Siren’s confirmation that I believed it to be true.

“Don’t you go searching out trouble with them,” I warn Shadow. “They’re not like me or Siren. If they catch you in a back alley, they won’t offer to feed you. They’ll beat you to death.”

“I know,” she says, a wariness in her eyes. “I’ve already had a run-in with them tonight, but after I saw how they killed Sharkbait the other night, I knew to get out of there. I’m not looking to be a victim.”

Siren clenches her jaw, her eyes flashing with anger. “They targeted you?”

Shadow shrugs her shoulders and keeps her gaze focused on her burger. “Yeah, sure. They targeted me. Or maybe I might have targeted them.”

“Are you insane?” Siren demands. “You’re a kid. You can’t be putting yourself in unnecessary danger like that.”

“Just because I’m a kid doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself,” Shadow throws back at her. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I’m sure you do, but these aren’t the kind of people who are going to take it easy on you because you’re a kid. They’re going to kill you, and it’ll be brutal. They don’t give a shit. You can’t go out looking for trouble. Sure, track them all you want. Do all the recon you need, but choose your targets wisely.”

“Like you do?” Shadow demands around a mouthful of food. “I saw your kill tonight. That was nothing. You should have just let Eagle walk. That kill doesn’t count.”

“So you’re saying that I should have allowed her to go and given her the opportunity to potentially kill me later or kill . . . I don’t know . . . you, maybe? Maybe I should have let her live with her broken ribs and burned arm and let the brothers or Gasoline come back to finish the job in a much nastier way. She was lucky that I was the one who came after her tonight, and sheknew it. Having compassion doesn’t make me weak. It makes me human.”

Shadow presses her lips into a tight line and dips her chin before slowly nodding. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

Siren watches her through a narrowed stare, and after what feels like a lifetime, her body finally relaxes and she moves the conversation along. “What’s your plan, Shadow? How are you going to get through these next twenty days?”

She takes another bite, and I stare at her burger, shocked by how quickly she’s putting it away. “I’m a watcher,” Shadow explains. “I don’t like getting involved in all the bullshit. I’ve been trained to learn everybody’s weaknesses, and at the very last moment, swoop in and end the game.”

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