Page 165 of Dance of Ruin

I crouch down, spreading the files, photographs, and documents from the manila folder on the dirty ground. This guy wasn’t fucking kidding. They have phone taps, explicit directions from the Marquis, photos. It’s all here.

I snap some pics and then send them to the group chat, my pulse throbbing.

The Wolf

Fuck me, I’m in.

The Stag

Yeah, clear to me. I’m in, too.

The Bull

Let’s get this motherfucker TODAY

The Hound

It’s a yes from me as well.

My phone dings with a private text.

Carmine

Well done, man. Really fucking well done.

I whirl back to Vaughn’s clone, or twin, or whatever the fuck he is.

“You’ve got your ask,” I hiss. “Now make the fucking call.”

“May I remind you?—”

He grunts when I slam into him, driving him into the wall behind him.

“Make. The fucking. CALL.”

He nods once. When I release him, he turns away from me, pulls a phone out of his pocket, and lifts it to his ear.

Suddenly, he stiffens. With a curt nod, he pulls the phone away and turns back to me, face grim.

“The hit team is already en route,andthey’re ignoring my orders. Which means they’re loyal to the Marquis.”

I seered.

I start to reach for my knife but the other man shakes his head.

“You gave your word, and I gave mine. In this world, our word is all we have.”

He fixes me with a hard look.

“So now I’m going to help you stop them.”

36

NOAMI

It’s funny:I remember walking into Nico’s apartment that first time with a sense of dread, like I was going to prison. I remember staring at the walls and windows and noticing how soulless the place was.

It doesn’t feel like that anymore.

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