Page 138 of Nemesis

The nurse who called out eyes me with concern. I wave her off and continue to the stairwell. In it, the placard on the wall catches my attention.

Roof access.

Good.

Yes.

I hurry up the steps, bursting free and taking in a big gulp of air. The wind snatches at my hair, most of which has come loose from my braid. I take it out and comb my fingers through it, simultaneously walking to the edge of the roof.

The sun is up.

Sometime between us getting Reese here and now, we missed the sunrise. I raise my hand to block the sun and squint out across Sterling Falls.

It’s gorgeous.

Gorgeous and terrifying, once you know the threads that run under the city and the monsters that pull the strings.

Saint demanded that I talk to him, but he doesn’t really know what he’s asking. He doesn’t realize that the pain I show the world is only a fraction of what I’ve buried deep down in my bones.

Terror doesn’t define me.

Being forced into a sex trafficking ring doesn’t define me.

My brother saved me from dying there, and I vowed to do the same. It’s why I recruited Antonio. Why I rescued Gabriel—although I have spent so many sleepless nights wishing I could change the circumstances. Why almost everyone at Bow & Arrow has been a victim of human trafficking in one way or another.

They find shelter with me.

And Gabriel, like a hurricane, is coming to wreck the town I hold most dear.

He doesn’t want to root out the evil. He’s not coming to do good.

He’s coming to destroy everything—including the innocent.

Nothing is working.

When the doctors tried to bring Reese out of what they described as a medically induced coma, he started seizing. They quickly reversed the drugs, and now we’re back to square one.

He was transferred out of the ICU early this evening because he’s stable. As far as they can tell anyway. There are little stickers with wires on his head and chest that go to two monitors. One for brain activity, another for his heart.

They’re saying that, with time, he’ll wake up. He has an IV of fluids keeping him hydrated, with the goal of flushing out whatever was given to him.

Besides being in a coma, he also has a cracked rib and severe, deep-tissue bruising.

We’re in a private room. My brother splurged on that, I think. It’s on the top floor of the hospital. It’s actually kind of nice, all things considered.

We stayed for hours in the waiting room, and when he seized—well, more like when they told us they needed to run more tests but were backing off for now…

My heart stopped working, and I’ve been cold ever since.

I slide my hand into Reese’s. He doesn’t squeeze. Doesn’t do anything to tell me if he’s actually here. Mentally, I mean. The doctors did a test for brain activity, which he does have. Thatmeans he’s not a vegetable. He’s not on any sort of breathing equipment either.

I ache.

Gabriel did this because of me. Because I ruined his life—this has to be retribution, doesn’t it?

Kade arrives. He makes some noise of disapproval, probably because I’ve kicked off my shoes and fully plan on spending the night here.

“Do you think it was too easy?” I run my finger down Reese’s forearm, looking for some sort of response. Not even a twitch. I glance sideways at Kade.

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