Page 59 of Terror at the Gates

“What happened?” he asked.

My eyes welled with tears.

“They killed him,” I said. “They shot Tori.”

A guttural sob tore from my throat.

“Where?” he asked.

“In the alley, at the end of Sinners’ Row.”

He started to turn, but I reached for his hand. He halted and looked at me.

“Don’t leave me,” I said, mouth trembling. “Please.”

I didn’t want to be alone, and Coco wouldn’t be home for a while.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

He knocked on the passenger door of his vehicle. “Get Cassius on the phone,” he said to Felix. “Tell him he needs to get down to Sinners,…”

He looked at me for more direction.

“He’s in the alley, between Angel and Reverence,” I said.

“Angel and Reverence,” he repeated, though I was sure Felix had heard me. “There’s been an incident.”

Zahariev turned to me and reached for my hand, sliding his fingers between mine. He pulled me along, up the stairs to my apartment door before turning to me. I realized he expected me to unlock the door.

“I…I don’t have my key,” I said. “They took it and my phone.”

Zahariev’s mouth hardened before he drove his foot into the door. The wood near the lock and handle splintered as it flew open and hit the wall.

I stared at him, and he gestured for me to go inside. I obeyed, watching as he closed the door and slid the chain into place. It was the only thing keeping it closed.

Zahariev pulled out his phone and sent a quick text before meeting my gaze. I stood in the middle of the room, arms wrapped around myself. I didn’t know what to do.

“You’ll have a new door before I leave,” he said.

“If they access my phone, they will see my texts,” I said. “They’ll know about…everything.”

The knife. The rent. My nickname. They would assume the worst.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said, and then his gaze dropped to my neck. He pushed my hair away, fingers dancing over a sore spot on my skin.

“I tried to fight back,” I said, feeling embarrassed. “But he had a gun.”

“Who had a gun?” he asked.

“I don’t know his name,” I said. “There were four of them, but only one was named. Kane. They work for Archbishop Lisk.”

Zahariev’s expression hardened.

“Did he hurt you?” Zahariev asked.

I swallowed, unable to clear the thickness in my throat. When I finally answered, my voice was nothing but a whisper. “Not tonight.”

I’d never told Zahariev exactly what Lisk had done to me, but my reply said enough. I was thankful he didn’t ask questions, and to avoid the possibility, I explained what happened tonight, leaving out the part where I took the blade to the canal. I told him about the men, how they’d shot Tori with my gun, the ride to see their boss, and Lisk’s warning.

---