Page 29 of A Breath of Life
As my stress regulated, my thoughts returned to Tallus. To his insistence on taking harder jobs. To the stupid fucking card. We needed to get rid of it before it drew a bigger wedge between us.
I touched my pocket to ensure it was still safely tucked inside.
Was I being stubborn and hardheaded?
About the cases he wanted to work? Maybe. About the card? No. The thing was nothing more than a headache. It wasn’t worth it, no matter what its value.
As I passed the mouth of a parking structure for a high-rise, I paused. A row of dumpsters lined the far wall on the inside. Again, I located the card in my pocket and debated.
“Fuck it.”
I aimed for the dumpsters, Echo trailing close behind. If I got rid of the card, Tallus would be angry—furious. I would need to ride out the storm, and I had no doubt he would make me suffer, but it would be finished. The decision would be made, and he wouldn’t be able to get it back. The problem would be solved. We could go about our lives as usual.
Maybe I could placate him by giving him the new case.
Something told me a vengeful Tallus wouldn’t forgive and forget so easily. Not when the card was worth upwards of fifteen grand.
I halted. Fucking fifteen grand. Jesus. Was I really about to throw away fifteen grand? Into a dumpster? The thought made me dizzy and nauseous. I plucked the card from my pocket, examined the leather pouch, and considered the weight of the item inside, recalling its construction. Gold, titanium, platinum, and onyx stones.
“Jesus.”
Echo barked at my inactivity.
“Hang on. I’m thinking.”
She barked again and tugged her leash.
“Hold on,” I said more sharply than I intended.
Fifteen fucking grand.
I eyed the dumpster before unexpectedly stumbling as Echo barked and wrenched the leash hard enough to knock me off balance. “What the hell is wrong with—”
An explosion of pain radiated across the back of my head. Blinding white light momentarily filled my vision. My teeth connected with a sickening crack, and the ground rushed up and kissed me in the face before I had time to react or put my hands out to break my fall.
Echo barked, and it was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.
7
Diem
Iwoke up slowly, agony rising with consciousness. My head weighed a thousand pounds, and I couldn’t lift it off my chest. My thoughts were scrambled eggs, my body a throbbing bruise with no beginning or end. My eyes refused to open. The coppery tang of blood filled my mouth, and too many bar fights in my youth had me instinctively running my tongue along my teeth to ensure they were all still attached and not shattered.
Fuck my life. This was the worst hangover I’d experienced since those rebellious years following high school. Tallus was going to be pissed. What had I been thinking? I was too old for this shit. Oh god, everything hurt. I needed to vomit.
Wait.
Something wasn’t right.
Where was I? Not in bed. Not on the unforgiving ground of an alley. I was upright—mostly. Slumped forward at a rough angle. Acrick in my neck. Painful restraints anchored my wrists behind me, preventing me from toppling forward.
I was… in a chair?
A groan reached my ears, and it took a long second to realize it had come from me. My body pulsated with pain like I’d gone ten rounds in the ring, but I couldn’t zero in on any particular injury. My fingers were numb. A headache bloomed behind my eyes. My heart had moved to my face, stabbing a horrid rhythm across my cheekbones with every beat. I couldn’t breathe through my nose.
Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked, and a thin sliver of memory dangled a hairsbreadth out of reach. I couldn’t quite grasp it and wasn’t sure I had the energy to try.
“Are you joining us, Mr. Krause?” asked a disembodied voice from somewhere nearby, its affluent, chipper tone a contrast to my state of being.
