The Burnt Heart by Pierce Mae

Author:Pierce, Mae
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

24

Adelaide

“If I knew who did it I would have dealt with them already.” My sockets ached as I rolled my eyes hard. I'd managed to coax him into picking up a call, but now I regretted it. Ray hummed over the phone, the complacent sound rankling my senses. I knew he was about to say something stupid.

“Are you sure it was Crimson Claw?”

There it is.

I pinned my tongue between my teeth to waylay the expletives I wanted to drown him in. I paused in the busy street, shuffling until my back hit the side of the building I was passing. Jonah loitered behind me, scanning the crowds just like I was. I categorized everyone wearing red, dismissing them when my senses weren’t peaked. A man with a red cap pulled low over his head made a tingle crawl down my spine. I caught Jonah’s eye and jerked it toward him. Jonah’s eyes glinted as he moved in to investigate. My father wanted more guards on me, but I had refused. I didn’t want to give more reasons to doubt my leadership. He didn’t have a trail of muscle following him, because he had the skills to protect himself.

Just like I did. I wasn’t going to hide behind a pack of beefy men, not when I was more than capable of fending off almost everything that came at me. It required vigilance, the kind that two hours of sleep didn’t quite afford. But I wasn’t going to tell anyone that I’d suffered from insomnia ever since my car blew up.

“It was Crimson Claw, or someone who wanted me to think it was them. Although I don’t know why you would provoke that rabid pack.”

“What did the note say again?” There had been a note attached to the offensive red blooms that had been left.

“The clock is ticking. Your time ruling Greenich Bay is over.”

Jonah disappeared around the corner briefly and I swallowed the tingle that arrested my throat. If someone wanted to accost me, now was a good time. I closed my eyes, but it didn’t stop the red. Blood. Violence. Gore. The intrusive thoughts came hard and fast. I ducked into the alleyway and slammed into a hard chest. Hands snapped out to encircle my wrist, but I had the hard body pinned against the alley wall in seconds. My arm pressed upon the assailant’s throat when I looked up and realized it was Jesse. His lips twitched in a bemused smile as he held his hands up in surrender.

“Morbid. So, they sent a mutilated hand and now they’re taunting you through flowers. What is their end game here? Don’t they know by attacking the Orazios they risk having you band together with us?”

I barely heard the endless chatter in my ear, distracted by the appearance of Jesse. My pulse galloped in my ears, a roar I had to wrench control from.

“I’ve got to go,” I muttered, pulling the phone away to hang up. “Don’t skip out on the event I just sent you either.

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