Page 5

In the cold air, I walked down the metal steps toward the ground floor. With each flight, I knew whichever Freak was watching me would grow more panicked. But I wanted them to be. I needed them to be worried that they just might lose me.

I took a deep breath as I tried to keep myself calm.

On the last landing, I unhooked the ladder from the fire escape and slowly dropped it. I’d have to jump the last couple feet from the last rung to the cement. But it would be worth it to give my Freaks a heart attack.

And I needed answers. Jane’s death had rattled me. Somewhere deep inside me, I knew her overdose meant more than just a bad batch of drugs.

What were the odds that his compound was the last place she was seen before her body was found?

There was something bigger at play and The Messenger had something to do with it.

I was certain, even if I didn’t have the proof.

As I descended the ladder, I felt the cold metal under my hands.

On the last rung, I leapt off and landed on the sidewalk.

If Blade, Nash, and Cyrus insisted on stalking me all day and all night, someone needed to make progress on the investigation. And since Rubin had been hunting for me, I had good reason to get to work.

The sermon was a short walk away. As I stepped forward, I heard the ignition of the Cadillac ignite. With each step, the car crunched asphalt under its tires.

Wiping my hands of the fire escape’s grim, I walked into the night.

It was my turn to take the wheel.

4

NASH

My fingers tapped along the steering wheel as I let the car slowly glide behind her.

She’s fucking gorgeous.

Even from yards away, I could tell she was physically exhausted from her shift at Velvet Paradise. Her body would be slow, heavy.

It’d be so easy to grab her.

A hunger for her had grown to a starvation since she left Feverpoint. And watching her from afar had only made the craving worse.

Maybe I should have stopped following her, let her go.

But how could I?

She was everything I’d ever seen in my dreams and more.

And I let her slip away.

My jaw tensed as I watched her through the tinted glass.

In the passenger seat, Blade leaned forward like she might lunge through the glass just to touch Tess one more time.

“What is she doing?” Blade asked, her voice dripping with concern.

Shaking my head, I scrunched my nose. “I’m not sure. Fucking with us.”

Some nights she was feistier than others. We’d been tailing her every day since she walked out. Sometimes, she’d just ignore us. Others, she’d flip us off or scream something.

She must know how hard it was for me to keep my hands to myself when she behaved like such a brat.