Rules of Survival(46)

“So, then we’re safe. Why’s he following?”

“Safe? He’s a hunter. I told you, most of us are worse than the criminals we’re tracking… Nothing about this guy is safe.”

“Shit. You’re saying he’s going to try to take me from you?”

We rounded another corner. Ahead was a small crowd with a tall woman in the middle playing the violin. Mom had never been a fan of the classics, but this woman played them with an edge. A new spin on old-time favorites. Mom would definitely have approved.

“That’d be my guess,” Shaun said. His hand tightened around mine as he scanned the area ahead.

Under the cover of the defiled hoodie, I twisted my arm. “Gonna be a little hard since we’re kind of a package deal at the moment…”

Shaun bent his head close to mine. “His name is Grayson Deeds. He takes mostly dead-or-alive cases.”

That didn’t sound good. “Dead-or-alive cases? What the hell does that mean?”

“It means ninety-nine percent of his marks are brought in without a pulse. I don’t think he’ll be above hacking my arm off to get you—or worse.”

Despite Shaun’s warning, I chanced a quick peek over my shoulder. Grayson Deeds was hard to miss. Tall and lanky with the worst fake tan I’d ever seen. He was several yards away and closing in fast. He caught me peeking and winked, cocking his head to the left with a wicked sneer.

I faced front again, desperately scanning the area for a way to escape. We were almost to the crowd around the violinist. She’d just finished her piece, a chorus of applause drowning out the last remaining notes. The crowd had gotten larger, but it was still too small for us to lose ourselves in.

We veered to the right and kept going past the crowd. Across the square, around a darkened corner, there was a small construction scaffolding over the doorway of an Italian restaurant. It wrapped around the side of the building and seemed to be deserted for the day.

“Over there,” I said, picking up my pace. “Maybe we can lose him in the alley.”

What I didn’t count on was Deeds not being concerned with subtlety. We were moving quickly, but trying to stay incognito. He was racing toward us, bowling over people and gaining ground faster than I’d anticipated. He got to us just before we reached the scaffolding, arm latching onto my shoulder to spin me around.

“What do we have here?” he snickered as Shaun and I both froze. “Lotta people looking for you, little lady.” His eyes roamed my body, and I fought back a shiver when they lingered on my chest. “Meeting you in person, I can almost understand the hype.”

“Back off, Deeds,” Shaun growled. The venom in his voice would be enough to make me take a step back if he’d been directing it my way. And the look of fury in his eyes? Oh, yeah. I’d be running.

Deeds, on the other hand, wasn’t impressed. “Let me take this filly off your hands, little man. This is one for the big boys.”

Shaun stepped around and wedged himself between Deeds and me. “I’m not gonna say it again. Back the f*ck off and walk away.”

The guy laughed and shoved Shaun hard in the left shoulder, just above his wound. His jaw tensed, and he stumbled back, caught off guard, and I went down with him, dragged by the chain. The ripped hoodie concealing the shackles fell to the floor, leaving the annoyingly bright silver exposed.

Deeds whistled and shot a quick look in either direction. “Now isn’t that amusing?” He nodded to my wrist, then nudged Shaun with the tip of his cowboy boot. “Unlock ’em, boy. Now.”

Shaun stood and helped me to my feet, repositioning himself in front of me, free hand curling tight. I’d bet it was only moments away from getting intimate with Deeds’s face.

“Well?”

When Shaun didn’t make a move, the enemy did. His fist shot out, catching Shaun across the lower jaw. The blow rocked his head back, and for a second I was sure he’d go down again, but he held his ground, face impassive. I was kind of impressed.

“Well, you can take a hit. I’ll give you that, boy.”

Still Shaun said nothing. He didn’t move, or try to hit back. But I could tell a storm was brewing. Deeds was an idiot not to see it. Shaun’s expression, previously one of determination, was now dark and stormy. There was anger in his eyes. Rage ten times more potent than what I’d seen at the junkyard.

“Makes sense, I guess,” Deeds snickered. “You learned early to take those hits, didn’t ya, boy? Had years of practice from what I heard.” He winked. “Daddy used you as his own punching bag.”

Shaun’s hand twitched in mine.

Deeds, seeing the fury in Shaun’s eyes, kept pushing. “Oh, yeah. Everyone knows, kid. We heard all the stories.” He lounged against the side of the scaffolding. “I gotta say, you must be just about as f*cked-up as they come.”

A second passed. Maybe it was two. Deeds opened his mouth again, but he never got the chance to speak. Shaun let out a roar that sent my hair standing on end, and lashed out.

A lightning-fast jab to the face, followed by a kick to the gut, and Deeds went tumbling backward in a flash of orange skin. He recovered quickly though, launching himself forward at Shaun—and me. We all went down in a heap, Deeds swinging like a madman possessed as Shaun semi-successfully blocked his blows.