Lesson one in surviving in the wild.
As I slide into the room, I notice that Cold Eyes—also known as Rush—is already in there. Beside him is an older bald guy. Drex is at the end, and the girl is in his lap.
She studies me, that timid smile still on her lips, almost as though she’s worried for me. As much as I don’t want to tell them who I am, Sarah told me this was coming.
It pisses me off that she asked so much from me, but she’s done so much for me that I owe her. And since I know who she is and what she’s likely doing out there right now, I decide to give her this.
Because what she’s doing is searching for Phillip Jenkins—the man I want dead more than anyone else. That’s why Sarah took me in.
We’re fighting the same war.
The war against her father.
The door shuts as Axle walks in, and he leans against it. Jude is sitting close to Drex, his finger running over his lips as he studies me with a death glare.
I’m on the other end of the table with no one near me, so I take my time looking them over one by one.
“You need to talk,” Drex says. “Tell us who you are and why you asked for our protection six months ago.”
Never mind; I decide Sarah has asked too much. It’s too risky to tell them the truth.
“Lathan is crazy,” I say with a shrug. “He’ll come after me.”
“You have enough money to buy legit security if you’re not doing anything shady enough for the legit guys to turn you in,” Jude bites out. “Tell us the truth.”
Apparently they’ve gotten smarter over the past six months.
“Lathan is crazy, but he’s still my brother. Legit guys would turn him in to the cops, and Lathan owns a lot of them, so he’d come after me twice as hard. Legit guys aren’t prepared for criminals.”
Heh. I almost convinced myself with that story. I’m an awesome liar.
Drex flicks a gaze toward Axle, and the girl in Drex’s lap winces before looking away. Before my mind can send off warning bells, Axle has me out of the chair, and my breath leaves as he tosses me onto the table. My back is smashed flat, and he grabs my wrists, pinning my arms above my head as he glares down at me.
He steps in between my legs as my heart pounds heavily in my chest, and my eyes stay locked on his.
“The truth, Maya. No lies,” he says quietly.
I’m not such an awesome liar, after all.
He hasn’t hurt me yet, but the threat is clear. He will hurt me if he has to.
His earlier warning about me being untouchable in one way didn’t extend to life and death.
I don’t need to be forced. I’m wise enough to know when the game is over. And it’s definitely over. I’m not probing to see if he’s bluffing.
“Blackbird,” I say on a long breath.
Everyone in here grows silent for a few moments. Axle looks confused as he releases my hands and steps back. I sit up quickly, my back to the rest of the room as I perch on the edge of the table. The only person I can see is Axle, so I stare directly at him.
“My family is Blackbird.”
Axle’s jaw grinds, and he takes a seat in my vacant chair. I slide off the table in front of him, and I take the chair next to his, casting a wary glance at him, wondering if he’s just going to toss me back up there.
When he doesn’t make a move, I look around at the rest of the table, who are all studying me intently. Except the girl. She looks adorably clueless.
“What is Blackbird?” the girl finally asks.
“One of the biggest bookie legends in all of New York,” Drex answers, looking at me like I’m a lying piece of dog doo on his shoe.
“Let’s say we believe this,” Jude says bitterly as he leans up. “What’d you do to your family? Because we already know what AJ did to hers.”
“I didn’t do anything to my family. I’m still on good terms with them,” I explain.
They all exchange glances of disbelief.
“I came to Halo because Phillip Jenkins is setting up shop and bringing girls across the border for his sex trafficking ring. And I’m making his life hell by stealing his girls and sending them to safe houses until they can be taken back to their countries-slash-families.”
Deadly silence falls on the room. My eyes drift to Axle to see him relaxed in his seat, but his eyes burn through me.
I turn my attention back as Jude laughs bitterly. “Of course you are. Makes sense why AJ sent her here. She wants to drag us into her family’s drama by handing us another girl who wants Phillip dead.”