Page 75 of Hell on Wheels
“You know that’s a terrible plan, right?” I ask wryly. “Rogue is good at masking emotions when it’s absolutely necessary, but that will strain even her—especially if people get in her face.”
The vengeance demon grins wickedly. “I’m not opposed to watching her take down some shitty motherfuckers who think they rule the world. It was hot when she did it to Luca.”
“Yeah, and now we have him, your mother,andthe angry demon women gunning for her. Adding that to Mina, the Sickos, and possibly the Stuhlls, was not smart.”
He shrugs, looking at his twin. Damon does the same, and I have to bite my tongue. Their faith in our ability to juggle multiple enemies with boundless resources is a stretch. While we’re all formidable and we’d at least have Archie’s family to support us, I’m not sure the Council will. They stay out of the criminal shit unless it’s affecting the supe world as a whole. The glut of weird stuff occurring in the Southern enclave, the Northeast enclave, and in various spots globally has their full attention at the moment.
But these guys don’t know about that, and I can’t tell them more than what’s been on the news—it would be a breach of protocol.
Sometimes, duty sucks ass.
#
The competition for my race is fierce, but I’m glad I took the more dangerous course. Drifting through the sharp curves of Bay City is a gamble most nights, but there’s a lot of people milling around the underbelly for it being so late. I’m not sure if that’s the Stuhlls planting underlings in the path of the drivers to make this more difficult or if it’s just bad luck. At the moment, everything seems like a conspiracy.
I never liked Rogue’s best friend, but her defection was so sudden and absolute that it’s still making me paranoid.
~Reb, what’s going on in your head? I feel that anger. ~
Rogue’s voice filters in via mind speak and I sigh as I accelerate through a straightway. Instead of using that connection, I speakinto the headset. Damon promised our frequency was secure, so I’d rather use it than let the others hear us mentally chat. Weird, I know, but I’m still getting used to the fact that she can hear people besides me there. “I had a flash of frustration about how quickly Mina abandoned you and how long it must have been in progress before she cut ties.”
Her growl echoes on the line and I chuckle as she replies, “Probably, but shouldn’t you be focused on the race?”
“In the bag, lil’ sis,” I say confidently. “I’m so far ahead of the two slot that it’s laughable. My mind is wandering a bit because there are… anomalies… along the track.”
“Huh.”
I know she’s running possibilities through her mind, figuring out what I might mean and how it will affect her race. That’s a good thing because if anyone truly knows it’s her racing, they’ll put much more risky shit in her path. At least, if we’re right about where the threats are coming from.
“Still don’t get why they’re tracking me,” she says after a minute or two. “I mean,herI get because she’s on some power trip or whatever. The bigger picture is puzzling. Is it about my day job? I doubt that; they don’t meddle so much unless something huge happens.”
“I was wondering the same thing,” I reply as I skid around a bunch of construction that shouldn’t be where it is. “What the hell did you do to even get on that radar? It’s not the racing; that’s solved by banishment.”
She’s quiet for a moment, and I wonder what she’s trying to find the words for. When she speaks, it’s soft in the headset. “Reb, you have to be careful. If they’re gunning for me, they’llgo through any of you they can to get to me or hurt me. Out of everyone, you’re the most exposed. Stay sharp or I’ll beat your ass myself.”
Her words make my chest ache and I have to blink for a second as the emotion floods my system. I know she’s right, but hearing it does something to me. It’s different now—not like when she worried about me in the past, but it felt like she had to. Rogue is definitely worried about losing me, and it’s because she wants me to be hers.
Fuck, how do I deal with that?
The answer is poorly, apparently, because I barely miss an extremely out-of-place cow that’s hanging out in the middle of this back road the course uses to loop back to the finish line. My eyes flash as I grip my wheel tighter, fury replacing the softness that was in my veins before. That shit was a deliberate road hazard placed to fuck up both a car and its driver—possibly fatally. Luckily my reflexes are on point or I’d be fucking road ketchup.
Whoever did that is either a cheating motherfucker from another team or it’s the bigger conspiracy we think stems from the Stuhlls. Either way, I’m feeling alotless confident about letting Rogue take the later card for me. She might be a better driver than me, but if her cover is blown, they’ll pull out all the stops to take her out. My little traffic and beef problems will look like child’s play compared to what will get thrown at her.
How am I going to tell her that without getting my face ripped off?
“Rogue,” I start, but then I catch a glimmer out of the corner of my eye. Just a glint of something in the distance and I know Ihave to focus on the road. There’s a goddamn sniper out there and I just caught a glint of his scope because he’s shit at his job.
“What, Reb?”
I don’t answer as I swerve and dart around the road, making it hard to predict where I’ll be with enough accuracy to attempt a shot. If I can keep the dipshit guessing, I get out of range before he cracks one off. Rogue keeps talking in my ears, but I laser focus on evasive driving. She’ll be pissed when I get to the checkered flag until she understands why I had to shut up.
That is, if I make it to the checkered flag in one piece.
Bad Feeling
“Reb seemed upset, and he stopped answering,” I tell Angelo as he walks around the venue with his arm draped over my shoulders. “I don’t like it.”
Damon raises our joined hands to his lips, kissing my knuckles to obscure his reply. “Rebel is a fucking amazing driver, Sparkles. It would take a lot to fuck him up so badly he couldn’t answer you. Likely, he needs to focus.”