You’d think I was getting used to watching people’s bodies pull themselves together, but it still left me feeling a little grossed out. I sat inside the main office on a high-backed leather chair, my feet on an oak desk as the body I had saved very, very slowly put itself back together. For some time, I watched in morbid curiosity as the holes filled up and the missing organs formed inside his stomach. I draped a curtain over most of him, but it wasn’t long before I was open-mouth snoring, my head tilted back and drool on my chin, at least, that’s the position I jolted awake in.

I blinked slowly, a hand raised to stop the glaring orange sunlight of sunset from burning into my eyes. Shit. I forced myself awake, shaking my head and looking around for a body that should have been right there on the desk in front of me, but very much wasn’t. Shit, shit, shit. I stood up and looked around the office, then heard the grumbling noise of displeasure coming from a room attached to the office. I followed the noises, passing by couches with dead bodies strewn over them, and the obligatory bullet casings littering the floor. I stopped in the entrance of the walk-in closet, and watched as the formerly dead man, now in slacks and a white shirt, tried to look for a blazer that matched his pants. I put my hands on my hips and waited, because he seemingly wasn’t in a rush.

But my gods, didn’t he look exactly like Lucifer, down to the suit and the neatly trimmed beard. He found a blazer he was happy with and pulled it on, and now it was almost like I was staring into a distant memory. A picture of a man that nobody had seen in months, and also the same man that had made some of my first outings hell. You couldn’t blame me for being a little tense, especially as he turned around and buttoned his blazer. He had this easy-going look to him. Open top buttons of his shirt, a weasel’s smile and the twinkle of a cheat in his eyes.

Ava almost had the same look, though without any of the smoothness or grace.

“Ah,” he said, grinning. “You’re awake. Perfect. Grab me a coffee, will you?”

I blinked. “You almost died a second ago, and you want coffee?”

He walked past me and into his office. “All black, no sugar. Need a kick after that shitstorm.” The Lucifer look alike sat in his office chair and fondled around inside one of his drawers. Most of the desk, mind you, was broken and shattered, as if whoever had caused this mess had thrown a body right through it. That didn’t matter to him, though, because he found the half-drunk bottle of whiskey he was aching for, popped open the cork and took a swig of it that made his throat throb. Then, finally, he said, “Why’re you still standing there, kid? Get to work!”

Something about this freaking family, I swear.

I took the bottle from him before he could keep suckling on it. “Look,” I said. “I don’t know if you care or not, but you were filled with the kind of maggots that kill you slowly from the inside. I saved you. You owe me.”

He looked me up and down. “You’re a superhero, ain’t ya? You do that for free.”

Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe it was because of the headache.

But excuse me for hitting him with the bottle, smashing it against his dome and leaving his head a bloody mess that left him slumped in his chair. I watched as blood ran down the side of his face and stained his collar, then he jerked awake, and the shards of glass embedded inside his skull slid out and fell against his shoulders. “Fuck,” he groaned, sitting back up again and holding a hand to his temple. He looked at me, bloodshot eyes sharp. “You ever gotten an offer from the Olympus Bluejays? They needed a batter like you for the past five years, kiddo.”

I shoved aside his desk, slamming it into the far wall. He didn’t sit any straighter as I stood in front of him and grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him off his seat. “Listen,” I hissed. “Cut the shit and the quips. A little birdie told me that you can help me out, and considering how your current business is going, I doubt you’ve got options.”

He glanced at the bodies, then back at me. “And who's your little birdie friend?”

I kicked the backpack next to the seat. “Open it.”

He raised an eyebrow, maybe because he wasn’t used to getting bossed around, but I figured throwing him

to the ground at my feet made that command a little easier to follow. He grunted, glanced at me, then unzipped it.

Ava stared at him, and he stared at her—myself standing over both of them.

He zipped the bag up and stood. “Sorry. Can’t help ya. Door’s behind you.”

I stepped in front of him, and this time he glared at me. “You know me.”

“Yes, a lot of people do.”

“And you also know how I work.”

He adjusted his blazer and said nothing.

“But I’m a changed girl. I don’t stick my hand through chests anymore.” I hovered to meet his eyes, and I saw the faintest sheen of sweat on his neck. “I’m also in a hurry, and all I need is an answer. How does that sound?”

He tensed his jaw. “Not if you’re working with her.”

“And what if I am?”

He guffawed, then barked out some laughter. “Are you crazy!” he asked. “She’s exactly like her old man! I swear, that son of a bitch—bless my mom, rest her raggedy old soul—can’t look a man in the eyes without lyin’!”

Speak to the choir.

“That also means,” he said, “that she’s only working with you to get something back. And I know what she wants and I know exactly how she’s got you doing what she wants even if she’s nothing but a head in a bag, kid!” He walked past me again and headed for a bookshelf, pulled out a random book, flicked it open, and pulled out a canister of alcohol he unscrewed and drank from. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, then said, “You ever trust her, and you’re as good as done, and take that from someone who changed her diapers as a baby. I say you cut your losses and you get a move on saving the city or whatever you pajama-wearing weirdos like to do so often, O.”

None of this was really breaking news to me, so I said, “Someone I care about is in trouble.”

He gestured at the bag. “I bet she’s the one who got them into that trouble.”

I paused, glanced at the backpack, then shook my head. “I didn’t come here to talk. I came here to find out what you know about the Talon, because those are the kinds of people the person I care about is up against here.”

The bottle didn’t touch his lips this time. He lowered his arm and screwed it tightly shut, cutting off the stink of liquor in the air. He stared at me. Really, really stared at me. “You sure your friend ain’t already dead?”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I’m pretty sure.”

I really, really hope so.

“Then chasing after them isn’t a good idea, even for the likes of you.” His voice was suddenly very flat, nothing like it had been a moment ago. “You’re bulletproof, and that makes you brave. But the people around you ain’t, and that doesn’t mean they aren’t brave, it just means the Talon aren’t afraid of going after them instead.”

“They can try,” I said.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“Oh,” he chuckled, leaning against a couch. “They will, trust me.”

“They did this?” I asked, gesturing around him.

He glanced over his shoulder and the dead body behind him, at the large gouges in the walls and the shelves and trophies, picture frames and memorabilia that was broken and scattered around the floor. His lips were thin, his face a mask. “No,” he said, tapping his index finger against the couch. “Hell, I wish it were them instead.”

“Then who was it?” I asked. “I help you figure this out, and you help me with finding them.”

I’d had a thought before I came here. Finding Bianca was one thing, but stopping the Talon was another. I was a hands-on kind of gal, and that meant I wanted to make these people understand very thoroughly that I wasn’t willing to play this game with them. I could keep saving Bianca, or I could eliminate the problem where it stood.

I was pretty exhausted of letting tiny fires keep spitting and sparking, because all they ever did was grow.

He shook his head. “No can do. Got what they wanted, put me on my ass. I’m pretty finished.”

“What?” I asked. “Just like that?”

“Pretty much,” he said, shrugging. “Never did like this business. C’mon, your kid has her little friends asking what her father does for work, and what’s she supposed to say? He hires girls off the streets to dance around in his office all day long? The money’s great, don’t get me wrong, but this ain’t mine. It was all just Lucian’s.”

“Everything?”

“Everything. I’m a manager at best, kid. Hate to break it to you, but I’m nobody.”

“He’s lying,” we both heard from my backpack. “He’s a police informant.”

He glared at the backpack. “Mind if I toss that in the garbage for ya?”

“Hold on,” I said, massaging my temples, because I loved it so much when I had to deal with just one Rivera, but two was just the icing on the cake. “One of you is lying to me, and I’ve got no reason to trust either.”

“I…” Ava grunted, then said, “At least open the bag so I can speak clearly!” I sighed and plopped her onto a table, letting her stare at, what I’m guessing, was her uncle. Her lips curled into a sneer as she said, “Don’t let him put thoughts into your head. He skimmed my father for years. This place was a den for the police. They came here looking for a fix and a night with a girl for the price of information. My father gave him everything, and what did he do? He lied to his face and sent the dogs after him, and now look! There’s nothing left of Lucifer’s legacy now.”

He tilted his head. “Easy to say that when you’re the one who ran the business into the ground.”

“I came to you for help and you didn’t even offer me council. You’ve got just as much blame as me.”

He spread his arms. “I offered you help, Ava, and you didn’t take it! That’s called being stubborn.”

“You wanted to take everything! I would have been at your mercy.” Her eyes narrowed as she paused, then she smiled thinly. “But I suppose arguing about this doesn’t matter, considering neither of us has anything left.”

“What, this?” he said, waving his hand half-hazerdly behind him. “Please. Hire a few cleaning ladies, some fresh paint and furniture, bing, bang, and I’m back in business, because someone needs to keep this family alive.”

“You and I both know the Triumvirate will eat you alive within the next day.”

And suddenly, he was very silent.

I sat on the table beside Ava, and came up with an idea that nobody was going to refuse, because the only person in this room with any kind of protection was myself, because like he said, I was bulletproof. Sure, that maybe

sometimes left me making a few shaky decisions here and there, but it also meant that people like the Talon and the Triumvirate were threats I knew I could deal with somehow. These two, though? One of them didn’t even have a body, and the other was a guy who had nothing left. His building was left in ruins. Whatever had done this had, by his account, taken what they wanted and left him for dead. The wolves will be here soon, and when they come, they won’t be as kind as to let him live. Without other people, Ava wouldn’t be here. Difference was that he was alone.

And that made him afraid—I could see it in his eyes.

The police, even if this guy was an informant, wouldn’t need someone who wasn’t any use to them. I’d need to talk to the two guys who arrested me about this, just to see if his story checked out, and to understand just how much of this city the Riveras had their fingers wrapped around. Yeah, just add that to the list, Ry. I’m sure there’s space underneath: save Bianca before she gets killed. As for the Triumvirate…Ava wasn’t lying. They would come for him and they would wring him dry, and it was a miracle they hadn’t gotten here yet, or maybe it was because something was stopping them from being so hasty. I doubted it was me, but what if it was because of who did all of this damage? A building full of corpses meant someone I had to worry about. Someone very dangerous.

Because as far as I was concerned, the Triumvirate had never been afraid of me before.

“Okay,” I said, sighing a little. “I’ve got a proposal.” Both of them were all ears, which, finally, knowing this family. “You point me toward the Talon, and in return, I’ll make sure that whoever did this to you gets found.”

“You’re going to work with him?” Ava asked bitterly.

“I worked with you, so what’s the difference?” Before she could counter, I said, “But I’m not going to spend every waking second searching for them. In all honesty, I don’t give a fuck. I’m only doing this because I know you’re a Rivera too, and that means you’re always after something to keep you tethered to a deal. You help me, and I’ll help you. Besides, once the Triumvirate catches wind that you’re with me, they won’t screw with you.”

I was bluffing, but I had to take a chance.

He looked at his niece. “They fucked with her plenty when you were there.”

“We technically broke up before they did her in.”

Ava glared at me.

He thought for a moment, mulling around his thoughts and using his tongue to slide along the brim of his lips. Eventually, he sighed and ran a hand down his face, then looked at me. “You’re offering your protection, and in return I’m gonna help you, the Daughter of Zeus, fuck with one of the most dangerous guilds in the world? Look, I know it’s a cape thing to always fight for your family and friends and all, but sometimes you’re better off just cutting your losses. If that friend of yours is in this much danger, why not just go to, I don’t know, the damn SDU?”

That’s a great point.

But a part of me kinda wanted to prove myself. Not like before, but in another way. To myself. Not to dad and not to this city, because I have bled and ached plenty for them, and I guess it was time I did that for myself. Was it selfish and stupid? Possibly, yeah, but when—not if—I saved Bianca, I could look her in the eyes, and myself in the mirror, and know deep down that if she was ever in trouble again, I didn’t need to flounder around looking for people who could come save me or motivate me or work themselves into my head to make sure I did the right thing.

In short, I just wanted to save the girl I had a crush on.

I wanted to trust myself enough to know that I could do it without faltering. For her.

Was that so bad?

I folded my arms and shrugged. “I’ve killed worse, and I’ll kill even worse if it means saving them.”

He slowly shook his head and laughed dryly. “You’re either insane or have a death wish.” He pushed off the couch and stuck out his hand. “I’ll bite, but on the one hand that you deal with a tiny little problem for me.”

“I just told you that I don’t have the time to do side errands, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but… Well, I’m sure you’ll make time for this.”

“And what’s that?”

He sucked air through his teeth. “Well, uh, a few weeks ago, about the start of October, we started getting these girls coming in who wanted to be dancers. Of course, I would let a girl go wandering out into the cold without at least something to feed herself with, so I said sure. Turns out they were kinda sick, and got a lot of people sick, and I told the pigs, but they didn’t give a damn. They threatened me. Told me that I opened my mouth about how sick they got, they’d string me up for so many crimes I’d be wishing I never sold my soul for eternity. I had to deal with ‘em myself. I hate to see a girl’s head get blown off, so…I took some liberties and put them underneath me.”

“You buried them alive?”

“No! God, no,” he said. “I meant in the basement. Only way to stop the sickness from spreading. It’s cold down there. Kept it sub-zero for weeks, and that’s what kept them…better. But I doubt I’ve got power right now.”

I stood up slowly. “Was the sickness anything like the Kaiju Virus?”

“Not exactly,” he said. “More like an overdose on the kind of shit that—”

I felt the building tremble underneath my feet. Plaster fell from the ceiling, drizzling onto our shoulders and getting stuck into our hair. I sneezed, my overly sensitive nose reacting to not just the dust, but a smell. Stench.

Something wickedly, awfully sweet in the air.

Ava’s uncle smiled, not letting it reach his eyes. “Looks like my not-so-little problems are awake.”

From the guttural groaning sound shaking the entire building, they sounded hungry.

And smelt like Ambrosia.