be taken to their facility that afternoon. After signing a few waivers—saying should any harm come to me on their premises, they weren’t responsible—I had a few hours to kill. Jenna told me where to find Ryder.
His back alley house was sandwiched between lock-up units. The first time I’d visited him, Nica, Stefan’s sister, had been with me. Ryder had tried to threaten me. I’d burned his hand. Thus had begun a somewhat awkward working relationship and what I’d considered a lasting friendship. Ryder had taught me about all things enforcer. I’d excelled at the Institute’s ridiculous tests and would have graduated with my own enforcer tattoo had Adam not been a lying bastard. He’d just wanted me close enough to observe. I was his Subject Beta, the second in a total of four half bloods bought or raised by the Boston Institute. Adam had tried to barter with demons for me when I was an infant, but the deal had gone south, and I’d wound up staying in the netherworld, where I’d been raised by demons until Akil saved me. Subject Alpha was Stefan. Gamma and Delta, I hadn’t met, but hopefully that would change once I got inside their facility.
Ryder answered the door, chewing on a toothpick, took one look at me, plucked the toothpick free, and said, “Fuck off. You’re the last person I wanna see.”
I rammed my foot in the door just as he tensed to slam it. “Hey, your girlfriend sent me, okay. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
That stalled him. “Huh?”
“Jenna.”
“Shit, me and her, we ain’t… She’s the fuck-bunny for a demon. Why would I get involved with her?”
Even for Ryder, his words were harsh. I raised an eyebrow. “You going to let me in?”
“You need an invite now? Are you that far gone?”
“You’re an asshole. Stop pushing me away.”
“Fuck you.” He turned and marched down the dingy hallway. I followed. His house was a peculiar combination of narrow halls and rooms packed to the walls with books and magazines on rifles, shotguns, autos and semi autos… Anything weapon related, Ryder knew it. But his filing skills left a lot to be desired. He lived like he dressed: as if he didn’t give a damn. The truth was, he cared about the important things and nothing else.
“She’s worried about you,” I called, losing ground as he flung open a door and descended into the basement.
I hammered down the stairs after him and emerged in an underground shooting range. Naked fluorescent bulbs buzzed on and flooded the range in light. He’d taught me how to shoot here. It looked as though I was about to get a lesson in anger management by semi-auto.
The gun he scooped up was Stefan’s old Desert Eagle, a huge, shiny piece of American badassery complete with .50cal rounds. I’d used that very gun to shoot at hellhounds eyeing me up for snack time. I’d missed for the most part. Stefan had emptied the clip into Akil’s back. And Ryder had threatened Stefan several times with it. Stefan’s Desert Eagle was the only weapon that sprinkled shivers down my spine. On the grip, the entwined scorpion insignia of the Institute declared its purpose: demon-killing weapon. And if Ryder chambered etched-rounds, it could kill a prince, or at least a prince’s vessel. Ryder didn’t know it. He knew etched rounds were effective, but had no idea he’d almost killed Akil. It was only after my intervention that Akil had bounced back.
I hugged my arms crossed as I watched Ryder check the magazine, ram it home, and then check the chamber. Ryder was a lot like that gun, a steely, no-nonsense demon-killer. He’d screwed up once: he should have killed Stefan. He’d vowed never to make that mistake again, and not long after, he’d killed Dawn, put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Every night, I replayed the scene in my dreams. Ryder standing tall over a tiny nine-year-old girl. Arm outstretched, aim true. Not even a quiver. And she’d thanked him. Goddamnit. Dawn had been braver than all of us in the end.
I flicked my gaze down the range. Unshed tears blurred my vision. “You did the right thing,” I said quietly. I gave Dawn hope, but it was a false hope, which I had no right to dish out. I thought I could save her, the way Akil had saved me once, but it was a lie. I only had to look at Stefan, look at what I was