sky at any time, I didn’t need a single distraction.
Bouncing breasts, however small, counted as a distraction. They also ached when they bounced, and I tended to ache enough between working and salvaging for every spare dollar I could get my hands on.
I needed to catch a break—or catch a certain bounty hunter and work out my nerves in a rather untraditional fashion.
On second thought, I needed to remind my animalistic side that fox mating season was over, Sandro, the tempting hot ass bounty hunter, was not an eligible partner, and I really didn’t need the hassles a man would bring into my life.
My animalistic side ignored me.
To give her some credit, she hadn’t fixated on anyone in a long time. Worse, I couldn’t fault her taste.
Any other day, any other situation, and I would’ve been issuing inappropriate invitations.
After I had a chit chat with my Asylum contact and had a better idea of how much trouble I was truly in, I’d go salvage goods, make some extra money, and buy a bottle of something cheap to take the edge off. I blamed adrenaline; a close brush with a swarm fried out the common sense circuits.
If I didn’t get my head back into the game and stop thinking about Sandro—and his hot ass—I’d be in a lot of trouble, and not the fun kind. Slapping my cheeks hard enough to sting, I nodded, swore I wouldn’t think about Sandro again until a more appropriate time, and marched across the residential district to the Asylum’s equivalent of the slums, a series of studio apartments for those who were worthy of being in Asylum but hadn’t earned its lord’s favor.
Noah Michaels’s place came in at rock bottom, tucked away in the basement of an apartment complex disguised as a townhouse. Had he been higher up in Asylum’s hierarchy, the exterior door of the complex would’ve locked, preventing people like me from waltzing in at my whim. The doorway opened to a cramped landing, and I headed down the brick steps to the four apartments below. He had the unit closest to the front, which gave him the dubious honor of having a slit of a window a few inches over street level.
While I could have jarred the lock open with a twist of my wrist, I knocked. Noah would understand if I barged in; I usually did, as the last thing I needed was someone cluing in I didn’t belong in Asylum.
The door creaked and opened a crack. Noah grunted, as much of an invitation I’d get, and I slipped inside.
Given five minutes, save for his bed, Noah could clear out of his apartment and leave no sign someone lived there. I’d grown accustomed to keeping little and being ready to move at a moment’s notice, but I wondered. He lived in Asylum.
Why did he refuse to settle?
“It’s not like you to come here when you’re scheduled to work.”
I twitched at his open acknowledgment he, too, was keeping track of me. “I bet you can guess the reason for that.”
“There’s no need to get bitchy, Jade. Lock the door. Let’s at least make people bump it out of the frame to come in and give us a little warning.”
“A metal worker and five minutes could fix that, you know.”
“But then our most esteemed lord would know there are members of his flock who do not trust him—or his other faithful.” Noah snorted, gesturing to his table with its sole chair. “Sit. You look worse for wear. While it’s not much better than the gym, you’re welcome to use my shower. You need it.”
I grimaced at my clothing, which attracted dirt on a good day. Thanks to the swarm and dive into the cellar, I wore mud as a second skin, something I’d grown accustomed to. “I’ll hit a gym later. I’m going to find someone to take my shift.” It wouldn’t be hard. Everyone needed extra shifts, even me. However, I could salvage. Most wouldn’t. I wouldn’t like the next few weeks of my life, but difficult times beat captivity. “I need to know about the bounty out for my head.”
“It’s not your head. It’s your entire body, living and untouched. You’re to be taken to New York, where you will be put up for auction as an uncontested courtesan.” Noah watched me, and when I stayed put, he smiled and turned to the seat he’d offered to me.
He limped the few steps from the door to his table. He’d gotten lucky;