He slammed his hand down on the table hard enough to make the laptop jump. “No. I’m done with Dad thinking I’m his marionette, dancing when he pulls my strings. It’s time I stood up for what I believe in like the man who’s one day going to be ruling the Nobles should.”
He sounded like a leader then, so much that a glow of pride lit up inside me. Maybe I’d taken an unconventional route when it came to my current relationships, but I had found myself some awfully impressive men, hadn’t I?
Now I just had to figure out how to retrieve one of those men before I lost him completely.
Anthea gazed steadily back at Wylder for a moment and then inclined her head. “I see your point. I don’t entirely agree with it, but I accept it. So, what now?”
Wylder turned to Rowan. “You’ve handled a lot of the negotiations with the outlying gangs we associate with. Can you think of anyone who could handle the phones?”
Rowan rubbed his mouth. “With the current state of things in the Bend, I’m not sure how easy it’d be to get anyone to come out of the woodwork, especially when they can’t be someone whose ties are mainly to Ezra. Let me think.”
Watching Wylder step up as a leader sent my thoughts in a different direction, toward the men I was theoretically meant to inherit. One of whom had died for our cause yesterday afternoon.
I swallowed thickly. We hadn’t told Kervos about Roy’s fate yet. Before we’d set off for the Storm’s headquarters, he’d managed to get in touch with Jenner, and we’d dropped him off with him and several other Claws members who’d survived the purge. In his injured state, he wouldn’t have been able to pitch in with the attack anyway.
An idea tickled up through the twinge of guilt. “Maybe there’s someone good with tech stuff still with the Claws,” I said. “That’s easier than tracking down someone who’s got no stake in this war at all. We can go ask them now, before we lose any more time.”
Wylder gave me a tense but grateful smile. “Lead the way, Queen Katz.”
* * *
Jenner and the rest of the remaining Claws had holed up in an abandoned house in one of the more derelict neighborhoods in the Bend. Even with newspapers plastered over the windows, they were sticking to the large but unfinished basement to avoid any chance of being spotted from outside.
As we tramped down the steps to meet with them, the hushed conversations fell totally silent. A steady dripping echoed from a pipe at the other end of the dim space.
My shoes scraped against the cracked concrete floor as I came to a stop. Jenner and a couple of the others got up to greet us. The dozen or so other guys stayed on the blankets and sleeping bags they’d probably recently been sleeping on. Kervos stirred, just waking up where he’d been dozing in a corner. He sat up quickly and winced, clutching his side.
“Where’s Roy?” he asked before we could say anything.
My pained expression must have given away the answer. Before I even spoke, he swore.
“The Storm’s people shot him,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. “They’ve captured our man who went in with him and are threatening to kill him too. That’s one of the reasons we came to talk with you. But first—it’s just about breakfast time. We figured you could use some food.”
Rowan and Anthea held out the bags of groceries we’d stopped to buy on the way over. I wasn’t going to show up and demand favors from my father’s former people while offering nothing in return. Seeing the state they’d been reduced to living in, I couldn’t help feeling I should have brought more. At the same time, my hope dwindled.
How much help were we going to get out of people who’d fallen so far?
As if to prove me right, one of the other guys muttered a curse and shook his head. “Why are we even staying here? These pricks are going to slaughter us all.”
“No,” I said. “We’re not going to let that happen.”
Someone else snorted. “What are you going to do about it?”
Wylder stepped forward, his eyes flashing, but I put out my arm to hold him back, even though I’d bristled too. Maybe there was something more I could offer them. Maybe I needed to show them we didn’t have to be this beaten.
“I can understand why you’d ask that,” I said, drawing myself up straighter and pitching my voice so my words filled the whole room. “You haven’t seen much of me before today. My father didn’t let me get very involved in the Claws’ business. But I can tell you that I was always watching and listening, paying attention to everything I could. I wanted to take control over my destiny. I’m here today as your leader and the true heir of the Claws. I’m here as Mercy Katz.”
“Mercy,” Jenner said, as if he was going to stop me. He moved to put a hand on my shoulder, but I shook him off.
“My father let you down. I can’t put all the blame on him, but he reached out to the Red Shark, he didn’t tell Colt what he was doing, and that set this whole catastrophe in motion. He let me down too by never trusting me enough to give me a chance to be a real part of the Claws. But I’m going to change all that now.”
“What can you do that he couldn’t?” one of the guys muttered.
“Well, for starters I didn’t get myself killed,” I retorted. “I’m here, standing with you, ready to listen to you. But right now, I want you to listen to me—really listen. The Bend is our home. I don’t want to see some assholes barge in and ruin everything. I’m stepping up as the head of the Claws, and I intend to put everything back the way it should be, without bringing in outsiders who’ll terrorize everyone.
“Xavier and his men thought they could break you, but yet here you stand, a testimony to the strength of the Claws. We can rebuild our home, take back the streets, and kick out the pricks who tried to destroy them. We can avenge all our friends and loved ones who already died in the fighting, every drop of blood that was shed. I’ll do it on my own if I have to, but I’d rather have all of you on my side. I think you deserve the chance to show what you’re made of too.”
There was a momentary silence. My stomach twisted. Then Kervos spoke up in a hesitant but not hostile voice, glancing at Anthea and the guys around me. “Would that mean joining the Nobles?”