29
Two months later
Mercy
“We caughtsome guys poking around the former Glory supply house,” Sam reported, standing on the other side of what was now my desk in my father’s old study. “They said some shit about how they were going to pick up the trade if we and the Nobles didn’t want it.”
I leaned back in the leather chair and rolled my eyes. “There’s nothing in there to trade.” After Ezra’s death—which as far as anyone outside his inner circle knew had been an accident, no matter how they might speculate with the body going unseen—one of Wylder’s first decisions had been to dispose of every bit of Glory in the Nobles’ possession. Kaige had gleefully joined in the destruction. “I hope you told them Glory is off-limits in the county and that we’re going to crack down on anyone who tries to bring it in.”
Sam nodded with a sly grin. “I put it to them very clearly.” He waggled his fingers toward his gun. “They were hardly more than kids. I think they were bluffing anyway.”
“Like so many others,” I said with a bemused grimace. Since the Storm had pulled out of the county and the Nobles and Claws re-established ourselves as rulers of Paradise Bend, random small-time crooks kept coming out of the woodwork, trying to figure out if there were any scraps they could snatch for their own. I didn’t mind them picking up a little business here and there where we’d left gaps, but Glory was a total no-go.
Quinn had just come in, waiting by the door for his chance to speak. Now he piped up. “There are rumors going around to the Steel Knights revival now. A few guys were spotted at the skateboard park wearing their old bandanas.” He snorted.
I waved off that news. “Let them be. They weren’t villains—they just ended up under the control of one. If anyone gets it into his head to come at us, we’ll crush them then.”
I wasn’t concerned about this new development. I didn’t need to be. The smaller street gangs were already lining up to swear fealty to me, and the Claws were getting new recruits every day. In just the past month, we’d doubled in size.
And most of them specifically wanted to work for me. People knew who the new Queen of the Bend was. They knew who had killed Colt and taken out Xavier. They were afraid, and they believed that I could show them how to conquer the things they feared.
For the first time in my life, I could be the woman my whole life had been preparing me for, whether Dad had wanted to accept the role I could play or not.
“Anything else?” I asked.
As the two men shook their heads, Beckett peeked into the room. “Just finished up my patrol.”
I smiled at him, getting to my feet. The kid had been settling in here pretty well, although Anthea kept talking about how maybe she should bring him out to New York City and put him to work there. We hadn’t quite figured out what the best position for him would be, and so far I’d just had him running what amounted to errands.
He hadn’t shown any sign of minding, though. I got the impression he kind of liked getting to be a regular gang member out on the street, kicking butt and taking names, after all his years keeping up appearances by his father’s side.
“All’s well?” I asked.
Beckett shrugged, a glint of amusement dancing in his eyes. “I ran into some punk who was claiming that Wylder Noble is the only real power in the Bend and you just follow his orders. So I kicked his ass and informed him that those were my orders from you.”
The other two guys cracked up, Sam clapping Beckett on the shoulder. “Good work, kid.”
I tipped my head. “If anyone does more than just shoot their mouth off, let me know and maybe I’ll make a personal visit to set a few things straight.”
Beckett laughed. “I don’t think it’ll come to that.”
The guys headed out. I checked the time and followed them. It was getting late, but I had one more thing to take care of before I turned to my other business of the night. I had a task ahead of me that’d been a long time coming.
Stopping in my bedroom, I picked up one of the urns I’d finally been able to collect from the coroner’s office. I’d already scattered the other ashes in my relatives’ favorite spots, saying a private good-bye. This final one, I carried downstairs.
Jenner met me in the hall. “Everything’s ready.”
“Good.” As we tramped down to the basement, I glanced over at him. “How’s Sarah doing?” After the chaos had died down, he’d brought her with him to his old house, since her mom had never turned back up. I wasn’t sure he’d have handed Sarah over to her mother anyway after the way the woman had abandoned her.
“Oh, she’s great,” he said with a chuckle. “Loving this year’s teacher. I swear she’s excited to go to school—definitely doesn’t get that from me.”
As we came into the basement, his expression turned more serious. A couple of other Claws men were already there next to a huge tub of mixed cement. Jenner walked over and gave it a careful stir.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked me. “You’re tying him to this house forever.”
“That’s fine,” I said, shifting the urn in my arms. “The house is at least as much his as it is mine. But this is definitely the most fitting part of it to bury him in.”
At my gesture, the other men heaved open the concrete slab that covered the pit where I’d spent so many tormented hours. I didn’t shy away from the sight of the stains of blood and other bodily fluids that marked its base. A flicker of the old panic rose up in my chest, but I breathed through it.