Chapter 19 · The Key on the Black Market

"You buying or you stalling?" The man across the table had three rings on each hand and a scar that split his eyebrow clean in half.

Theo kept his hands loose on the edge of the table. The key sat between them, dull black metal catching none of the lamplight. "Depends. You got the cash or you window shopping?"

The man smiled. Didn't reach his eyes. "I got interest. That's worth more than cash right now."

"Not to me." Theo slid the key two inches closer to himself. "Cash moves. Interest just sits there looking pretty."

The warehouse around them smelled like rust and old freight. Theo had picked the location because it had four exits and no windows facing the street. He'd also picked it because Adrian told him not to do this at all, which meant Adrian didn't have a backup plan in place, which meant Theo was on his own if this went bad.

The man's smile stayed put. "You know what that thing does?"

"Yeah."

"You know what it's worth?"

"That's why I'm here."

"Then you know selling it to me means the city inspector's gonna come looking for you with her teeth out.