Chapter 34 · Neon Alley Bloodbath

"Don't turn left!" Jax shouted in my ear. "The alley is a dead end."

I turned left anyway.

A bullet punched through the neon sign above me. Glass rained down, hot pink shards flashing past my face. I hit the wall, pushed off, and kept running while three black-armored hunters poured into the alley behind me.

"You have got to stop giving me directions," I snapped.

"You have got to stop making choices based on spite!"

"It keeps me alive."

"For now."

Another shot cracked against the brick beside my head.

I ducked under a hanging cable and slid across a puddle of chemical runoff. My boots lost traction. A gloved hand grabbed the back of my jacket and jerked me hard enough to choke me.

The hunter behind me hauled me upright.

"Asset K-9," he said through his mask. "Drop your weapon."

I didn't remember picking up a weapon. My right hand did.

A narrow blade flashed between my fingers.

The hunter's grip tightened. "I said—"

I drove my elbow into his throat.

He staggered. I twisted under his arm, caught his wrist, and slammed him face-first into the wall. His helmet cracked against the brick. Once.