Chapter 43 · Neon Betrayal

"Get down!" Jax slammed me behind the armored van as the first round punched through the windshield.

Glass burst over my shoulder. I hit the pavement hard, dragged Jax down with me, and came up with his pistol in my hand.

"Give it back," he snapped.

"Ask nicer."

Another shot cracked across the alley. The bullet chewed through the van's side panel inches from his head.

Jax stared at the gun, then at me. His face had gone pale under the blue neon leaking from the signs above us. There was blood on his lower lip. Not much. Enough to make my fingers tighten around the weapon.

"Kaelen, I need that."

"You need a lot of things. A working door. Better friends. Maybe a less terrible escape plan."

"The pistol, smart-ass."

I rolled onto one knee and fired at the rooftop across the street. The muzzle flash lit the rain-slick metal railing. A shadow jerked back.

Jax grabbed the back of my jacket and hauled me down again.

"You just shot at a sniper with a sidearm."

"And he stopped shooting."

"That doesn't mean you won.