Chapter 19 · Pretty Bait

Marcus finds me three hours after I drag Cain back to the outer perimeter. I'm still washing blood off my hands in the communal sink when he walks in like he owns the place.

"Ivy Gray." He says my name the way someone announces they just won an auction. "We need to talk."

I don't look up. The water runs pink down the drain. Cain's blood, most of it. Some of mine. The forest had been full of things with teeth and I'd used every dirty trick I knew to get us both out.

"Not interested," I say.

He comes closer anyway. Of course he does. Marcus Vane doesn't hear the word no very often. Rich Core Zone family, the kind that donates whole buildings to Ironridge. The kind that thinks everything has a price and they can afford it.

"You don't even know what I'm offering."

I shut off the water. Turn to face him. He's dressed like he's going to a club, not standing in a bathroom that smells like rust and cheap soap. Designer jacket. Hair styled with something that probably costs more than my entire zone assignment.

"Let me guess," I say. "Protection. Resources.