Chapter 6 · The Broker's Black Ledger

"Sign it or I walk, Cole."

Eve slammed the black ledger down between us and the table jumped. Dust shot up. The deck sitting next to it twitched like it felt it.

"You said no more contracts," I said. "You said we were done bleeding for tonight."

"I said we were done bleeding for Silas." She flipped the ledger open. Pages thick as skin. Names crawling. Ink that moved when you weren't looking. "This isn't his. It's mine."

The back room was too small for this. One bulb, one door, and she was standing way too close. Knee to my knee. Her coat still damp from the street. She smelled like rain and cheap coffee and that weird copper smell the cards give off.

"Your ledger?" I said. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"It should terrify you." She put her palm flat on the page. "Council ledgers own brokers. My ledger owns you. One signature, one drop of blood, and Silas can't touch you without going through me. You want that or you want to wait for his dogs to kick the door in?"

Someone pounded on the hallway door outside. Once.