Chapter 15 · Shadows of the Slums

"Drop the bag, Jax. Now."

I didn't even have time to blink before the cold steel of a barrel pressed right into the soft skin under my jaw. It was Kael. My guy. The one who’d shared half-rotten synth-bread with me when the Enforcers were raiding the lower wards. Now he was grinning, but his eyes were dead.

"Kael? What the hell is this?" I tried to shift, but the barrel dug deeper.

"The price went up," Kael whispered, his voice shaking just enough to let me know he was terrified of whoever was paying him. "The Core-Sellers don't like it when a rust-rat starts playing Magus. They want the gear back, Jax. And they want the girl."

I felt Elise stiffen beside me. We were barely three feet apart—the curse-lock keeping us in a tight, suffocating orbit. I could smell the sharp scent of her ozone-magic, like a storm about to break. Her hand was hovering near her belt, but Kael’s second man had a jagged shock-prod aimed right at her ribs.

"Don't even think about it, Vane," the second guy sneered. "One twitch and we fry your lungs from the inside out."

Elise didn't look at the guy.