Chapter 16 · The Last Name

"Drop the ledger, or I put a blade through your spine!"

The courier glanced back.

That was all Rafe needed.

The man stumbled into the collapsing tunnel, one hand locked around a black iron case. Dust exploded from the ceiling. Stone cracked overhead, and a slab smashed down where his head had been a second earlier.

Rafe hit the ground, rolled beneath the falling rock, and caught the courier by the ankle.

The man screamed. "Let go!"

"Give me the ledger."

"Go to hell!"

Rafe pulled.

The courier scraped over broken stone, fingers still clamped around the case. Rafe hooked one hand into the back of his coat and dragged him clear of the tunnel mouth. Another section of ceiling collapsed behind them with a roar.

I ran toward them, one hand pressed to the burning mark beneath my ribs.

"Rafe!"

He looked over his shoulder. Dust streaked his face. Blood ran from his temple into one eye, but his grip never loosened.

"Stay back, Helen."

"You don't get to order me around while you're bleeding out."

"I'm not bleeding out."

"Your shirt says otherwise."

The courier kicked at him.