Chapter 26 · Human Armor

The red dot sat on his chest like a bead of blood.

Lucian didn't look down. He kept his eyes on me, rain running off his jaw, one hand still locked around my wrist.

"Bianca," he said, very quietly. "Don't move."

"Let go of me."

"Not a chance in hell."

We were standing in the open on the North Loading Pier, between two stacked containers that smelled like marine diesel and wet rust. The wind off the sound hit like a slap. Somewhere behind me a crane chain clanged against steel. The rain came down sideways.

I had run for forty minutes to get here. I had gotten past two of his guards and one locked gate. All I wanted was the dock foreman who sold Silvio the shipping schedule.

The foreman was lying behind the container now. His eyes were open. He had a neat hole above his eyebrow.

Silvio cleaned his mess fast. I should have known that.

"That's not for you," I said. My voice came out thin. "The dot. It's on you."

"I know where it is."

"Then why are you still standing there?"

"Because the second you step left, he'll swing.