Page 50 of Rattle the Cage

“All the scum that the law lets through the cracks,” Blade smirked.

I nodded. “And these vigilantes… they don’t just do this themselves?”

“They handle some of the mess.” Nash replied, “But disposal is a slow, messy business. The Oracle’s quite buttoned up: they don’t want the scrutiny if they don’t think they can get away with it.”

Blade chuckled. “But we’re not afraid to get our hands bloody. They leave the worst of the worst for us.”

Nash shot me an apologetic look for Blade’s deranged behavior, but I just shook my head.

Wouldn’t be Blade without a bit of maniacal laughter.

Nash continued. “They drop off a truck full of cash and a bunch of assholes ready to expire. And we make sure that no one leaves the park alive.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the admission. I knew that they killed people, of course. I’d heard the screams, seen the blood splattering their clothes when they returned from a hunt.

But no one had ever spoken to me about it this candidly before. And something about the way that Nash’s stormy gray eyes were scanning my face made the whole thing feel more real.

Up ahead, I could see Feverpoint’s tall gates in the distance. In a matter of seconds, we would be back at the park, and I still hadn’t wrapped my head around what we were walking into.

My heart pounded as I tried to make sense of Nash’s explanation. “So the money… you work for them⁠—?”

But I couldn’t even finish the sentence before Cyrus’ harsh laughter cut me off. “No.”

I tilted my head as the car stopped inside the gates. Blade threw open the passenger door and hopped out with a flourish, holding a hand out to help me down. “We just like to have fun with their monsters.”

26

BLADE

Grabbing the metal handle on the garage door, I used my body weight to drag the gate down. A loud rattling bounced off the cobblestone paths of Feverpoint as I locked our cars away.

Nash had gone into the apartment and grabbed our masks and weapons.

When she reappeared, Trixie the mallet slung over her shoulder, Nash nodded toward the apartment entrance while meeting Tess’s gaze. “Go on, Sweet Lamb. Lock the doors behind you.”

Standing still, Tess shook her head. “No, I want to see.”

Nash was in the middle of handing me the Twins. Her head tilted in surprise at Tess's attitude.

It shouldn’t have shocked her, our Trinket was feisty. When she wanted something, she got it. But god, did I love the fucking challenge.

Cyrus laughed. “Very funny, Ragdoll. No.”

“Yeah, Tess, that’s a bad idea.” Nash agreed.

But I felt my heart racing in my chest. The thought of her watching what we did in the dark set my entire body on fire.

She’d look so pretty covered in blood.

I suppressed the growl that threatened to rip through my chest.

Standing straighter, Tess licked her teeth. “I don’t care. You owe me, honestly.” Her eyes bore a hole into Cyrus.

My breathing escalated as I watched Tess’s blue eyes grow icy. She looked so fucking hot when she dug her heels in. Nash and Cyrus should have known that saying no would only make her more certain of what she wanted.

Before either of them could deny her again, Tess lifted her chin. “I have a right to know what you do when no one is looking.”

She was right. We had taken her in, hunted her and taken advantage of her in every way she’d allow. The least we could do was show her what happened when we got a delivery.