by Jasmine Walt
“We don’t let riffraff come in here to bother the boss,” Carrot Top said, folding his massive arms across his chest. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll tell you if you can have it.”
I curled my lip at him, refusing to be dissuaded. “I didn’t come here to talk to you, Carrot Top. Let me pass.” Stay calm, I told myself. Don’t let him rile you.
Another enforcer stepped up to block my path—this one a brunette with a heavily made-up face, high ponytail, and a sword swinging at her leather-clad hip. “Move along, girly. This place isn’t for rookies like you. The Main Crew only takes the best.”
I raked my gaze over her. “And you’re supposed to be part of the best? Don’t make me laugh. I could beat you in combat without breaking a sweat.” She was just a human, after all—no match for my shifter strength and speed.
I tried to shoulder my way past her, but Carrot Top shoved me back. “You’re not getting past us until you tell me what you want,” he said. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed my curling fists, then added, “Think twice before you decide to use those. You might be a shifter, but you’re outnumbered here.”
Dammit! I didn’t have to look around to know that every eye in the room was trained on me now. And there were a lot of eyes— from over a dozen people. My magic began to bubble in that secret place in the center of my body, and the amulet hanging from my waist grew warm in response. Fuck. The last thing I needed to do was lose control in a place like this, where every last person would jump at the chance to apprehend me.
By Magorah, Sunaya, a voice whispered in my ear. You’re like a lamb walking into a den of wolves. What were you thinking?
That I need a fucking job, and I want to stand for justice, I snapped back at it.
“Look,” I said to Carrot Top, trying for a placating smile even though my fangs were aching to rip his throat out. “I’m not trying to cause trouble. We’re on the same side, right? And you don’t seem to have a lot of shifters on your crew.” This time, I did glance around—there were only three shifters in the entire room. “You guys could use someone like me. I’m more than ready to prove it.”
The brunette laughed incredulously. “Oh, you came to beg the foreman to let you into our crew? Talk about naïve.” Her red lips curved into a cruel smile as she stuck out her boot. “Why don’t you get down and polish these with your tongue? Maybe if you do that for a month, I’ll consider putting in a good word for you.” Her scathing tone cut across my already-taut nerves. “Or not. We don’t need any more shifters. Why don’t I show you the way out?” Her hand drifted toward the knife in her belt.
Before she could pull the weapon out, I punched her in the nose. Bone and cartilage crunched beneath my fist, and she shrieked as blood spurted from her perfect nose. Savage pleasure filled me as she stumbled back, clutching at her face with one hand. I danced out of the way as she hurled a dagger at my shoulder.
“You bitch!” Carrot Top lunged for me, but I was too fast. His momentum sent him careening past me, and I kicked him in the knee to send him down. More enforcers surged out from behind their desks, and I drew my crescent knives, getting ready for a fight. I wasn’t going to let these assholes treat me like I was vermin. Not when I was stronger than almost all of them.
“What is the meaning of this!” The door flung open, and Foreman Crowley came storming out. He was an imposing man, an inch shorter than Carrot Top, with close-cropped blond hair and pale brown eyes that burned with outrage. “This is an office space, not a fighting ring!”
“She started it,” the brunette howled, jabbing a bloodied finger at me. She had a handkerchief clutched against her nose. “This rookie punched me in the face for no reason!”
“That’s not true!” I started to argue, but then swallowed my words as Crowley stalked toward me.
“I don’t know why you decided to come in here and disrupt my crew,” he said in a soft, deadly voice. “And I don’t care. No one harms a member of my crew without paying a price.” He grabbed me by my upper arm and began dragging me back toward the elevator.
“Where are you taking me?” My bloodlust had faded completely now, fear pounding through my veins instead. By Magorah, was I about to lose my enforcer shield on my very first day over a stupid fight?
“To Captain Galling, so he can decide your punishment.”
I spent the rest of the morning cleaning the bathrooms on all four floors of the Enforcer’s Guild. Captain Galling told me I was lucky that Roanas had such a good relationship with the Guild, or my punishment might have ended up far worse. My cheeks burned with shame as I scrubbed the crusty toilets, and I prayed to Magorah, the shifter god, that Captain Galling hadn’t told Roanas about my behavior this morning. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand going home, knowing that deep look of disappointment would be etched into the lines of his dark face.
By Magorah, but why did I have to lose my temper like that? Yeah, so that brunette had been a total bitch, and she’d deserved that punch in the face. But Roanas had warned me countless times that some of the enforcers were bullies, and that I should ignore any taunts and provocations. By giving in to my emotions, I’d tossed any chance I had of joining the Main Crew straight out the window. Maybe I could still somehow squeeze myself onto one of the other crews, but it wouldn’t be any of the ones assigned to the big robbery case. No, those snobby bastards would stay clear of me now that I’d shown them I wouldn’t be reduced to a mere lackey.
She wouldn’t have let you into the Main Crew even if you had licked her boots for a month, I assured myself. A stuck-up bitch like that would have just gloried in her subjugation of me, then kicked me to the curb when she had no use for me anymore.
After I finished scrubbing the toilets, I went back up to the fifth floor and waited in the little reception area outside Captain Galling’s office for the next two hours. Lunchtime passed, but I didn’t budge despite my growling stomach. He’d told me that he was going to give me a case when I was through with my punishment, and to stay here until he called for me. I wasn’t about to piss him off by going to get lunch, even when a delivery boy came in with a box that smelled very much like orange chicken and pork-fried rice. My mouth watered as I watched the receptionist carry it into Captain Galling’s office, and it was all I could do to stay rooted to the couch. Several enforcers came and went, and each time one was admitted into the Captain’s office, I grew a little angrier. Was he deliberately torturing me?
“Enforcer Baine,” the receptionist said, pulling me from my internal grumblings. “The Captain will see you now.”
Finally, I thought but didn’t say as I rose. I thanked the receptionist, then walked past her desk to the door and opened it. Captain Galling’s office was surprisingly utilitarian, with none of the fancy trappings I’d expected from a man of his rank. A large desk and a file cabinet took up half of the space, shelves lined the left wall, and there was a cot in the corner, which I assumed he slept on when he had to work overnight. The only personal touches were a few framed photographs on his desk of his wife and children, and a couple of award certificates on the back wall from the various neighborhood councils in Solantha.
The man himself sat in his chair, his hands folded atop his desk as he regarded me. He was a handsome, stern-faced man in his late forties, with a touch of salt and pepper at his temples, and crow’s feet that branched out from the corners of his blue-black eyes. Unlike the rest of the enforcers, he wore a suit, and the slight softness of his body told me that he hadn’t donned enforcer leathers in quite some time. I was startled to see an auburn-haired woman, who was maybe twenty-three, rise from one of the visitor’s chairs. As she unfolded her lithe body, clad in leather and weapons, I realized she was one of the enforcers who’d passed by me earlier.
“Enforcer Baine, this is Annia Melcott,” Captain Galling said. “Enforcer Melcott, meet Sunaya Baine. She’s our newest recruit.”
“A pleasure,” Annia said, holding out a slender hand. Her dark brown eyes twinkled as she measure
d me. “I’ve heard interesting things about you.”
“I’m sure you have.” Refusing to take the bait, I grasped her hand, taking a second to study her. Her palms were calloused, her nails trimmed, but they were painted a deep burgundy with gold designs on the ring fingers. Her leathers were high quality, certainly not bought in a secondhand shop, and her boots looked brand new. The scabbard of the sword leaning against the chair she’d vacated was made of lacquered wood, and the cross-guard of the sword was carved into an intricate pattern. Not a throwaway weapon—it was expensive, and the knives she wore looked to be of similar quality. Her auburn hair was sleek and shiny, her face was flawless, and the confident way she carried herself told me she was used to getting what she wanted.
I hated her on the spot.
“So,” Annia said in a voice like silk as we sat down. “Why have you called Enforcer Baine in here? I thought we were discussing a new case for me?”
“The case is for both of you,” Captain Galling said, and I stiffened. I was going to have to work with this uptown girl? I had no doubt she came from money—she was probably in this line of work for the thrills, not because she actually needed the cash. “It’s up to you two how you’re going to split the bounty, which isn’t anything to write home about, mind you.” He raised his eyebrows at me, as if that last statement was specifically for me.
“I can handle it on my own,” I insisted as bitterness welled up inside me. A small bounty meant a small case, and being forced to split it with another enforcer was just an added insult. “I don’t need a partner.”
“Neither do I,” Annia said, her cupid’s bow mouth turning down. “You know I work solo, Captain. Why are you having me team up with a rookie?”
“This particular case would be best solved by both a shifter nose and a human,” Galling said brusquely. “Since it is impossible to combine those qualities in a single person, I am putting both of you on this case.” His eyes narrowed as he looked between the two of us. “If you can’t work together, there are other human and shifter enforcers I can give this to.” His forbidding tone left no doubt in my mind that if I refused to cooperate, this would be the last case he gave me.
“No!” Annia and I both exclaimed at the same time.
We exchanged looks of annoyance, and then Annia said to the captain, “Of course we’ll take the case, sir.”
“Excellent.” He tossed a manila folder at me, which I reflexively caught. “Now get out of my office, and don’t come back until you’ve solved this.”
“Let’s go to my desk,” Annia muttered as we left the Captain’s office. “We can study the file together.”
I said nothing, simply clutched the folder a little tighter as Annia and I took the stairs to the fourth floor, one level down. Of all the people Captain Galling had to stick me with, why her? It was bad enough I’d have to share this bounty with someone—having to give half of it to a snooty rich girl who didn’t even need the money was like rubbing salt in an open wound.
The fourth floor of the Enforcer’s Guild was where the smaller crews and solo enforcers worked, with workstations spread out across the open-floor space. Annia’s was toward the back—a simple desk with a typewriter, various office knickknacks, and a framed picture of a freckle-faced redhead who couldn’t be more than ten. I frowned curiously as I noticed the oil smudge on the girl’s cheek, and the aviator’s cap and overalls she wore.
“Who’s that?” I asked as we sat down. I didn’t feel guilty about prying—sticking my nose into other people’s business was an acceptable trait for an enforcer.
“Hmm?” Annia glanced toward the photograph, and her dark brown eyes warmed. “That’s my kid sister Noria. She’s always tinkering with stuff in our late father’s garage. I think she’s going to be an inventor someday, if Mother doesn’t kill her first.” She laughed softly.
“Oh. That’s nice.” I shifted in my chair, a little uncomfortable now. I didn’t want to think of Annia as a human being—someone with a family, with a heart. So instead, I opened the file and pulled out the case sheet. “You want me to read this out loud?”
“No!” Annia glanced around, then scowled at me. “We don’t want another enforcer overhearing the details. They might decide to snag the bounty for themselves. We’ll read this silently, then discuss.”
“Right,” I muttered, my cheeks warming as we leaned over the paper. Annia shouldn’t have had to remind me of that. No wonder the Main Crew had tossed me out on my ass—I was acting just like the rookie they’d accused me of being.
The details of the case were sparse and straightforward. A middle-class Maintown couple, Marlin and Coralia Thotting, had reported their daughter missing. Ten-year-old Cerlina Thotting was an only child who’d gone to school the day before yesterday, but never returned home. Our task was to find the missing child.
“We’ll be splitting this fifty-fifty, I’m guessing?” I asked when Annia finally leaned back from the folder.
“Of course,” Annia said. “The credit is more important to me than the money, but as long as you pull your weight, I don’t see why you can’t get equal credit.”
“Likewise,” I said, even though that wasn’t strictly true. I wanted to move out of Roanas’s house and get my own steambike, not necessarily in that order. And if I wanted to do that any time soon, I needed to prove myself on this case so Captain Galling would trust me with my own bounties in the future. If that meant working with a human socialite playing enforcer, then that was what I’d do, even if it was a damned bitter pill to swallow.
3
“Well?” Annia raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you coming?”
I folded my arms across my chest as I stared at the steambike Annia was sitting astride. It was a beautiful, sleek machine, all chrome and steel, with roses and thorns etched into the gleaming black finish. And it had no doubt cost a fucking fortune.
“We can’t all afford steambikes,” I muttered, trying to sound like I wasn’t absolutely burning up with envy inside. “My bike’s over in the corner.”
Annia glanced over at the rickety bicycle I’d indicated with a jerk of my chin, then rolled her eyes. “You’re not riding that. You’ll never be able to keep up, and I don’t want to wait around for you. Get on.” She scooted forward, then patted the seat behind her. “There’s a half-helmet and goggles in the right saddlebag.”
I wanted to protest, but I didn’t have a leg to stand on. Annia was right—I would take way too long on my bicycle, and if we were running this case as partners, we needed to stick together. So, I grabbed the helmet, then slung a leg over the bike and perched on the seat as far away from Annia as I could manage.
“What—are you afraid I’ve got fleas?” Annia reached back, and I let out a startled yelp as she grabbed my waist and yanked me against her. “Snuggle up, kitty cat. I don’t need you turning into roadkill during your first day on the job.” Her silken voice held a distinctly amused note, and my ears burned. Was she teasing me? Before I could ask, she slid her visor down, then started up the engine. I cringed as it emitted a high-pitched whistle, and gripped Annia’s waist a little harder than I should have.
“Hey.” She flicked her visor up again. “I said snuggle, not suffocate. I have to drive this thing.”
“Sorry.” I loosened my grip, and she kicked off, shooting down the street.
As we sped through traffic, I tried to forget that I had my arms around a stranger, so I could enjoy the ride. But since I was only wearing a half-helmet, the icy wind ripped at my skin, and I was forced to tuck my face against Annia’s shoulder. She smelled like floral soap and spice, mixed with leather and that tang of old blood.
Like the enforcer who’d come to visit this morning, I thought. Annia must have seen combat, and had drawn blood during it. Of course, I’d known she couldn’t be just good looks and money—the sword at her side was a real weapon, and the calluses on her palms told me she practiced with it regularly. But it was beginning to sink in that she might actually be
able to do a bit more than charm her bounties into submission with those long eyelashes and that silken voice.
Stop thinking about Annia, I told myself sternly. You’re on the job now. I turned my attention back to the case sheet, which I’d memorized before we left. We were on our way to interview the parents in their Maintown residence, to get what details we could. Were they good parents? I wondered, or had they been harsh, as Aunt Mafiela had been to me? I couldn’t imagine behaving so cruelly toward my own child, and even my aunt had treated her own children well enough. But parental abuse did happen.
Still, I shouldn’t assume anything. I had to approach this case with an open mind. Right now, there were two main possibilities—either the child had run away from home, or she’d been kidnapped. If she was a runaway, we might be able to find her loitering in one of the hidey-holes in the city that homeless children used. They were usually abandoned buildings or hidden alleyways tucked behind industrial complexes. I was intimately acquainted with most of them, as I’d moved between several of those places during the months I’d been a homeless child. I tried not to think about those dark days after Mafiela had kicked me out, before Roanas had found me and taken me in. As a shifter, I’d been able to use my abilities to avoid the pimps who preyed on runaways, but other children hadn’t been so lucky. Hopefully, little Cerlina hadn’t already ended up in the greedy clutches of men like that.
Annia pulled up in front of a townhouse located at the foot of one of Solantha’s many hills. She parked the bike, and we stood outside for a moment, studying the space. It was a two-story home, constructed of dark brown stone, with a small yard in front. The bushes were trimmed, and though the planters beneath the windows were barren, I had a feeling they were full of colorful blossoms in the summer. The curtains in the windows were drawn shut against the afternoon sun, and there was not a spot of grime on the sparkling glass—or on anything else that I could see.
