Chapter 5

COLE

The second hit came immediately after the first, right across the side of my face. My ears rang so hard that I lost the sound of the rain, the workshop, the mechanic woman, everything. I staggered forward with my hands out, trying to catch myself, but whoever swung at me wasn’t done.

A strong fist slammed into my ribs and another one crashed into my jaw, snapping my head sideways. Torchlights burst across my vision and blurred into stars. I squinted, but all I saw were silhouettes and the dull gleam of metal tools on the wall.

I heard footsteps coming closer, then the mechanic woman screaming: “DAD! Dad, stop!”

Dad?

That snapped something in me, but whoever her father was, he didn’t give a damn. A boot landed right in my stomach, driving the wind out of me. I gasped in agony, crashed onto my back and slid across the wet concrete. Pain flared from my shoulders to my toes.

“Back the hell off!” I barked, standing to my feet. I swung blindly and connected with something. I heard a grunt. Good. At least I got a shot in.

But the next punch that hit me, I swear I saw white. I doubled over, tasting blood and dirt.

“Dad, I said STOP!” the woman shouted again. That was when the blows slowed and finally stopped.

I sank to the ground again, gasping like a dying cow and trying to figure out which body part hurt the most. Hard to pick. Everything felt like one giant bruise.

But before I could suck in a proper breath, someone grabbed me by the collar and hauled me upright. My feet barely touched the ground. The torchlights steadied and finally found my face. The harsh beam stabbed at my eyes and I winced.

My attacker was Victor "Vex" Mercer, the president of the Iron Serpents.

My stomach dropped straight to hell.

Oh, fantastic. I’d just had my tongue down the throat of a fucking Serpent princess!

Vex was a very handsome man, irrespective of the scars on his face and the white-brown of his hair. But he was glaring at me with hatred in his eyes. “You’re a Revenant!" He growled into my face. “What the hell are you doing in my territory, huh? Sneaking around? Spying for your boss by kissing my daughter?"

I spat blood off to the side. “If I was spying, old man… I’d pick a better day than during a fucking thunderstorm!”

One of the men behind him hissed. Someone else muttered, “Cocky bastard.”

Vex jerked me closer, practically nose to nose. “I ought to gut you and hang your skin outside my gate!”

“Dad, enough!” the lady snapped, stepping forward. I caught her face in the corner of my vision and she looked pissed, just not at me this time. For a moment, that was weirdly comforting.

Vex didn’t care. He shoved me against the wall, pinning me with one massive forearm.

“Why are you here?” he snarled. “Start talking before I decide to finish what I started!”

I forced air into my lungs, wincing. “I came… to fix.... my bike.”

He scoffed. “You have mechanics on your side of town.”

“Yeah, and they’re all idiots.” I wheezed, trying not to cough again. “My back brake has been a mess for two days. They kept screwing with it without giving me a solution.”

Vex just narrowed his eyes at me.

“I heard…” I gasped before continuing. “I heard your daughter was the best mechanic in New Orleans.”

Her head snapped toward me, but I couldn't tell what she was feeling. It was hard to see in the dim light.

“And what, exactly,” Vex growled, “made you think you had the right to put your filthy Revenant hands anywhere near her?”

I let out a broken laugh. “Jesus. I didn’t know she came with a warning label.”

"WHAT?" The woman's eyes widened like she couldn’t believe I just said that.

"You piece of shit!" Vex grabbed my shirt tighter, hauling me higher off the ground. My boots barely scraped the floor now. I was very tall myself, but Vex was much taller, buffer and stronger. His grip crushed into my collarbones, choking off air, and fresh pain shot down my neck.

“You’re very bold for a man dripping blood on my floor,” he warned. “Say one more thing about my daughter, Revenant, and I’ll make sure you leave here in pieces.”

“Dad, oh my God, stop!” The woman snapped, shoving his arm away from me. “He’s telling the truth. He came here because his bike had a fault, which I was trying to fix when the lights went out. And then the rain trapped him. Shocking, I know. There's no hidden agenda anywhere, none that I can tell, anyway.”

Her tone was sharp enough to catch her father's attention. I stared at this woman, wondering what kind of father–daughter duo this was. Vex Mercer, the man half the city of New Orleans feared, was getting talked to by his own daughter.

Vex turned back to me and stepped closer. Tge light from the torch hit his face right, and the scars around his jaw made him look even more menacing.

“Oh, I see. I know your face now,” he grunted. “You’re the Revenants’ vice president, aren't you?”

I let out a rough breath through my teeth. “Yeah? And I recognize you too, Victor Mercer. President of the Iron Serpents.” I paused and added, “I didn’t think I’d get the pleasure of meeting you while bleeding all over your dirt.”

Murmurs rolled through the guys behind him.

Vex didn’t like my joke because his eyes went dark, and for one terrifying second I thought he’d swing at me again.

“You walk into my territory, you’re lucky you’re still upright. If you were anyone else in that damn club, we’d be digging a hole for your body right now!”

“Cool speech,” I muttered, wiping blood from my mouth. “But like your daughter said, I’m only here to fix my bike.”

He stared at me for a long moment. Then he shoved my shirt and stepped back.

“Get out of my sight before I change my mind!”

Fair enough.

I staggered toward my bike, trying not to cry out in pain. I reached the handlebars before remembering it was still broken. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I turned back toward the woman and she was already tossing something my way. I caught it instinctively, opening my hands to see a set of keys.

“Take my bike and bring it back when you come for yours.” She said.

“Thanks,” I muttered. Then I limped over to her bike and climbed on, turning the engine on. I didn’t look back as I rolled out of their compound, but I felt their eyes on me the whole ride into the dark.