The thick door let off a low vibrating sound, followed by a deep clang. I yanked on the handle at the sound of the buzzer and pulled, throwing the last of my strength into it. It slid open like silk, my grunt the only sign that it weighed ten times more than it looked. I glanced at the elevator and decided to give it a miss. The stairs would probably kill me, but I'd heard too many conspiracy theories on how the government kept tabs on where you were by locating your fingerprints at access points like these. And with the tattooed man's vendetta against me? The stairs felt like my safest option.I pushed open the fire door with my back and started up the cement stairs, one sluggish foot after the other until I reached the second floor. My body was on fire, and everything hurt. My legs, my chest, my head, my heart.I leant against the second story access door and scrubbed my budding tears with the back of my hand. Screw the conspiracies, I was too wasted for this. If that ma

"You'll be staying with me until your inquiry is over.""No I will not!" That would throw more than a spanner in my effort to find Nick, and I needed every spare second I could get my hands on."This is not a discussion, it's an order.""You can't make me.""Yes I can," he said, his voice dropping as he stepped towards me.My eyes narrowed. He was serious, and even more infuriating was the fact that he could take me down. Easily, by the looks of it."Let's go then," I said, frustrated with not having a choice. If it wasn't the Scorchers forcing me into something, it was residents of Quanu. First my uncle, and now him. Was there no such thing as freedom anymore? "What about your things?" "I have this," I said, pointing to the scrap of satin material I was wearing, "and the clothes I arrived in." The clothes soaked in memories of Burney's death."We'll fix that tomorrow," he said, leading me into the foyer."Why, don't you like me in

"My sister and I had been shadow hunting for eight months when we met them. There were three of them. They offered their resources in return for ours. We didn't know they were Scorchers, we just knew we couldn't turn their food and light connections down. I was injured two months ago, saving us from two taken and they thought I was dying. They took us to one of their nests, fixed me up and sent me on my way.""And your sister?""She stayed behind."He sat back, studying me. "Do you know where the nest is?""No. I was unconscious when I arrived and blindfolded when we left."He nodded. "Why were you shadow hunting?""We were searching for our brother. The scorchers were searching for one of their own." "You know I'm obligated to report this.""I know," I said, spinning my ring. And now for the next part. If I'd trusted him enough to say this much... What did I have left to loose? My odds were already near impossible."But my gut is

"I thought you were just getting me some basics.""So did I.""So what's all this?" "The basics, according to the girl behind the counter. She was around the same size as you so I told her to get what she thought while I sat on a chair and contemplated not killing myself.""You don't mean it," I said, smiling at his lingering distress. "Yes, I do. And you better hope it all fits because I'm not going back.”I picked the bags up and took them over to the bed, aware of him following me. "Curious huh?" "You'd be too if you knew how much I spent."“My Uncle with pay you back.”I emptied the first bag, relieved to see two pairs of jeans fall out. One was faded blue, the other dark denim, both hipsters and both the right size. The next bag had three sets of underwear, a white set with inbuilt push-ups and matching boy legs, the same set in black, and a dark red set made of sheer lace with a matching g-string. "Y

"In case you hadn't noticed," I said, closing the gap between us, "I'm not your typical girl. And this whole jealousy crap you're pulling isn’t going to fly with me. Grey is not interested in me, he's helping me out, that's it."She lifted her chin, her eyes narrowing. "Say what you like, but you're playing with fire."I shook my head and left the bathroom. Talk about jealous banshee, and over what? Grey? Yeah he was hot and it’s not like the thought hadn't crossed my mind a time or two now that Aaron was out of the picture, but Grey wasn't into me. He'd kept his eyes to himself, which said a lot about a man’s interest level. He was choosing to keep things professional. Kind of."You alright?" he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. I nodded, forcing myself to stab a chip with my fork and take a bite. "So Fayle," June said, looking up from her half eaten plate, "Why did you run away to your... What did you call him? Rude sod of a