We Beat The Streets Novels & Stories

Adonis grabbed my arm, his voice rising. "I just did what I love. What's wrong with that?" "You did nothing wrong. They did." I patted his back, trying to calm him down. "As long as you're not hurting anyone, do whatever makes you happy. Wear pretty clothes. Put on makeup. Dance. Perform. That's your choice. "Don't let their cruelty live rent-free in your head, and don't let their violence become yours. "And if we ever run into those assholes again, I'll help you beat them up."

Then rust and rot and streets that smelled like three different kinds of wrong all at once. Brakes screamed at the yard. Dropped off the ladder, hit the wet ground rolling, and walked out into the Neon Wards. Everything hit at once. Pink and blue lights buzzing overhead. Fried food and drains and something chemical underneath both. Bass from somewhere below the street coming up through boot soles. People everywhere... huddled under broken awnings, leaning against stripped cars, watching the way people watched anything new that walked into their street. Chin down. Right hand on the bar in the jacket.

I’d even made them pull the car over so I could throw up earlier. The streets were lined with people. They were cheering and clapping for us. Droves and droves of wolves… there had to be people from the other packs here. Even though Lorenzo’s pack was huge and I’d never even seen everyone much less met them… this was on another level. The cars pulled up to the pack house in the middle of the town and we all crawled out… each of us sore and hurt and beaten down… but alive.. and home… and.. we had won.

Marco, Vinny, and Carlo flanked me as we drove to Club Velluto, the neon lights flashing, the bass vibrating through the streets. I stepped out, my eyes scanning the crowd—drunk tourists, locals, and men who didn’t belong, their postures too stiff, their eyes too sharp. I caught them at the corners, three groups, their hands hovering near their jackets. My gut twisted, suspicion flaring, but I kept my face blank, my steps deliberate, my enforcers close.