I elbow him. “Do you know a Daniel?”
He eyes me and nods.
“Tem suggested I contact him.”
“You should,” he says. “He might not come back for anyone except her or Kora.”
“Have you talked to Jace?”
He bites his lip and checks that Antonio and Vittoria are out of earshot. “We made a run for it. Before you texted.”
My eyebrows lift. “And?”
“The road out is blockaded.”
Shit. “How the fuck did that happen?”
Saint leans his hip on the counter while I rummage for alcohol. Not sure that’s what Antonio meant, but it sure as fuck seems appropriate.
“Jace, Wolfe, and Apollo used to monitor it. They had a toll booth—not much, really. It slowed people down enoughfor them to catch their plates, which they’d keep track of. It was a fascinating subset to their business. I think the Cyclopes somehow got into it.”
I run my hand down my face. “Okay. So it’s a good thing we got out by boat.”
Saint shakes his head. “I think you were lucky the marina wasn’t under lockdown… but Kade had something to do with it, I’d bet.”
“What?”
“He said you and Artemis weren’t part of the deal. Right before his freaking boss showed up and killed Alderman Baron.”
I frown. The name isn’t familiar, although the termaldermanis. It’s essentially the title for those on the city council. They each have different wards.
“Then he made sure the sheriff was completely on their side by drugging his sister in front of us,” Saint adds. “So I’m pretty sure we can count on the police to turn us in on sight.”
“Turnyouin.” I’m not part of the deal, Kade said?
This cannot go back to saving his life. It was a fluke. Something I didn’t want to be held over my head. He was convinced he owed me this blood debt.
And now…
“What’s this guy’s name?”
“Justice Marcus Graves,” Antonio says from the doorway. “Otherwise known as Ouranos, as he’s chosen for himself.”
I stiffen. “From Emerald Cove?”
“You recognize the name?” Saint steps toward me. “How?”
“I—” I grimace. “He’s a justice. Which means he’s not on some lower circuit. He rules on federal cases from Emerald Cove. While he didn’t directly oversee trials where Cyclopes were defendants, they almost always got a lighter sentence than some of the other organized crime groups in town. Sometimes theywere moved up to his circuit, and they were usually sent to a private prison out of town.”
“And you know this because…”
“I ran with the Cyclopes. Not on Kade’s level. I was doing jobs that felt harmless at the time, and it kept my lights on. They kept trying to dig me in deeper, and I finally heard a rumor that they intended to move on Sterling Falls. I left before I could meet the boss, although everyone on my level was excited to finally see the infamous Ouranos.”
Not the whole truth, but they don’t need it right now.
I’m ashamed of how I handled myself in Emerald Cove. I was running from my past, and that’s the only excuse I have. But it’s true—I didn’t know Kade was involved, and I certainly didn’t know Ouranos was Marcus Graves.
“We need to get ahold of Apollo,” Saint says suddenly. “And Daniel.”
