Page 40 of Dark Surrender

Now they know what I drive.

Cursing the entire way to the driver’s seat, I throw the door open, plop down behind the wheel, turn on my phone, and make a call.

“I’m sorry,” Cell cries the moment the line connects.

“What did you do?”

“I told Kali.”

“His dad showed up here with a guy even bigger than him.”

“Angel. That’s Angel.”

I don’t give a damn if it was the pope. She sold us out.

“We can’t stay here, Cell. It isn’t safe.”

“They won’t hurt you.”

“You don’t know that. You can’t guarantee our safety.”

“Shit.”

“You know I’m right.”

“Yeah. I do.”

“I can take care of myself, but what about Dee? She can’t live in the city. Not full-time. She can’t stay here. She’ll end up in prison, or worse, dead.”

“Let me make a call. I think I might have a solution. Keep your phone on.”

“Fine.”

The line goes dead, and for what feels like years, I wait with the door open of my shitty car, frying in the sweltering heat, as I wait for Cell.

A million light-years later, as I’m drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, her call vibrates in my lap.

“Yes?” I answer with a growl.

“I’m sending you an address.”

“To where?”

“A sister of mine lives in an old, rundown town that they’re converting into a safe haven for women. Dee will be welcome there. She’ll be safe.”

“How? She needs to kill. It doesn’t matter if it’s a nice, kumbaya place if she can’t…”

“That won’t be a problem.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. They’ll be expecting you.”

The moment Cell disconnects the call, an address in Illinois to a town called Kings Cursed stares up at me from the screen.

Great. It’s road trip time. But first, convincing my sister that this rando place we’ve never heard of is what’s best for her is not gonna go over well. That, and I don’t even know if I believe it’s what’s best for her, given this is new to me, too. Then again, apart from today, Cell hasn’t steered us wrong. What’s the worst that could happen? We check out this town and decide it’s not for us. No harm, no foul.

Or that’s what I’m going with because in no world do I wanna think that our old friend would have us driving to our death.