“Kohl chose me for this job because he thinks I can handle it.” She didn’t care how jealous Tannis was, but she strove to keep things civil between them since they lived and worked together, and because Tannis was pretty—she didn’t want to make her too mad. To ease the tension, she said, “I’m looking forward to taking down a spoiled rich kid.”

Tannis’s laughter rang out in the quiet night, colder than the wind on the nape of Aina’s neck.

“You’re going down, street child.” She never used Aina’s name, and it made her bristle now. She was the Kohl’s best Blade. The words repeated themselves in her mind over and over, as if she were trying to convince herself. “Kohl wants to eliminate his competition. All that nonsense about letting you go off on your own is a lie. Our house has never seen a haul as big as this Kouta Hirai one, so why wouldn’t he want it for himself?”

It was a fair question, but Aina didn’t reply. If anything Tannis said was true, she couldn’t show fear. If anything Tannis said was false, she couldn’t show concern.

“He gave you this job because he thinks it’s suicide,” Tannis whispered, leaning forward so blue hair cascaded down the side of her face. “The city was a madhouse when Kohl opened the Dom. Law didn’t exist, Kohl could kill anyone and face no repercussions. He only wanted people who were as fearless as he was, and he got them. What do you think happened to the ones I worked with, all those men and women slashing throats and robbing mansions while you were still begging for kors on a sidewalk?”

“I bet they tripped up on a job and got shot,” Aina spat out, letting her anger get the best of her. Ignoring the fact that Tannis was only a few years older than her, she added, “I hear it’s harder to move around when you get old. Is that the problem? Worried you’re losing your touch, so you’re trying to make me paranoid? If I’m gone, you’ll start getting the good jobs.”

“Hasn’t Kohl taught you to be wary of Blades older than you? It means we’re dangerous enough to have survived.” Tannis’s shoulders shook with laughter. “You sure believe all the compliments Kohl throws at you, don’t you? The fact you have breasts and pretty hair might be keeping you alive for now, but not much longer. Keep bragging about starting your own tradehouse and competing with Kohl. One day you’ll mess up, and if he still treats you like his favorite pet killer, that’ll make him look weak, and weakness is the one thing he can’t stand. If you lose Kohl’s protection, you’ll become his enemy, and anyone who doesn’t like you will have free rein to kill you. I’ll have free rein to kill you. And no one else here will speak up for you and risk angering Kohl. If they question or betray him, they’ll be dead right after you.”