BooksBarbecue
Back Rapture
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. 1.
  5. 2.
  6. 3.
  7. 4.
  8. 5.
  9. 6.
  10. 7.
  11. 8.
  12. 9.
  13. 10.
  14. 11.
  15. 12.
  16. 13.
  17. 14.
  18. 15.
  19. 16.
  20. 17.
  21. 18.
  22. 19.
  23. 20.
  24. 21.
  25. 22.
  26. 23.
  27. 24.
  28. 25.
  29. 26.
  30. 27.
  31. 28.
  32. 29.
  33. 30.
  34. 31.
  35. 32.
  36. 33.
  37. 34.
  38. 35.
  39. 36.
  40. 37.
  41. 38.
  42. 39.
  43. 40.
  44. 41.
  45. 42.
  46. 43.
  47. 44.
  48. 45.
  49. 46.
  50. 47.
  51. 48.
  52. 49.
  53. 50.
  54. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  55. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“Don’t do this alone, Nyx. I’ve seen plenty of assassinations backfire. You kill the leader of a revolution instead of bringing them home alive because you think it all just dies with them. That might work when you kill somebody who doesn’t have many followers yet, but you take a man like Raine who easily has the sympathy of two hundred thousand men, and you know what you get? A man made into a martyr. It’ll spur those men out there to start some violent regime and new, repressive government that puts bel dames and all other women back under some archaic law they carve out of the Kitab. No, we’ll have no martyrs here. Not while I’m serving on any council. He needs to come back alive. Dying is the absolute worst thing that could happen to Raine al Alharazad. You understand?”

“That’s why I let his mother live, Fatima. And look how well that turned out. Sometimes I wish I had come in here and blown up the whole bloody lot of you.”

“A proper bel dame only kills when she knows the kill will make a difference,” Fatima said. “That is where you always had trouble. You never believed in anything.”

“No. And I never pretended otherwise.”

“Let me help you with this. I can’t have you do this on your own.”

“I won’t be on my own,” Nyx said. “I have old colleagues, and you said yourself there are plenty of boys out of work.”

“And wouldn’t that be lovely?” Fatima said, biting. “Hauling along some men’s sympathizer with you?”

“Better than letting them all think it’s a bel dame job. You ever consider that giving this to a bel dame would send a message to those boys that we don’t intend to bring Raine in alive?”

Fatima frowned. “It’s more dangerous to send someone who’s not one of us.”

“I disagree,” Nyx said. “I’ve worked with a lot of boys, and they fucking hate bel dames. They hate what we do and they hate what we stand for. You want a chance at this, you let me run it my way.”

“No.”

“You’re the one who called me back,” Nyx said. “Tell me what you know.”

Fatima gritted her teeth. She proffered the paper again. “Sign it.”

“No.”

“Don’t make me play this card, Nyx.”

“I’m not going to be owned again.”

Fatima sighed. She pulled a gun from beneath her desk.

Nyx raised a brow, interested.