“Thank God,” Wes muttered from the bed, laptop perched on his knees. I ignored him, which was getting harder to do in the tiny room. After meeting Riley and Wes in front of the rail yard, we’d fled downtown Vegas and the Strip, putting as much distance between us and the massive glittering casinos as we could. This tiny hotel on the outskirts of town had more roaches than slot machines, and the four of us were currently packed into one room like sardines in a can, but Riley wasn’t planning to stay long. According to Wes, there was a used-car lot two blocks down that would sell you anything, no credit history, no questions asked, and Riley planned to be there as soon as it opened in a few hours. I had no idea where we were going, but I knew Riley was in a hurry to leave Vegas. And after tonight, I was more than happy to say goodbye, too. Goodbye to the City of Sin. Goodbye to Talon and the Order…and Dante.

A lump caught in my throat, and I swallowed it with a growl. I refused to mourn my traitor brother, no matter how sick it made me feel. Dante was part of Talon now. Part of the organization that wanted me dead. He’d sent a Viper after me and a Basilisk after Riley, with orders to kill us both. I didn’t know him anymore. Riley had been right all along.

“There.” Wes tapped a final key and looked up. “I’ve sent instructions to all our nests, telling them to relocate immediately and not contact anyone until they’ve heard from you. They’re on emergency evacuation until further notice.”

“Good.” Riley stood up, wiping his hands. “Hopefully that will buy us, and them, some time until we can figure this out. See if we can’t find who the hell is leaking information to the organization and shut them up for good. If Talon wants to kill us, I’m not going to make it easy for them.”

I was only half listening, still brooding over Talon and Dante and the whole screwed-up situation, so a gentle touch on my shoulder surprised me. I glanced up into Riley’s intense golden eyes.

“Firebrand? You okay? Are you in any pain?”

“No,” I whispered, as the now-familiar heat surged up again, pushing me toward him. Gingerly, I stood, testing my range of motion. My various cuts and burns throbbed, but they were slowly going numb with salve and painkillers. The real hurt wasn’t physical, and no amount of aspirin would make it go away. “Just…thinking about Talon,” I told Riley, who hadn’t taken his eyes from me, “and St. George and what a bastard my brother is. You can go ahead and say I told you so—”

Riley stepped close and very carefully pulled me into his arms, making me freeze in shock.