Sage Rose Parker, a seventeen almost eighteen year old girl getting ready for college with her two friends.
Having the world on her shoulders and her past in her mind she's down to break.
An alcoholic as a mother and an abusive father in jail didn'...
(Trigger warnings: Violence, Death, blood, gore and guilt )
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Shadows in the Steel ==================================== The night is heavy with silence, broken only by the sound of footsteps echoing through abandoned streets. A place where nothing grows, where deals are made in darkness and debts are paid in blood.
The world is cold, too cold to care for anything but the next move, the next breath, the next kill. The weight of past decisions lingers, unforgiven, but it's never the past that haunts you.
Out here, no one is innocent. The only thing left is survival— and survival means you take, you break, you burn. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wake to the sharp ring of my phone, grating against the stillness of the room. My hand blindly reaches out, grabbing it, my thumb barely making contact with the screen as I swipe to answer.
"How can I help?" My voice is hoarse, rough from sleep.
"Boss," the voice on the other end is shaky, urgent. "We've got a problem."
I sit up, my back stiffening as my mind shifts into gear. "What's the problem?"
"The shipment," Marco continues, voice tight. "Some gang got their hands on it. They're already pushing it on the streets."
I curse under my breath, feeling the heat of anger start to coil in my chest. This kind of shit doesn't happen without consequences. "You got an address?"
"Yeah, boss. Sending it now."
I hang up without another word, tossing the phone onto the desk as I rub my face with one hand. The bastard who thought they could take what's mine is about to learn how wrong they are. I slide out of bed, already moving toward the closet, my mind focused on the task ahead. I know exactly what I need—quick, efficient, lethal. A few seconds of planning, and I'm pulling on my gloves, lacing up my boots, and grabbing my gun.
As I head toward the kitchen to get a drink, I see—Elijah, leaning against the doorframe, looking like he just rolled out of bed after a night of partying. His grin is lazy, like he's got all the time in the world.
"Well, good morning, sunshine," he says, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You've been sleeping all day."
I don't even stop walking. "Shut up. I'm not in the mood."
"Does it look like I care? I'm gonna bother you anyway." He pushes off the frame, the idiot smile never leaving his face. "What's got you all broody today? Another fight over something dumb? Or are we going for a little bit of action?"
I don't answer him right away. My mind is still on the gang I'm about to hunt down. They made the mistake of crossing me, and they'll regret it.
"Small mess to clean up," I mutter, grabbing the coffee pot and filling a mug. "Some dumb gang stole shipments."
