11. Mai

Chapter eleven

Mai

I jumped into the pickup, Jase driving as we sped from the compound. Evelyn sat silently in the backseat, tapping messages on her phone to the other Renegades. My heart thudded loudly in my chest as I tried to calm the anger that was bubbling up inside. How fucking dare they be trading this stuff in Three Rivers.

"What's the plan?" Jase asked, navigating a sharp turn.

"Stopping that ripple shipment has to be priority one. We can't risk more of it getting out. But this is also a golden chance to get one of Ghost's contacts. If we can grab just one dealer, we may finally get some real intel on Ghost."

"It won't be easy. If we're right, these will be serious people," Evelyn commented from behind us.

"We'll hopefully have the element of surprise on our side. Evelyn, your team is in place?"

"Yes, I have five Renegades on standby near the market," she confirmed .

"Good. We wait until the deal is done, then grab one of the dealers. We need to do this as quickly and quietly as possible. The market will be full of people; we don't want any bystanders injured."

Jase pulled the pickup into a side alley a block from the market entrance. We headed for the main street, the din of the bustling market washing over us: vendors hawking fresh breads and produce, the murmur of lively conversations, laughter and yips as children, in both human and wolf forms, chased each other round the legs of adults.

I scanned the crowded stalls and shoppers. Evelyn nudged me, then tilted her head at a vegetable stall near the fountain. A plump, silver-haired woman was working the stall, bagging potatoes for a customer with a broad smile. The image of wholesome community spirit.

"I'll be stationed over there," Evelyn pointed to an entrance to an alleyway, next to a hat stand.

There were four main exits from the market: the entrance we had come through, a wide arch leading to a busy street on the opposite side, a narrower passage snaking between the sun-bleached stalls to the south, and an open black gate at the northern end. Smaller alleyways, like the one Evelyn had chosen, branched off at irregular intervals, offering refuge from the bustling crowd.

I gestured to Jase that he should blend into the browsing shoppers. Near the fountain, a group of musicians had gathered, the jaunty melody of a fiddle intertwining with the deep thrum of a bass. The music added to the Market's lively atmosphere, but it also meant an extra challenge in monitoring the area for threats .

We all kept a casual distance from the produce stall and waited. Shoppers came and went. Most of them chatted with the vendor, bought something and moved on. Nothing suspicious.

It wasn't long, though, before the whispers started.

"Is that…?"

"Have you seen who's here?"

"Is she going to buy something, do you think?"

Damn it. This fish bowl thing was not helping.

My eyes found Evelyn. I jerked my chin toward the west exit. Evelyn set off immediately. I walked slowly, taking my time to nod to the stall owners. I'd been had and now I had to play the Alpha role. Jase followed behind, doing what he promised and watching my back.

It took about ten minutes for me to reach the west gate.

Evelyn was waiting for me and Jase.

"Any news?" I asked.

Evelyn checked her phone. "Nothing suspicious at the stall."

"Good. I'm sorry about this, turns out I'm a hinderance. Too many people recognize me and are curious about the new Alpha and what I'm doing here. Any dealers won't come near this place while I'm around."

"It'll settle down. People are nervous right now. After Jem, after Brock and Hayley. They're not sure yet of you and Ryan," Jase said.

"Jase is right. Things will settle down," Evelyn agreed.

"Can your team handle this?" I asked her.

"Of course." She nodded to our left. "The Coffee Emporium is just over there. They have seating upstairs where you can look out over most of the market. You can keep an eye on the situation from there, if you like. "

I followed Evelyn's gaze to see the three-story coffee shop on the edge of the market.

Jase grinned. "Just don't tell Sofia we went in there. It's her stiffest competition."

Jase and I bought a couple of coffees—extra cream for me, and black for the enforcer-wannabe—and took seats on the third floor next to a large window with a view over the market. I had a good view of the vegetable stall.

I spotted them after twenty minutes. Two men wound their way through the bustling crowd, their movements sharp and deliberate, cutting a clear path toward the vegetable stall. The first, a bulky figure, had the build of a seasoned brawler. His beard, unkempt and peppered with gray, jutted from his jawline, giving him a grizzled, almost bear-like appearance. His eyes, sharp and scanning, darted over the throng, hinting at a person used to danger. He wore a thick, leather jacket despite the mild weather, its surface scuffed and scarred, as though it had seen its share of scuffles.

The other was leaner, almost wiry, with a head completely shaven. His gait was peculiar—a slight limp in his left leg, as if nursing an old injury or a poorly healed fracture. He wore a faded black t-shirt that clung to his sinewy frame, and his arms were sleeved with tattoos, intricate designs that snaked from his wrists up to his hidden shoulders. One particularly noticeable tattoo, a snarling wolf, seemed to leap out from his forearm as he moved. Around his waist was a distinctive belt, studded with metal and adorned with a large, ornate buckle depicting a serpent coiled around a skull. His eyes, like his companion's, were alert, constantly flicking over the faces in the crowd.

I watched as they approached the silver-haired vendor. She gave them a subtle nod, her expression betraying nothing as they exchanged quiet words. Then, with casual nonchalance, the bearded man slipped her an envelope. In turn, she passed him a small, dark blue haversack. The ripple payload.

It was a slick, discreet exchange, over in moments. Then the two men turned and left the stall in separate directions, vanishing into the milling crowds.

From this viewpoint, I could see five Renegades emerge from their spots and spring into action. I was guessing the sixth had been ordered to watch the stallowner.

My eyes tracked Grizzly Adams; he was the one with the ripple. He headed to a bottleneck, where people were pushed together between two popular stalls that each had customers three deep waiting their turn. Evelyn wasn't far behind him. Grizzly passed through the crowds, then walked past a teenage girl in a green hoodie. If I'd blinked, I would have missed it. The teenager had an identical dark blue haversack, and they did a switch as they passed each other. Evelyn was too far behind; she had at least five people between her and Grizzly.

"Did you see that?" Jase asked, rising out of his chair for a better look.

"Yeah." I kept my eye trained on Evelyn, waiting to see if she followed the teenager or Grizzly. The teenager veered left, keeping two people next to her as she walked past Evelyn. Grizzly kept going. I held my breath as Evelyn followed Grizzly .

Fuck!

I took off, taking the stairs two at a time, Jase right behind me.

We burst out in the street.

"There!" Jase pointed to a stall selling ‘authentic Three Rivers Forest' candles. The girl in the green hoodie was sniffing one of the candles. She pulled a face, put the candle back and set off toward the north end of the market.

"Text Evelyn. Tell her the mark made a switch. She needs to keep following and see where he goes. Me and you will try to get the ripple. Stay close, Jase. We don't know how many more of them are here."

I didn't want to be walking us into a trap, but if I did, the closer Jase was, the more likely I could protect him.

As if reading my thoughts, Jase looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "I'm supposed to be watching your back, Mai, not the other way round."

Mmm, I was going to have to learn to be more subtle about this.

We trailed the girl in the green hoodie for the next twenty minutes. She didn't seem to be in a rush to leave the market; tasting the free food samples, trying on scarfs and hats, and smelling candles, perfumes and soaps. She didn't buy anything though and kept moving north.

As she got near the northern gate, Jase asked, "What do we do when she leaves the market?"

Otter's Road ran perpendicular to the market's northern gate. It was a quiet road; perfect for a pickup if she had someone in a car waiting for her. We couldn't let the girl get in a car. We had to take her before that happened .

"Get ahead of her. Wait just outside the gate. Take her when she comes out. I'll keep following in case she heads in a different direction."

Jase nodded, his eyes hardening with determination. He quickened his pace, weaving through the crowd with the agility of a wolf on the hunt. I watched as he slipped through the northern gate and took up a position just outside, partially concealed by a stack of empty crates.

I kept my eyes locked on the girl in the green hoodie, matching her leisurely pace as she made her way towards the exit. She paused at a stall selling handcrafted jewelry, admiring a pair of silver earrings, but after a moment, she moved on, heading straight for the gate where Jase waited.

As she stepped through the threshold, Jase lunged forward, grabbing her arm in an iron grip. The girl yelped in surprise, instantly trying to wrench herself free. I surged forward, closing the distance in a heartbeat.

The girl was quick, twisting like an eel in Jase's grasp. She lashed out with her free hand, aiming a wild punch at his face. Jase ducked, but the movement loosened his hold, and she managed to slip free.

I was on her in an instant, tackling her to the ground. We hit the cobblestones hard; the impact knocking the air from my lungs. The girl thrashed beneath me, her elbow catching me in the ribs. I grunted, tightening my hold.

Jase was there a second later, pinning her legs as I fought to restrain her arms. She was strong, fueled by desperation and adrenaline.

As we struggled, her hoodie fell back, revealing a shock of bright blue hair. I don't know if it was her hair, or her scent that finally penetrated Jase's brain, but he recognized her .

"Amara?" Jase's voice was strangled with disbelief.

The girl, Amara, went still beneath us, her eyes wide with fear and shock.

"Jase?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Jase demanded, his voice shaking.

"You know her?" I asked, not loosening my hold on Amara's arms.

Jase swallowed hard, his jaw clenching. "She's my ex-girlfriend."