"She hates us," Curnen whispered, turning her face into the curve of Akeem's neck. "She hates us and after almost sixty years she just waltzes back in and breaks one of our leaders. Rockhouse has had it coming for ages, but... it wasn't supposed to be this way."

Really, it wasn't supposed to be any way. Even after what she'd done, no one had been able to actually envision a world where Rockhouse... she couldn't even finish the thought. It was that impossible. They'd just seemed to have gone on with him effectively neutered, except enjoying that he couldn't hurt them the way he'd always done.