Page 15 of The Reaper's Vice

“How else would youwalkhere? On a pair of stilts?” She rolls her eyes—the motion reminding me so much of her mother for a moment that I have to do a double take.

“I’m assuming you’re… Brett and Ghost’s kid?”

Another eye roll. “Nooo. Itotallybroke in and have been living here under their noses. What do you think?”

Damn, okay sass monster.“Are they… home?”

She nods, letting out a heavy sigh like my presence bores her. “Yup.”

“Can I see them?”

“Not unless you want to come across a sight that’s been burned into my nightmares for the past month.” She shudders dramatically. “They’ve been in their bedroom for the past hour… so you’ve still got a while to wait.”

I blink, not quite sure what to make of the tiny yet ferocious girl. “How old are you?”

She scrunches her nose. “Don’t you know never to ask a lady her age? I know you’ve been in the hole for the past eight years, but dang.”

The hole?“I’m… guessing your dad has told you where I’ve been then.” I rub the back of my neck as a wave of embarrassment pours over me.

“Nope,” she says, popping her p as she jumps off the piano seat and trots over to me. She jerks her chin way up in the air to get a good look at me, those swirling violet irises filled with skepticism. “I found out myself.”

“Oh.” I fight against the urge to take a step back, wondering how it’s possible for this tiny girl to make me feel like a cockroach under her microscope. I’m not sure what possesses me to explain myself to her, but something in me is screaming for her approval. For her to see me as something other than a monster. “I’m… it’s not true, you know. What they said about me.”

She narrows her eyes. “I know. Why do you think I let you inside?”

“Because… your dad told you to?”

She scoffs like my words offend her. “I’m not some brainless kid. I can think for myself. If I thought you were a threat, I would have left you out there for the tigers to feast on.”

I have to laugh at that. “Tigers? Don’t you mean wolves?”

She shakes her head, her eyes deadly serious. “No. I meantigers.I hear them hunting at night.”

Uh-huh. And I’m a flying spaghetti monster.“There are no tigers in Moriton. The closest zoo is three hundred miles away.”And now I’m arguing with a kid. Fantastic.

She looks at me like she’s thinking the same thing. “Whatever you say, man. Just don’t come crying to me when one of ’em bites your face off.”

I open my mouth to retort when a small scuffle draws my attention to the opposite side of the room. I tear my gaze from the little girl, and my heart stops as I take in a face I haven’t seen in eight long, lonely years.

Brett Evangeline looks practically the same—her hair is still long and dark as pitch, her shoulders held back and proud with those dazzling emerald eyes shining bright. Truly, the only difference is the deepened smile lines around her mouth and eyes.

She looks healthy. She lookshappy.

“Orion.” Her voice cracks slightly as tears well in her eyes. She races forward, pulling me into a sisterly embrace that has my throat closing with a powerful emotion.I missed this. I missedher.

“I thought you hated hugs.” I return the strength of her embrace twofold. She laughs hard against my shoulder, smacking me playfully before pulling back.

“You get a free pass this one time… Look how big you’ve gotten!” Her mouth pops as she sizes me up like I’m one of her kids. “I can’t believe this. You’re not my little buddy anymore.”

I shake my head with a deep chuckle. “I mean… I’ve never been ‘little’ if you know what I mean…” I waggle my brows at her, earning me another smack.

“Ew, Orion. Just ew.” Brett turns to her daughter. “I’m so sorry you had to hear that.”

“Please.” The girl rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “As if I don’t hear a thousand times worse on a daily basis.”

Brett flushes with the insinuation. “Anyway! Why don’t you head on to bed, Sloane. Orion and I have some catching up to do.”

Without a word, she gets up from her seat and walks out of the kitchen, Rupert and Venom hot at her heels. She’s about to turn down the hallway when Brett’s voice calls out, stopping her in her tracks.

---