Page 28 of Endgame

“She’s just another number to me.” I meant it. Soon enough, my father would move on to the next woman and Six would be a distant memory to me. “It’s temporary.”

“Sure, Rourke,” Daryl replied with a wink. “Whatever you say, man.”

Mercedes

TWO WEEKS INTO my new job at Madame Jory’s and I was grinning all the way to the bank – well, to the spot under my mattress.

I’d made almost ninety dollars in tips during Thursday and Friday’s shifts alone and another fifty bucks earlier in the week.

Feeling like a splurge, I stopped off at the convenience store on the way home from work and bought my weight in candy bars.

Was it bad for me?

Without a doubt.

Was it worth it?

Every damn piece.

When Amelia walked into the living room late Saturday night and found me sprawled out on the huge sectional couch, I was one candy bar away from a sugar coma.

“Hey, Mercy,” she said sweetly. “Mind if I join you?”

“Oh hey, Amelia. Sure.” I waved her over, though she’d have to sit on the other couch. There was no way I could move. Goddamn, why had I done this to myself? “Want one?” I offered, holding up my paper bag towards her.

There wasn’t much of a selection left to choose from, but still, it would have been rude not to offer. She shook her head, politely declining, before curling up on the couch opposite me. “So, how’s the job going?”

“Good, though I’ve just eaten my entire salary.”

Amelia giggled. “I like having you here.”

She did? I cocked a brow. “Why?”

Sitting cross-legged, she rested her elbows on her legs and smiled. “You’re so…different to who we were expecting.”

Oh? “And who were you expecting?”And who’s we?

“Well...” Nervously, she tugged on one of her long golden curls. “You’re funny, for one. And you don’t take Rourke’s crap. That’s surprising. The others, they… I don’t know, they didn’t take him on like you do. It’s weirdly refreshing. You know, you’re the sixth step sibling we’ve had?”

“Yeah.” I scrunched my nose up. “Rourke filled me in on that little giblet of information.” Grabbing another candy bar, I ripped off the wrapper and took a bite. I was so full. “He christened meSix, remember?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, red-faced. “It’s nothing personal. Truly.” She re-tucked the hair she had just tucked behind her ears again – an obvious nervous trait. “He does that to all of them.”

I cocked a brow. “All of them?”

“All of our father’s wives’ children.” She blushed bright red again. “There’s been a Five, a Four, and a Three before you. The two previous to that were twins belonging to wife number two; Ellery and Edward.” Amelia sighed heavily. “Rourke just referred to them as Thing one and Thing two.”

“Aw,” I muttered sarcastically. “And here I was thinking I was all special.”

The door of the living room flew open then and I heard Rourke call out, “Hey, Mills, you hungry?” in a weirdlysoftvoice. “I’ve made your favorite. Mac and Cheese.”

The moment Rourke’s eyes landed on my face, the shutters closed down and that tiny fleck of gentleness he’d revealed while speaking to his sister was gone.

“Yeah, I’m starving,” Amelia chirped as she looked at me and smiled, “You hungry, Mercy?”

I opened my mouth to tell her no, I had almost killed myself with candy bars, but Rourke got there first. “There’s only enough for two.”

“Rourke,” Amelia scolded, red-faced. “Be nice.”

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