Page 14 of Dark Reasons

Chapter Five

Selena

Iris hasn't said aword to me. She hasn't even looked my way. I spend my time anxiously tugging at my clothes, glancing at the shadow-door, then the walls with their art, then my hands with my patiently painted pink nails. They're so clean. It's easy to forget they clutched a gun hours ago, ready to blow a hole through a man.

And I didn't get to.

"Hey," Iris whispers.

I look up; she's staring at her phone, talking into her fist. "Huh?" I ask.

"Shh," she hisses. "There's a camera in here watching us. Jamison doesn't want us chatting, but he can't see my lips moving. Look down, talk into your shoulder."

A camera?Resisting the urge to scan for it I do as she says. "Okay."

"I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" I ask, amused that we're chatting without looking at each other.

"Are you dressed up as Perona?"

I blink in surprise. "Yeah. You could tell without the crown?"

Her laugh is more like a snort. "I'm a big One Piece fan."

"It's a great anime," I say.

"Yeah. I like goofy stuff. Not a fan of the gory violence that's everywhere lately."

"Same," I whisper.

The door opens, Jamison exiting in one stride of his long legs. His eyes jump to me; I sit up straighter, as if he put a warm hand on my throat. It's easy to remember what that feels like. "We need to talk about payment," he says. Iris perks up, eyeballing me with fresh curiosity.

"Payment?" I ask. Rising from the couch, I start to approach him, but he crosses the room, looming over me. I startle, bumping into the couch with my ankles, falling back down onto it.

Jamison leans close, arms folded behind his back; he's hiding something. "You want my help, it comes with a price."

I glance at Iris.

"She knows what I am," he says flatly. "She's the face of the business, the wall between myself and the other hit men."

"How many of you are there?" I ask in wonder.

"In our syndicate, or in the city?" Iris laughs into her hand.

My mouth dries out. "There are other groups like yours?"

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