Page 50 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family
“You think that shit is funny?”
“Very.”
Emir sat forward, setting his beer down on the coffee table.
“You really think you’re that good?”
I lifted a brow. “The score says so.”
“Aight, fuck it. One more round,” he said looking amused. He really sucked so he already knew how this was going down.
“You sure you can handle that?”
“I’m done playing fair. I’m about to kick your ass, Bay.”
I grabbed my controller. “You weren’t playing fair before, just bad.”
He chuckled, sitting back, stretching his long legs. “Nah, I was being nice but you keep talking shit and I might have to teach you a lesson.”
Heat pooled in my stomach at the way he said it. I cleared my throat. “Then bring it, Corvidae.”
Emir’s grin widened and turned cocky as he hit restart. We played two more rounds and the results were the same…
I won…again.
Emir dropped his controller onto the table and brushed a hand over his head.
“Aight, I’m done with this shit,” he muttered. “You win.”
“Glad you’re finally accepting that I’m great and you’re not.”
He smiled sexily. “I let you win.”
“That’s cute. Lying to yourself like that.”
He chuckled, reaching for the remote. The screen went dark for a second before shifting to live TV.
“…Still no leads in the murder of Jacob Vance, the investment banker found dead on a penthouse suite balcony last week…”
The smile dropped from my face and the vibe in the room changed.
The screen flashed with images. A luxury hotel, the crime scene roped off with yellow tape, a balcony high above the citywhere the body had been found. A head shot of Jacob Vance followed. Salt and pepper hair, cold eyes, and an expensive suit.
The news anchor’s voice was robotic and detached. “Authorities are investigating. There are no known witnesses, and no clear evidence, but this was definitely murder for hire. Security footage from the hotel has revealed no leads.”
I turned my head and Emir was watching me. He hadn’t moved or reacted and his expression was blank.
I frowned. “That was you.”
Not a question because I already knew what his response would be.
He kept his eyes on mine. “Yeah.”
The confirmation hit different. I had known it was him, everything in my gut told me, but hearing him say it was something else entirely. I glanced back at the screen and my mind caught up, filling in gaps I hadn’t even realized were there. The week I didn’t see him aligned with when they said Vance was killed. While I was going about my normal life, Emir had been out there in the world making a calculated move that ended a man’s life. Now he was here in my space, on my couch. Playing games with me, doingnormal people shit.
“It’s still weird to me that’s you…” I pointed to the TV. “And this is you.” I motioned to where he was sitting.
“I get that but it’s not changing so if it’s a problem…”
