Page 8 of Devil's Iris
I flip it over and my pulse goes haywire. A number is scribbled in confident, masculine handwriting.Hisnumber. A giddy rush floods my system, making me feel dizzy. Is he interested in me?
When I look up, he’s studying me with those calculating eyes, and I feel completely exposed. “I–I’m–” My gaze darts to Ethan standing a few feet away, watching this entire exchange with barely concealed curiosity. So I swallow the words burning on my tongue—the ones about not sleeping with him—and settle for something safer. “Thank you.”
His smirk deepens. “Try to stay out of trouble,bellezza.” Then he turns and walks away towards an expensive-looking car parked nearby.
“A Maybach.” Ethan’s fervent whisper gets to my ear as I study the dark, glossy paint. The driver’s door opens as Romero approaches, and some guy in a suit steps out to open the back door for him.
Romero slides in without glancing back once, and my heart sinks—like I expected something. A glance. A word. Anything.I’m not even sure what—as the door closes with a soft, expensive click that somehow sounds final. I shake my head, trying to dislodge the ridiculous pang of melancholy. Ethan’s low whistling as the car pulls away thankfully yanks me back to reality.
The brutal, unforgiving reality of how completely and utterly fucked I am.
“That guy is officially my new hero. Did you hear how commanding he sounded when he was laying down the law to those detectives?” Ethan grins, rubbing his hands together with boyish excitement. “Is he trying to date you?”
I glare at him, though my cheeks burn with the memory of those green eyes. “We’re not talking about me or the man who was kind enough to help us out. What the hell were you thinking, Ethan? What were you doing at the hole? You know exactly what goes on in that place.” I’ve drilled this into his thick skull a thousand times.
He tips his chin up, mouth tightening into a scowl that makes him look like the stubborn teenager he still is. “It’s none of your business. I never interrogate you about where you go, do I?”
This little shit…
I gape at him, flabbergasted by the sheer audacity, but before I can come up with a suitably cutting reply that involves several creative uses of the word ‘ungrateful’, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I fish it out, wincing at the time display. I’m over three hours past the deadline Fred gave me.Three hours. My hands shake as I unlock the screen, and thoughts of Ethan’s attitude evaporate when I see the text.
Fred
Don’t bother showing up again, Leni. You no longer have a job here.
My blood goes so cold, a shiver runs through me as I readthe words over and over until they blur in front of me. I knew this would happen. Iknewit. But having it actually happen still feels like someone kicked me in the chest. Ethan peeks at my phone, and I don’t even have the energy to swat him away.
No job? How am I—no, how arewegoing to survive now?
When I look up, Ethan has the decency to wince when our eyes meet. His mouth parts, voice a little rough. “That’s because of me, isn’t it? Because you came to the hole and got arrested.”
I don’t answer him. Can’t answer him. Instead, I lock my phone and start pacing in front of the police station, my mind racing through impossible scenarios. What the hell am I going to do now? It took me months,monthsto get that job with Fred.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
My chest tightens, lungs burning as tears threaten to spill. But I blink rapidly, sniffing like a maniac as I pace back and forth. I’m not going to cry, damn it. Despite tonight’s disaster, I’m not some damsel in distress.
“What if I went to the diner with you and explained what happened to your boss? He’ll understand, won’t he?”
I stop pacing, turning to stare at Ethan in genuine surprise. “You… you would do that?”
“Of course. You’re my sister.” He walks towards me and pats my back awkwardly. “You’re also our primary breadwinner. Losing your job would suck. Our water already got cut off yesterday; we need your paycheck before our electricity is next.”
The warm feeling blooming in my chest dies instantly. “Of course.” It’s not about me—it’s about the money I bring to the table. Always about the money. I sigh as I scan the lot for my scooter. I had to drop the rest of the cash on me at the register after I got released to pay for it getting towed to the station.
I feel the loss of that money acutely. We’re going to need every penny now more than ever. But at least I don’t have to go back to that godforsaken place.
“You’re forbidden from ever going back there, you hear me?”
Ethan shuffles his feet, defiance creeping back into his voice. “You can’t tell me what to do, you–”
“I can and I am telling you right now—you are never to set foot in the hole again. If you do…” I swallow, lifting my chin. “…then it means I’m no longer your sister.”
His jaw drops, but I’ve spotted my scooter, so I start walking away from him in long, aggressive strides. He jogs after me. “Are you threatening to disown me?”
“Very smart of you, Ethan. Yes, that’s precisely what I’m doing.” I toss a withering glare over my shoulder, lengthening my strides even more, but the asshole is almost as tall as I am now and has no trouble keeping up. “Do you have any idea what your actions did tonight? You didn’t just put yourself in danger—you putmein danger, and by extension, that means you put Mom in danger too.”
She no longer works and depends entirely on my income, pathetic as it is. If I had been hurt while I was at the hole, or if I was somehow unable to secure mine and Ethan’s release and had to spend time in jail, she’d become homeless and destitute. “You put the entire family at risk because you couldn’t be bothered to think,” I finish, voice tight.
