Page 17 of Make Me A Sinner
"What the fuck does indirectly mean?" I'm already losing my patience, but I know he likes to make a drama out of everything.
"It's about your girl," he grins, like he just exposed one of my deepest secrets.
How the fuck does he know about Serena? I haven't seen him in over five years.
I don't get to ask before he clears things up for me. "Our brother Surt mentioned something that made me curious."
"Curious enough to check up on me? You could have called instead of coming to visit," I say.
"Yeah, and you would’ve given me shit. I was just curious to see what you were doing, and I happened to be in Vegas when I stumbled upon something."
Here comes the interesting part. "What's that?" I ask, feeling this isn't just a courtesy call. This is serious.
"Her name, Serena Halden, came up on one of the lists," he says way too casually, and I feel a chill running down my spine.
I'm locked in now, so focused on what he has to say, I don't think I'm even breathing anymore. He's talking aboutthe hit lists.
"I wasn't going to say anything since I knew she’d been missing. To be honest, I thought someone had completed the contract." The corner of his mouth churns into anoops. "I didn't want to be the one to break it to you; even I know better than that. Besides, I was waiting to see how things turned out."
"And how did things turn out?" I ask, annoyed.
"Someone saw you two getting off your jet yesterday. If I know, others will know soon. I just came here to give you a heads-up. There's a hit out on Serena."
"Fuck." I don't get to say another word before I hear a gasp coming from the hallway.
"What?" Serena’s voice trembles. Her whole body’s shaking, her hands clutched into fists.
"Oh, you must be my lucky prey. And I do mean lucky, because if you didn't belong to my brother, you’d be running by now." Whiro grins, and even if I know he’s joking—or hope to hell he is—that wasn't the best way for her to be welcomed into my family.
"Whiro," I snarl, hoping he’ll get the message and stop fooling around.
She’s too scared to even react. Her eyes wide, almost frozen, like she doesn’t know whether to bolt or faint.
I stare her down then tap the couch beside me. "Sit."
Still limping a little, she comes and occupies the spot, looking at my brother, like he's going to be the one who’ll really kill her.
"You’ve got nothing to worry about." Whiro grins, taking another drag until the cigarette tip glows red. "You ended up on the right side of the court. We don't let anyone mess with what's ours." He winks, showing off his unmistakablecharm.
"What do you know about who put the hit out?" I ask, hoping for something useful.
But he’s just as in the dark as I am about it. "Didn't have time to dig into it. I didn't think it would be necessary. Humans are usually a liability, and I just hoped you’d just move on."
"Humans?" I can hear Serena ask, confused and clearly not followingsince she has no real idea who she’s dealing with.
Whiro just laughs, looking straight at me. "Oh, you're fucked."
Like I didn't already know that.
Maybe I should’ve told her what I really am from the start, but then again, we didn't exactly have the smoothest beginning. Now, I might need another century to explain everything to her.
Just when I think things can't get any worse, 8-Ball strolls in and starts rubbing against Whiro's legs.
This time, he's not laughing; he's fucking cackling so loud they probably hear him all the way down to the first floor. "Let me guess. Hers?"
"Don't ask," I say, sounding more defeated than I mean to, because no matter what excuse I offer, nothing I come up with will ever sound right. Besides, I know he sees through my bullshit, and will probably mock me for eternity.
"I’ll look into it and get back to you. Gotta go,” my brother says, reading a text that clearly just lit a fire under him.
