Page 136 of Like Grim Death: Part One
Inside my head, I see two different things. Mom walking out of the sitting room that day of my flashback, the sounds of angry voices and something slamming and a bright, high scream seconds later, and Ella touching Sevryn’s fucking chest.
I clench my jaw then I speak very slowly. “Whythe fuckare you asking me this?”
Brooklin is quiet for a moment, and I can feel my pulse inside my head. I press my knuckles to the wooden surface of my desk, relishing in the way they grind against it.
“I know RC is on you. All of you.” She speaks quickly, and I’m sure she learned this from Ez, but I don’t like her knowing about it. Like the closer she’s connected, the more danger she’s in. No matter what she’s experienced, she’s still my little sister. “They’re big time, Mayhem. Even…even Jeremiah didn’t fuck with them.” I hate the mention of his name, but I did save his life once. I wonder if my feelings for Jeremiah fucking Rain have to do with Sid’s feelings for him.
Or the fact Brooklin loved him too.
Both of my sisters fell under his spell. He’s a smooth motherfucker, I guess. But clearly, he picks his battles too.
“And they might be on your side, on the 6’s side, but they’ve got enemies in this state and they’re always provingtheyare on top. Not just along the East Coast, but all over the world.”
Overseers.
I just don’t understand what the fuck this has to do with Lucifer. Still, I don’t speak, hoping Brooklin gets to it.
“If Lucifer is having to prove his worth to Elijah, and Elijah has to convince RC Lucifer is fit to rule, then they’d task him with something nearly impossible to show his loyalty to the 6.”
I shake my head once, but I know she’s telling the truth, because Lucifer isn’t the only one keeping secrets, then there are those cryptic little warnings he’s been giving me. Still, I press on. “Why would Luce have to prove anything to Elijah?” He let Elijah take over as leader of the 6, mainly because he was too young, but as Lazar’s son, Luce could’ve clung to power if he wanted it. Now, he leads the Unsaints and I’m not sure why he would need to do anything disloyal to me in order to show his brotherhood with the 6.
Brooklin sighs like she’s annoyed with me. The feeling is very mutual. “Lucifer is a father now.”
I nod once, slowly, even though she can’t see me. “Yep, I’m very aware.”
“And it has always been this way and always will be. When the next generation of leaders becomes fathers, it’s time for him to show just how loyal he is, how prepared he is to rise up in the ranks.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? How do you know any of this?”
“I looked through our dad’s belongings. The shit he kept in a safe in the panic room.” This is news to me. I never wanted to look through my father’s shit, and I don’t know why Brooklin would start now. We agreed to keep our parents’ house in our name, have cleaners come monthly to check on things, but why she’d want to step foot in there, I don’t know. “Butyoushould know from your training. All that stuff they taught you at Shadow Villa.” Her voice hardens on the last three words.
This place keeps getting mentioned so often, I’m going to fuckingshow upthere. The film gave me nothing at all, the first three-quarters I watched of it anyway. Just some director using a mysterious house’s name to gain notoriety. And my memories of that place are vague, and I don’t recall anything about mytraining.I’m not completely surprised though. So much shit has twisted and vanished inside my head.
“Okay, so maybe Lucifer hasn’t mentioned anything aboutrisingup in rank, but I’m not sure what that has to do with me trusting him. What do you think he’s been tasked with? Backstabbing me?” I scoff. “What would that have to do with Ella? Why did you ask about her?” That’s the part that fucking matters to me.
Brooklin is silent and I wonder what she’s doing right now. I don’t have any of her mannerisms embedded in my head anymore, if I ever did. I am truly a shit fucking brother.
Interestingly, it’s that word Brooklin leads with when she speaks again. “The brotherhood is the most important thing. Not thewomen, not thechildren.” There is true rage in her voice with those words, and I know she’s thinking of all she’s been through because neither women nor children matter at all to the 6. “Lucifer knows this, and he has one of each on the line. He would doanythingfor them.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t fucking know. I just want to know what the hell this has to do withElla,Brook.”
“Elizabeth Astor has been fully vetted and tried and is hereby inducted with all protection into the 6, based out of Alexandria, North Carolina, signed and sealed by Lazar V. Malikov.”
It takes me a second, but I realize from the lofty way she says the words, she’sreadingsomething.
“Adam Medici set forth her trial and Lazar Malikov signed off on the positive results.”
“What the fuck does this mean? What the fuck are you reading?” I start to pace, thinking of Julie in the baptistry. Elijah’s words to me, a caution about Ella. Being attacked on Corpus Ave. Lucifer’s sneaky shit in his office about finding out what’s going on with Ella and Atlas. Will Ella be tried? Is that what’s happening? But how? She spends all of her time withme.And if anyone was testing her, I’d imagine it would be Atlas, considering how they’ve become so friendly so quickly,notLucifer.
“It’s some sort of Bible-looking book with a skull and a key and a shark’s tooth on the cover. Ezra had to pick the lock from the box it was in. He said he hasn’t seen Lucifer doing anything sneaky, but…” She trails off.
“But Lucifer is always sneaky,” I finish the thought for her. No matter how deep our bond goes—and it shoots straight through to hell and back—he would murder me himself if he had to choose between me, and Sid and Rain.
“And Sid really wants to dismantle the… sex trafficking within the 6. I’ve heard her talking to Lucifer about it. All the things RC pays a lot of money to cover up. So if betraying you meant he got his wife protected by the 6,andhe rises up to a position of being able to change things, he would do it, Mayhem.”
I grip the phone tighter in my hand and close my eyes. “Why did you decide to look through Dad’s shit now?”
She’s quiet for long seconds until she whispers, her words broken, “I miss Malachi. I wanted photos or art orsomething,but…” She doesn’t finish the sentence. I think I can piece it together. They erased him from our perfect, dark little lives.
