I arch a brow. “More pictures?”
“Would you please stop being so defiant?” she huffs. I see the desperation in her pale green eyes and feel sad for her.
She needs this more than I do, because once you’ve reached a certain age, your role transitions within The Web and you go from cunning vixen to janitorial staff, and my mother hates cleaning up crime scenes.
Some Sisters do so well with their marks, they live lives of luxury and work as mentors and handlers to the upcoming generation. You’d think that with three dead husbands, my mother would be so well off, but she never landed a big fish.
My father was her largest catch. She’d just turned sixteen, and he’d gotten her pregnant. He married her to avoid a scandal, then fell to his knees on a golf course. He was old, so no one suspected my sweet, young mom of foul play.
Now, you might think I’d be bitter that she offed my father, but you won’t see me crying any tears. He was notorious for his deplorable taste, and it was a shock to the Sisterhood when he was able to get it up for my mother, given that she was three years older than his preference.
Yeah, he deserved what she gave him.
Unfortunately for her, he’d gone deep into debt quickly after they married, and she inherited almost nothing.
Each husband thereafter made less, leaving her less when she took them out.
All her life, she loved being a Black Widow. A blooded Sister that never marred a job. Yet she has nothing to show for her good work.
She needs this, and I won’t let her down.
I pick up the dress and give her an agreeable smile. “A few more pictures won’t hurt.”
TWO
Mateo
Rushing through the hospital corridors,I locate room 616 and storm through the door.
“Sir, you can’t be in here,” an orderly tries to tell me.
“Don’t presume to tell me where I can and cannot be,” I snarl as I walk over to the bed, hoping my granddad still has his wits about him.
“Sir!”
“It’s okay,” Granddad says weakly. “He can stay.”
“Sir, we are under strict?—”
Granddad leans forward and fixes the orderly with a cutting glare. “I don’t give a damn who you’re getting your damn orders from. If you don’t leave me alone with my grandson right the hell now, I’ll buy this goddamn hospital and fire your ass.”
Even after a heart attack, he still has it.
The orderly smiles back at Granddad, shaking his head from side to side. “You must be under the impression that I actually value my job.”
Well, I didn’t expect that.
They both burst into laughter, which is mildly annoying considering I have so many unanswered questions.
“I’ll be in soon with a cup of Jell-O for you, pops,” the orderly said as he heads out the door.
I turn to look at my granddad, my brow lifting. “Pops?”
“He’s a fine young man, and I see no reason to sully the relationship between myself and the person who’s been wiping my ass.”
“Yeah, about that. Are you okay?”
“My ticker gave me a scare, is all.”
