“That’s attractive,” I say.
“Very.”
“You smell nice,” I comment.
“It’s your cologne.”
“Damn it, Con, I told you you can’t steal my stuff.”
“I know, but I like to steal, so that’s what I did.”
“You should steal yourself a woman.”
“You think so?” he asks.
“No. I’m joking.”
He steps away. “They sewed up the hole.”
“That helps.”
Connor makes a face. “You’ll want to wear a hat. I’ll match you, and we can look like real gangsters from the nineteen hundreds.”
“No.” We walk out but stop at the top of the stairs. I’m light-headed and so hungry, I could eat a whole cow, but first, we must convince Endo to agree to our departure. Given how Uncle Endo took care of Connor and me when our father didn’t, he won’t want us near Selnoa or inside a snake pit. He’ll want us safe and with him, where he can protect us.
We need his blessing. It’s how our family organization has worked and how it has survived for hundreds of years since its inception.
“Piggyback?” Con offers.
I climb onto his back, and he carries me down, all the way to the door of the morning room, where Endo eats breakfast and sometimes lunch. With a soft knock, we enter the bright space.
Our uncle sits by the window, basking in the sun. He jots down notes as an unlit cigar hangs from his mouth. He looks up when we enter, takes stock of us all dressed up, and puts his cigar away.
“I thought you were going to rest,” he says.
“We changed our mind,” Con says as if we have one brain. Sometimes my brother is funny. Other times, I wish he would get serious.
“I changed my mind, and Con has no choice because I need him.”
Endo offers us chairs across from the bench he occupies. We each take seats.
My belly growls at the smell of the eggs and bacon he finished. Endo picks up a comm device we use for short-distance communication. The devices can’t be traced, and they only work within the parameters we define.
“Mary,” he calls our pastry chef, “Con and Dec are in the breakfast room.”
“I don’t have time to eat,” I say.
Endo raises an eyebrow. “What’s the urgency?”
“I have to return to Selnoa.”
Endo blinks. “Right away?”
I nod.
“What for?”
“I didn’t close the shop properly. I left the key behind.”
