He kissed the top of my head and walked over to the open front door. Felix, dressed in his usual gear, stepped inside, taking one look at us before shaking his head with a heavy sigh. “I should’ve known you two would make a giant fucking mess.” He looked over at Mary-Jane’s body. “How’d you get her here?” he asked Haze.
“Aiden convinced her to cancel her plans, leading her to think they were going to meet up. Used an old address for a building that doesn’t exist anymore. Worked like a charm. The real struggle was getting her in the trunk. But that’s where one of your little darts came in handy.” Felix bent down and examined her body closely. “What’s with the injury on her head?” He looked back at Haze. “You didn’t miss, did you?”
Haze rolled his eyes. “I’m more of a knife guy myself. You’re the gun expert.”
Felix chuckled quietly. “That I am.” He stood and looked around the room, noticing the food all over the place. “Looks like Thanksgiving went well.” I blushed. “Well, let’s get this shit cleaned up. We’re expected at The Green Goddess soon. Can’tkeep the bosses waiting.” He smacked Haze’s arm and rolled Mary-Jane’s body towards the center of the room.
I looked at my brother. “Wait—you’re leaving?”
He lowered his head in defeat as Felix cleaned up behind us. “I was going to tell you.” He looked back at the duffel bags. “Felix and I aren’t safe here. Not after finding out that Northern Lights was tailing you and being fed information from Mary-Jane. Carter’s family is out for blood. And now, we’ve made a mess of our own.”
I’d almost forgotten about the whole Northern Lights thing. It was still such a strange thing to even wrap my mind around the idea of not one, but two illegal underground networks filled with spies and killers. And now, one wanted us dead, not just because of Carter, but because my brothers apparently broke some important truce between the two.
“I don’t want to go.” Haze stepped closer and touched my face. “Not without you, but?—”
“You don’t have a choice,” I answered him.
He nodded. “If you just consider joining Charlotte’s Web, then this wouldn’t be an issue. You could go with us.”
That’s all I wanted. To be with Haze.
“Haze.” I choked back tears. “I want to go with you, but…I’m not a killer.”
Felix groaned, dragging the plastic-wrapped mess which contained Mary-Jane’s body towards the front door. “Yeah, I beg to differ, baby sis.” He dragged it out of the apartment as we tried not to laugh.
“Felix is right. You killed Mary-Jane. And joining wouldn’t mean you have to kill people. But it would mean we could be together, always.”
I contemplated his offer. “How long will you be gone for?” I asked.
Felix returned. “A couple months or so. He needs some training, too fucking hotheaded and emotional.” Haze rolled his eyes. “But don’t worry, I’ll find a way to sneak him down around Christmas.” He smacked Haze’s arm. “Time to go, Hazelnut.”
Months?
My brother snarled as Felix grabbed the duffel bags and stepped outside. He waited until we were alone. “Indi, please.Pleasethink about it?”
“I—I?—”
Felix shouted from outside. “Haze!”
“I’m coming!” Haze sighed. “You can always text me, okay? And I’ll try to find a way to sneak out when I can. I’ll be back before you know it, little sis.” Haze kissed me one last time before reluctantly pulling away.
“You better bring him back to me, Felix!” I shouted as Haze joined him in the doorway.
My brothers both looked at me as Felix responded. “You got it, baby sis. Happy Thanksgiving.” They shut the door behind them, locking it and leaving me alone.
Happy Thanksgiving.
CHRISTMAS EVE
INDI
I staredout the foggy glass window and out into the pitch-black night, lost in thought. Snow was falling, leaving the entire countryside in a blanket of pure white. It was beautiful, and yet it made me sad.
It had been about a month or so since I’d last seen Haze. And every day since had been painstakingly long and agonizing. It wasn’t as hard as I expected in the beginning, but it progressively got worse as the holiday snuck up on me. I had no friends or family to spend it with, and despite Felix claiming to try to sneak Haze out, he never did. Something about a security breach in the web—I wasn’t really sure. All I knew was that Haze wouldn’t be coming home for Christmas.
I rolled onto my back with a heavy sigh. Kush was passed out on Haze’s pillow.
Maybe I should join Charlotte’s Web…I mean, I’m not exactly skilled in much…but I could learn. Right?
