I make myself a promise to never give Pops another moment of my time.
38
HAYES
Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, I watch Finn flip a card over, playing solitaire in Maeve’s office, while Ethan scans the bookshelves to my right.
It’s been a few days since I’ve been here, and it seems Maeve has taken to finally putting it back together. Good thing too. It was looking unhinged.
The woman in question walks into the room, all business. Dressed in a leather skirt and black blazer, Killian enters right on her heels. He scans the office, taking stock of my competition before looking at me. He gives me a slight nod of recognition, before perching himself by the fireplace.
I stop my mouth from parting.The fuck is that?Killian never acknowledges me when we’re in the same room. One night burning bodies and sharing secrets, and now we’re friends?
I don’t trust it. I sure asshitdon’t trust him.
Maeve leans against her desk, looking at us, then me. She wants to say something, talk to me, but we made that choice to keep things separate. We’ll talk when the trials are over. It’s the only way to prevent gossip on favoritism.
“Second trial, boys,” she draws, voice rough. She might look put together—perfumed, well-dressed, but I see the signs of tiredness. Her voice is dry and the bags under her eyes are deep.
“Finally,” Ethan comments, dropping into the chair before our Captain. She gives him a hard look—she hates people sitting before her when she stands. “I was wondering if this would continue or not.”
Finn shakes his head, placing the cards down, giving Maeve his undivided attention. I don’t move.
“Roman made a move,” she says, looking at me. “He attacked my sister. In broad daylight.Again.”
Flashes of my brother’s hands on Collins’s perfect body heat my blood. I want to disembowel him, string him up in the city center and let the birds peck him while he still breathes for daring to do something so stupid.
“This guy…” Ethan moans.
“Did he say why?” Finn asks. “How did Collins get away?”
“Thanks to Hayes,” she praises, lifting a palm at me. “He has a shiner, a broken nose, and my sister is safe.”
Glaring over at Killian, he has the nerve to shrug. Of course he told her before I could.Fucking prick.
“But he needs to be taught a lesson.” She stands, moving to the center of the office, all eyes on her. “He can’t keep trying to come after my family and think consequences don’t apply to him.”
“We’ve already killed his brother,” I say, stepping forward. “Every time we attack back, he comes again. What do you want to do to keep him away?”
She smiles. It’s not pretty. Her eyes bleed black, and now I know, I’m talking to the demon who possesses her. “Show him that he can never be safe. No matter where he is.”
Killian knocks his knuckles into the fireplace mantle. “Second trial is strength. In order to show us how strong you are, you’re all going to be given a hit.”
A hit.We’re going to assassin someone.Not unheard of, but these tasks were usually given to the reapers—namely, Killian. This is getting serious.
“One target for the three of us?”
Maeve nods. “This target is big. All of you will draw straws. Largest gets a chance at the kill. You miss? Next one goes. If you get it? You win the trial, the others never get a shot to try.”
“Who is it?”
Those dark eyes flicker and she closes her mouth, the room strangely silent. Whoever it is, she doesn’t want to say.
Stepping to her side, Killian slides his hands into his pockets. “Roman Bruno.Senior.”
My stomach drops, but I keep my face perfectly composed. They want us to assassinate my father—the head of the Bruno family, locked behindprison.
“He’s in jail,” Finn reminds us, leaning forward, eyes looking from me to Ethan. “How do you suppose we kill someone in custody?”
