“Let me guess, that’s not even the craziest thing they’ve done?”
The Hawthorne twins have a reputation around campus that goes beyond just being volatile and unhinged like Xave and Killian, and after seeing what Xave is capable of, I don’t doubt that everything I’ve heard about the twins is true too.
He laughs. “Not even in the top fifty. I mean, I had to learn how to patch up knife wounds because of them.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Jace and Jax have a thing for knives,” he explains. “And they used to use each other for target practice when we were kids. There were a few mishaps along the way, so I had lots of opportunities to stitch them up over the years.”
“Wait, they threw knives at each other?” I ask, still stuck on that part of the story. “Like real knives with sharp blades?”
“Yup. It got to the point that a plastic surgeon taught me how to suture, and we had a stash of medical-grade suture kits on hand to deal with the mishaps ourselves.”
“Andwhydid they throw knives at each other?” I ask incredulously.
“To learn how to dodge them.” He shrugs. “And because they thought it was hilarious.”
“You know that’s not normal, right?” I ask. “Not just them throwing knives at each other, but also you being so chill about the fact that they liked to throw knives at each other.”
“I know.” He tosses me a quick grin. “And like I said, we’ve never claimed to be normal.”
“Jeez, and to think the craziest thing I’ve done with my sisters is let them give me makeovers and practice their nail painting skills on me.”
“Difference between having younger siblings and ones the same age as you,” he points out. “Well, they’re cousins in my case, but they’re technically siblings.”
“What do you mean?”
He flicks his gaze to mine, and the smirk on his full lips makes my stomach flip-flop. “Want to know something not a lot of people know about our family tree?”
I nod. I might not have spared Xave or his cousins much thought over the years, other than to admire how gorgeous they all are, but after everything that’s happened, I’m ravenously curious about all of them. Especially Xave.
“Killian and the twins are technically brothers, even though they’re cousins.”
“How do you mean?” I ask, keeping my tone neutral as my brain goes to weird places.
He lets out a throaty laugh. “It’s nothing like what you’re probably thinking. All of our dads are brothers, but Killian and the twins’ moms were identical twins. So they’re genetically more than half siblings while still being cousins because they have two different sets of parents.”
“That’s…a unique situation,” I say after a few beats.
“It is,” he agrees. “And they were born less than two weeks apart, so they’ve pretty much grown up like triplets.”
“But where does that leave you?” I ask. “I don’t have any family on my mom’s side, and the only relatives I’m in contact with on my dad’s side are my half-sisters,” I explain so it doesn’t sound like I’m interrogating him. “I never had any cousins or even close friends growing up, so this family dynamics stuff is new to me.”
“I’m the oldest, so it was my job to keep them in line and make sure they didn’t turn into serial killers.”
I don’t know what to make of that statement, but Xave’s already shared so much with me that I don’t ask him to elaborate, even though I’m dying to know more.
“Do you have a hotel room in the city?” he asks, changing the subject.
“Yeah.” I glance out the window. It’s fully dark now, so all I can see are the silhouettes of the trees as they whip by. “Thank fuck I booked my room for two nights,” I add, glancing at the clock.
With all the excitement of getting kidnapped and watching one of my classmates go all super spy and save the day, I must have been in survival mode because my stomach growls loudly, reminding me it’s been a while since I’ve eaten anything.
“Has it really been less than twenty-four hours since we were snatched?” I ask, putting one hand over my stomach like that will somehow muffle the sounds.
He nods ruefully. “I double-checked both of their phones before I turned them off. It’s only been a day.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” I rub my other hand over my face and push my curls back from my forehead. “I swear it’s been at least two or three days.”
