“Answer me!” she damn near shrieked.
I dumped the entire bottle into the bath before I tossed it into the trash can.
“Are you aware that you have a twin?” I asked.
The woman’s eyes narrowed before she blinked. It was slow. Deliberate. As if she were trying to put on her best poker face possible while turning over the information inside of her head.
It gave me the answer I needed.
“Figured as much,” I said, raking my hands down my face. “Well, it turns out you have one. And that’s the woman we’re looking for. She’s dangerous and ruthless, and until we find her, you’re not safe.”
I had to admit I had no clue what reaction to expect. Would she hit me? I would have let her. It was the least I deserved. Would she yell and stomp around and try to leave? Again, it wouldn’t have shocked me. There were so many things that flew through my head. So many things I expected her to say, do, or promise. Our deaths, for one. She’d have every right to plunge a steak knife right into my chest cavity.
What I didn’t expect, however, was for her to laugh.
“Haaaahahahahahaha.”
I paused as I watched her head fall back.
“Haaaaaaah-hahahahahaa!”
My brow furrowed tightly. “Are you—”
She held up her hand and drew in a deep breath as her face turned red.
“BWAAAAHAHAHAHA! A TWIN! OH, MY FUCK!”
I tilted my head as steam filled the space between us. She shook her head as laughter fell from her lips, and I turned my back as she stripped her clothes off.
“Aaaaaahahahaha! A twin. You guys expect me to believe that! Baaahahaha!”
“It’s true,” I said as the sound of her clothes plopping to the floor made my toes tingle.
“HAH! Oh, God. That’s fucking rich. Fuck you guys. Holy shit, you almost had me there,” she said as water sloshed around with her movements.
Dante appeared in the doorway with a tray of food. “Uuuuh… everything okay in here?”
“A twin!” she barked. “God, how pathetic! And I thought I was an idiot! Ahahaha!”
I walked over and yanked the tray out of his grasp. “You got an extra copy of that hospital paperwork?”
Dante crooked an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
I walked the tray of food over to the bathtub and set it down for the laughing hyena we had inherited.
“Get her a copy,” I said as I strode out of the bathroom. “She needs to see it. Now.”
Her laughter echoed behind me as I made my way out of the bedroom. It was damn near maniacal, and I clapped my hands over my ears until I started down the steps. I couldn’t move away from her quickly enough. I couldn’t leave her in the dust as fast as I wanted. My hands fell away from my ears as Maverick and the clean-up crew emerged from the downstairs. And as her laughter echoed softly throughout the corridors of our multi-tiered clubhouse in the middle of the fucking desert, Mav simply sighed.
“You told her, didn’t you?” he asked.
My gaze got lost over his shoulder. “The clean-up done down there?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
“Good,” I said, brushing past him, “because I need some time alone to think.”
And it wasn’t until I got into the basement and closed the door behind me that her laughter finally ceased, leaving me with enough silence for one haunting, stomach-curdling thought to cross my mind.
