“I like Reid.”
Jacob’s eyebrow wings up. “Just Reid?”
Now I’m confused. “Is there someone else living with us?”
Jacob hums but stays quiet, which is his usual way of ignoring me these days. We pass by Mason’s house on the way home, and I have the odd urge to invite him along for dinner. But I’m not sure he’d come anyway, considering he barely ate when holed up with us in the hotel for two days. Now that I think about it, he’d been pretty miserable, downing some sort of medicine every few hours.
Jacob disappears toward the kitchen the second the door shuts behind us. I toe my boots off by the front door, leaning against the wall for balance. A high-pitched laugh echoes from the stairs, followed by the quick pattering of feet descending down the stairs. Reid’s dyed silver-and-light-blue hair is what I notice first, followed quickly by the feral look on his face. He freezes at the bottom of the stairs as we stare at one another.
“Reid,” I say.
Reid swallows thickly. “Parker, good evening.”
He’s been walking on eggshells with me since the cigarette fuckup last year. Probably thanks to Dante. I don’t want to know the inner workings of their relationship, but it’s pretty obvious they have some weird control dynamic going on. If it works for them, cool, I don’t really care.
Dante descends the stairs at a much slower pace, narrowed eyes trained on the back of his boyfriend’s head. I must’ve stopped Reid from accomplishing something that would get him in trouble because he looks like he’s been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar while Dante looks like he’s gearing up for giving a spanking. Yikes, not how I want to spend my evening.
“I’m going to go read in the living room,” I announce awkwardly. “Please refrain from making… the noises you made last night. I have schoolwork.”
“There were no noises,” Reid whines, perpetually annoyed by our teasing.
I lift my brows at Dante but flee before I can be told otherwise. The living room is warm from the glowing fire that Dante probably started when he got home from class since Reid likes to curl up in front of it with his sketchbook. I settledown on the plush couch with my satchel. For the second time today, I feel like I can finally take a real breath.
Grabbing my book out of my bag, I settle back on the couch to finish reading so I can get ahead on the required writing for the course. Reading has always been my favorite pastime. As a kid, we didn’t have much, but the library was our safe place. Jacob gravitated to the history and science section, and I’d gone right to fiction. Always. Escaping into another person’s world, into their imagination, makes my world seem a little less bleak.
I pop in my earbuds and put on some rock, but I only get a few minutes of uninterrupted reading before the couch dips at my feet. Hayden blinks coyly at me and waits for me to remove my earbuds. Great. I remove them with a sigh, waiting for Hayden to say whatever he needs from me.
“Robin says for you to expect an email for a mission tonight,” Hayden says with something between a feral grin and a scowl. He loathes that I get separate missions. “Do you feel like sharing what it could be about?”
“Well, how would I know if I feel like sharing since I don’t know what it’ll be about?”
“Parker,” Hayden says glumly, shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Hayden,” I echo like the undercover asshole I am.
“I don’t like that you do separate missions. We aren’t there to protect you.”
I poke him with the tip of my sock-covered toe. “Maybe that’s the point.”
Hayden’s gaze shifts to the kitchen, where Jacob easily moves around fixing our dinner. Sometimes Hayden gets this look in his eyes when he’s looking at Jacob that makes my stomach squirm. I really try to stay out of their business,especially Jacob’s love life, but something about their dynamic has changed for the worst the past few months, after being a pretty steady stream of teasing and comfort. Just when I’m about to get the courage to say something, my phone vibrates with an incoming message. Hayden simultaneously scowls and sighs before standing from the sofa and shuffling into the kitchen. He takes a seat at the table, resting his chin in his hand as he stares forlornly at my twin’s broad back.
Now that I’m alone, I tug my phone out of my pocket and read over the detailed email. It’s a typical solo mission for me. Dead politician but make it look like an accident. It’s set for tonight, so maybe I’ll get to finish my book in peace and quiet while I’m on the lookout.
I trudge upstairs to get ready. If I want to get to Middleton right after dark, I’ve got to leave soon. Dressed in my typical tactical gear, I skip down the stairs to beg Jacob for an early meal, but when I stride into the kitchen, there’s already a plate for me at my normal seat. Reid’s in the kitchen helping Jacob with dinner while Dante stares fondly at Reid’s back. I dig into the meal, knowing it’ll need to last me through the evening.
“Why does Parker get separate missions?” Reid asks, because he doesn’t know how to not be nosy.
Jacob sighs loudly, and a bit painfully. “My brother has a skill set that the rest of us seemingly do not have.”
“And what’s that?” Reid questions further.
“He’s the silent killer,” Dante answers, eyes still on Reid. “Also, if you think I’m the insane one in the group, Parker has once again fooled someone.”
I ignore their chattering and focus on finishing my meal. Sometimes it’s not worth the fight. None of themreallyknowwhat it’s like to be good at killingandsimultaneously enjoy it. I don’t particularlylikethat I enjoy it. Usually, the enjoyment makes me feel shitty. Sometimes I imagine if I wasn’t using my gifts for good, maybe I’d have another outlet for my desires—one that isn’t killing. Or who knows, maybe I was a serial killer in another life.
Before leaving, I give Jacob the typical loving pinch on the bicep, then head out. This is also why I’ve got the keys to the nice SUV because Robin wants to ensure their favorite boy gets to and from all the locations without a car breaking down.
Forty-five minutes later, I park the SUV a couple of blocks down from the mark’s house. The sky is dappled with clouds tonight, giving me the cover I need so the moonlight doesn’t out me. I perch myself across the street in a cropping of leafless trees. The woods behind me are quiet; it’s too cold for animals to be out this time of night. I’d thought I’d get to read, but it’s too dark, and I’ll draw attention to myself if I use a light.
