She was right; we needed to get moving. The car ride would offer us the opportunity and time to explain, not to mention the time tofucking murder Bee.
I ushered Sybil forward, helping both girls into the back of the car. Sybil slid in, taking the seat opposite me as Bee took the seat across from us so she could face Sybil.
The door shut.
I could feel my patience fraying. “Bee, you need to speak,now.”
Bee sighed with a resigned look on her face.
Sybil was shrinking away from us. I’m not sure if she’d putit together yet, but I could tell she was about to.
“Bee!” I yelled.
Everyone jumped.
She started talking, “Rat Man was a contact of mine a few years back and—”
“Did you fuck him?” It was crass, but I suspected this might be the case. Bee was a notoriousfuck-em and leave-emkind of girl, and it often created problems for me as her big brother. This wouldn’t be the first guy I’d had to scare off.
Bee eyed me. She looked like a frightened mouse caught in a trap. “Yeah, well,maybe, but at the time he was helping us get stuff back from the mafia, we were talking a lot; it was this whole, like, thing, you know? It was hot. He had this deep, sexy voice, mysterious man vibe—I couldn’t help it!”
I grumbled, my fists clenching at my sides. Sybil had her knees pulled to her chest, looking out the window. Her sweatshirt hood was up over her head, and her front completely zipped. I’d be remiss not to think we were freaking her out, but I needed answers. If this asshole had stolenBlue, too, we’d be fucked.
“What else, Bee?” I was clenching my jaw so tight it came out in hissed words.
“He’s ex-mafia, hence why he has that stupid name,The Rat Man. He used his inside knowledge of the organization to help us steal back a few pieces, hit the mafia where it hurt.” She shrugged as though this weren’t a big deal. She knew better than to get romantically involved with the people we worked with, especially in secret. “He has his own vendettas, and occasionallyour goals aligned.”
“And then what?” I pushed.
“It was a fling, okay?!”
I was shaking with anger. “No.Notokay, Bee.”
“I didn’t think he’d be so butt-hurt about it. He didn’t seem like the stalker type; it’s been a year!” Bee rolled her eyes. “Like,dude, get over it.” She crossed her arms.
“So you dumped him, but he still wants you,” I guessed.
She shrugged, and I swear if she shrugged one more time, I was going to strangle her.
“Dammit,Bee. So thisispersonal.”
“I didn’t think he’d actually do anything. I mean, I just thought he was being snarky lately—teasing. He disappeared for like… eleven months and just showed up again.”
“You’ve been talking to him recently, and hesaidhe was going to do this?” My eyebrows shot toward the roof of the car. “And you didn’t think to mention it?”
Bee looked ready to cry. “He may have sent me a few threats over the web chat.” She patted her eyelashes with the backs of her knuckles. “He must have caught wind of what I was working on trying to find PERL, but I just thought he was trying to get my attention. I didn’t reply or anything. I wasn’t leading him on.”
“Our family’s biggest night,” I began, then gestured to Sybil. “Herbiggest night? You let this happen. You allowed him to steal her art.”
When I glanced toward Sybil again, she was facing us. Her hood hid her eyes, and I couldn’t judge her reaction to hearing this. If she was still figuring it out, she knew the truth now.
“How was I to know he’d dothis? I thought I—Itrustedhim.” She was crying now.
“You obviously don’t understand him at all.” I sat back hard against the leather seat, crossing my arms in front of me. “Is he dangerous? At the very least, I need to know that. I have to know if you,we, are safe.”
“He’snotdangerous, I mean, not to us. He’s never killed anyone; he doesn’t want to. That’s the whole reason he left the mafia to begin with. I knowthatat least.”
I grunted.“He’s killed no one,she says.” It came out as a grumble.
