“Bold, I like it.” She smiled and I couldn’t fathom where I pulled that color out of my head but I wasn’t going to change my mind.
“My sister needs one as well but make hers a bright pink. Just like mine but the color is the only difference.” Despite Sasha not being part of this organization, I wasn’t going to leave her out of this. If something was being custom made she would need to have a version of her own.
She ran through a few more details and I couldn’t deny that I was impressed with what she’d come up with so far. Her ideas might even keep my mother off my back since it would be too beautiful to complain about.
“You are really good at this.”
Jada beamed so brightly that I was glad I’d shut up and let her tell me what ideas she had. “I am. They let me plan these things to keep me out of trouble.”
“Does it work?”
“Nah, but I love to let them think so. I don’t have any blood on my hands yet but there’s only one more wedding to go after yours and since she doesn’t look like she’s going to want to gethitched then they’re going to have a real problem soon since I’ll have idle hands.” She held her hands up and wriggled her fingers at me with a devious look on her face.
“You enjoy this don’t you? Keeping people guessing about which way you’re going to go.”
“Of course I do. I can’t behave like you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean how you’re always so composed until you finally decide to explode. Fractured minds recognize other fractured minds. Mine was never normal so this is just how I am. But you have a basis of normalcy that you can draw back to. The person who you were before the break happened. That makes you far more dangerous than me. Me? I mimic. You? You remember. Can don that other persona like a second skin. You really would be a great spy.” She eased back in the chair probably able to relax for the first time today since she’d been handling so much with the wedding.
“I highly doubt it.”
Jada nodded and finished taking her locs out of the pins, letting them cascade down her back. “You’re right. Ori wouldn’t be a good spy anymore. He’s too noticeable.”
I stopped toying with the knife I’d been idly touching now confused as to why she was bringing him up. “Why are we talking about Ori?”
“Because that man isn’t going to let you out of his sight.” She took way too much joy in dropping that information in my lap.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You’re really not understanding what is going on are you?”
“No. Enlighten me.”
“Oh, oh no. I’m not gonna do that.”
“So you’re a tease?”
She shrugged making it clear she wasn’t going to say anything. “I’ll be that. It’s clear the two of you are too happy todance around each other and y’all need to stop it. I was worried that you were going to be too uptight for this but you seem to fit into this life with no problem.” She waved her finger around the room and we looked at the people who were clearly connected to something unspoken.
Powerful.
“My mother has been a bully my entire life. No one is going to get under my skin after dealing with her. I promise, these rules would be a cakewalk compared to everything that I’ve already endured.”
“Do I need to kill her for you?” The way her tone turned gleeful I almost felt bad for telling her no.
“Now why would I let you do that?”
Her eyes brightened, and her grin could only be described as diabolical joy. “Ahhh, you want the kill for yourself, understood.” She nodded as if she were checking a task off her to-do list and I had to set the record straight. Even if it meant lying.
“Jada—”
Her finger went up stopping me from what I was going to say. “Nope, plausible deniability.”
I kept my mouth shut because she was right and I didn’t need to express my feelings about a situation that I wasn’t sure was going to work out the way I wanted it to. I had mixed feelings about what was going on in my head because, despite having zero issues with ending her life, I wasn’t going to take her away from the rest of my family. Their attachment to her was the only reason I had left her alive this long.
“Having fun?”
