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“About us.”

“This is about us. I told you my darkest secret tonight. You can tell me yours.”

He’s right. Dammit.

“I grew up with great parents. Not a big family, but it was good. We spent a lot of time together and they cared about me, you know? Came to all my school events, my sports competitions, all that. I didn’t know it, but my dad was battling some inner demons and he got caught up with some bad dudes. Really bad.”

Blush comes over and sits next to me on the edge of his bed.

“I learned later that it started with a drug problem and then escalated because he owed them money he couldn’t pay back. It was summer and my mom and I were supposed to be visiting her parents, but they just sent me. The guys my dad owed money to broke in, beat them both, and set the house on fire.”

“Fuck,” Blush whispers. “Did they die?”

My throat tightens as I allow these memories rare space in my mind. “My mom died. My dad woke up in time to drag them both out of the house, but she didn’t make it.”

“I’m so sorry.”

I continue before I’m not able to. “My dad knew better than to press charges. He knew that would be a death warrant, so he told the cops he didn’t know who did it. After he recovered, he made it his mission to find every single guy responsible, and he did. He killed them all. Seven in total, but he was caught. He’s in prison now. Has been since I was fifteen, will be until he dies.”

“That’s so fucked up.”

“Could’ve been the death penalty, but they actually showed him mercy given the circumstances. It’s still illegal to be a vigilante.”

“Do you talk to him?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I can’t. It’s his fault. We lost everything that day, including my mom. You can buy more stuff, but you can’t get your mom back.”

“No.”

“I went into the system after the fire. My grandparents were too old to take care of me, or so I was told, but they never even visited or wrote me. They were probably grieving as well.”

“But they should’ve taken you in.”

“That would’ve been nice. Instead, I shared the fate thousands of kids do. I navigated families who didn’t care, who neglected, who abused. I toughened up. I learned the world isn’t fair or kind and that if I wanted to survive, I had to be stronger than I looked.”

“How did you end up where you are now?”

“Shadow, my boss, noticed me. He’d seen me around while he was out working and he said something about me stood out. I wasn’t like the other kids. He offered me a job, a home, a family. At that point, I was scraping by, working a bunch of under-the-table jobs, and I figured what did I have to lose? Shadow seemed like someone I could trust.” I chuckle. “And he’s hot.”

“He is?”

“Very. So I went with him. Back then, he was renting a three-bedroom house and he already had a small crew. I was afraid it was a gang, and I never wanted to be like the men who destroyed my family, but he made it clear that first night that this was different. Then he told me what they actually did.”

“How was that to hear? Had to be a shock, right?”

I chuckle. “Putting it mildly. I kind of panicked, but Shadow just has this way about him that calmed my fears. I didn’t start right away. I learned I was good with computers, good at researching, even hacking, and Shadow needed that skill. That’s my primary role, but I take on other jobs too. We’re so busy we can barely keep up.”

“Busy murdering people?” His voice dips. “Are there that many people willing to pay for it?”

“Willing to pay us, yes. We’re the best. If we get a job, it’s guaranteed done and untraceable. We don’t fuck around.”

Blush chews his bottom lip for a second. “Okay, but like, who hires you?”

“That’s between Shadow and them, but they’re from every walk of life. Politicians, businesspeople, clergy, just regular folks who have a big problem they can’t get rid of any other way. We used to just take any business, but then we almost took out someone innocent, so our vetting process is tighter now.”

“How do you know if someone is legit bad?”

“Research. A lot goes into it before we accept a job.”