Page 16

“You haven’t shown me the cemetery yet,” she says cheerily.

Vero stares at her for a moment, and a grin so wide takes over his face. “I love her.”

I don’t say anything, but I mentally take notes: she didn’t flinch or bite back harder than she needed to, and she moved on the second it was over, not needing the last word.

The cemetery sits at the back of the island, full of stone graves, overgrown paths, and crosses leaning at angles that make it look older than it is. Noa keeps it that way as part of the illusion.

“At night this whole area becomes chase territory,” Vero says, spinning slowly with his arms out, taking it all in. “It’s one of my favorite places on the island. And I work in the asylum, so that’s saying something.”

Kayla looks around the cemetery. “And you chase people through here?” she reiterates.

“Sometimes. It depends on who you belong to.” Vero waves a hand. “But listen, before we go any further, there is something you need to know.”

“Okay.”

“Brawley and I are a package deal.” He says it the same way you would state a fact, like the sky is blue. “You don’t get one without the other. It’s not a rule anyone made up—it just is what it is. I need you to know that up front because some people find out later and they get weird about it⁠—”

“Vero,” she interrupts.

He stops and faces her. “Yeah?”

“I don’t care,” Kayla says. “I’m not here to get between whatever you two have.”

Vero stares at her for a second and then visibly relaxes.

“Okay, good.” He nods. “Because Brawley, he’s a lot. But he’s my ‘a lot,’ you know?”

A shadow falls across the cemetery entrance before Kayla can respond. Brawley doesn’t announce himself. He’s just suddenly there, filling the gap between two headstones like he materialized out of the depths of hell. Skull face paint surrounds dark eyes that move across the three of us, then finally land back on Vero. He strides across the cemetery without a word or another look at Kayla. He simply walks in a straight line to Vero, slides a hand around the back of his neck, then pulls him in and presses his lips to Vero’s. It always fascinates me watching them, like Brawley might eat him one day.

Kayla elbows me, and I blink. She mouths, “Stop staring,” and I smile at her.

When Brawley pulls back, Vero looks slightly dazed, and Brawley’s eyes finally move to me—which tells me that display was for my benefit—and then to Kayla. He gives her a quick once-over and instantly dismisses her as a threat to Vero.

“You’re new,” he says.

“Kayla,” she says.

“I know.” He looks down at Vero, his hand still firmly on the back of Vero’s neck. “You’re done soon.” It isn’t a question.

“We’re still on the tour,” Vero says.

Brawley’s thumb moves back and forth at the base of Vero’s hairline. “I’ll find you afterward. I need to check on Vesper anyway—and make sure there are no men running out of here with spider bites.”

He looks at Kayla one more time, then at me, before turning and walking back the way he came, disappearing back between the headstones.

“I can say with absolute certainty that a two-for-one deal is a real selling point right now,” Kayla murmurs. “I wish someone would grab the back of my neck like that.”

Vero moves fast and slides a hand around the back of her neck, forcing her to look up at him. “So,” he says with a manic smile, the freaky kind he uses during one of his acts. “Are you in or out?”

Kayla holds his gaze and smiles. “In.”

“That is what I like to hear,” he says, releasing her.

“What about you, Ares? Are you in or out?” she asks, turning her gaze on me. “Or are you going to follow us around when I come back and mentally take notes on me?”

She is observant, and I am curious how this will all unfold. Brawley doesn’t play well with others, and Clay won’t be pleased to know she’ll be back.

“In.”