Page 45 of Always Watching
I sigh and lift my phone to my ear.
“What’s up?”
“Is that any way to talk to your big brother?” Wylder’s voice is that annoyingly low growl it turned into in his teens. It had only gotten deeper with age.
“I’m on adate.” I say the word carefully, and I don’t miss the way Ranen’s lips lift into a sweet smile. I’m getting him off on the regular and I took his virginity… but the worddatemakes him blush like a schoolboy.
Fuck, I can’t ruin this.
“A date.” Wylder says it carefully, and I can hear the judgment in his voice. “You know, people like us don’t really date. Normal people knowing about what we are, what we do… it’s not safe for them.” He says it with such surety in his voice that I want to hang up. Just because he decided killers were better off never forming attachments doesn’t mean I have to follow in his footsteps. He already made his stance clear on that when he moved away.
“Things are different now.” I answer as casually as I can, because the last thing I want is for Ranen to hear what Wylder is saying.
“I realized that when I went through the bills of these assholes you sent me to kill and saw they were all subscribed to the same website. It was the only thing they had in common, North.” Wylder pauses, and then chuckles. “Did you fall in love with a camboy?”
“Fuck off,” I mutter, and my phone gives a little ding.
“I took pictures for you. Encrypted message, and you know it’ll delete after you look. You said to make it painful… I thought you’d like to see the results.”
The urge to pull my phone from my face and look right now is so strong that I almost do it… but I have a feeling introducing Ranen to my lifestyle by way of Wylder’s handiwork might be a bad idea.
I’m brutal, but he has a professional precision that sometimes makes what I do look… sloppy. And quick.
There’s a reason I sent him after the assholes.
I sigh, but I can’t stop myself from speaking. “Thank you. It would have driven me nuts knowing they were out there while I couldn’t get to them.”
Wylder pauses again, and the silence reminds me he didn’t leave because he was an absolute asshole, or because he didn’t care about us. He just has his own issues, and his owngoals. Those live on a far more professional side than his serial-killer brother, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.
And it doesn’t mean that he isn’t smart enough to put two and two together.
“Are you in trouble, little brother?”
Fuck, I hate it when he calls me that. Especially since I know damn well he’s speaking in both age and size. I might be big, but Wylder is a fucking giant.
“I’m…” I pause. Yes. Kind of. I’m confused because there are emotions swirling around in my chest that I don’t even know the shape of, let alone what to do with them. I’m furious, because I can’t let myself to leave Ranen alone for more than a few hours with a friend he trusts, because that means someone could hurt him while I’m gone.
I’m lost when it comes to confessing feelings I’ve never even thought about allowing to form on my tongue, let alone take up residence in my heart.
“I’m fine. Just a little frustrated that the real asshole is still on the loose.” Ranen tenses beside me, his sweet smile shifting to the slightest frown.
This isn’t a conversation I want to have anymore. I cut Wylder off before he can speak again. “Listen, I have to go. I’ll check out the pictures and call you back later, all right?”
I’ll probably call him back.
If I’m not busy with Ranen.
I hang up before my brother can try to root around in my personal business any more and shove my phone back into my pocket.
“What was that all about?”
“Nothing.”
When Ranen fixes me with a flat look that tells me he knows I’m a damn liar, I shrug softly and take his hand in mine again, hauling his body against me until the sweet shape of him molds to my side.
“Nothing, huh?”
“Just… what I wanted to talk to you about. My family is… a bit odd.” I don’t look down at him when I say it. “I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into.”
