Page 65 of Always Watching
It makes my chest feel warm, makes me wonder if it’s possible to fall even more in love with him from something as simple as that. I drop my hand down and thread our fingers together, and Wylder watches the entire interaction with a bemused expression on his face.
“Calm down, kitty. Put away the claws.” I wonder if I can kill Wylder for using pet names. “My brother’s already made it clear he’s willing to leave a mess behind wherever he has to if it means keeping you safe.” He turns back to the body, so he doesn’t see the way my eyes widen slowly as he continues to talk. “First he calls and asks me to kill people who are leaving you threatening messages, and then he leaves a man in fifteen pieces in Dad’s basement because of you… and now this. I’ve never seen North so care… less…” He slowly trails off as he turns around and sees my expression. “Oh, shit. He didn’t tell you about any of that, did he?”
“Uhm, no. He hadn’t mentioned anything about… any of that.” Ranen’s voice is quiet, a little careful, but he isn’t trying to pull his hand out of mine.
He promised there wasn’t anything he could learn about me that would make him turn away. That didn’t mean I expected an entire laundry list of my sins to be dumped on him all at once. If there was ever a trial by fire, this was it.
I glance down at him, and there’s warmth in his eyes—I’m not sure if it’s anger orheat. I’m not sure if he’s mad that I’ve been cutting a warpath all over his subscriber list to destroy anyone who even thought about being unkind to him, or if helikesit.
I have to hope it’s the latter, because I don’t have time to coax him out of anger.
Not when there’s a body in his kitchen getting colder by the second.
Not when we’re probably going to have to take him apart so we can get him out of the apartment without anyone noticing, and that’s the last thing that I want Ranen to see me doing.
“Listen.” I turn to him and cup his face. It reminds me of earlier, of the way it felt to have him so close, the way he looked at me like the entire world revolved around my body pressing against his and the beat of my heart. “I know you want to help, baby. And as much as I know you could, I’d rather you didn’t watch this part. We have to… uh, make sure we can get this asshole out of here in as many pieces as it takes for us not to be noticed.”
I only have to wait a second for understanding to dawn on his face. He swallows hard, like he’s trying to steel himself.
“I can—”
I cut him off with a quick, fierce kiss, ignoring the fact that Wylder is tapping his fingers impatiently on the counter behind us. “I know you could. And you can help later, but this part… I don’t want you to see this part, Ranen.” Before he can open his mouth to tell me he could still help, I add, “It would make me feel better if you didn’t see it. Do you think you can try to figure out if Mr. Barlowe subscribed to you under more than one name? The more we can erase any connection he has to you, the better.”
It’s busy work—I already know it’s busy work, because I’ll probably still have Wylder use his connections to make sureanything trailing to Ranen is completely erased, but he draws in a deep breath and nods.
“I can do that.”
I lean in and press another quick kiss to his mouth and completely ignore the noise Wylder makes.
“It’s uh, nice to meet you. We can talk more once… this is all…” Ranen’s eyes flick to the body and then quickly jerk back forward. I’m glad he doesn’t feel the need to prove himself to Wylder by insisting on staying in the room while we’re doing wet work.
Honestly, the fact that he isn’t so proud as to try and stick it out is one of the million reasons I love him.
Fuck, I love him.
Saying the words aloud seems to unlock something in my chest, and there’s nothing I can do to take them back now. Nothing Iwoulddo to put them back into the dark. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before—I’ve neverfeltthis much before.
Wylder and Dad are the only people I have any kind of attachment to. This is different, though, and I barely had the time to figure it out before my brother barged in and—
“Once we get this all cleaned up, Dad wants us to head to his place. I’m sure we’ll all have plenty of time to talk once we’re there.”
Wylder sounds charming, warm, like some gentle giant.
I’ve watched him snap a man’s arm and use the splintered bones as a knife.
He’s anything butgentle.
I’m not sure if I appreciate that he’s at least trying to wear a mask in front of Ranen, or if it makes me angry.
I’m bringing Ranen into this world—maybe headfirst instead of gently easing him into it like I’d planned… but I’m still bringing him in.
Some part of me wants to make sure there are no more lies, nothing else that could stand between us.
As it is, I have a very strong feeling he’s going to want to talk again about the secrets Wylder spilled on my behalf. I’m sure we’ll find time after we get back from my dad’s.
Of course, Dad is a traitor who sent Wylder here in his place, so…
“Don’t bother calling him. He already knew I was on my way here, and he’s making sure there’s a place for us to dump this bastard once we get to his house.” Wylder has always been able to read me, the expressions that cross my face and the posture of my body. He waits until Ranen closes the bedroom door behind him to sling the backpack he’s wearing onto the floor beside him. The loud clink of metal lets me know he’s brought his tools with him.
