“You were looking for something when I stepped into that building they’d been holding Rylee in. And you weren’t overly shocked by the bodies either. You weren’t there long enough to have gotten over your shock of finding them dead in such an unusual way. And instead of showing that shock, you were hunting for something.”
“How was I not shocked? When you walked in, I was examining the deceased for signs of wounds. Was I supposed to scream or cry or something? Really, it’s not like Iknewthem or that I’ve never seen bodies before. I was trying to figure out how they were just… dead.”
I smile at him. “Sure you were. And that’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. But what I want out of you is the name of every single council member, US and UK.”
“Like… to send them valentines?”
My expression has to sour even more. “Yes, I’d like to send them valentines.”
Mads grins and pats my face, so I smack his hand away. “What are you going to do with all of that information?”
“Something I should have done many years ago.”
“I just… like you’re being all vague and my mind is going ‘murder,’ but my hope is like… not murder, you know?”
I grab him by the throat. “If you don’t want to die, you will tell me.”
He slides his hand over mine and it’s weirdly intimate. Like… who the fuck just gently takes someone’s hand when they’re threatening to kill them?
“Murdering me solves nothing. I would be thrilled to help you think of other ways to find answers, but my death isn’t one of them.”
“It’d make me feel better,” I say as he tries to hold my hand, which causes me to pull back. It’s wildly effective.
“But it wouldn’t make me feel better.”
“I mean… you’ll be dead, so you won’t feel anything.”
“I would have to come back and haunt you, and that won’t be fun for either of us.”
“I’ll take my chances. So talk or try your hand at becoming a ghost.”
“Can you at least tell me why you want to know the council members’ names?”
I ignore his inquiry. “You have a picture of them?”
“Yes, we’re such close bros we get weekly photo shoots. Last week we did a photo shoot of us hunting innocent humans andsnacking on them. Fun, huh?” he asks. It’s all quite teasing and in turn irritating.
“Fuck,” I say as I grab him and start dragging him over to the trash can.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to get blood on Orin’s floor, so I’m going to make sure your head falls into the trash can.”
“But why? You’re so angry! Do you ever feel like maybe this is why people think you’re the bad guy? Because you’re so rash?”
“I’ve never been rash a day in my life,” I growl as I grab the trash can.
“My head is certainly not going to fit in there. I don’t even have an overly large head but with the way the bin tapers down, I’m confident my head will roll right out and won’t that make more of a splash? Think of the carpet, Ender. Do it for the carpet.”
I pull the empty trash bag out of the can and yank it over his head, deciding this will suffice until he tears a hole in in it.
“Why the fuck did you rip a hole in it?”
“I couldn’t breathe.”
“You’re a fucking vampire! You don’t have to breathe!” I snap.
“You’re right. My bad. Now the blood is going to leak everywhere. Iama people pleaser, though, so if you’d like me to find a bigger bin, I’m open to it if you give me a valid reasonwhy. Like did I hurt you in a past life? Have we been reincarnated after having wronged each other in the past?—”
