“We’re aware.” Edmund grimaces.
“Daddy, Daddy, watch!” A blond kid in superhero swim trunks stands on the diving board at the far end of the pool. A couple of kids wait behind him.
“I’m watching, bud.” Grinnote waves at the kid. “Go for it!”
Our conversation halts while the kid dives and comes up for air. Grinnote claps for him, and because we aren’t monsters, Edmund and I join in the applause. The kid grins and blushes as he comes out of the pool to wait in line at the diving board again.
“There was another murder downtown, this one closer to Salding.” Grinnote shakes his head. “Like the last one, no real suspects, not a whole lot of clues.”
“You think the Vorsongs are behind it?” I ask.
“Honestly? No. It’s not their style. Or yours, or anyone’s. This is a sick bastard. It isn’t public yet, but the last one had some ritualistic looking shit left around. This one did, too. But no doubt, the Vorsong presence is complicating matters. People who used to inform for us no longer want to. We used to have friends in low places, but they all scattered.”
I don’t like the sound of this. The first stages of a Vorsong takeover are happening before our very eyes. I don’t want to be a part of a war for San Esteban.
Edmund and I say our goodbyes, waving again at Grinnote’s son.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and glance at the screen.
Amber: Five times what you’re paid now. I need you.
I shove the phone back in my pocket.
“Was that Danica?” Edmund asks.
“Nope.”
When I don’t volunteer more information, he doesn’t press. But he doesn’t look happy, either.
13
Danica
“Roommate night!” Wallace yells, grabbing my wrist and yanking me into the house.
It feels weird to be back, like the house is a pair of shoes I used to wear daily, then stopped wearing for a while. Now when I put them on, they don’t quite fit the same. But the shoes never changed—my perception did.
“Thanks for letting me come back for this.” I follow him through the living room.
Wallace flips his long bangs out of his eyes. “Of course, Dani! I wish you’d brought Cackle, though. I miss the little bastard.”
“I don’t.” Elias frowns as he gets up from my favorite chair. “That’s a lie...I actually do.”
Rita runs in and beats Elias into hugging me, but then all three of them are on me, squeezing the breath from my lungs in the best kind of way. I feel tears in my eyes and quickly blink, hoping my roommates don’t notice.
I clear my throat. “So, what movie are we watching?”
Rita points to the TV, where her selection is queued up and ready to go.
I laugh. “Another World War II movie, huh?”
“This shit’s important.” She gives me a very serious look. “If we forget history, we’re doomed to repeat it.”
I try to come up with a glib retort, but I can’t. So I hold up the bag in my hand, instead. “Caramel popcorn?”
“Yes!” Wallace makes grabby hands.
We settle down to watch the movie. Elias even lets me have my favorite chair. The show is a romance set against the backdrop of the war. It’s full of tragedy, action, and violence amidst epic love. Elias pretends to barf during one of the kissing scenes, but Wallace throws popcorn at him and he shapes up.
