Nodding, I thank him before making my way back to the Karmas. “Was there anything else we needed to do here?” I ask Brandon.
“Nope, we can head to our second warehouse now, it’s about two hours away.”
I turn on my heel and head towards the exit, sending Teddy a wink as I pass him. As expected, he is behind me at once.
A few moments later we are all piled in the car together, but we are still idling in the driveway.
Brandon lets out a huff of a laugh and starts, “So is anyone else going to say it?”
“What? That she should’ve spoken to us before killing off one of our first leads?” Dean grumbles as he stares at me from the rear-view mirror.
“Nooo,” Brandon drags out, “That what she just did was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I smother a smile, but part of me is confused why the self-hatred hasn’t kicked in now that theNumbhas worn off. I’m choosing to ignore it for now, knowing that it’ll most likely hit me in a nightmare tonight.
“Whydidyou kill him though, Princess?” Brandon asks.
“He wasn’t a lead, just a thief. He wasn’t stealing products that would help the Cambions. He was stealing cocaine, and not a copious amount. But I don’t tolerate thieves, so he had to die- especially since he was caught in front of everyone, an example needed to be made.” The explanation is simple, and Dean seems to relax a bit at my reasoning, but he stays in his normal tense posture.
“Little devil,” Teddy sings, “You are covered in a stunning shade of red.”
I look back in the rear-view mirror to see Dean, locked in on Teddy and me. It’s the first time I’ve seen a real emotion on his face. If I were a fool, I’d believe the expression on his face to be jealousy; even longing, but I know better than to think that. I know I want Dean. Unfortunately, I have no doubt in my mind that he’s disgusted in me, but I’m not sure why. He trusts his brothers’ judgment enough to tolerate me, but I don’t think he trusts me yet. Not completely.
I see myself in the reflection and I notice the red splatters that have dried across my cheeks and neck, feeling itchy now that it has dried on my skin.
“Will it be okay that I look like this when we get to the next warehouse? Or can we stop so I can clean it off?” I ask.
Max, of course, is the one to answer, “We don’t have time to go back to the manor, but there should be some wipes under your seat.”
I reached below me, finding that he was correct. I pull out the pack of wipes and go to clean myself when Brandon stops me and takes the wipe from my hand.
“Let me help you.”
I don’t respond, just letting him make work of wiping the blood from my skin.
“Can I ask you something?” He whispers as Dean begins to drive.
“Sure.”
“Where do you go? When you kill or are getting ready to kill? You seem to flip a switch.” He asks, scrubbing at the splatters on my neck.
“I call it theNumb. It makes it easier.”
Brandon furrows his brows, and takes a moment before he answers, “What do you mean by easier? Don’t you think the people you kill deserve it?”
“Of course I do,” I swallow when his fingertips brush against my throat, “but that doesn’t mean they aren’t human.”
“Care to explain more?”
“Well, my father trained me to be a killer, a weapon. When I use those skills, it feels like I truly turn into the monster he created. So, when I let theNumbtake over, I don’t have to feel so bad.”
The car is quiet for a moment, but Dean joins into the conversation, and it makes me realize that Brandon and I aren’t the only ones here. “If he were still alive, you know we’d kill him for what he made you do.”
“He made you do the same things.” I try to shrug off his comment.
“But you were all alone.” He adds.
“And you were desperate for a family. He took advantage of you too.”
