Page 115 of Sinners Reunion

“If I win, I get bragging rights.”

My eyebrow rises.

“What do you say? You in?” Blayne stands and reaches across the fire with an outstretched hand.

Bennett pokes the fire, and a log lets out a hiss. “Don’t do it, King. This kid’s head is big enough already.”

Eve and Cat agree with him. Ice Pick stays quiet.

I reach over the flames and take his hand. “Let’s start with something easy.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Josie

The pen scratches across the paper as I circle the final letters on the second word search I’ve completed. How did anyone ever consider this a valid form of entertainment? I didn’t enjoy them when the teachers gave them to us as busy work in school, and I don’t enjoy them as busy work now.

With a sigh, I toss the booklet onto the floor and stand to stretch my back. I wish King would hurry up. After he sat by the fire for an hour, he came back with a beautiful ring and a promise to return the moment he showered the smoke off his skin.

He seemed so much lighter. I guess the talk with Aven went well.

I slide the ring onto my ring finger. It’s a little big, so I slip it onto my middle finger instead. “You’ll get an adornment one day,” I tell my ring finger. “Even if we have to buy the damn thing ourselves.”

This ring carries no real meaning anyway. He won it in one of his silly bets. At least I get the satisfaction of knowing he took a priceless heirloom from that asshole Blayne.

I stroll to the closet and open the door. Might as well change into something more comfortable while I wait. A slight drizzle started a few minutes ago, and the distant thunder tells me there’s more to come. We won’t be chasing each other again tonight. When we get to Nevada, though, I think I’d like to give it another go.

There was something so insanely freeing about trusting King to keep me safe. My trust wasn’t misplaced, either. He took very good care of me.

Both times.

I smile as I pull a soft pair of cotton shorts from my bag in the closet. It’s nice to be with a man who gets me, who understands my needs, both sexual and sadistic—sometimes simultaneously.

And the end of the trip might not be the end of us.

It’s something I feel more than something I know for certain, but the ground King and I stand on is shifting. Unlike the first time the universe brought us together, this feels like something real. It feels like I can finally take a deep breath for the first time in a long time.

I step into the gray shorts. Then I swap my top for a loose cami. Nothing too sexy. For once, I’m kind of tired. Something tells me I won’t be awake when the sun comes up.

Just as I’m about to close the closet door, I realize the vests aren’t where I left them. I pull down the box and find them tucked behind it. King must have hidden them, hoping I’d forget. If he thinks I won’t drag these out again, he’s in for a surprise.

As I reach up to pull them from their hiding spot, the box falls from my hands.

The papers spill out, and now that I don’t have a horny man waiting on the bed behind me, I take a moment to pick through them. Whatever this box contains isn’t any of my business, but the most interesting things usually aren’t. Besides, if King didn’t want me snooping, he should have hidden it better.

But as I unfold the first slip of paper, I feel sick. These aren’t just any papers.

These are the letters meant for Daddy Carter.

I hurry to fold the paper again, unwilling to read whatever private thing has been written. It was fine when I thought I was snooping on King, but I don’t want to betray my new friends’ trust. If I’d discovered something truly private of King’s, I’d have done the same.

Before my curiosity can overtake my morals, I shove the papers into the box, push the box back onto the shelf, and hurry to the bed to sit on my fucking hands. It doesn’t take long for the questions to start, however. Like wondering why King has the box of letters and why they weren’t left for the intended recipient.

There must be an innocent answer.

Maybe Carter is dead, and they’re just letting the children think he’s out there. But that doesn’t track because they’ve assured them—numerous fucking times—that this trip ends with killing their father. They might’ve let them send letters to Santa Claus, but they wouldn’t have promised presents on Christmas morning if there were none to be had.

So that brings me back to the original question. Why does King have these letters?