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SEVEN
Decima
I’d never thoughtI’d come back to my birth family’s home. I’d neverwantedto come back to this horrible place where so many awful acts had been planned and celebrated. But I was running low on options, and if the new thread Blaze was pursuing didn’t pan out as well as he hoped, we’d need all the information we could get.
The Maliks had targeted the Blood Hunter years ago, stolen and murdered his daughter. They’d obviously investigated his dealings enough to know about his criminal activities. Now I needed to know what they knew.
I’d left Blaze back at the house where we were staying, working away with the same fervor he’d shown yesterday after our intense bedroom interlude. He exuded excitement, but he hadn’t wanted to tell any of us what he was working on until he was sure it’d bear fruit.
The rest of the Chaos Crew had wanted to join me on my expedition, worried about my protection—and in Garrison’s case eager to make more progress than his efforts yesterday had accomplished. But I’d insisted that he stay home and Julius and Talon follow only at a very discreet distance. There’d been a lot of reporters circling the Malik home recently, wanting to nab whatever juicy details they could get from the surviving family members. The last thing we needed was even more of the crew exposed.
The only relatives I had left were my grandmother, my mother, and my brother, Carter. None of them were particularly physically fit. They were used to attacking weak opponents—children—not fully trained adults. I’d come armed just in case, and I didn’t plan on getting into any compromising situations. If I couldn’t handle my own against the three of them, I didn’t deserve to survive.
At the other end of the block I got out of the Uber I’d hailed and walked the rest of the way on foot, scanning for news crews. It seemed their interest had dwindled with the shifting news cycle. This early in the morning, before my mother would have been heading off to work, no one was staked out near the house.
Relief rushed through me.Iwasn’t wanted for anything, but I could only imagine what questions they’d have for me as Damien Malik’s recently discovered long-lost daughter.
As I walked up to the porch, I took one of my pistols into my hand, holding it at my side where no one would be able to see it from the street. I’d just reached the top of the steps when the front door opened. I froze in place.
My grandmother stepped out, her eyes red-rimmed but as flinty as ever. My mother, Iris, followed her, her wan face tensed and her arms folded tightly over her chest. As they stopped in front of the doorway like a tiny brigade, Carter peered out from behind them. His tawny hair was even messier than usual, his gray gaze as dark as a thunderstorm.
“What are you doing here?” Grandma Ruby demanded.
The chill in her voice made it sound like I was an outsider rather than part of the family. Someone who didn’t belong and never would. A week ago, that might have bothered me. Now I knew I didn’t want any part in the Maliks’ legacy.
I shifted my arm to draw their attention to the weapon I was holding so they knew not to risk making any aggressive moves. “I need answers.”
She sputtered. “Youneed answers? We’re the ones who’ve been left bereft. Or have you come to finish the job you started, to slaughter the rest of us too, just as shamelessly as you did your own father.”
Despite her words, her voice was less steady than usual, without its typical sass. The loss of her husband, children, and most of her grandchildren had cracked her impervious façade.
“We know it was you,” Carter spat out. “You called me and asked about the house on Eckleberry Lane. Dad and everyone else went out there to find out what you wanted, he let us know you showed up with a bunch of strange men, and now they’re dead.”
Iris drew her chin up. “Was this your plan all along? Are you working with the criminals who kidnapped you—leading us into a trap so they could ruin our lives even more? I thought—I thought my daughter had come back to us, but really you’re the same sick scum we’ve been trying to eradicate.”
I didn’t see any point in trying to deny my part in the murders, but I wasn’t going to confirm my exact role or what I’d become under my former captors’ guidance either. Especially not when the accusation set off a flare of fury deep in my chest. “And what do you call people who torture and murderchildren?”
Grandma Ruby glowered at me. “We don’t murder anyone. We create a better world.”
“Through murder. You massacre innocent children who would have lived long, happy lives, and you torment them before you do it. So don’t act like you’ve got some moral high ground.”
Iris’s voice came out in a hiss. “Of course we do. We make sacrifices to improve the world, and you—I have no idea why you turned on us like this. We are saviors who make sacrifices to reduce the crime in the world, and you’re despicable.”
And how much had crime been reduced by their actions? They probably gave themselves credit for any small improvement in the crime rates and assumed any increase was in spite of their efforts, totally wrapped up in their spiritual delusion. I couldn’t argue with them when their minds were that warped. It was hopeless.
I wasn’t here to argue sense into them anyway. I needed answers, and then I’d leave and pray that I’d never need to speak to them again. They wouldn’t be able to get away with hunting down more children now that it was just the three of them and they’d be facing so much more scrutiny.
And I’d be keeping an eye on them from afar for the rest of their lives to ensure that was true.
I shifted my stance, studying each of them in turn. “Believe whatever you want. I’m here to learn about the Blood Hunter.”
I wasn’t sure what reaction I expected, but I got nothing at all. The three remaining Maliks stared at me blankly.
“Thewhat?” Carter said.
I glared right back at them. “The Blood Hunter. The very powerful criminal whose daughter you murdered nearly thirty years ago. I guess you go through so many of them you might not remember well. She was blond, around six years old. I’ve seen a picture of what you did to her—and so has he. And he’s your real enemy in this scenario.”
Iris had stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
