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Well, that and a place to stay, because I meant it when I said I wasn’t going home to Dad. No, tonight, I was going home with Creed.
Chapter Two – Creed
“Say the number for me out loud,” I told her. She sat on the swing in the backyard, and I stood beside her. This wasn’t the first time I’d told her the number, and it wouldn’t be the last. I’d tell her however many times it took for her to get it right, for it to sink into that brain and be locked in.
Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her green eyes bright, which she then rolled at me, but she giggled all the same. She repeated the number I told her, the Black Wolf’s number. Before my mom’s death, it’d been her line, and now it was mine. My days in this house were numbered, but until the money and everything else transferred into my name and my accounts, I had to wait.
And then, once it happened and I was officially the new Black Wolf, it was better for everyone if I left. Better for Taylor, definitely. The last thing I wanted to do was drag her into the Calypso family business.
My mom had never told her second husband what she did for a living. The fewer people who knew about your involvement in the Guild, the better. Still, that hadn’t stopped it from happening. Sometimes, when you were in the business of life and death, mistakes were made and death caught up to you. Such as it had been the case for my mom.
Taylor recited the number, though she got the last four mixed up—which I instantly corrected her on.
It wasn’t like I wanted to leave. It wasn’t like I’d woken up one day and decided to leave this life behind. In reality, it had been set in stone years ago, when my mom had decided to never have more children. Being in the Guild, certain positions were handed down. I’d been taught, practically since birth, that a normal life would never be for me.
Taylor recited the number again, this time doing it correctly, and I gave her a smile.
A normal life. Sometimes that was all I wanted. Sometimes I caught myself daydreaming what a normal life would be like: going to college, graduating, getting a normal job in the city. No matter what pretend life I imagined for myself, I always knew Taylor would be there, my little shadow, just like she’d been since our parents had gotten married.
But, like I’d said before, it was better for her if I left, and that knowledge made my heart ache a certain way, made dark, regretful feelings rise up inside of me. It fucking sucked.
These last ten years had both passed in the blink of an eye and felt like an eternity as they went by. A part of me had wanted her to call, but the other part of me knew I couldn’t do anything for her. Being there for her, even in spirit, was about all I could do when she was young.
Sitting there, across from me, she was still young now, but she wasn’t underage. She’d grown so much. No longer was she the child I’d left, but instead a young woman—a beautiful young woman who acted so unsure around me, so shy, timid, like I was a stranger to her.
In a way, I supposed I was. I was not the kid I’d been when I’d left that house ten years ago. I was twenty-nine years old now, a respected member of the Guild, the Black Wolf. I didn’t take every job that was offered; the Lioness knew better than to offer me the regular, run-of-the-mill jobs now. I didn’t care if it hurt my standing with the Guild; if you lived by no creed, you died by no creed… and I wouldn’t die without one.
When my phone had rang and I’d heard a soft voice say, “It’s me,” I’d known it instantly. Even though it had been ten years since we’d spoken, I’d known.
And now we were here, in the Hooting Owl, sitting across from each other. Not many souls graced the bar right now; it’d get busier as the hours of the night crept along. Many Guild members liked to spend their free time here, along with spending their hard-earned money here. It was a safe place for us, and we made sure it was a safe place for Jeff and the other workers.
“You know, it’s funny,” Taylor said. She shifted around her weight in the wooden booth, fiddling with her drink. Cherry-flavored pop was still her favorite; it was good to know some things hadn’t changed, even though we both had.
Honestly, even though she wore a baggy hoodie and looked like she needed a shower, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I asked, “What is?”
“I memorized the number you gave me before you left. So many times I put it in my phone, but I stopped myself right before I dialed. I never let myself call, and I always stopped myself from saying your name.”
She bit her bottom lip then, and I let my eyes fall to her mouth. That mouth was yet another thing that had changed these past ten years. She was my kid sister, and yet she was a woman now. It was undeniable.
“In a weird way,” Taylor continued, “I think I was saving it, your number and your name, so that when I really needed you, I’d use it and you’d come to save me.” She chuckled softly, almost a bitter sound. “Pretty sad, huh?”
It was like she wanted me to agree that it was sad, but I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. “It’s not sad. I’m here now. You don’t have to be afraid of saying my name.” There were so many things I could’ve said, so many things I wanted to say, but I managed to hold back. “You know I’d always come running when you call.”
The way she looked at me then, with those big, bright green eyes, made something in me twist. They were the same eyes she’d had when she was a kid, but now… set in a more mature face, I knew those eyes could get me to bend over backward for her.
“Creed,” she whispered my name ever so gently, so softly, like it was a prayer on her tongue. “I missed you.”
I found I liked the way she said my name. I liked it a lot. I’d never heard someone whisper my name out quite like that before. It was definitely one for the books.
I couldn’t help it; I grinned. I wanted to tell her that I’d missed her too, that I’d thought a lot about the sister I’d abandoned, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. Maybe it was the guilt I harbored over it, the feeling of not being good enough to truly take care of her.
And here she was, coming to me, asking for help, for a place to stay. I’d told her she had a place with me as long as she needed one, and I meant it. Now that I’d made a name for myself in the Guild, I had a place downtown. As safe as a place could be, with guards stationed at the doors and bullet-proof glass for windows. Tight security. A lot of Guild members lived in the same high-rise.
The truth was, I wasn’t very good at talking about feelings and shit. Doing what I did for a living meant being closed-off to most of the world. It meant going through every day, knowing I was different than most people, knowing I was alone. A part of me had always hated that.
I would keep her safe. I made that vow to myself right then, as I smiled at her. I would. I would do anything,anythingfor this girl, and I’d do it with no hesitation whatsoever. There weren’t many people I’d give my life for, but Taylor… she was one of them. In fact, she was at the top of the list.
One of her hands must’ve sat in her lap or in her hoodie pocket, while her other lay on the table near her drink. I’d already reached over and touched her—a mistake, by all accounts, since I now knew how soft her hand was and couldn’t ignore it.
