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We were just too different.
However, Hayden’s words made sense. I didn’t like it, since I’d been the sort to deal with my own problems, but this wasn’t reallymyproblem.
And if Hayden and the others could take out Lorien, it solved any issue I might have. Kenz would be safe, and she wouldn’t have to be exposed to these men or those dangers any longer.
“Well, despite what she said, I’d like to see her room and gather a few belongings for her. Could you show me the way?” I rose to my feet.
Char did so as well, then nodded at me, his smile just as unnerving as it always was. “I’ll take you there.”
I glanced at Colton, who had studied the men the entire time. He looked at me, waiting for my choice. If he’d had any real worries for my safety, he wouldn’t just sit back and wait to see what I thought—he’d have insisted I remain with him. If he left it up to me, it meant he didn’t believe I was in danger.
Which meant I had no issue going with the red-headed man and his fake smile. “Lead the way,” I told him, leaving Colton behind.
Tor
Vance and Hayden both made themselves scarce, as if they didn’t much care for spending time with Colton.
I understood that—Colton was like me.
We tended to make people nervous. Something about being around a killer made normal people uncomfortable. Even if they didn’t know why they couldn’t meet our gazes, if they had no idea who or what we were, they still felt it, as though they could smell the scent of death on us.
It was different from men like Hayden, men who had killed, who would kill if they had to, but who didn’t make a living with that as the goal.
Even if I hadn’t known exactly who Colton was, I’d have spotted that stain on him, the same one I saw in the mirror each time I saw myself.
“You know me,” he said softly. “I can tell by the way you stare at me.”
I shrugged but didn’t try to respond. What was the point? What was there to say?
He came closer, then leaned down and stared at my throat. The action was slow and allowing him anywhere near my vulnerable areas wasn’t something I enjoyed. Still, I didn’t react, refused to show any level of worry or fear.
He studied the front of my throat before standing up and giving me a half-smile. “I thought as much. Our world is rather small at the end of the day. That scar is light, almost invisible, but not quite. You’re the silent killer, aren’t you?”
I pressed my lips together, not caring for that nickname. It was overly dramatic. Still, it was just as difficult to argue with or deny, and a part of me enjoyed the idea that he knew about me.
Colton was the sort of name few people uttered and survived, so him knowing about me made me want to stand up taller.
Because Kenz cares about him, and I want those she cares about to approve of me.
But why? It wasn’t as though I expected any future at this point, so what did it matter if her pseudo-brothers respected me or not?
Colton moved a few steps away, then lowered himself onto the swing. “I know sign language,” he said. “It’s a good skill to have when people like us work in the dark and the quiet so often.”
I glanced up toward the house, then used sign language to communicate.I’m surprised you’re okay with Nem going in there without you.
“Nem is a force of nature herself. She doesn’t need me to protect her. Besides, the moment I saw you, I knew I wanted a chance to talk to you.”
Why?
“Because we see the world differently from the others. It’s the way it works, because we deal in death, that we can see things others miss. Your friend Hayden, he sees the world as something worth protecting. Vance sees it as something to taste and enjoy. Char sees it as something to hide from and manipulate. You, however? You see it as I do. So tell me, this Lorien, how big a problem is he really?”
I thought about everything we’d been through, all the ways that Lorien and my life had wound together since I’d passed on that contract, since he took it, since the names on that list had started to keep me up at night.
He is,I signed.He isn’t in it for the contract.
“So why do it? It’s a good way to make money, but if you don’t care about that, what’s the point? It isn’t exactly easy or safe work.”
He sees it all as art. He thinks that killing people is some artform of his. He’s well-known for leaving a lot of collateral damage behind.
