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Dad clears his throat, and we both turn to him with a silent apology. My hand squeezes hers before I hurry back to my chair. I had only just lowered back down when I notice a fourth person with them. Her ash blonde hair flows down her back in gentle curls, the sides held up by a casual claw clip with tresses falling around the sharp contours of her diamond-shaped face.
Her smile widens to two deep-set dimples on either cheek, and the eerie color of her eyes rest on mine. Her mom, Lilith, has unique lilac pigmented eyes, rimmed by dark edges. Luna’s aresimilar, only she seems to have gray more than lilac, until you’re up close, then you can see the wash of lavender surrounded by a web of obsidian.
I return her smile, eyeing her satin, beige, off-the-shoulder minidress. She turns her head to look down the table and I catch the black bow tied to the back of her head. I need to talk to her. Right now. See where she’s been for the past seven or so years.
“Thank you for coming here tonight. I didn’t mean to make it so theatrical, but it turns out that once you call a dinner party and cancel it, people talk.”
The familiar wave of War’s attention sends prickles up my spine as I play with my drink. He keeps me pinned in place and I fight with everything inside of me to not throw my drink at him. Why must he always be hostile?Or see through my lies.
Dad raises his glass. “Enjoy your food. No business talk tonight.”
“Hold!” Priest pushes up from his chair and now everyone turns to the opposite side. I hum into my glass as the waiter moves around the table and refills everyone’s drinks. Her hips sway past the boys and I roll my eyes.
The detachment of Priest’s voice sounds a little less like death tonight. This can’t be good. “We’ve got one more guest before we can start.”
My forearms rest on the table when Luna’s eyes bounce between River, Stella, and I.
I’m the first to ask, “Where have you been?”
Her nose wrinkles. “You don’t want to know. What’s your number?”
The numbers leave my mouth as Luna punches them in her phone. It’s not until she finishes that I realize how deathly quiet the room is.
I’m met with the glare of my brother when my eyes shift up to him. “You done?”
“No, but carry on, I guess.” I lean back on my chair. The only good thing to come of tonight is Luna.
I catch movement near the entrance once again. Great. Now what?
My blood turns cold at the sight of her. With the knife fisted in my hand, I use it as a distraction, counting back from ten. What the fuck is happening?
The silent echo of Pop’s warning is as though he’s sitting right beside me.Don’t flinch. They’re watching for any movement.Sweat coats my hand as my body thrums a tune I try to sing to.
Sliding the metal down to the table with slow movements, I try to calm my breathing. Maybe I’m thinking into this. It could be a complete coincidence.
My stomach hits the floor when my eyes swoop up from my plate and land on War, who’s already watching me. His mouth is in a straight line, his eyes dark on mine. A moment passes when the side of his lips twitches. I can’t make out if it’s a smirk, but either way, this isn’t good.
With my blood buzzed from tequila, dinner is served.
I pick at the food on my plate while losing my focus on the sparse windows that display the back of our property. Remain calm. That’s all I need to do. Don’t look at her, don’t even—
A shadow zips between two maple trees outside and my hand instinctively lands on my thigh. My fingers pull at the silk of my dress to expose my holster, but I stay fixated on the outside with no sudden movements.
“Dad.” The calm call of my tone fails to reach him, as a flush of adrenaline prickles my skin when my fingers unlatch my gun.
“War!” The scream that shreds my throat will leave abrasions long after tonight, as the hand that’s holding my gun lifts not even an inch before the violent blast of the explosion erupts around us in a rain of shattered glass.
The end of my gun follows the movements outside the new hole in our wall where the window used to be, as I fire round after round. The ones I hit drop, but not fast enough, before a round of bullets spray through the room. Chunks of meat and salad fly around us, just as I catch the amber glow of his assault rifle. I swing my hand up and empty the rest of my chamber into his face.
The sound of bullets being fired are drowning out the ones coming from outside, so I take this moment to check on everyone.
“Stella!” I grab her by the arm, ignoring the shards of glass cutting into my hand as I force her beneath the table. “Where’s your fucking gun!”
“I left it behind!” More bullets rain through the room, and I push back to my feet. Before I can shoot the next, a weighty arm forces me back down, and now a pissed-off War glares back at me.
“If they don’t kill you, I sure as fuck will. What the fuck are you thinking!” The pits of his eyes balloon, swallowing all the color.
“Why are you yelling at me when people are dying?” I scream back, shoving him by the chest.
