Page 109 of Skin Deep

I bet you fucking would, I thought and glanced over at him, frowning as I watched him take his hair down. I definitely didn’t want to run my fingers through the glossy copper threads of it just to see if it was as soft as it looked. I hated his stupid face, and his stupid hair, and the way that cigarette looked between his pursed lips.

“I’m at my wits end,” Boone said. “I know you don’t want to be here, but you can’t be out there. What’s your plan anyway? You’ve got no ID, no bank account, no money.”

I lowered my head and looked away, knowing he’d think I was crazy if I told him. Well, crazier. Boone already thought I was batshit, even though he never said it. I could see it in his face when he looked at me, hear it in his voice when he spoke to me.

Or that could be my paranoia talking.

“What the fuck do you think you’re gonna do once you finally escape, huh?” Boone pressed, sounding genuinely annoyed.

So, I fucking told him. I looked him straight in the eyes and said, “I’m going to find the people who fucked me up while I was helpless and kill them.”

The crease in Boone’s brow only deepened. “How are you going to do that with no money, no car, and no help?”

“Like you’d fucking help me,” I scoffed.

“Xion, you can’t just murder people.”

“Even if they deserve it?” I spat back. “Isn’t that what you do? Isn’t that what the fucking Laskins do?”

He sighed again and rubbed his eyes. “That’s different.”

“It wouldn’t be different if I had money.”

“It ain’t about the money, kid, and this conversation is over. I’m not going to kill people for you. Period.”

We’ll see about that, I thought and brought my cigarette to my lips. I might not have had a six-figure offshore bank account, but money wasn’t the only currency that mattered. I knew about Boone’s secret weakness, that he wanted me. All it would take was a little teasing, and soon, he’d be begging for the honor of killing in my name.

---