Page 14 of Sin

Honestly, how London was able to sit there so calmly, I had no idea.

They were joking when they said Lewis usually drove for their missions, right? Right?

After about an hour of driving, but what seemed like a lifetime of near-death experiences, we finally exited the freeway. We were on the outskirts of Mercy Heights, and I vaguely recognized our surroundings.

Though, recognize might have been too strong of a word.

Everything was the same but different as we traveled the roads, heading in the direction of London’s home. Where there used to be empty land, there were fresh homes and several small parks. On one street corner was an outdoor sports park with an enclosed tennis court and a full-sized basketball court.

A group of teens messed around on the court, the sound of their playful shouts and laughter loud enough to hear inside our SUV.

Dogs barked and sniffed each other in a dog park several streets further down. A mailman chatted with a guy as he used telekinesis to float letters into a mailbox. Some children drew nonsensical designs on their driveway while their parents, looking half awake, encouraged them from the front porch.

It was… surreal. In a good way. These streets were filled with people who felt safe. They weren’t scared of a Super fight happening in the streets. Didn’t cast glances in the direction of downtown just in case the government sent up a warning signal into the sky for civilians to run for cover. They didn’t seem worried the sirens would start, warning that a Villain was on the loose.

No, this was very much a different Mercy Heights than the one I’d grown up in.

When we pulled in front of London’s drive, I studied the house’s exterior. It still looked the same, though the front door was now stained a darker color and there were some brightly colored flowers blooming along the walkway to the front door.

Really, the biggest difference from before was the massive iron gate now surrounding the property. The gate even blocked us entry to the driveway. I couldn’t deny that it was cool, but it also seemed a little… overkill?

Then again, with London’s special abilities, who knew what he had stored in his house. Probably a thief’s wet dream amount of rare goods.

As we approached the gated driveway, Lewis rolled down his window and entered a code into the lock pad. The pad then scanned his face before it beeped and the iron gates yawned open.

Of course he had complete access to London’s home.

As if sensing my irritation, Lewis flashed me a grin in the mirror as he drove up the drive and parked in the now open garage.

Fucker.

After parking the car, Lewis and London slid out. When I tried my door handle, it was locked. I frowned and tried again, but the thing was… I glared out the window at Lewis’s smirking face. The fucker had child-locked me inside.

“Not cool, man. Let me out.”

London rounded the car and whispered something in Lewis’s ear. Whatever he’d said made Lewis’s shoulders slump and he yanked the door open for me.

I scurried out, more than a little anxious to be out of that car.

London eyed me with calculation before nodding for Lewis and me to follow him inside. “Come on, everyone else is waiting in the boardroom.”

Boardroom? Since when did he have a boardroom in his house?

Then again, the last and only time I’d been here, we’d been a little… occupied. Mainly in London’s bedroom.

London went inside first, and Lewis waved for me to go on ahead of himself. He was smiling politely, but there was something…vicious glinting in his gaze that caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. I had a feeling that Lewis, despite his innocent appearance, was deadlier than he appeared. I also had a feeling he didn’t like me very much.

Shocker.

As I hurried after London into his home, the feel of Lewis’s watchful gaze on the back of my head felt like a warning.

Along the hallway, London had many pictures of his family and friends. There were several family pictures of London with his twin younger sisters, Amanda and Abigail, and some with his other little sister, Allie. Why his parents had decided to name all the girls with the first initial A, I didn’t understand. Because I mixed up their names all the time growing up. Allie was about twenty or so years younger than London and me, though. She’d been a surprise to his parents after his father had apparently had a failed vasectomy. Like the typical youngest child, she’d been spoiled rotten. And rightfully so. She was by far my favorite of his three siblings.

“What are Amanda and Abigail up to?” I asked when we came to the end of the hallway where a large, heavy-looking door barred us from entering further into the home.

Seriously, what was up with all of this extra security? I definitely didn’t recall this being here last time.

London answered as he entered a code into the door and scanned his palm against a built-in screen. “Amanda just graduated from MHU and started working at a startup company as part of their graphic design team. And Abigail,” the door unlocked with a soft click, “I have no idea what she’s up to these days. She doesn’t like to come around anymore now that our dad’s gone.”

---