Page 70 of Wreck Me

“Yeah. The car stands out, but not in an obnoxious or overly flashy way. Like it knows how good it is without needing to prove it. Confidence versus arrogance, really.”

“Are you complimenting me through my car?”

“Actually, pointing out the difference between you and your brother, the way I see the two of you anyway.”

“Trying to escape the punishment I owe you, is that it?”

“You’re being paranoid.” Her gaze flitted past me and I looked to see her studying the targets in the distance.

“You’re pretty good.”

“Usually I’m incredibly good.”

“Off your game today then?” she teased.

I started. Teasing. She was teasing me, being playful, that usual animosity nowhere to be found. And the weird compliments too.

Maybe it was just the effects of Caleb’s session, the result of that temporary peaceful haze he was always enveloped in for a little while afterward.

Before I could analyze it further, she held out her hand and said, “Pass me the blade. I want a try.”

I slid it from its sheath and handed it to her.

She grinned at me as she started spinning it in her hand with some major skill that even rivalled mine, and I’d been doing this for several years now.

“Do you come out here a lot to do this?” she asked as she stepped up to the fence where I’d been throwing from.

“When I need to clear my head, or take a break from problem-solving something. Stepping away can give you perspective and this helps to clear all the rest out.”

“What were you trying to problem-solve today then?”

“The weirdness of you being here in the mansion.”

“Weirdness? That’s not very nice.”

“I’m not nice.”

The corner of her mouth turned up.

“What?” I asked.

“Well, you do have a harsh edge, don’t get me wrong. You can be a real bastard. But you’ve had some almost-nice moments that I’ve witnessed too.”

“Almost-nice, huh?”

“That’s right. I think you don’t want people to know you have a nice side, so you try to tamper it down. And when it does leak out, you overcompensate. Like that night in the fight club bathroom.”

“You mean, when I fucked you like an animal. Yeah, that sounds really nice.”

“You also tried to comfort me.”

I ground my teeth. “Maybe.”

“No maybe about it, you did. And when you realized it, that wall went up and it became all about that interaction I had with you brother instead, you determined to make me pay for it.”

Before I could get a word out, she tossed the knife.

I watched as it cut through the air with impressive speed, then embedded into the farthest target, driving in strong.

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