Page 15 of The Duplicity of Thieves

Stafford shoots her a warning glance. “Give ‘er a break.”

“Someone has to reel her in,” Vivian argues.

He clears his throat. “Maybe not tonight.”

Vivian squints, trying to read something on his face.

“He’s just talking about the anniversary of death, and the destruction of our lives.” I hiccup.

“Shit.” She eases herself down next to me. “That’s today?”

“Tis.” I nod. “Staff, grab us more shots.”

“O’ course, lass.” He pats my knee and heaves himself up.

“I’m sorry, Jo. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s best if you forget. I’m happy for you, Viv. This is just another night.”

“But it isn’t.” She leans on me. “Give me one of those.”

I hand her the pack, and she grabs one and lights it. I raise my eyebrows.

“In memoriam,” she says. “Killy liked his cigarettes.”

“They remind me of him.” I stare into the cherry, seeing the fire that consumed their bodies. “I always think I’m over it, but every year I get in a mood.”

“If Bella died I would lose my shit. You’ve kept it together pretty well.”

“I haven’t.” I laugh, thinking about what I did earlier tonight. The thief wore the necklace like a fucking trophy.

“We all do strange things to preserve our sanity,” she offers. I shoot her a look. “Not all of them are healthy,” she clarifies.

“Shots for the lot o’ us.” Stafford passes me a tray and sits back down with us.

Vivian holds one up. “To Killy.”

“Fuckin’ bastard,” Stafford says with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth.

“And to Kate, for being such a conniving bitch,” I add. Vivian purses her lips, but she doesn’t correct me.

The more I drink the more I forget, until I remember nothing at all.

Chapter three

Josephine

“No, I haven’t finished moving yet, but we should be done in the next few weeks. You know work has been busy,” Vivian muses. She has a giant smile plastered on her face. At least it’s genuine.

“You two look so in love, ugh. I’m so jealous, aren’t you, Josephine?” This girl is Vivian’s coworker. I’ve probably met her dozens of times, but I can’t recall the first letter of her name.

“So jealous,” I mumble. I stir the tiny thin straw in my crystal glass of whiskey, the ice clanking loudly on the sides. I hate whiskey on the rocks. The ice immediately starts melting and the whiskey gets watery, diluting the flavor. That was Vivian’s intention. None of us are supposed to get too drunk.

I tune the redheaded girl out as she peppers in more questions and coos congratulations on my sister’s engagement.

Four years ago, I never would have imagined how things have unfolded. I had no idea how well Vivian would do in the capital away from her home, but she bloomed. Starting brand new lives was exactly what she needed.

Settling in hadn’t been a piece of cake, but once we had jobs it was easy to keep our minds occupied. Vivian decided to pursue a career in medicine and ended up working as a healer in an infirmary. It suits her. She’s fucking good at it. All those years with Kate really taught her a lot.

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