Page 30 of Sin Like the Devil

I have a plan.

All I need is a sacrificial lamb.

Scanning the smattering of picnic benches, he’s in his usual spot. Noah likes the bite of cold air. He once told me it makes him feel something, if only for a second. His depressive episodes come more frequently than mine.

“Look alive,” I greet wearily.

His head snaps up as I approach. “Ripley. Heard you got taken to the hole.”

“News travels fast, huh?”

“In this place?” He lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “Nothing much else to do than gossip.”

“Well, people better not get too excited. I’m back now.”

“They were probably more concerned about where to source their shit from than excited.”

I loop a leg over the bench seat. “Were you concerned about that too?”

“I’m not a junkie.” Noah sighs. “I have no interest in buying drugs.”

“Well, I don’t just sell drugs. Interested in a trade?”

A sparkle briefly lights his sad, lifeless eyes. Everyone has that one thing. A pressure point. Find it and you’ll own them, head to fucking toe. I just need to know what Noah’s crutch is beyond meaningless one-night stands with batshit crazy drug dealers.

“I have a job that needs doing.” I lower my voice, subtly glancing around. “You see the newbie yet?”

“Which one?” he replies. “I counted several.”

“Big. Bulky. A sour-faced bastard with a bad attitude.”

Noah snorts. “Saw him punch someone in the breakfast line this morning. That your guy?”

Fucking Lennox.

“Bingo.”

“What about him?”

“I want you to pick a fight. Make it look like he started it. You’re gonna get hurt, enough to get him thrown into the hole for a good while.”

His brow line raises. “Why would I do that?”

“Name the price. It’s yours.”

Noah’s mouth opens and closes several times before he finally responds. “You’re serious?”

One day, people will stop underestimating me. Until then, I have to justify myself to idiots like Noah who see nothing but a mousy girl playing a game she doesn’t understand.

“Do I look like I’m kidding around?” I gesture angrily.

While he chews over my proposal, I feel my plan begin to solidify. I can’t get to Xander while his rabid pet is around. He serves his master too well. Remove Lennox from the picture, and Xander is free game.

That is how I’ll win.

Break their family, and I break them.

“Well?” I push anxiously. “What’ll it be?”

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