Page 11 of Shadow Touched

He pursed his lips. “You watch a lot oftelevision, don’t you?”

“What? You don’t think the potentialassassin won’t be immediately suspicious that you return rightafter the attempt on your life? And you show up with anoutsider? Let whoever it is think your enforcer simply didn’t get achance to fulfill his task.”

“All right, I’m game. You’re my new oldlady.”

Satisfied, Leia relaxed. “So, we need tolearn about each other. What’s your full name?”

“Brimstone Jandreux. Somewhere down the lineI obviously had a French ancestor. Forty-five. Birthday is Julythirty. My favorite color is black. That about sums it up?”

“That’s a good start. Any family?”

Brim tensed, looked away. “I have a mother.Her old man is in another club called The White Death.”

Leia sensed he was hiding something. “That’syour whole family?”

“Other than my club brothers, yes.”

“Brim—”

“That’s it, Leia,” he snapped, glaring ather. “No one else. What about you?”

“No one,” she replied quietly. “I horrifiedmy parents with my little magic trick. They thought I was possessedby the devil, because I told them repeatedly about the shadow ofdeath I kept seeing. Shipped me off to a religious school that waslittle more than a cult. They ended up dying in a car crash notlong after and then I was shuffled into foster care.”

“That’s rough,” he said.

She shrugged. “Now I realize that the ironyis if they had kept me around, I could’ve warned them. I might haverealized sooner that you could cheat death.”

“Parents aren’t infallible,” he said softly.“Maybe they thought sending you away was better for you than theywere. We just want the best for our kids.”

She didn’t miss his use of the wordwe. It made her want to question him more, but a shuttercame down over his blue eyes, and his jaw hardened. He folded hisarms over his chest, and she had the feeling he had just erected awall.

“I think that’ll do,” he said.

“What are you talking about? We justscratched the surface.”

“Leave it, Leia.”

“This isn’t going to work if you keepfighting me. You know what we need to do?”

“I’m suddenly afraid.”

“We need to visit your mother.”

He immediately shook his head. “Oh, hell,no.”

“Why not? Your mom could help us sell we’rea couple.”

“We’re not a couple, Leia.”

“I know that, and if we show up at yourclub, everyone else is going to know that, too.” Now that shesuggested it, Leia liked the idea. “We definitely need to visityour mom.”

“You have no idea what kind of hell you’llput yourself in.”

“If she hates me that much, we can tell herwhat’s going on. How bad can it be?”

He pointed at her. “Remember thosewords.”

Chapter Five

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