Page 118 of Sinful Sacrifice

Shoving my keys inside my bag, I run into the house. The door is unlocked, and Cernach is the first person I see.

“I’ll call you back,” he says into his phone before ending the call and shoving it into his pocket while staring me down.

A warning from my mother that Satan was here would’ve been nice.

The Fedora man who was with Cernach when he came to my apartment stands to his side. My mom and Lanie are squeezed beside each other on the old couch.

Lanie’s cheeks are red and blotchy, and my mother stares at me with a cold bitterness. It’s sad but funny in a way. She’s looking at me how she should be looking at her brother.

“It took you long enough to get here,” Cernach says, sneering at me.

I offer him a sarcastic smile. “Had I known you were here, I’d have taken longer.”

He waggles his fat finger at me. “One of these days, that smart mouth of yours will get you killed.”

I scoff. “What do you want, Cernach?”

“I’d like to discuss Lanie’s marriage.” He pushes his glasses up his nose, as if ready to make a business deal.

Lanie scoots closer to my mother, who hasn’t looked away from Cernach and me since I walked in.

“Excuse me?” I grimace. “You’re not marrying her off.”

“Yes, I am,” Cernach argues while the man next to him nods.

“We don’t live by Koglin rules here.”

His face is stolid. “She does when she signed a contract.”

My attention whips to Lanie. “You did what?”

Lanie violently shakes her head as tears fall down her cheeks.

“You see”—Cernach’s voice makes my skin crawl, and he strolls toward the couch, as if preparing to auction Lanie off—“Lanie got herself into some trouble for shoplifting. Your mother called me for help.”

“What?” I blink at her. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“Why would she call you?” Cernach says as Lanie looks away from me, suddenly very interested in studying her chipped nails. “Do you have connections with the prosecutor or the money to pay an attorney?”

I want to bitch-slap that smug expression off his face.

He’d probably shoot me in mine for it, though.

“I got your sister out of trouble. You’re welcome,” Cernach continues when I don’t answer his question. His beady eyes level on me. “But as you should know, a Koglin doesn’t hand out favors for free. I explained to Lanie I’d only pay the attorney if she became a true Koglin, and true Koglins do what’s expected of them. She signed my contract, I paid her fees, and your dear sister isn’t sitting in a jail cell.”

Clenching my fists, I dig my nails inside my palms.

“Now, if you don’t want me to marry her off, I have an offer for you,” he adds as if doing me the favor of a lifetime.

I cross my arms. “Spoiler alert: I’m not doing anything for you.”

“Maybe not for me.” He pauses to dramatically rest his hand on his heart, as if my words wounded him. “But what about for your baby sister?”

I peer at a terrified Lanie and attempt to soften my tone. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I didn’t know what that meant,” she stutters out. “All I wanted was out of trouble.”

“Your sister is dumb—that’s why,” Cernach says, shrugging at Lanie. “No offense, twit, but I’m retracting my offer to pay your college tuition. You’ll fail out, and it’ll be a giant waste of my money.”

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