Page 7 of The Masks She Wore

?Although, I had to admit that it was stupid of her to wear such well-known brands to a place like this. Even so, I appreciated that about a woman. What I couldn’t figure out was if her fearlessness was due to her personality or the drugs and alcohol running through her bloodstream.

?I suppose I didn’t care. I wanted to do everything I could to spark that adrenaline into high gear. The best kind of high in the world, adrenaline. There was nothing like it. What would she do if she finally got a taste of it?

?I lifted my chin, watching as the bartender slid over two drinks, knowing her well enough to get the drinks without a word.

?She turned and slowed, finally catching sight of me watching her. Even in her heels, she was half a foot shorter than I was.

?She looked me over, a sly smile on her lips, sucker long since gone. When her eyes finally found mine, she lifted her chin. “Not a chance, Horror Show.”

?I shivered, the excitement of pursuit filling my bloodstream.Fuck.

?Before she could take another step, I straightened and headed for the door. As I passed her, I leaned in until my nose very nearly grazed her jaw. “We’ll see,” I threatened before heading for the back door.

?The hour was nearly up. If Alex wasn’t here yet, I’d just have to visit his house.

?I shoved out into the alley and pulled out a cigarette. We had all gotten into the habit over the years. A terrible habit, honestly. Azrael quit three years ago, although from time to time you could still catch him with a lit one in his hand. He never smoked it though, it was just a habit.

?Greyson always talked about quitting, but he hadn’t found the will yet.

?Everett was off and on again in his process, but me? I didn’t give a fuck. I could smoke if I wanted. Either it would kill me, or a bullet would, either way, I wasn’t dying of old age, not in this life.

?I leaned back against the wall and took a long drag, feeling the smoke burn down my throat as I looked up and down the abandoned alley. Alex had made the mistake of crossing one of Malachi’s friends. It was a quick hit, nothing messy. Once done, I’d make a call, get it cleaned, go home, shower, sleep, and get back to work tomorrow morning.

?Malachi always had another assignment. It was never-ending in this world. I didn’t mind the work though; it kept my mind busy.

?I didn’t hate much in this world, actually. You know, the usual. Traffickers, gamblers, people who thought they could get away with fucking with my family, but I think what I hated most in this world is what the people within it started calling us after Malachi gave the Shadow Initiation Program a name.

?It started out as a joke between those who survived it, but now it spread across the world.

?Shadows of Sin.

?The names of the four boys who first graduated Malachi’s program. His sons.

?It was a bullshit name. It made sense in only one aspect; the world knew of our existence, but they had no idea who we were or what we looked like, our names, that we were Malachi’s only sons. No matter who graduated that program, we were the only true family he ever accepted.

?Well, I suppose along with our sisters, who went through thesame program Greyson had gone through. Only the men were allowed to go through the real program. A rule Malachi had made when the first five girls that went through it after we did, died.

?Our rules were simple.

?No mercy.

?No second chances.

?If you’re given an assignment, you see it through, whatever the cost.

?If you’re stupid enough to fall in love, you need to be absolutely sure she’s the one because if she ever decides to leave, it’s your job to kill her.

?Easy enough. I liked a good fuck as much as the next guy, but we weren’t made to fall in love. Everett, I could see him possibly settling, he liked to act like he would never fall for any girl, but I could see the truth of it from time to time. Greyson would definitely find a girl eventually, but Azrael and I? I loved my job too much to worry about such trivialities.

?Azrael especially though. He never showed interest in anyone. Even when he did, the women usually ended up dead or in a mental institution. I don’t know what that man did behind closed doors, and I was completely fine with that. I never wanted to know.

?Poor girls.

?Greyson was different though, especially in this. He was the last of us to get adopted. He had been 13 at the time, and while he wasthe second oldest, just under me, Malachi had always considered him the baby.

?Because of that, and the soul he carried within him, he had been treated differently, his rules were different. No, we didn’t feel resentment towards him, at least I didn’t all the time. Our respect for him never changed and we didn’t think of him as less, but we could see the difference between him and the rest of us.

?He was not like us. He was kind, soft, merciful. We were leashed by no such standards but having him around was a good thing. We were better for it in the long run, as was Malachi.

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