Page 90 of The Masks She Wore

?I leaned back, releasing her jaw, sliding my hand back over her thigh as I did. “I have three other brothers,” I told her as she angled herself towards me and reached for her water.Good girl. “Everett, Greyson, and Azrael. I have three sisters, they look after us. Zo,” I nodded towards her. “Poppy, who watches over Azrael, and Evie, who watches over Everett.”

?“Babysitters,” she suggested innocently.

?Zo smiled and shrugged. “Yeah.”

?“No,” I frowned, glaring at her.

?Rae allowed a small smile, relaxing once again. “Why doesn’t Greyson have a babysitter?”

?I swear to God.

?“He doesn’t need one,” Zo answered, inspecting her own manicured nails. “Too good. We all went through a program. The Shadow Initiation Program. The sons first, all but Greyson, and then us daughters soon after. Once they went through, Malachi opened it up to his people. We’re spread all across the world, you could say, but only a few hundred of them actually made it through the program. Some died during it, others failed, and more just didn’t take the chance.”

?Rae nodded, thinking over this information. “Am I allowed to ask questions?”

?“Only if you’re willing to die if you speak them out loud.”

?Without hesitation, she agreed, and I was proud of her for it.

?Zo waved her ahead. “Ask away, but we can’t stay long. We’ve always got business. It never stops. Something to keep in mind as we go about this.”

?Rae nodded her agreement. “How many sons does Malachi have?”

?“Four,” she answered. “The first four who ever went through the first version of the program.”

?“Blood?”

?Zo’s eyes flicked to mine and back. “No.”

?“Do any of you have families?” she asked, her eyes finding mine.

?“If you mean do we have blood out there, the answer is yes,” I explained evenly. “If you’re asking if they’re involved, the answer is no.”

?She chewed on the inside of her cheek, pain clear in her eyes, but she held her tongue and turned back to Zo. “What is it you do?”

?Zo shrugged. “A little of everything, I guess. We do what needs to be done. Malachi runs the show, a lot of shows, and if there’s a problem, we’re the people who deal with it.”

?“Hired guns?”

?She snorted. “You watch too much television, Bennett.”

?A smile touched her lips, light reflecting in her eyes as if that term was endearing to her. “What else is a girl to do with no job, no family, and no friends?”

?Before Zo could respond, Rae’s phone started ringing, mine buzzing in time with it.

?Rae looked over and glared at me, rolling her eyes before pulling it out of her sweats and seeing who was calling.

?Her shoulders tensed when she saw the name.

?Captain Bard.

?She rolled her eyes and silenced it, pushing it away.

?“No, answer it,” I told her, wanting to see what he had to say.

?Avoiding looking over, she shook her head. “I don’t want to deal with it right now, Jack.”

?Well, that’s just too damn bad. I reached for her phone and hit answer, putting it on speaker in the middle of the table.

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