Page 60 of Stitches

“Now what?” I murmured.

“Now we wait. Remember what I said? That she’d come to you?”

I swallowed hard and said nothing, my heart in my throat.

“Just keep the faith. You did good tonight. We’re almost back in the game.”

“You think they’ll let you in?” I finally looked over at him.

He turned his head and smiled at me. “It doesn’t matter what they want. It matters what she wants. You know that. And I’m in such a position to make her want me. Little firefly, fluttering through a nightmare. All we must do is get her to relax and beckon her to come here. A mirage in the distance and an asylum at her back. Her sin in her heart, then nothing she will lack. She will be ours. Then this world falls. We take the victory. Winners take all.” He winked at me and turned to look back at the ceiling.

“Mirage too?”

He shrugged. “Can’t have one of us without the other. Seems a given.”

“The watchers will never allow it. You’re too…much. Too…weird.”

“It’s not up to them,” he said simply. “Sleep, Sinclair. We have more dastardly deeds to commit tomorrow. You’ll need your rest.”

I didn’t reply.

Something told me it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Any questions for Asylum always just led to more questions and no answers.

I just needed to trust the process.

I was beginning to believe it was the key to everything.

STITCHES

Sirena was pissed.

She had every right to be. Church had launched himself at Bryce and caused a fuck of a lot of issues. It was quickly becoming apparent that Sirena had a backbone and was more like Cady than we originally thought.

She may not use her voice, but she sure as shit used her silence.

It was killing us all. I’d been distant lately, but even I was feeling her coldness. It had been a week since shit had gone down in the living room, and I’d found Sin putting his damn lips on her in Church’s room after bringing her home. I hadn’t said a word of it to anyone. I’d simply told Church and Ashes I’d come home and found her in bed.

She’d withdrawn from all of us. As much as Church and Ashes tried to talk to her, she wasn’t having it. She’d taken to sleeping on the couch and frowning a fuck of a lot lately.

I didn’t like it.

I hated when she was upset, and I didn’t know how the hell to fix it.

“Specter, eat,” Church instructed, handing her a piece of buttered toast.

She turned her nose up at him and glared ahead, stubborn as fuck.

“Heaven, come on, baby,” Ashes urged while Church’s nostrils flared. “You need to eat. We’re going to have a long day. We have to go out tonight to burn, remember?” The hopeful look in his eyes suggested he wanted her there with us.

I remained quiet, not sure what to say. It sucked this was happening, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think she didn’t have a good reason for her anger. She’d wanted a friend, and we’d shit on it. Church had shit on it most, but we were brothers, and I knew we all felt similar about coming home to find her sleeping on Bryce.

Sirena doubled down and got to her feet.

I knew it was a bad move the second she did it because Church snagged her hand and tugged her onto his lap, our kitchen table shaking and my orange juice slopping over the sides of my glass as her hip bumped against the wood.

Sighing, I steadied the glass, knowing I was probably going to have to intervene if Ashes didn’t. I could see he was already coiled and ready to spring into action.

“I’m-I’m sorry,” Church started.

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