Page 130 of Priest and his Anarchist

“You’d love that, what are you talking about?” I scan over him lazily as we head back through the entrance. War’s lucky I’m too caught up in my own head to be more passive-aggressive about his obvious crush on my sister.

As soon as we’re back at our table, the burn of Luna’s eyes aren’t far off. Interesting on her parents’ part, to allow her into my space, placed on my lap, and given to me like food to a starved dog.

I most likely am their last shot at helping her. After killing the Brother of Kiznitch that night all those years ago, Midnight Mayhem had pushed her out, so now she was left on our doorstep. Little did any of them know, this was exactly what my father and Nate wanted.

But she shouldn’t be anywhere near the sector that they’re considering giving her access to. A hit girl with dissociative identity disorder? Yeah. That’s not gonna work. I can almost guarantee it. What could…is her as a wife.

I drink the thoughts, forcing them away as quickly as they come. There’s no point trying to entice her to come back to me anymore. She’s not, and who knows. Maybe Luna worked through her triggers with the fucked up other Brother of Kiznitch, and now her friend doesn’t pop her little head up any time Luna’s in trouble.

“Stop overthinking,” Vaden growls from beside me.

“I’m not,” I hiss through the burn of whiskey, my eyes closing in an attempt to shut out the noise inside my head.But if you did marry her, maybe you won’t have to kill her.

Why the fuck did it matter if I killed her?

I open onto Mom’s smile, catching it in time to watch it slip from her face, thanks to the flashing lights.

She finds me in the crowd, before moving to my father. A woman of poised elegance that’s handcrafted for this world, allows a few seconds of vulnerability to pass before clearing her throat and staring back down to the envelope.

Good to know I can still keep her on her toes.

“The next item we have is an interesting one. It seems one needs reminding who he came from, so for this auction, I’ll start the bid at one million.” She smiles down at me. Maybe the stories I’ve heard about her in her young days are true. “He is his father’s son, after all.”

A hand comes to my shoulder. “You fucking with your mother?” Dad squeezes tightly, bending to my level. “I don’t recommend selling girlfriends on the podium, son. Especially ones we may need soon.”

He doesn’t get it. She is hopeless to me as she is. I want the crazy, the fucking Lunatic of Luna. She is hiding too deep inside to come out, and as far as I know, based on the past three years, she’s healed now. No version of her will be able to force that girl back to the surface.

I am done.

“I don’t need her anymore.” His face turns to me from the corner of my eyes. “I’m done with her.”

I tap my glass on the table, lifting my gaze to Vaden. Always on guard, he watches our exchange carefully.

“And what exactly do you mean by that?” Dad asks, lowering his voice. “Her disorder is irrelevant—” He pauses, and when I give him my full attention. I see the mechanics turning in his head.

A strangled laugh leaves him. “You little shit. You’ve been trying to draw her out?”

Dad is rarely pissed off, but when he is, you can bet it is because of something I’ve done. “Priest. That’s a dangerous game you’ve been playing, and not at all what we told you to do. You were totrainher the same way we did you so that she didn’t have to go through it the same way you did.”

“You gave me the one girl that I’ve ever cared for.” I follow the green in his eyes. “The one girl who protected me the same way I her. The one girl who stood in front of our moms to tell them thatshekilled the member of Kiznitch, when really?” His smirk turns to a frown as realization sinks in. “It wasme.” I turn back to the stage. “I owe her. She was pushed out of her own organization all because I wanted to see what a human looked like from the inside.”

“Jesus, son.” Dad exhales, his arm slipping around my shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

I need a distraction. As soon as Dad leaves, I find Vaden once more. “Care to play a game?”

“Hmmm…what kind?” he asks, eagerly sitting forward and not caring at all what it looks like to the people around us.

My finger taps against the table. “How about we start something new.”

“Hmmm…” War murmurs from beside me. “Not sure I trust where this is going.”

Good. That means his instincts aren’t as shit as they seem when Halen’s not around.

“Go on.”

“A hunt. Similar to what we’ve done to her already, only, we use our enemies to find her.”

“This to see if it triggers her?” Vaden asks, holding close. “Yes. But it can’t happen yet. First, we need her to fear them.”

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