Page 26 of The Girl and the Cobra

“And it shocks you hard enough to stop you?” When my head nods a third time, she whispers, “Wow. That’s… kind of crazy, actually. It must hurt to stop someone as big as you.”

Compared to her, I suppose I am big. Tall, over six feet, though my muscular stature has dwindled a bit since I haven’t worked out lately. Still lean, but I was beefier a year ago. Things change, however; I was forced to learn that.

I angle my head down to her, finding that she stares up at me with such wide, innocent eyes. They no longer hold a trace of the sadness they held when I first sat down. That pretty, grayish-blue color is zeroed in on me, and it’s like the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

And it doesn’t. How could a world exist at all when everything that matters is held inside those eyes? Those eyes capture and hold me in place, pinning me down like knives with no sharp edges—there’s nothing sharp at all about Mabel. She’s soft, gentle, sweet, the opposite of every girl I grew up around. The opposite of what I always wanted.

Maybe I am different. Changed. The old me never would’ve looked at Mabel twice, but the new me? The new me can’t stop, can’t think of anything else. The new me wants to touch her, memorize how that soft skin feels when it grazes against mine.

The new me wants to know if she tastes as good as she smells.

“You’re very…” I swallow hard. Every word is a battle to be spoken; I don’t want to talk right now. All I want to do is pull her on my lap and… “Comfortable around me, considering.”

Some might call it stupid, but those people would be wrong. There are a lot of people I’d easily harm in this world, but Mabel is not one of them. I’d never hurt her.

Mabel’s lips pull into a sad smile. “Would you believe you’re not the first killer I’ve spent time with?” On her lap, she fiddles with her hands, and I barely resist the urge to set mine on top of hers to stop her. “I mean, I didn’t know he was a killer… although, I guess he wasn’t technically a killer until the end, but—”

She stops herself from rambling. “Sorry,” Mabel says. “It’s still so hard. My brother and I were so close—”

That last sentence in particular snaps me to attention, and I say, “Your brother?”

“Yeah. He, um, killed sixteen people.” She bites her bottom lip, a gesture that would normally drive me mad, but I’m still stuck on the brother part. “We were so close. Closer than mostbrothers and sisters, I think. We were twins. He was… he was my best friend.” Her voice cracks.

“I…” Words fail me.

Mabel shakes her head and tries to smile. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

I’m uneasy now. Something isn’t right. As much as I hate to say it, I need to talk to Wolf.

I get up, startling Mabel as I do so. “I’m sorry. I need… I need to see Wolf.” I don’t wait for her to say anything; I simply go, and I walk away with a fast pace. She watches me go, but she doesn’t try to stop me.

As I hurry through the house in search of the man I need to talk to, my thoughts flit out of control. Mabel is messed up because of her brother. Herbrother. The only reason I’m connecting the dots now is because she felt comfortable enough with me to tell me; if she hadn’t said something, I’d still be in the dark.

Her fucking brother.

And they were close. Best friends. Perhaps even a bit too close.

Yeah, it sounds familiar. Too fucking familiar.

I find Wolf in his private office on the third floor of the house. When I walk in, I shut the door behind me and watch as he takes off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. Wolf slides his glasses back on and leans back in that tall leather chair, setting both hands on his grand mahogany desk. He must’ve been working on his computer; the thin screen off to the side is on, but whatever he was doing he minimized.

“Well,” Wolf remarks dryly, sounding completely disinterested, “aren’t you a man on a mission. Tell me, Tristan, what is the mission today?”

I storm over to his desk and give him a glower. “Cut the shit, Wolf. No more games.”

“And what game do you think I’m playing?” At that, he almost sounds amused.

“Really?” My nostrils flare. This might be the most pissed off I’ve been since… fuck, I can’t remember. Since before coming here, surely. “That’s how you want to play it? It’s her brother. Her fucking brother—”

His hands fall to his lap. “Ah, so she told you. I was wondering how long it would take.”

“What do you mean, how long it would—” Whatever else I’m about to say, the words refuse to come out. As I stare at him, as I barely hold back from lunging myself over that desk and reaching for his throat, it finally hits me.

It must show on my face, because Wolf smirks. “I see it’s coming to you. Walk me through what you’re thinking.”

“Mabel has brother issues. I… have sister issues. I should have known she wasn’t fucked up enough for you.” I breathe hard, my eyes narrowed at Wolf. “You didn’t bring her here to treat her.”

Wolf is a good liar. He’s a psychopath through and through. I don’t know why I didn’t see this sooner, but the whole brother thing definitely filled in the blanks.

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