Page 62 of Sorrow

“You got it, Boo. Anything else?”

He looks between us and I can tell he almost says no, but he doesn’t. Of course not. “Yeah. You serious about this, Hayes? That’s my little sister we’re talking about. You better be fucking serious.”

“I wouldn’t start something with a woman if I wasn’t serious. You know me.”

The way he meets my brother’s gaze looks so genuine I find myself speechless. What the hell does that even mean? Is it a little white lie, or is there more to this than I thought?

“Alright, man. Just take care of her. I rag on her a lot, but she’s good. She might be the last good thing in this goddamn town. Don’t take advantage of her.”

Well, shit. I didn’t know he felt like that. And the way Hayes reacts has me even more confused.

He reaches over and shakes his hand. “I won’t. I know what she is and I don’t plan on fucking it up.”

What the actual hell does that mean? Huffing, I try to keep a straight face. Is this what my life has become? Yeah. And it’s entirely, one hundred percent of my own making. I asked for it, begged for it. And now I get to live with the fact that I’m in a relationship with someone who will neverlove me, just like I wanted. It’s just a different face.

“Anyone hungry?” I ask, desperate to change the subject. “I’m gonna make eggs.”

They’re still doing their silent man-conversation thing as I turn to grab the pan, and I’m just glad I have a second to breathe.

It’s a new path, but the same thing all over again.

So I’m just gonna make eggs.

26

Hayes

“You think that’s enough eggs?” I swear she used an entire carton and the biggest pan we own, but for some reason, I find it amusing. “You’re overthinking again.”

“Who, me? I don’t ever do that,” she mumbles. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, okay.” I step up behind her and tug her back against me, taking advantage of the fact that Boo is in the room. “You okay with how that conversation went?”

She glances at her brother, realizing she can’t squirm out of this. “Of course. Are you?”

“Of course,” I repeat, leaning in to kiss her cheek. Boo’s groan makes me chuckle as I pull away. “And what about the girl you went to visit? You think that’s gonna go anywhere?”

His gaze seems to unfocus as he shakes his head. “I dunno. Something seems off. I can’t put my finger on what, but something isn’t right.”

Part of me wonders if he’s talking about me and Samara, but I’m going to pretend like he isn’t. “With the girl? Why?”

“Yeah. You ever meet a girl who was too into you? Like it just didn’t make sense?”

Pretty much all of them except his sister. Maybe that means something, but I’m not in a place to look at it any deeper. “Yeah. You think maybe she’s working with The Sons or something?”

“It crossed my mind. She’s been asking a lot of questions.”

“So answer her,” Samara cuts in. “Test her. If she’s using you for something nefarious... use her better.”

Fuck, that made me feel something in my chest. I’m used to getting hard off the little things she does, but recently she’s been affecting an entirely different body part of mine that happens to be much more fragile. What does it say about me that her ruthlessness makes my heart skip a beat? “That’s a good idea, Hurricane.” More than good. It’s fucking brilliant.

“I have those every once in a while.”

Boo tilts his head, studying her. “How?”

“You want The Sons, right? Use her to set a trap for them. If you want a direct confrontation, pillow talk about a plan you have to get revenge. If you’re looking for something more hands off, tell her you’re amassing evidence against them and hiding it in a specific location, then just watch the place. If they show up in either scenario, you’ll know she ratted. If they don’t... then either she started off by working for them but actually fell for you, or she never had anything to do with them at all.” She stops to stir the eggs, then adds, “If you have a friend on the force, you could have them do the watching. Tampering with evidence is a crime, right? You could take them down without lifting a finger if you’re worried about what they’ll do to me.”

The fact that they’re such a wildcard makes me want to outright kill them all and drop them into Bleak River, and when I meet Boo’s eyes, I know he’s thinking the same. Anything we do here is a risk. The hard part is not knowing who will pay for it. Still, I know Boo won’t have some colleague be the one to take them down, this is far too personal for him. “What do you think, Boo?”

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