Page 96 of Sinner

“You really dug yourself an early grave. Depending on how this plays out, you might have put a death sentence on the three of us.”

I snorted. “We’ve survived much worse than a beautiful woman with the need for revenge.”

“Maybe so, but the company is still beholden to stocks and sales. That’s something you should keep in mind.”

“Always, brother. Business first. Right?” I looked him directly in the eyes and he shook his head.

“Beware harboring so much anger, Xander. You just might lose not only your freedom, but your sanity as well. I’d hate to see that happen.”

“Coming from a man who used an icepick on his foster brother.”

Wilder had admitted the incident after the single night the three of us had been driven to a bottle to confess our sins. He’d threatened me before never to mention the act again. He’d even sworn it had been in self-defense. I knew otherwise. The darkness might be lying dormant in his system more than it was in mine, but he was no different.

He threw back a solid half of his drink before leaning over the table. His eyes were flashing in the same rage I felt on a daily basis. “We all had our reasons for leaving the state of decency, Xander. I suggest you remember that.”

I lifted an eyebrow while holding up my glass in some crazy aspect of solidarity. We were three fucked-up men living a lie. However, doing so had suited us well. Still, I wondered whether Jessica had been brought into my life by a cruel act of fate.

After all, Shanna had walked into the lake because of me.

I was to blame and it had nearly gutted me.

What was to say the same thing wouldn’t happen with Jessica?

Yes, I knew Shanna’s stage four cancer would eventually end her life, but I never anticipated her ending it herself. Maybe I was fooling myself after all. Back then, I had thought of myself as God. Her death had proven otherwise, sending me onto a different plateau. I was lucky I hadn’t burned down the entire city in my months of grief.

Or killed everyone in close range.

We sat in virtual silence until our drinks were finished. While we often didn’t need conversation to connect, tonight we were a continent apart. Wilder was making a solid attempt at keeping a more normal hold on life while I was pitching myself further into the demons that had captured my soul a long time before.

“I have an early meeting in the morning,” he said as he rose from his chair.

“And a busy week,” I added.

“The men are secured for the event?”

I nodded and sucked on the remaining ice cube before shoving my glass aside. As I stood, I noticed commotion out the front plate glass window from the corner of my eye. “Locked and loaded.” Which meant full background checks had been run on them as a matter of precaution, as we did every year in the weeks leading up to the Obsidian event. If our activities leaked, all hell would break loose.

“No outsiders this year. Correct?” he asked.

“Not the year for it. We don’t need any outside interference.”

“Good.” He grabbed his jacket and turned toward the door, stopping almost immediately.

“Just say it, Wilder.”

He tipped his head so he could look me in the eyes. “We need to find out more about our parents.”

“Why the fuck bother? And why are you mentioning it now?”

“Because we need to know the level of evil residing in us and what we can expect in the future.”

“Planning your will?”

Sighing, he turned his head away before answering, but I could hear his words. “Planning my death.”

If truth be told, that’s what all three Blackwell brothers were doing. It was only a matter of time before we’d be forced to face our depravity for a final time. Death was inevitable.

I was right behind him as he walked out of the entrance onto the sidewalk. The moment we stepped foot on the concrete, we were bombarded by reporters.

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