Page 12 of Saint's Sinner

“Seriously?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Guess your mom really loved that band.”

“Pretty much.”

“Does that mean you have an Axel or Slash for a sibling?”

“Nope but I’ve got an older brother named Haze. As in Purple Haze. We did have a cat named Slash and he more than earned the title.”

“Guess that’s as good as Murder Mittens, which is all mom ever calls any of the cats that roam around our place.”

“Accurate description if you ask me.”

“The piles of dead mice they leave lying around can attest to that.”

Chuckling, Night found himself recalling a few of the grislier presents Slash left lying around the yard. “She named me Izzy.”

“Really? So then why do they call you Night?”

“The question should really be why did I start calling myself that.”

“Okay, so then what’s the answer?”

“What’s the reason they call you Sinn besides your blatantly wicked ways?”

“Easy. My given names Sinclair. It’s nice enough, but it lacks the impact Sinn does.”

“You can say that again,” Night muttered.

“Awe, does the sound of it send your thoughts spiraling towards the gutter?”

“Every damn time I hear it.”

“Good. I like knowing I have some effect on you.”

“More than just some.”

“Enough to answer my question?”

“Yeah, okay, though it’s not nearly as interesting as your explanation.”

“Why not let me be the judge of that?”

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Night replied as he swirled one of his fries through the massive amount of ketchup he’d squirted all over them. “She was always sayin’ that me and Duff were like Night and Day. Was pretty clear which of us she thought the sun shone out of, so I decided to embrace it.”

“Does she still feel that way about the two of you?”

“Prolly, considering he’s the only one who shows up on visiting day, when he’s not in lockup himself.”

“How long has she been incarcerated for?”

“Eight years on this stretch, but she did a two-year bit before me and my twin were born.”

“That sucks man. I always hated when mom was in lockup. The only good thing about it was that my old man stayed close to home and didn’t head off on any of the long runs. Even tried his hand at coaching pee wee football once.”

“How’d that work out for him?”

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