Page 40 of House of Soot

The meeting breaks up, and I follow Flint back out to his motorcycle so he can bring me back to the house. I’ve been gone for just about an hour, so I need to get back before anyone starts to wonder where I am.

Even without looking, I sense his concern. It's always been this way between us, that twin connection everyone talks about.

"You're falling for her." It's not a question.

"Don't start." How can he fucking tell? Is that part of the woo-woo twin thing too?

Flint blocks my path. "I've seen that look before." He taps his chest. "In the mirror, when I was fighting my feelings for Lucy."

"This is different. Jenna helped kill our parents."

“It’s why I know you caught feelings. If you were as pissed at her now as when you entered that home, she’d already be suffering a broken heart and you’d know exactly why she betrayed us.”

“She did it for Ronan.”

Flint purses his lips and stares at me in a way that reminds me of our mother when she wasn’t buying whatever excuse we were trying to sell her.

“She was a thirteen-year-old girl with a crush. She’s not the same person.”

He’s not wrong about that. "She's nothing like I expected. She's…" I struggle to find the right words. "Pure. Genuine. The way she cares for her mom, how she lights up when talking about her garden. She fucking looks at me like the sun rises and sets by me."

"And that scares the hell out of you."

"Either she's the world's best actress or…"

"Or we were wrong about her involvement." Flint finishes my thought. "Look, I get it. Revenge is simpler when the enemy has a clear face. But sometimes, hate and revenge hurt you more than the person you’re pissed at. Look at me and Lucy. I found something better than hatred."

Something twists in my chest. The image of a future, a real one, not built on lies and revenge, flashes through my mind. Jenna in my arms, genuine smiles, maybe even…

No. I can't think like that. "That's different. Lucy was innocent."

"And you're sure Jenna isn't?" He raises an eyebrow.

I stare him in the eyes. “She told Ronan how to get into the house. Our house. Whatever her reasons, that alone means she’s not innocent. Our parents are dead because of her. Our legacy is gone because of her. So I don’t care if she was manipulated or blinded by love. Her actions destroyed us. Even people who accidentally kill people have to pay for their actions. She has to pay, Flint.”

He holds his arms up in surrender. “Okay, okay. I just… you look like shit. Like you’re fighting with your soul or something.”

"I've got this under control." It’s a fucking lie. Every time Jenna touches me, every genuine smile she gives, chips away at my control. It would be so much simpler if she were the monster I'd imagined, cold, calculating, deserving of my revenge.

“You sure?”

I motion to his bike. “Can we go now before they start looking for me?”

He shrugs and gets on his bike, with me climbing on the back. Moments later, the engine drowns out everything but my thoughts blowing through my head like a whirling dervish.

When he lets me off, Flint says, “The mission is Hampton and Ronan, so if you want to leave the girl out of it?—”

“I don’t. Now fuck off and let me do my job.” I don’t look at him as I scale the wall again, glad that I was in control of security that would let me leave and return unnoticed. I head back to the security office, passing Jenna’s cottage. My heart beats hard, my chest filling with emotion, and it pisses me off. I’m stronger than this. I have a mission, and I can’t let my libido or whatever the fuck is going on inside me get in the way.

I can’t let my family down. The Keans need to pay for their treachery. So does Jenna. With the party coming, it’s time for me to find out the truth about her and then put an end to us.

17

JENNA

Ididn’t see Blaise most of the day, except for a short moment when he told me to dress up because we were going to dinner.

Now, standing in front of the mirror, I can't stop smiling as I smooth down my dress, the nicest one I own. My reflection in the mirror shows a girl I barely recognize. These past weeks with Blaise have been like living in a dream.

---