Page 63 of Splitting Secrets
“Of course, there’s a lot wrong with this whole scenario and we’ve got more questions than they’re probably willing to answer. But we should try to think logically.” Ava offers Beatrix a pointed glare.
“Yeah, obviously I was getting to that.” Beatrix rolls her eyes and shifts her focus to her nails.
“If those people aretrulyyour parents, then this thing just got a lot deeper than we anticipated. I can’t imagine any scenario where my mom would allow her children to think she was dead while she’s off living inside a mountain in some small town.”
“Right. The conditions of this war they want us to fight for them get worse with each passing day,” Jonah agrees.
“So, we’ll get whatever answers we can before we make a final decision,” Beatrix surmises.
Ava nods. “No matter what, our loyalty lies with each other.”
We each mumble our agreements.
“So, now what?”
“No, we wait to see what kind of excuses Raze comes up with.”
34
Raze
“Your little friend is demanding to see you,” my mother’s harsh, irritated voice informs through my earbud.
Demanding?I don’t like the way that sounds.
“Where is she?”
“At the safe house.”
I still my steps so suddenly, the two lingering students walking behind me nearly crash into my back. Their curses rumble beneath their breaths before I turn to face them. They clamp their mouths shut as they recognize my face, tucking their chins down and rushing away, their bags hugged tightly to their chests.
Mother fucker. The Ellerys were supposed to wait for me before they showed their faces. I planned to go tonight and drop off everyone’s duffel bags and break the news to her then. They agreed to wait in their loft until that happened. If she’s telling them she wants to see me, she’s probably already got plans for what she’s going to do with my balls when she gets them in her death grip.
They tighten in response to the thought, and I shift my hips in a small gesture of reassurance.No one is going to touch you, little buddies.
“Are you still at the house?” I hope she isn’t. My mother has done nothing but agitate Sonny at every turn. If she’s lingering in their family business, it’s not for any reason outside of providing extra torture for Sonny.
Thankfully, she responds in the negative. “No, I have other things to do outside of babysitting the cradle you’re robbing.”
“I am not—” I start to bicker back, cutting myself off before someone overhears. Jesus Christ, I miss when we only saw each other twice a year for birthdays. This war has brought on too muchtogetherness.
“Well, she’s holed up in her room, demanding to speak to you before she faces her parents. I’d think after years of mourning them, she’d be elated to find that they’re still alive, but who am I?”
Yeah, that’s doubtful. My mother holds a grudge harder than anyone else I know. It’s exactly why she’s been so rude to Sonny to begin with. She may appear to Nocturne Valley as the sweet little baker grandma, but deep down I know she’s got a running list of people who have wronged her since Bane died.
If my father randomly popped up out of nowhere and said,Surprise! I’m not dead,she’d probably kick him in the throat, and then roast his balls over a fire and feed them to him.
Shit, maybe she and Sonny are more alike than I’ve realized.
“I’ll head there now,” I bite out, then hang up before we devolve into a full-blown argument.
I’ve been avoiding seeing Sonny since I dropped them off at my mom’s. If you asked me why in front of her, I’d tell you the Syndicate has been extra pissy since she escaped, and I have to be as present with them as possible if I don’t want them catching on to me. But if I’m being honest? I haven’t been able to get herwords out of my head since she planted them there in the van that night.
“Bane says hi.”
Somehow, I know she wasn’t bullshitting. She’s spoken to my brother, and the idea of that terrifies me because that means he knows. He fuckingknowsthe monster I’ve become. He’s witnessed my spiral into madness.
I’ve never felt so much shame in my life. I don’t care what anyone in Nocturne Valley or the Midnight Syndicate thinks of me.
