Page 14 of Begging for Mercy
“God, no. Put me in your pocket.”
“What a snoop. She won’t know you’re listening.” I’m sure that’s the idea. “Taking an interest in her already? That’s unlike you.” Visiting her this morning was unlike him, too. He doesn’tnormally pay this much attention to our targets, preferring that I handle in-person interactions. Texting, sure, he’ll text up a storm if the mood strikes. But seeing them in person?
Not his thing.
I’m tempted to put him on video and flip him around so that he’s eye to eye with Mercy. I’d love to see the utter shock and horror on his face.
“I’m not interested,” Zane snaps, clearly in denial. “Just find out what they’re doing.”
“Roger.”
I slip the phone into my front pocket and make my way to Alejandro’s family plot. He has three generations buried here, including his younger sister. I’m not sure what she died from, but according to Alejandro, his parents never recovered. I’m not sure that he did either, truthfully. In his final moments, he wished to see her again. It was touching—and the reason why we buried him with her.
Mercy is crouching in front of Maria’s tombstone when I approach. She doesn’t hear or see me, but Pretty Boy does. He’s on high alert, clenching his fists and preparing to defend Mercy’s life on sight. I can see it in his eyes. You can’t fake that kind of determination.
“Easy, boy,” I murmur, unable to keep the smile off my face. In another life—or maybe just another year—I’d go after him, too. “What’s your name?”
“I’m not a dog,” he growls, looking very much like a guard dog as he plants himself between me and Mercy. “What the fuck are you doing here, Reaper?”
Mercy quickly turns at the waist, her eyes beautifully wide as she spots me. “He’s here?”
Yes, Siren, I’ll find you anywhere.
“I should be asking you that.” I nod towards the grave. Zane and I did a good job recovering it to make it look untouched,but it’s not perfect. The more they walk on the topsoil, the more our facade comes undone. “I’d appreciate if you didn’t step on Alejandro and Maria. It’s disrespectful to the dead.”
“Why’d you kill him?” Mercy stands up and wipes her hands off on her skirt, a deliciously pleated black skirt that hangs just above her knees. I lick my lips and admire the view of her porcelain skin beneath her fishnet tights. Goth girls always know how to put on a show, no matter the season.
She blushes bright pink at my stare. I might have hit a nerve.
I’ll have to keep hitting them.
I pretend to think about answering her question, taking my sweet time to shift my gaze back up to her face. “Why do you want to know?” It’s unusual for our targets to ask about our previous kills, but then again, none of them ever had a heads-up about our pastimes. Mercy’s a rare exception. The only one.
That’s what makes this year’s game so thrilling. I can feel the excitement pumping through my veins with every single beat of my heart. “That’s privileged information,” I continue, cracking my neck with a jerk of my head. Exhaling, I groan. Damn, I needed that. “I don’t think you’ve earned it yet, beautiful.”
Pretty Boy Guard Dog bares his teeth, doing a very good impression of a German Shepherd. Even his hair’s scraggy. “That’s the game, right? Figure you out, and she gets to live.” He glares at me. “What kind of a man threatens innocent women for fun?”
“I’m not threatening.” I slide my gaze back to Mercy, enjoying the corset she’s wrapped around her body. I bet tearing it off of her would be a fun little challenge. She might even try to bite me. “It’s a promise, one that I fully intend to keep. But—” I click my tongue against my teeth. “Siren, when were you going to tell me you had a boyfriend? I could make this a two-for-one deal.”
I don’twantto include Pretty Boy, and Zane will rip my head off if I agree to it, but seeing her spine snap into place issoworth the bluff. She pushes herself to her feet and tries to pull him behind her, but he refuses to move, so they glare at each other and stand arm-in-arm.
Cute.
They answer at the same time, only in opposites.
“No fucking way.”
“Do it.”
Then they glare at each other some more.
I cross my arms over my chest and enjoy the aggressive posturing between them. I hope that Zane can hear every heated word.
“You arenotdying for me.”
“Who’s talking about dying? I’m talking about living!”
“You’re crazy if you think I’m letting you in on this.”
