Page 60 of Fragile Facade
“But you held it back.”
Where’s he going with this? Is he pissed that I held her hand, or is he merely baffled by the fact that I’m capable of doing something pure? I don’t want a kid, but I don’t despise them and see them as vulnerable weak points like Monster does, so I am competent enough at communicating with them, even if my way was different from her mom’s. Sometimes I feel like I relate better to kids because we all see life through a lens that society hasn’t tainted. Their looking glass is pure magic and mine is dark magic, but it’s all still magic.
“I’ve just never seen you touch someone like that,” he whispers.
Meaning I’ve never touchedhimlike that? Does Soren Sauder have a soft side that comes out to play when he isn’t taunting death and his family curse? Does he crave sentiment as much as he craves danger? I’m not about to try it now because it might spook me as much as it spooks him, and neither of us can afford to have our minds out of focus right now.
“Anyway,” he says, clearing his throat and rolling onto his side, facing away from me. “You got the door and I got the window?”
It’s an odd thing for me to give my back to someone, but I turn over and face the door. “Yeah.” I don’t know if he does it or I do it, or maybe we both do, but sometime later, my ass hits his and our backs flatten together.
And we sleep.
I dream of King Cobras.
22
INFILTRATION WITH NO INVITATION
GHOST
After throwingup in the hotel bathroom for the second time, I brace my hands on the sink and stare into my haunted eyes in the mirror. I’m not weak! I’m fully fucking capable of doing this job. I’m skilled, honed, trained, and mentally prepared, but there’s a level of risk to it that I’m unfamiliar with.
Because we’re outside of Moros, have no backup, and if we get caught, we’re dead—torturedand thendead. I trust myself, but I don’t know if I trust my partner. What’ll I do if he gets caught?
He’s the variable making me sick. It’s the conflicting strategies about Riot that are warring with themselves inside my mind, making my jigsaw puzzle come unglued. My eyes are as crazed as my mind is, doing a terrible job of hiding my irrational worries. He’s Riot—Killian Hallows. He’s just as capable as I am, despite how badly I don’t want to admit that. He can handle this, so I don’t know why I’m freaking out about what’s going to happen to him.
Maybe it’s because our plan involves me doing the sneaking and him taking all the heat. Maybe it’s because he’s going to be the charmer, the one talking and distracting and steering the attention away from me as I slink through the compound to get the key we’re after. I’ll be concealed in the shadows while he’ll be spotlighted to keep me hidden. Our risks are different, which means our outcomes and downfalls will be different if shit goes south. I already know what I’m supposed to do if I get caught, and I know what he’s supposed to do if he gets caught, but I don’t know whatI’msupposed to do ifhegets caught. That’s a lie I’m trying to make myself believe, because I do know what I’m supposed to do, I just don’t know what Iwantto do.
He's my Vile House brethren, but he’s also… Killian Hallows. That never used to mean anything to me, but it does now. Because he fucked me. Because he sees me. Because he knows what goes through my mind when I taunt a curse that has set out to ruin me since birth.
Because I slept with my back to him for safety, and I’ve never sought safety in another person before.
I shower and brush my teeth, and when I open the bathroom door, he’s standing at the window, looking out over the city in the distance we’re about to infiltrate.
“No masks,” is all he says.
No Vile House masks. No Vile House power. No Vile House status. We’re two men going into enemy territory under a cover that might be moot. They could have our faces on recognition software and blow our cover as soon as we step foot in Reaper City. Draco, the man I fought and killed, knew exactly who I was. Maybe the entire organization does, too.
My stomach tightens, but I refuse to let it churn. The time for nerves has passed, and now I need to focus on what comes next. This plan has merit, but it also leaves room for spontaneity. We have a target and a goal, but the rest will be a series of ‘what comes next?’ questions as we pass through each stage of the plan.
It’s late evening, the sun almost hidden behind the tall buildings in the distance. With hats on our heads and the cover of darkness, we’ll penetrate Reaper City with no invitation. The only intention we have is to walk back out. With or without the key.
He’s not wearing a shirt, so his Vile House tattoo steals all my focus. Another thing to identify us by if we get captured, but right now, it doesn’t feel like a bad thing. The tattoo suits his body, looks good on his back, and grounds me because it reminds me who we are. Ghost and Riot, two ruthless assholes who never let anyone else take us down. Tonight will be no different. I refuse to let it be.
Standing beside him, reluctantly feeling his warm and stoic energy, I look at Reaper City in the distance and narrow my eyes at it like I do everything else. It’s just one more conquest to conquer. It’s an obstacle, and I love puzzle-solving. It’s a useless fucking game that I’ll enjoy winning.
“We got this?” I ask the window.
Riot is an egotistical prick, so he grins at the pane of glass. “We got this.”
I don’t want to ask, but I do. “How can you be so sure?”
Riot’s grey eyes meet mine, and his grin only widens. “I love showing up where I’m not invited. This is just another chance to shine.” He steps up to me, making me lift my chin with the confidence I’m still trying to convince myself to feel. “Reaper Corp is about to meet the Ghost of Moros.”
Replacing my nerves, a thrill runs through me, heating my skin and fuelling my adrenaline. “Nah,” I correct him. “They’re about to meet the many masks you wear and get caught up in the riot you start. Me? I’ll go undetected becauseI amthe fucking Ghost of Moros.”
Riot smiles at me, and trust me, there’s nothing charming about it. He hasn’t slipped into that mask yet, and maybe this is the first time I’m seeing his base layer. “You’re goddamn right you are.”
