Page 27 of Karma
“Doesn’t that get confusing?”
“Not so much. It’s all about context. If the subject is being talked about in a not-so-favorable light, it’s definitely our father. He has very few friends these days.”
“He’s a jackass,” Lucas says.
This makes Phillip smile, and Lex worries it’s a bad sign more than a good one. The last thing she wants is any sort of commonality between her crazy brother and her son.
She just has to bide her time until Colt comes home. Maybe they can put an end to this today. It’ll also stop the endless stream of babysitters she has.
“I like you,” Phillip says. “I hate him, too.”
“Are you here to hurt my mom?”
He just continues to smile. “I want to get to know my sister. And maybe ask a few questions.”
“Yeah? Like what?” Lex asks.
Leaning back, he props his shoes on the table. She grimaces, and he smirks. “Does this bother you?”
“Why would you put your shoes on someone else’s kitchen table?”
“Is that rude? I’ve been told I struggle with self-awareness. Apologies.” He sets his feet back on the ground, but the smile doesn’t fade. “Your club identified me before I introduced myself to you, didn’t they?”
Lex could lie. She could feed him a line of bullshit, but she suspects it would backfire terribly. Plus, the more he talks, the more time Colt has to make it home.
“Sort of. They didn’t know we were related, but they knew someone named Phillip was hurting women who look like me. Didn’t say anything until I confronted VP about you, though. They thought I was in danger but said nothing.”
“Gerard ratted. I figured he would, and his little investigator had to pay for trying to help him. He wasn’t my type, so I had to hire it out. It was rather disappointing, though. No imagination. Gerard was a lot smarter than I gave him credit for, but he actually played right into my plan.”
“Your plan?”
“For the record, the girl they found in the warehouse that night was never going to die. It wasn’t the plan.”
Her head spins. “What was the plan?”
“Getting one step closer to you.”
An evil smirk appears, and Lex suddenly longs for Scarface. At least she could read him. Phillip’s a mystery and unsettles her far more.
“So, your plan… It’s to kill me, right? Why?”
“You know why. You also know why we have to do this together.”
She doesn’t, but it seems like a much better option to avoid pushing him. His eyes continue shifting from normal to crazy, and she reaches out to take Lucas’s hand.
“So… how much do they know about me?”
“They know you’ve killed thirty-four women and thirty-three men. The women look like me, including your mother, and the men look like Zane. Or, VP, I suppose, depending on how you want to look at it.”
“Do you think I look like our father?”
Trap! This is a trap.“Do you think I look like your mother?”
“She tried, but she just couldn’t keep the demons reined in. But yes, you share similarities with her. Blonde with blue eyes. She didn’t have the curls, though. I had so much fun with the ones with curly hair.” Phillip pauses and continues to give her the Cheshire cat smirk. “I do have one last question.”
Licking her lips, Lex stares hard at him. “What’s that?”
“How’d they get all the information on my victims? I never gave Gerard specifics, just that no one will ever find the first ones.”
