Page 62 of Cruel Possession
It’s going to ruin me.
But this is also the most alive I’ve felt in well over a year.
Zoe slides down off the stool, her body brushing against mine. It’s entirely intentional, and it's clear from the wicked little smirk on her face. She looks over her shoulder at me, arching an eyebrow and stopping in the doorway.
“Are we going to look at the dead body or not?”
I sigh and follow behind her, wishing that it would be as simple as calling the cleaning crew to come deal with this and leave. “I don’t know what you’re going to do when you see the body. Don’t know what good it’s going to do.”
“I can tell you if it was my family or not. We only use one assassin, and she likes to leave a little calling card of sorts on her victims.”
“Never noticed that before.”
“You wouldn’t, unless you know what to look for, and if you’re not doing autopsies on the people you’re finding at your door, then you’re not going to look for anything.”
She hauls open the front door, wincing as she sees the body. As she crouches, the wince fades, and she starts poking at the body, looking at the man’s head from different angles.
Zoe turns it this way and that before shaking her head and looking up at me. “Not the Rinaldos.”
“How do you know?”
“Morgana usually puts a little mark either here—” She tips the head to one side, pointing at a spot just above the ear in the hairline. “—or right here. A little purple tattoo of an M.”
“And there’s not one on him.”
“Nope.” She stands and wipes her hands on her pants like that’s going to get the dead person germs off of her. “Not the Rinaldos. Pissing anyone else off lately?”
“No.”
Zoe eyes me for a moment, suspicion in her gaze.
Blowing snow whips around behind her, making her look like she’s walking through a snowstorm toward me.
I take a step back, narrowing my eyes at her. “And how do I know that you’re telling me the truth right now? You’re not exactly known for telling the truth.”
“And you’re not exactly known for being anything other than an asshole, but I have no reason to lie to you about this. My family and yours are already at war, and nothing I say now is going to change that.”
I roll my eyes. “I offered you a way to end this, and you may as well have told me to go fuck myself. Excuse me if I don’t think your intentions are ever in the right fucking place.”
“What the hell makes you think I would bring this to your door when my sister and niece and nephew are going to be here constantly?”
I loom over her, looking down at her, my hands tightening, knuckles feeling like they’re seconds away from breaking. “You’ve done it before. You don’t give a shit about anyone or anything.”
She shoves past me, stepping back into the house and slamming the door shut behind her. “You know, sooner or later, you’re going to have to decide whether or not you’re going to trust me and what I say to you.”
“I trust you… to a degree.” It’s the truth.
I like to think I know when I can trust her and when I can’t. Right now, about this matter, I believe she’s telling me the truth. It wasn’t the Rinaldos.
Which means that somebody else is fucking with me and my family.
I can’t fucking deal with this right now.
Zoe sighs and tugs the ends of her black knit sweater over her hands. “I don’t know who it is, but I’m willing to help you find out.”
“Not right now. I need to call the damn cleaning crew and get the body on ice so I can see if there’s something my people can find out.” I pull out my phone and send a text to the cleaning crew.
She steps closer to me, her hand coming out of her sleeve and pressing against my chest. “I know you’re stressed about this. I’m going to call Morgana and see if she heard anything about this.”
