Page 66 of Delightful Sins

He straightens up, and I watch as he slowly understands what I did on the South Bank tonight. He throws his head back. “Ah, fuck,” he grounds out.

“The things he said to her…”

“Where’s the body?”

“She bet her car, and he justhadto add a blow job, huh? More money to get her inhiscar.”

“Where is the body, Ethan?” he insists, anger clear on his features.

There are only a handful of things that will show on my brother’s face. Anger at me for leaving bodies all over town is one of them. The others are Jade sleeping with other men, or the mention of his father.

Never talk to Elliot about his father.

“Ethan,” he snaps. “Where?”

“In the abandoned mall. The one where they race.”

“Is that the whole thing? Or am I going to find the head in a toy shop and the body in the food court?”

I look at my sheet again. Jade’s moans are so beautiful. They could be a symphony to themselves. I push her sheet to the side and look at the one underneath. I called it“Murderer on the Loose.”It hurts my ears to simply read it. The same way that guy’s screams pierced my eardrums.

“It’s the whole body.” I nod to myself before looking at him. “In the underground parking lot.”

“You’re a fucking idiot.” He’s annoyed, but he doesn’t raise his voice. “A fucking shithead serial killer who is going to bring the cops to our house because he can’t fucking control his urges for blood.”

“It’s the way he talked to her,” I justify, my voice now completely even.

“North Shore, Ethan. You promised to keep it toourside of town. I can hide bodies on theNorthShore. I can’t hide the bodies of rich kids on the South Bank, you fucking…” He takes a deep breath, his eyes fluttering shut.

When he opens them again, he smiles at me, his madness under control again. His violence is hidden by his golden-boy face. “I’ll take care of it, okay? I just want you to remember one thing for me.”

“What?” I mumble, drawing a semi-quaver on my sheet.

“The reason you’re part of the Kings,” he says, his voice low and meaningful. “And why they don’t know what you’ve doneyet.” The threat is so clear he might as well have written it black on white and shoved it in my face.

“Tell me you remember, brother, and I can go and clean your mess.”

I bite my tongue to the point I taste blood in my mouth.

“I remember.” My tone is flat, my body tense, but I gave him what he needs.

“Good. Stay away from her, then.”

He leaves my room the same way he entered. As composed as a politician about to lie through their teeth to the entire population.

He’ll be gone for a while. By the time he goes all the way to the South Bank, finds the body, and gets rid of it. I have a good couple of hours to myself.

All the time I want to play with the woman he tells me to stay away from.

20

JADE

pretty poison - Nessa Barett

I startle. Couldn’t he just let me fucking sleep and forget for a little while? He uses that stupid technique too, where he stops me from breathing so I wake up.

“Elliot,” I groan against his hand. “St—”

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