touch burn, and when I breathe in, I smell coconut and motor oil—even though we’ve been staying in a hotel for three days straight. That scent must just be a part of who he is now. He steals the ice cream from me, and I stab him in the side with an elbow. May as well jab at a goddamn rock for all the good that does. Hael Harbin is hard and fit and he knows exactly how to undulate that pelvis of his.
“Ophelia Mars warned me about you,” Leigh says, and it takes me nearly a minute to process what it is that she’s said.
Ophelia.
As in Victor’s mother.
As in … what the actual fuck is going on?
“What contact have you had with Ophelia?” Victor asks, suddenly alert. He leans forward and parks his elbows on his knees. His stare is intense, like looking into the dark eyes of a shark before it bites down. No malice there, just survival. Doesn’t mean you’ll bleed any less.
Leigh sputters, like she’s been caught with her hands in the cookie jar.
“Ophelia is … well, she’s well-known in our circle …” The disgraced social worker trails off as Aaron comes down the steps, lips pinched, eyes hard. He has a soft spot for children and not only because of his sister and cousin, but because every person that matters to him had their childhood stolen away.
Innocence is precious and these people profit off of breaking it.
There’s nothing worse.
“The girls are watching a movie in the home theater,” Aaron says, one hand resting on the newel post at the bottom of the stairs. He looks at the Vincents the way one might examine a pile of dog shit. “And that kid … she’s fucking nine years old. Her name’s Alyssa.” His voice is staccato, almost robotic. I imagine that he’s trying really hard not to kill somebody right now.
“Do you think they’ll try to eavesdrop on us?” I ask as Aaron gravitates toward me like he’s being pulled by an unseen force, resting his palms on the tops of my thighs as he stands between them. It’s like he’s so fucking angry that he needs to ground himself, to find something to hold onto. I love being that something, a sun that he orbits in hope of warmth. I wonder if he knows that I feel the same way about him? That I crave his smile, his approval, his affection.
Aaron shakes his head, his slightly curly, chestnut hair falling onto his forehead.
“I warned them that if they did, there’d be one less Christmas present under the tree for all of them.” He smiles, but the expression is tight. “If I know Kara—and I know that I fucking do—that’d be enough to keep her and Ashley in the room. Heather, too, probably, because Kara’d fight like hell to keep that present count up for Ashley’s sake.” He gives a feral grin that has me shivering. I’m aware that everyone—including Coraleigh and Marcus—are staring at us. Also, I don’t care. “But I don’t know Alyssa, so I pushed a dresser in front of the door, too.” He shrugs and glances over his shoulder again, eyes narrowing slightly. “Wouldn’t want them to see something they’d never forget.”
“Like brain and bone, for example,” Callum supplies, joining in the conversation with a smile. He kicks his legs the same as me, biting into his apple. His blue eyes shimmer like the sea under the setting sun outside the window. It’s getting dark already, but that’s no surprise. I mean, it’s nearly December.
“Ophelia said her son had a gang, and that his new wife was a kid that’d spent some time in the foster care system. That’s all I know,” Coraleigh pleads as I glance around Aaron to look at her. He doesn’t seem inclined to move, much to Victor’s chagrin. Vic asked me once, during those first few weeks, if I could multitask. Apparently, he’s really good at it: he can question a mark and be a jealous alpha-prick at the same time.
“All you know?” Victor echoes, standing up from the sofa and wandering absently into the kitchen. He opens the freakishly large Sub-Zero refrigerator that has no right existing for only two people. It could hold food for an extended family of a hundred. Jesus. Is that worth the blood and bone of children? A nice fridge? The fuck is wrong with these people. “No, that’s not it.” He leans into the refrigerator and starts placing items on the