Crazy Eights (Stacked Deck #8) - Emilia Finn Page 0,127

and soothe your fragile sensibilities, and between dance classes,” she grits out, “I’ll find me a new snitch. Now, if that’s all, boss, I have a routine to work on. You’re not the only person on this planet who counts on me.” She brushes me off with a dismissive wave that almost brings me to my knees.

I worship the ground Sophia dances on. I cherish every single instructional video she has ever made. And because I can’t see past my blinding fear for my brother, I have just found myself dismissed.

“Go.” She waves me off again. “He should be here soon. I sent a couple guys from Checkmate to pick him up, so he’s safe. But you, on the other hand, are at serious risk of getting your ass beat.”

“Soph, I’m—”

“Get out of my studio,” she orders. “I wasn’t at your homecoming last night, but I got word of Jamie’s condition once you arrived. He came home in bad shape, and it was because of you. Your big mouth causes damage to others, and your inability to control your attitude is unattractive to me.”

Ouch.

Swallowing, I drop my gaze and nod. “You’re right. I have impulse issues, and I’m obsessed with keeping my brother safe. I sacrifice other people for him. I’ve sacrificed Jamie a bunch of times.” I turn away and head toward the exit. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” I stop at the door, and glance back. “I’m a jerk. That’s a universally known fact, but I also know when it’s time to say sorry. So, uh… sorry. And that move you can’t get right? I think if you got Lucy to scissor her legs up, then lift her into the thing with her leg out—”

“Arabesque?”

“Yeah.” I lick my dry lips and look to the floor. “Try scissoring, then lifting. Arabesque, then continue on, maybe that’ll help the rest stick.”

I wave to Lucy, and curse the embarrassed burn that spreads in my cheeks. Humiliated, and put in my place. Exactly where I should be. “I’ll get out of your way now.”

“Wait.” Jay bounds to his feet and grabs my arm. Meeting my eyes for a moment, he releases me, and turns back to his wife. “Sugar Plum. You remember that time at Murphy’s Law? The dance club where I found you sliding on a guy’s lap for a few dollars?”

“Jay…” Soph shakes her head. “Don’t.”

“You remember the guy you took into another room?”

“Jay!”

He looks around the studio, then back to the door to check if anyone is listening. “You pushed a blade through that guy’s jugular.”

My eyes flare wide in shock.

Lucy… doesn’t seem all that bothered.

“Do you remember that other guy? What was his name? The one who claimed he was only a soldier.”

“Joshua Kyle,” Soph mutters.

“Mm, him. You killed him too.”

“Actually, no,” she counters. “That was Angelo. I only stabbed him.”

From holding a hand over my mouth to now pressing it to my stomach, I breathe through the nausea that rolls in my gut.

Is this their subtle way of warning me? Of letting me know what they’re capable of?

“Good memory.” Jay takes another step forward. “You took a lot of men out that year I met you, Sugar Plum. Now tell me why?”

“Jay,” she groans. “Stop it.”

“Do you want me to say it? Because I will. I’ll do it.”

“It was for Ellie,” she huffs. “For my sister.”

“Right.” Jay stops in front of her, and pulls her chin up so she looks into his eyes. “It was for your sister. It was to avenge a terrible injustice for an innocent person. Some could even say you were obsessed.”

“Jay…”

“Quinn has yet to stick a blade in a guy’s throat, or burn his dick off with a blowtorch.”

Her lips twitch with the ghost of a smile. “That was Spencer, not me.”

“Oh, right.” He drops a kiss to her lips and laughs. “My mistake. You were busy eating a protein bar while Spence burned a dude’s dick off. I can’t believe I messed that detail up.”

“You can shut up now. You’ve made your point.”

“I’m just saying. Maybe she’s obsessed with keeping her brother safe, but everyone in this room knows we’ve done the same. You and Ellie, me and Kane, even Lucy and Jamie. So why is Quinn the only one being called out on it?”

“Because she said mean things to me.”

He snickers under his breath and pulls her in for a hug. “I’m certain you’ll get over it. Jess says mean things to you all the time, and