The Sinners of Saint Amos - Logan Fox Page 0,61

her like a sleepy kid—her head on his chest, her legs folded to one side. She lets him, but I think that’s because she’s in mild shock.

Or just really hungover.

“I was a handsome little shit, even back then,” Cass starts. He toys with Trinity’s hair, winding her curls around his finger as he talks.

It’s surreal, listening to them. Stories spooling out like snagged threads from their tangled hearts. I’ve only ever heard snippets. Partial retellings whenever we’d discovered a new clue that led us deeper into the web of lies the Guardian had spun to keep his enterprise hidden from prying eyes.

“They must have been watching me for a few months already. I recognized the car they used when they finally snatched me. Broad daylight, the fucks. But they knew what they were doing. Where I’d be, at what time. That’s I’d be alone.”

Cass smooths a hand down Trinity’s head, and it looks as if she burrows against him. “I lived in a small-ass town back then. The kind where your kid could take the bus from elementary school and you knew he’d get home safe and sound.”

She shifts, tilting back her head, and shakes her head.

“But I didn’t, did I?” Cass says as he tweaks the tip of her nose. “It was one block from the bus stop to my house. A five-minute walk. That day, I never made it home.”

Trinity widens her eyes. Cass paints the outline of her lips with a fingertip.

“I didn’t make a fuss. The minute I saw the car, I already knew what was happening. I don’t know how, but I just knew. I tried to run, but they had one of their guys on the sidewalk ahead, and he just grabbed me and shoved me into the car.”

Cass stops touching her. He looks away, his head dropping and his eyes clouding with dark shadows.

“They injected me with something. Knocked me clean out.” His head snaps up, and he points straight at me as he grins. “I woke up next to James. You remember him?”

I don’t say anything. Cass has the floor now.

He turns to Apollo, then Reuben. “You guys remember James? Fucker with the crazy eyes?”

I almost laugh.

I’m sure if we had to ask Trinity, she’d say we all have crazy eyes.

“Anyway.” Cass waves a hand. “I had a shit ton of Ghosts. Didn’t even bother keeping track.” He bestows her with his radiant grin. “Guess I’ve always been a good lay.” He winks at her, making her shy away from him.

None of us bat an eye when Cass glosses over his abuse. It’s how he deals with his shit, just like we all have our little quirks and idiosyncrasies.

To each their own.

Trinity peeks at me without lifting her head. “How many boys did they…?”

“We’re not sure.” I shrug as I take a pull of my cigarette before handing it across to Cass. “Things were erratic. I assume on purpose.”

“And the others? What happened to them?”

I push the inside of my lip against my teeth and chew on the skin. “That’s not the question you should be asking right now.”

Her brow furrows. She pushes up and away from Cass, making him groan theatrically. Then she carefully slides off his lap, as if worried he’ll claw her back.

He won’t.

As much as he likes to make out he was the furthest thing from a victim, he did suffer. He was the prettiest of the bunch. We all were—that’s why they kept us for so long. Other boys would come and go, but our Ghosts seemed incapable of letting us go.

Fuck that, who am I kidding?

Of disposing of us.

Cass won’t be feeling frisky for a while. He’ll start acting out like he always does when he’s forced to recall his past. But he drew the short straw, just like Apollo.

We try to be fair to each other. As fair as we can be without turning into complete and utter pussies.

“The Guardian. He wasn’t a Ghost?” Trinity asks.

The cigarette, having traveled all the way around our circle, comes back to me. I tug at it before killing it in the ashtray.

“Not to our knowl—”

“Of course he is!” Apollo cuts in. Trinity jumps at the sound of his voice and turns wide eyes to him. “Just because he never touched us, doesn’t mean he didn’t…” He throws up his hands.

I wait him out to make sure he’s finished. “To our knowledge, no.”

“So how do you know he’s involved?” Trinity’s voice rises an octave higher.

“Because everything always leads back