The Sinners of Saint Amos - Logan Fox Page 0,67

if, by some slight chance, they turned out to be right. I couldn’t stay here. I’d be back in foster care until…when? I’m finished school? Then what?

Lord, but it’s difficult to keep eye contact with Apollo. Paired against Zach and Reuben and Cassius, he seemed almost forgettable. But with his hair out of his face, his high, sharp cheekbones are more distinct. And his mouth? It’s impossible not to watch him every time he takes a drag of his cigarette.

Eyes, Trinity. Eyes!

My gaze snaps back to his eyes. The crinkle in the corner of each tells me he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

My cheeks grow warm.

“And what if I’m right?” I blurt out before biting off another mouthful of toast.

Apollo tilts his head, and his hair slides back into his face. “Even if it’s not Gabriel, Gabriel knows who it is.” He shrugs, drags at his cigarette, and walks around the table to me. “And you’d probably go running your mouth if you think we’d hurt him, so…we’d have to make sure you didn’t do anything like that.”

I’m so shocked at what he’s insinuating. I don’t move when he brushes his fingertips down my jaw. “I wouldn’t do that,” I whisper.

“We’re not exactly trusting of strangers. Nothing personal, pretty thing.”

We.

All those years they spent together in that basement. I can’t even imagine the bond that created between them. I’m guessing it goes far beyond hatching a plan of revenge. They’re not just buddies—they’re brothers.

“Please, you have to believe me.” I widen my eyes as I turn to face him.

There’s uncertainty in his eyes. But there’s something else there too. I can’t be sure, but I’m hoping against all hope that he wants to believe me.

“It’s not me you have to convince,” he says, his lips curling into a smile as he takes another drag of his cigarette.

His fingers trail down my throat. He traces the outline of my collarbone, sending a flurry of shivers through me. Toying with the top button of my dress, his smile hitches up. “Lunchtime, a day like this?” He tilts back his head and looks up at the patch of sky. “Everyone’s gonna picnic in the field.” He stands and goes to kill his cigarette in the pot plant. “No one will miss you until tonight.” He walks over to the kitchen door, pausing with his hand flat on the steel.

“We’ll fetch you in an hour. Wear something pretty,” he says around a smirk.

“Wait!” I call out before he can disappear inside.

He steps back, waiting.

I scrounge up every ounce of courage to ask, “Do you guys have a private bathroom?”

Chapter Three

Trinity

If anyone ever wanted to conduct a study on the effects of blushing, I’d be the perfect candidate. In the past half an hour I don’t think I’ve stopped blushing even once.

I’m in a room in the east wing. It’s nothing like the one I have to share with Jasper. It’s three times the size, and it has its own en-suite bathroom where I’m currently standing buck naked and terrified that someone’s going to walk in on me.

Reuben, to be precise. Since it’s his room, he accompanied me up here. I think he’s in the small study-cum-dining area of his apartment, but his carpets are too thick for me to hear if he did move about.

Steam fills up the shower cubicle, turning the frosted glass white. I slip inside that heavenly cloud, and the water draws a deep sigh from me as it cascades down my body.

There was no way I was going to have lunch with Zac’s boys while I still had traces of sticky alcohol over my breasts and crazy person hair. So I brought my clothes up here and slipped into Reuben’s room while Cassius watched the hallway to make sure no one spotted me.

Apparently, I could get into a lot of trouble being on this floor. More so if I’m discovered inside someone’s room.

Lathering rosemary-scented shampoo into my hair I try and squeeze every last drop of indulgence from the most blissful moment I’ve had in the past month.

For a few minutes, there’s nothing but me, the warm water, and that delicious scent. It should smell like Reuben, but on me it smells different.

I’m glad it’s his bathroom I get to use. I’d have refused if it was Cass’s, and it would have felt really weird to use Apollo’s. Strangely, despite how big and scary he is, Reuben feels…safe.

It must be amazing having someone like that in your life. Someone who