Oath Bound
Page 36
“Technically, they shot at me, but they made no particular effort to avoid her,” he verified. “But that doesn’t mean anything,” he added, and I wanted to smack him for the reversal. “She met with Julia Tower in her home office. And when she told the guards to put their guns down, they did.”
But that wasn’t quite right. “They weren’t obeying my order, they were obeying Julia’s.” And I had no idea why she’d complied when I’d asked her to give it, but I wasn’t going to say that. Everyone was already staring at me as if an alien might burst out of my stomach at any second. “And she was only trying to keep you from shooting any more of her people.”
Kris shook his head. “Julia doesn’t care who gets shot, as long as it’s not her.”
“Her people mean nothing to her as individuals. One gunman is as good as the next,” Kori verified. “Except me. I’m better than the rest. But I’m not theirs anymore.”
“Is that why they took your sister? Are they using her to get you back?”
Kris choked on a bitter laugh, as if the sound got wedged in his throat. “They don’t want Kori back. They want her dead.”
I couldn’t imagine growing up in their world. Playing a lifelong, lethal game of hide-and-seek, where those who were found were either enslaved or killed. Who could you trust? When could you let your guard down?
And just like that, with a sudden devastating clarity, I understood Kris’s paranoia and reluctance to set me free. He’d tried to tell me, but I’d refused to understand; he truly couldn’t afford to let me go if I was bound to Julia Tower.
“If they want you two dead, why are you so sure Kenley’s alive?”
“Kenley isn’t muscle,” Vanessa said. “She’s special. Julia needs her. But I need her more.” And that’s all she seemed inclined to reveal. “If there’s anything you can do to help...”
“I wish I could.” Evidently that sounded like the truth—and it was—because no one even looked at Anne. “But I don’t even know how to make Julia do what I need done. In fact, she tried to kill me, as Kris seems to enjoy pointing out.” I stood again and shoved my chair back, newly determined to avenge my sister after hearing about theirs. “Now, you either get me out of here or I’m climbing out the window. And the only way you’re going to stop me is by killing me.”
And, man, did I hope they recognized hyperbole.
Silence descended as gazes flitted all over the room, as if they were taking a psychic vote. In the end, it came down to a stubborn stare-down between Kris and his sister. “Huddle?” he suggested, and she nodded. Then they left the room without a word.
I started to follow—if they were gonna argue about me, I had a right to hear—but Vanessa put a hand on my arm. “I wouldn’t,” she said.
“Well, I would. They don’t need a private powwow to decide what to do with me, because it’s not their decision. I’m leaving.”
“No, you aren’t,” Hadley said from the living room, and Vanessa tried to hide a smile.
“The hell I’m not. Unless personal liberty was suspended while I wasn’t watching, you can’t hold me here against my will.”
Vanessa laughed, and I turned to glare at her. “I’m sorry.” She made an obvious struggle to banish her smile. “It’s just painfully obvious that you’ve never spent any time in a Skilled syndicate. Or even near one.” Van turned to Ian. “She’s no threat. She’s more clueless than we ever were.”
I frowned, one hand on the back of the chair I’d just vacated. “I feel like I should be offended by that, but you seem to be the only one seeing reason. Kind of.”
“Sera,” Ian said, and I turned to look at him, surprised all over again by the quiet dignity he embodied, in contrast to Kris and Kori, and the explosive nature of their sibling relationship. “I know you have no reason to trust me yet, but please believe me when I tell you that no one in the city has less desire to hold you prisoner than Kori.”
There was more to that, but I knew better than to ask. “What about Kris?”
“Kris is acting weird,” Anne admitted, pouring coffee from the pot into a clean mug. “He usually returns people to wherever they belong. You may be the first he’s kept.”
Before I could figure out what to say to that, Gran sank into the chair Kori had vacated, wiping her hands on a dish towel, and smiled up at me. “Hello, hon,” she said as if she’d just noticed me for the first time. “Are you a friend of Nikki’s?”
“Who’s Nikki?” How many more people could they possibly fit into the House of Crazy?
Ian sat in Kris’s chair. “Nikki was her daughter. Kori, Kenley and Kris’s mother.” He turned to her. “Gran, Nikki died a long time ago. Remember? And you raised her children?”
“Yes, of course I know that,” she snapped, though the confusion never cleared from her eyes. “Kenley gets straight A’s. Kori gets suspended.”
“What about Kris?” I wasn’t sure why I cared, and I only realized after the fact that I was probably contributing to her confusion.
“Kris is a good boy. Spends too much time in his room alone, though. Gonna give himself carpal tunnel, and I don’t mean from typing.”
Ian tried to hide a chuckle, but I laughed out loud. I couldn’t help it. And I really hoped she was remembering the past, rather than the present.
But that wasn’t quite right. “They weren’t obeying my order, they were obeying Julia’s.” And I had no idea why she’d complied when I’d asked her to give it, but I wasn’t going to say that. Everyone was already staring at me as if an alien might burst out of my stomach at any second. “And she was only trying to keep you from shooting any more of her people.”
Kris shook his head. “Julia doesn’t care who gets shot, as long as it’s not her.”
“Her people mean nothing to her as individuals. One gunman is as good as the next,” Kori verified. “Except me. I’m better than the rest. But I’m not theirs anymore.”
“Is that why they took your sister? Are they using her to get you back?”
Kris choked on a bitter laugh, as if the sound got wedged in his throat. “They don’t want Kori back. They want her dead.”
I couldn’t imagine growing up in their world. Playing a lifelong, lethal game of hide-and-seek, where those who were found were either enslaved or killed. Who could you trust? When could you let your guard down?
And just like that, with a sudden devastating clarity, I understood Kris’s paranoia and reluctance to set me free. He’d tried to tell me, but I’d refused to understand; he truly couldn’t afford to let me go if I was bound to Julia Tower.
“If they want you two dead, why are you so sure Kenley’s alive?”
“Kenley isn’t muscle,” Vanessa said. “She’s special. Julia needs her. But I need her more.” And that’s all she seemed inclined to reveal. “If there’s anything you can do to help...”
“I wish I could.” Evidently that sounded like the truth—and it was—because no one even looked at Anne. “But I don’t even know how to make Julia do what I need done. In fact, she tried to kill me, as Kris seems to enjoy pointing out.” I stood again and shoved my chair back, newly determined to avenge my sister after hearing about theirs. “Now, you either get me out of here or I’m climbing out the window. And the only way you’re going to stop me is by killing me.”
And, man, did I hope they recognized hyperbole.
Silence descended as gazes flitted all over the room, as if they were taking a psychic vote. In the end, it came down to a stubborn stare-down between Kris and his sister. “Huddle?” he suggested, and she nodded. Then they left the room without a word.
I started to follow—if they were gonna argue about me, I had a right to hear—but Vanessa put a hand on my arm. “I wouldn’t,” she said.
“Well, I would. They don’t need a private powwow to decide what to do with me, because it’s not their decision. I’m leaving.”
“No, you aren’t,” Hadley said from the living room, and Vanessa tried to hide a smile.
“The hell I’m not. Unless personal liberty was suspended while I wasn’t watching, you can’t hold me here against my will.”
Vanessa laughed, and I turned to glare at her. “I’m sorry.” She made an obvious struggle to banish her smile. “It’s just painfully obvious that you’ve never spent any time in a Skilled syndicate. Or even near one.” Van turned to Ian. “She’s no threat. She’s more clueless than we ever were.”
I frowned, one hand on the back of the chair I’d just vacated. “I feel like I should be offended by that, but you seem to be the only one seeing reason. Kind of.”
“Sera,” Ian said, and I turned to look at him, surprised all over again by the quiet dignity he embodied, in contrast to Kris and Kori, and the explosive nature of their sibling relationship. “I know you have no reason to trust me yet, but please believe me when I tell you that no one in the city has less desire to hold you prisoner than Kori.”
There was more to that, but I knew better than to ask. “What about Kris?”
“Kris is acting weird,” Anne admitted, pouring coffee from the pot into a clean mug. “He usually returns people to wherever they belong. You may be the first he’s kept.”
Before I could figure out what to say to that, Gran sank into the chair Kori had vacated, wiping her hands on a dish towel, and smiled up at me. “Hello, hon,” she said as if she’d just noticed me for the first time. “Are you a friend of Nikki’s?”
“Who’s Nikki?” How many more people could they possibly fit into the House of Crazy?
Ian sat in Kris’s chair. “Nikki was her daughter. Kori, Kenley and Kris’s mother.” He turned to her. “Gran, Nikki died a long time ago. Remember? And you raised her children?”
“Yes, of course I know that,” she snapped, though the confusion never cleared from her eyes. “Kenley gets straight A’s. Kori gets suspended.”
“What about Kris?” I wasn’t sure why I cared, and I only realized after the fact that I was probably contributing to her confusion.
“Kris is a good boy. Spends too much time in his room alone, though. Gonna give himself carpal tunnel, and I don’t mean from typing.”
Ian tried to hide a chuckle, but I laughed out loud. I couldn’t help it. And I really hoped she was remembering the past, rather than the present.
