I turned to face her, eyebrows raised in defiance. “It was.”
“So the texts, they never existed?”
I smiled, swiping the tip of my thumb across my bottom lip. “Who says I don’t exist?”
Her eyes snapped to mine, and all of the softness that she was known for vanished. Flames blazed in her eyes when her shoulders straightened. “Why?”
I folded my arms in front of myself and we both turned to watch as Veronica’s face turned bright purple.
“Yes! Push! Again! Again!” the doctor yelled, anticipation driving his tone.
I decided I’d rather watch Saint’s confusion, or what I was hoping was disbelief. “Why am I here watching this?”
“I wish I could help.”
Pause.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Vitiosis, your baby is a girl.”
Saint
I wake up with a scream so loud it burns the hairs on my throat. I reach for my bedside lamp with both Kore and Hades at the end of my bed, staring at me with worried eyes.
“I’m okay.” I scratch them both behind their ears. “I’m okay.” I think over the vision I had. Whoever it is, is clearly very manipulative and skilled with what he does. I know it’s not Brantley now. At first, while I was at The Coven, I assumed it was. I should have known better—but he sure did. He knew not to allow me to get too close because I would feel that it wasn’t. Smart. Which makes me wonder what he’s playing at now with Veronica birthing a girl. Brantley having a sister? Highly unlikely.
My door swings open and Bailey is standing at the threshold with her eye mask pulled to the top of her head, her eyes frantic and wild. She sighs, her shoulders sagging in relief when she sees me awake and cuddling the dogs. “Fucking hell, Saint! I about had a damn heart attack.” She walks slowly into the room, keeping the door open. “Brantley would literally kill me if anything happened to you.” She lowers herself onto my bed, massaging her temples. “I think I’m still drunk.”
I look at the time displayed on my bedside clock. Five a.m. “You probably are.”
“I’m seriously never drinking again.” She turns to face me. “Are you okay? Was it one of your nightmares again?”
“Brantley told you about that?”
She shrugs. “Before he left, he may have briefly mentioned it.”
That’s when it hits me.
I shuffle backward, tucking my legs beneath my butt. “Do you know who your parents are?”
Bailey tenses, her eyes shining up to mine. “If we have a conversation about my parents, I will need to have another drink just to make me feel better.”
“That bad?” I pull the covers to my chin. I haven’t really spent time with Bailey or know a lot about her, but from what I’ve noticed with how so many love her, she’s pretty special. She handles Brantley just fine, too, which is saying something. “How are you related to Brantley?”
“We’re second cousins. My dad and his dad are first cousins. My dad wasn’t a second-generation King, obviously, but he was a little like Spyder.” Her mouth opens and then closes. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.” I nod.
“Abel is… hard. He had a rough start to life and didn’t come into this world until very late. After losing his mom, his only family, he has struggled to find his way. I’m trying to be a good person, good girlfriend to him, but it’s hard. So my question is, how do you do it with Brantley?”
I think over her words. I figured Abel had a much different life from any of the others, but that’s not because anyone told me, it’s because I felt it. The heaviness in his soul. It’s different, though. Brantley is fire and ice, all in one. Brantley burns on the inside but is a corpse on the outside. Abel, I can’t figure out yet. Maybe if I spend more time at The Coven, I will know how to better read the emotions I’m feeling from someone.
“Brantley and Abel are very different, but I guess it just feels natural. We’ve only just started sleeping together and being like… this, yet it feels like we’ve been together since the day I walked into this house. I wish I could help you with Abel. If he needs someone to talk to, I could try?”
Bailey’s eyes soften around the edges. “That would be nice. Thank you.” She stands and makes her way to the door. “Don’t scare me like that again. I saw my life flash before my very eyes.” She’s giggling when she shuts the door and I slide farther into my sheets. Bailey is not what you would expect from a Vitiosis. Not at all.
Brantley
One bullet. Nine yards. It was clean, neat, and will never be traced back. The names that roll onto the list are there for a reason, but even if they weren’t, I would still do it. This is what I was manufactured for. It’s what I’ve been training for since I first learned of TEKC. I don’t flinch when the bullet explodes against their forehead. I move on, go about the rest of my life.