That’s a first. Of all the possibilities, that’s the absolute last thing I expected him to say. For starters, I didn’t even know he had a sister. If he could hide a sibling from me, what else did Roman hide?
The man isn’t trustworthy. Drug addicts never are. The cardinal rule of a drug dealer…Never test your own product.Evidently, Roman missed class the day they taught that lesson. The man enjoyed partying more than he enjoyed breathing.
Which is what brought us here.
Roman Lennox.
Bloody.
Dying.
And confessing to shit I should have known about years ago.
I lose my patience and, with it, all semblance of humanity. “Talk. Now.”
This cretin’s lies mount higher and higher by the minute. Just how many ways did he betray me? And how did I miss each and every one? It’s not like I’m a bad businessman. I’m a goddamn good one. Unrivaled.
I don’t miss shit.
Except this time, you missed an entire person.
Fuck. That.
Roman’s weak fist latches on to my dress shirt, leaving a fresh stain. “S-she’s younger. I-I let her down…they’ll come for her.”
The effects of this little speech are immediate. His lips turn blue. I don’t even think he sees me. Not through those glassy eyes.
If only you were honest. You wouldn’t be on a first-class trip to Hell.
“M…my…s-sss…”
Consider my curiosity piqued. What about his sister? The secrecy shrouding her intrigues me. Why will they come for her?
Actually, better question…
“Who?”
His eyes shut. At this point, he’s almost limp in my hands.
My jaw tightens.
“What did you do, Roman?” I shake him.Fucking hell.Useless in life and in death, it seems. “Don’t you dare die on me.”
Yes, dying is inevitable, especiallyhisdeath. But the fucking oaf is not allowed to pass until I get the information I need. Why would someone want to kill his sister? And how dotheyknow of her when I didn’t?
When his eyes remain shut, I press two fingers to his artery. More blood flows over my hand. He has enough holes in him to sink the Titanic. And still, there’s a pulse. Faint but present.
The look he delivers me once his eyes open—dazed and utterly confused—is one I’m familiar with. After all, in its usual state, his body has more drugs in it than a pharmacy.
Roman looks like he’s already dead. Like his soul has left his body, and if I inquire about the afterlife, I can trust whatever answer he gives me. Well, as much as I can trust anything that leaves Roman Lennox’s mouth.
Case in point: the existence of his supposed sister.
For all I know, he’s sending me on a wild goose chase. One last fuck you before he croaks. Or maybe he’s turned a leaf. Odd timing, but who knows? We might all be redeemable in the face of death.
Doubtful.
I fist his shirt. “What did you do?”