Page 73 of Lessons In Grey
They never stayed in one place. Ever. They traveled the world, committing acts of crime to keep the empire, whatever empire it was, alive and thriving. I understood that the sisters were there to keep watch, to make sure the others didn’t do anything stupid, but wasn’t it lonely for him? Did he ever feel abandoned?
His eyes flicked to mine, taking me in in one solid sweep before returning to the road. “We’re the same, Emily, you and I. We’ve lived different lives, we’ve seen different things, but we’re the same.”
I had learned that well enough over the last couple of months. “You mentioned a friend, I remember you saying that. Where is he?”
His jaw feathered. “Around.”
A sore spot, it seemed. I wondered what their history was like. “Your Uncle, what was his name?”
“Beckett,” he answered, a slight tinge to his voice.
“Does he work for your father too?”
He thought about it a moment. “He does his own thing. He’s the one who found Azrael and I. Which, I suppose, says a lot about him, that he managed to find the most and least psychotic of usto join The Family.”
My eyes fell to his lips, studying that smile, remembering how they had felt against my skin. “How many people haunt your nights?” I finally asked, lifting my eyes back to his.
His smile fell slowly, his gaze finding mine. His long lashes cast shadows over them, that haunted look that had captured me so fully dusting them. He looked so plagued. So deep in his own nightmares that I wondered if anyone had ever tried to pull him out the way he was trying to pull me out. God, I hated that I had been so mean to him. I should never have done that.
He turned back to the road. “Are you asking me these questions to better understand me or to use them later when you try to pull away again?”
I flinched, turning towards the window. Fuck. I knew he didn’t mean it as a jab, he had forgiven me. That had been the end of it, but even though he was trying to protect himself, it still hurt, hearing those words.
I thought about my answer carefully. “I want to know how you keep pulling me in,” I finally answered, eyes falling to my injured arm. “I want to know why our souls connected long before I ever wanted you in my life.”
He was quiet for a long time. “47,” he finally answered, his voice a bare whisper. “23 under the age of 18,” he went on, pulling my attention over. “8 over the age of 70.”
I studied him, studied how relaxed he was in his seat, how his expression was slack. “Were they innocent?” Those were a lot of ghosts. Far more than the ones that haunted me.
“What is innocence in a world full of corruption,” he responded, bitterness lacing his words.
His way of coping.
I turned back to the road, the buildings turning into houses. We were the same. We were the same in so many different but similar ways. Maybe there was a real reason why his orbit had latched so fully onto my flightless soul.
My nerves started to grow as the houses shifted to mansions. We were nearing my road. Closer and closer we drove, muscles tensing. “Tell me something brilliant,” I requested quietly.
“I have a gun,” he replied evenly. “No matter what happens his finger is not faster than mine.”
I closed my eyes, focusing on those words. I was getting out. I was going to move into my new place, and I would never come back here again. Never.
He pulled into the circle driveway, stopping in front of the garage on the far right-side of the house, two vehicles pulling in behind us.
I searched the drive, my brows pulling together. “My dad is the only one here,” I said just as Ash appeared at my door.
She opened it up for me, shoving her hair back, Syn right behind her, looking ready for a fight.
I glanced over to Grey for the answers I was sure I could give. I needed his reassurance. I needed him to tell me if my thoughts were right, if my plan was good. I needed him to take control.
He studied me for a moment before sliding out of the car. “Emily’s going to tell Ash what she needs from her room, and I’m going to disarm the c4.”
I turned back to Ash who held a hand out to me. “What do you need?”
I took it, carefully easing myself out of the car as I thought through what might be up there that I needed. I had enough money to replace most everything, but there were a few things that I would need until I could.
“My guitar,” I told her. “Um, there is this glass bowl under my bed filled with paper roses,” I went on, feeling Grey’s eyes find me again. My cheeks burned bright red. “And probably a couple changes of clothes.”
Ash nodded as she released my hand, letting me reach for the key I had hidden around my neck. I pulled it over my head, wincing at the contortion, and held it out to Grey.