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“He’s also an assassin,” Clover adds. Lori must have blown the whistle. “Not that that fact would make any difference in this family.”

“It doesn’t.” I find it sort of cool, actually. “Ezra is good at keeping himself in check. He seems very interested in our family. But I can’t make an accurate assessment of him. He doesn’t conceal his nature, but he cautiously and deviously weighs every word he says.”

“From what I’ve seen of him, he’s not going to tell us anything unless he wants to. He’s as stubborn as you are, and as wild.” She smirks my way.

“Manic you mean.” Clover doesn’t know when to shut up.

“Are you trying to get killed today?” I threaten him, pointing my switchblade at him.

He swiftly moves behind Linda’s back. He ducks down since she’s sitting, peering at me over her shoulder. She doesn’t look happy about it.

“Make your kid behave, Linda,” he squawks. I know he can easily defend himself. I’ve seen him dodging blades and punches before. What is he playing at?

“Why would I do that?” She snorts.

Her uncaring response and Clover's confused expression satisfy me enough. I flip the blade in and pocket the sharp weapon once again. Sari gave it to me a few years back, after hearing me argue with Gabe about how guns can become empty while knives are always sharp. Horseshit, if you ask me. But Sari took it seriously, and the next day he came to me holding this switchblade—with my name engraved on the blade. He made me promise to always carry it with me. Which I do, wherever I go.

Where the hell is he? I turn toward the door with the intention of going to look for him, but Linda’s next words stop me.

“A rat infestation in Sari’s luxury building. I find it very strange.” She’s staring too intently at me, while I can see Clover biting his mouth, finding the view outside the window too interesting.

I raise a challenging brow at her. I don’t know what she expects from me, and I don’t particularly care.

She sighs. “Stop with the behind-the-curtain crap and strap on a pair, Uri.”

“Of what? Sneakers?” Clover asks moronically.

“You shush,” she orders him. “A relationship with no argument is a relationship with too many secrets, or are you scared to show who you really are?” Linda taunts me.

“Bullshit. Sari knows very well who I am.” He just needs to remember that if there’s one thing that upsets a highly narcissistic sociopath, it is being ignored or pushed away. I must absolutely have his undivided attention. He is mine, to be used as I wish, when I wish.

“You developed a kind of fixation on him. Overprotective. Obsessed. With stalkerish tendencies—which in your case are not romantic nor flattering. Sociopaths are characterized by volatile behavioral patterns. Nevertheless, Sari has always been your only constant.”

“I was never subtle about it.” I tsk.

“True. You have a glimmer in your eyes when you look at Sari. A sparkle of madness that shows when you think or talk about him. We saw it early on. When as a kid you’d sneak inside his room to sleep with him, or that time we had to repaint your room after Sari covered the walls with algebra formulas, and you didn’t get upset. Not even a little. Instead, you asked to leave them as they were. Meg and I actually have a bet going on.” Linda uses the present tense. Meg is technically still alive, but the more time passes, the less chance of survival she has.

“I’m not surprised about the shared bet.” It’s a big thing in my family.

“My day is coming soon, so close the deal asap.”

“I’m so confused, aren’t you and Sari brothers?” Clover asks. “And can I lay a wager too?”

“That’s your takeaway from everything we just said?” Linda shakes her head at him. “Can you believe this guy?” Then she smiles at Meg. She keeps talking to her, knowing very well she can’t hear us. Why waste breath?

“Sari is very affectionate and kind. He’s got that subtle clumsiness which is cute, an unwavering inner strength fueled by his delicate innocence that draws people to him, especially predators looking to harm him.”

I’m glaring at Clover. “How closely have you been looking at Sari to discern all this?”

“I’m a thief. Reading people and looking for details is part of my job.” He shrugs dismissively at me.

Finally my Baby Blue walks back into the room. He has a couple of plastic bags and is avoiding my eyes.

“I grabbed some burgers from the cafeteria and some ice cream,” he says, placing them on the table near the window.

I walk toward it and take the chair near him. I won’t give him any more space. As we start eating, Linda and Clover keep up a light conversation, while Sari seems very focused on his burger.

The way he eats an overly big bite and tilts his head back using gravity to push the food between his lips makes my dick stand at attention as I imagine giving him something else to feed on. It gets even harder as he pushes his heavy braid behind his back when it falls on his shoulder, and I fantasize about wrapping it around my wrist as I pump relentlessly inside him.