Page 27 of Dark Things (Payback Duet #1)

Rebelle

B y the time we get Stella to the safe house and get back home, the sun is starting to come up over the horizon.

While Stella wasn’t dead, she was in pretty bad shape.

The poor woman was so fucking bruised and swollen.

I didn’t think my hatred for Stan could grow at this point, but apparently the asshole is full of surprises.

“Where the fuck have you two been?” Cat says, from the shadows in the living room. I snap my eyes to Haunt and grimace. We look like we spent the night in the woods and then ran around a slaughterhouse, which, granted, is what happened, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“Hey, Cat. We were just out. Why are you awake?” Haunt asks. I roll my eyes and take my boots off before walking past the pair and heading for the stairs. I’m in a shitty mood so I don’t have it in me to placate Cat. He’s her twin, so he can deal with how much he wants to tell her.

“I’m awake because I came home and your SUV wasn’t here, and then when I got up to pee it still wasn’t. Why haven’t you answered my texts? And you, don’t think you’re off the hook, either!” she yells toward where I’ve just placed my foot on the first step.

Damn it, so close.

I turn around and look at her for a moment. Her face is flushed, and she’s sweating around her hairline. Hair piled on top of her head and a sweater is slouched open, being held up by her elbows.

“What happened?” I ask, walking back over to her.

“Nothing, not really. I just needed to talk to someone, and no one was home. I know that I’ve been alone in this house for three years, but I’ve gotten used to you guys being here, and now it’s weird when you aren’t.”

I take off my jacket and hand it to Haunt before pulling Cat in for a hug.

We didn’t have to do any cleanup tonight, so my clothes under my jacket are clean.

If Cat notices my gun holster still attached to me, she doesn’t comment on it.

My gun is in the SUV anyway, so it’s just an empty holster and straps around my T-shirt.

“Tell me what you need,” I say, stepping back and looking at her face.

“It’s nothing really, I just had this weird encounter with a guy at the gas station.

I was pumping my gas and then went in to get a Diet Coke, and he stopped me before I could get back to my car.

He said to tell Pitch and Ghost he said ‘hi.’ I told him I have no idea who the fuck that was, but when I tried to walk away he grabbed my arm.

Thank god there was a guy at the next pump.

When he started yelling the scary guy let me go and walked off. Didn’t even get into a car.”

Haunts jaw is clenched so tight, I wouldn’t be surprised if he cracked a tooth. “What did he look like?” he asks.

Cat’s eyes widen as she answers. “Tall, but shorter than you. He had red hair and an Irish accent. Maybe a little older than us. Kind of attractive if you like guys who are a little rough. He had a tattoo of something over his left eyebrow. I didn’t see what it was though.”

My eyes fly to Haunt, and the growl that sounds from his throat has Cat stepping back into me. His eyes tell me everything; this isn’t good.

“Cat, we’re going to take care of it. You don’t have anything to worry about, but we’re going to be assigning you a private security guard to follow you around until we find the guy,” I say, rubbing her back and walking into the kitchen and over to the stool tucked under the island.

“Why would I need a guard? The guy was obviously crazy, and he used those weird names. It’s not like he knows where we live right?” she says.

Fuck, we’re going to have to tell her something, but she isn’t my sister, so I leave the floor open to Haunt. He looks at me, his anger replaced by fear. He swallows and silently pleads with me.

I rub my forehead before looking at Cat. “In Kentucky we may have dabbled in some illegal horse racing. We developed a name for ourselves, and some people had issues with that. From what it sounds like, Sean O’Flannery has decided he wants a visit.”

I am a really good storyteller. While most of that is true, Sean is probably more pissed off that I blew up his boat and lit his 1967 Chevrolet Camaro on fire with his rat bastard friend inside.

But he had it coming for trying to kill Stormbreaker before a race.

I may have been a tad dramatic, but I’m a fucking assassin. They should know better.

“Are you guys telling me that you illegally horse race like some sort of fight club but for horses?”

Haunt turns on the coffee machine before sitting next to his sister. He’s taken off his jacket, as well, but his guns are still in his holster. If she notices, she doesn’t say anything, which is kind of weird. I wonder how much she knows from just being around a house full of guards.

“Yeah, sis. That’s what we’re saying. We never wanted you to be a part of it, so we didn’t tell you, but if Sean is around, we’re going to have to be careful until we can get him to leave you alone.”

Cat swallows, and her eyes dart between the two of us. She doesn’t seem to be too afraid, but I can see the unease on her face .

“I always knew it was fucking weird we had security here. I mean there’s not that much crime here, and it’s not like we’re anyone special. Does Dad know you do this? Is that the reason why this house is locked up tighter than Fort Knox?”

It’s my turn to distract myself. I grab mugs from the cabinet and some coffee pods from the drawer. If Cat sees my face right now, especially because I’m so tired, I don’t think I’ll be able to hide my hatred for Stan.

“Dad knows some of it, but we need to keep him out of it. He hired all those men to keep you safe, because his business sometimes makes enemies, too. However if you try to talk to him about it he’ll make us leave, and we’ll be apart again.

Trust us to get Sean out of Saratoga, and then it can go back to how it was,” Haunt says.

When I turn around, he’s holding her hand, and she’s looking at him like he’s the best few-minutes-older brother in the whole world.

A pang of longing goes through me, and I busy myself with making the coffees. By the time we all have a cup in front of us, Marc walks into the kitchen. He gives us all a long once over.

“Morning, everyone. How do pancakes sound?” he asks, going to the pantry and taking out ingredients.

I smile behind my mug. After Haunt’s chat with Brett, it seems that Marc, while looking like the cutest older man, is actually a retired merc. Another one of Stan’s plants to keep Cat safe .

“Sounds lovely; thank you, Marc. It’s been a long night,” I say, making eye contact with him over the island. He nods and goes to the fridge to get the wet ingredients.

“Why don’t you all go enjoy your coffees on the back deck. I’ll call you when breakfast is ready,” he suggests.

Haunt takes my coffee, and I lead Cat outside.

Not that I think she’d faint or anything, but this has to be a lot for her to process.

She’s lived in this bubble for too long, and now that it’s about to pop she’s going to get her feet pulled out from under her.

Once we get Magnus, she’ll be coming with us, and then we can tell her everything.

When we’re settled at the outdoor table, she turns to look at us. “Can I guess whose name is whose?”

A smile stretches her face, and she wiggles her eyebrows. I chuckle and give her a go ahead motion with my hand.

“Go for it,” I say, settling back in my seat and looking out at the pasture. The barn doors open up, and some of the horses walk out. Midnight must scent me because he looks over at us and whinnies. It’s loud and causes the other horses to look over. We all laugh at their antics.

“I’m pretty sure you’re Ghost,” she says, pointing to me. She shifts to Haunt. “And you’re Pitch cause of your hair.”

“It’s the opposite, actually.” I roll up the sleeve of my shirt and point to the tattoo on my inner forearm right by my elbow crease. Stan makes us all get them in case our faces are unidentifiable. A mercenary’s version of dog-tags.

“Why do they call you that then?” she asks. This is going to be a little more tricky, but Haunt is on top of it.

“Well you know how my birth name is Spiro? Means spirit or, loosely translated, ghost in Italian. And Pitch is actually because Reb has an incredible singing voice.”

That’s not the reason at all, but this fucker had to throw in the one thing that I vowed not to talk about again.

“You can sing?” Cat asks, her voice so excited. I’m surprised she’s not clapping her hands.

“I don’t anymore. It was something that’s set in my past,” I say. She probably sees my need to move on from the topic, because she doesn’t ask any follow-up questions and by the time we finish our coffees Marc is calling us in for the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted.

That afternoon, Midnight and Starlight are trailered, and Haunt drives us over to the practice arena near school. Cat is chatting about something, but I’ve zoned her out. I’m still exhausted, and I don’t have the energy for practice today, even if it’s the first one of the season.

I’m aware that this is a part of our cover here, but I haven’t been a part of an equestrian team since I was sixteen. I’ve competed since, but it was always in non-team events. This will take getting used to again.

The arena isn’t as big as some of the ones I’m used to, but I can tell that it’s well-maintained. A group of girls are already standing outside of the practice space, horses tied up and ready for their turn.

Haunt parks, and we all jump out. He walks around to unload the trailer, while Cat and I follow. He gets Starlight out first and hands her off to Cat, who goes over to Aslyn. They look pretty friendly from where I’m standing, and I can’t help but smile.