Page 50 of Heartless Heathens

“Reesa,” she said without as much cheery inflection in her voice, reminding him of her name.

Shit, maybe I did like her.

“You’re really not going to let this chick, who you have zero control over, have her first day of normal girl life and make a friend?”

“I didn’t say shit, take it up with Santorini.” I reminded her who we were talking about in case she’d forgotten who was really in charge.

“If you keep her in here, keep her ignorant, keep hercontrolled, then how are you any different from him?” she asked me, both eyebrows raised up high as she waited for an answer.

“That’s not my intention.” Sonny’s deep voice took the room by surprise with his reappearance, his hair styled back to perfection once again. “But you have to understand there are a lot of risks at play here, things I’m not willing to jeopardize for ‘a day of normal girl life.’ Whatever the fuck that means.”

“How much damage do you think I can really do in a couple of hours?” she asked with a laugh.

“Just a couple of hours?” he asked her, and she nodded with a smile, like she knew she was getting her way.

“Do you want to go with Reesa?” I murmured into her ear.

“Where?”

“I was thinking I’d drive us over to the court of miracles, get some drinks,” she said, looking over in Sonny’s direction since she knew it was his approval she needed.

“No drinks. Get her some of her own clothes.” Sonny laid out the rules, tossing Reesa a fat stack of cash that had her eyes going wide. “And you have to take Corvin.”

“What?”

“What?”

“What?”

All three of them asked in protest, Romina taking me by surprise with her decision to be vocal about this, of all things.

“I told you, I don’t know you,” he said to Reesa. “I don’t trust you, and I don’t know that all of this isn’t part of Frollo’s plot. It’s Corvin or nothing.” He shrugged his shoulders as he waited for the girls to decide.

“Felix can’t come instead?” Romina asked sweetly and I could see the scowl on Corvin’s face carving just a bit deeper.

“I’ve got soccer practice soon. I’ll be there for a few hours.” I dropped my hand to the top of her head.

I had found myself unhappy with my decision to commit to the sport. I had originally signed up out of fear of being bored and now saw that with Romina here there wasn’t a single minute of stagnant energy I’d experienced yet.

She looked over at Sonny silently, as if she was waiting for a reason why he couldn’t come instead of Corvin as well.

“I have business to deal with today. I’m heading into town,” he explained to her before looking over at me. “Hewants to meet. Not sure if I’m ready to tell him about our pet.” He kept Arlan’s name coded in front of our new guest.

“Don’t call her that,” Reesa said, slightly outraged at his nickname for her.

“I’ve got better shit to do.” Corvin protested and Sonny gave him anI don’t give a fucklook that was perfect for all ages.

“Take your meds,” Sonny said before turning around to walk off, but Romina reached and grabbed his hand before he could get too far.

Sonny turned to face her and with his free hand he caressed the side of her cheek before she let go and he walked off. Though there were no words spoken, the display of closeness was far too intimate for someone like Sonny. Someone who grew up without the slightest bit of tenderness or familial endearment.

Corvin grumbled something incoherent before storming off into his bedroom. He thought needing medicine somehow made him look weak.

He was fucking stupid.

What made him weak was his inability to wrap his head around the fact that it was okay to need certain things to get by. I did have to wonder how much longer it would have taken for us to find Romina, had he not choked her out in his bedroom the other night. Would she have starved to death up there before we’d gotten to her? Would Frollo have somehow gotten to her first?

Either way, it was too late for what-ifs now. I needed to figure out how this girl played into Frollo’s plans, and I needed to figure out how to heal what he’d broken inside of her.