Page 24 of Ignite

I cringe. “Breakfast?”

He shrugs and pops a raw potato into his mouth before plopping down on the couch. “Minus one for cooking skills. Okay, Ezra with no last name. Let’s get a feel for what you’re good at, other than the obvious thievery and ability to get under Cain’s thick skin. You educated?”

“Um…” I hesitate, breaking eye contact to look out the massive windows. Why’d he have to start there? My last foster parent didn’t care to enroll me in school. Another red flag, but I assumed I just lucked outwith the no more homework thing. What kid would complain about that?

“I maybe only finished the third grade,” I admit.

Cheeks flushed, I perch on the other end of the couch and pull my legs up against my chest. This only seems to further amuse Rev. I get the feeling that I’m becoming more of a science experiment they want to poke at. Guess that’s better than a criminal they want to torture and kill.

When I glance back at Rev, his smile falters. “Don’t be ashamed, Ezra. Degrees mean very little to us.”

“Okay,” I say quietly, nodding.

“You obviously know how to read from your organizing of files,” he notes.

“Yeah, I know math, too. Basic security systems and computers are a breeze for me. and I can memorize strings of data pretty easily.”

“Mnemonist, huh?” Rev’s eyes shine with what looks like hunger. “You ever shot a gun?”

I rub my palms over my knees. “No, but I don’t think the idea scares me.”

If I’m on Gabriel’s radar, who knows who else has eyes on me? On Jakey, too, just for being acquainted with me. I should probably learn how to shoot. I can’t rely on Sinro’s protection forever.

“Good answer. Ever been in a fight? Killed someone?”

My brows raise and my stomach twists. “Wow. These questions escalated quickly.”

“Does that surprise you?” Rev asks, toying with a dangling chain earring threaded a couple of times through his ear.

“No. I saw the paperwork in your desks. I saw Cain kill a guy, too.”

“Do you think taking a life can be justified?”

My breath hitches as memories threaten to flood my brain. Behind closed eyes, I see the reflection of a single lightbulb in the lenses of a man’s glasses. He’s wearing one of his starched white shirts. I can still smell the sour tang of his breath. Still feel the warm gush of his blood over my skin.

I jolt up from the couch and pace the living room, desperate to settle the churning bile in my stomach.

Rev’s eyes stalk me. “It’s okay if you can’t answer that question, Ezra.”

Pausing in the middle of the room, I carefully assemble my answer so I don’t give away too much of myself. “There are certain people in this world who deserve something worse than death. I don’t think I would have a problem delivering it to them.”

Rev is quiet for a while, and when I turn toward him, he’s got a pensive look on his face. “I appreciate you being so open with me. I know you’ve had it rough these last couple of days. I’m sorry Cain messed up your face.”

I shrug, feeling a bit choked up all of the sudden. This attention is messing with me. The interest in my life and my skills. I’d never experienced it before. Sure, I put on a show of being cocky and carefree, but it was a defense mechanism to keep people from digging deeper.

“S’okay. You all haven’t been… horrible to me.”

Rev nods. “Now, I’ll give you some information to process. You gonna keep pacing like that?”

I hadn’t realized I’d started back up. “Probably. I struggle to sit still sometimes.”

“No desk job for you, then. Alaric will be disappointed to have lost you to field work.”

“Wait… are you talking about… hiring me?” I ask, spinning my lip ring around.

Did I want that? Could be a good thing for me and Jakey. After this shit with Gabriel, I don’t know that I should keep stealing.

“It’s a possibility, Ezra. As you may have figured out in your thorough investigation of our office, Sinro Enterprises offers a very broad range of services.”