Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
I slow my pace and look sideways. He seems utterly at ease and genuine. There’s no anger in his expression, no hint of danger. He’s walking alongside me and practically buzzing with excitement.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He barks a happy laugh. “Fantastic! Deny everything! Yeah, I could be better at that honestly. My sisters catch me all the time. They’re like bloodhounds, I swear, especially Tallie. She comes off all innocent and stuff, but believe me, she’s the dangerous one.” The young man stops walking. Despite myself, I stop to face him. “I’m Sam. We’re gonna be brothers soon.”
“You’re mistaking me for someone else.”
“I bet I am.” His grin widens. “Come on, I’m begging you. What’d you take from her room? Don’t tell me you left emptyhanded. You were in there for less than a minute.”
Sam Sarkissian, full name Samvel. Now I recognize him. The fact that I didn’t know immediately is a problem. I have to work harder to memorize all the damn siblings in the file I built on the full family. Sam’s the second youngest, and from what I’ve heard, he’s a real troublemaker.
I should walk away. Sam caught me, which is impressive enough, but he really doesn’t seem upset at all, more fascinated by the tradecraft of the whole visit. I knew this was a risk, and I’m probably making another mistake, but I can’t help myself.
The kid seems too excited to disappoint.
I slip the mouthguard from my pocket and hold it out in my hand.
Sam gasps and covers his mouth, nose wrinkling. “Disgusting. I figured it would be a pair of her underwear or something.”
I close my fingers around the guard.
“One more question. How’d you get in the window? They’re all locked and Dad upgraded them to these stupid security versions a year back that are a huge pain in the ass from the outside.”
I put the guard back in my pocket and turn away.
“Please! Come on! I’ve been trying to figure out a way to crack them for months!”
I pull my hood tighter around my face and move faster.
Sam’s groan of frustration follows me. “You’ll tell me someday! Or I’ll figure it out and we’ll compare notes. I’m a huge fan of yours, by the way. Have a great night, Brenden!”
I try to stop the stupid grin from shoving itself across my face, but can’t manage it.
He’s a fan of mine?
What the fuck am I getting myself into?
CHAPTER 4
TALIN
Inotice the second lighter after taking a shower. I stand beside my bed, hair cap still on, damp and naked, and stare with my mouth hanging open.
There was only one last night.
And now there are two fancy gold lighters.
Where the hell did the second one come from?!
I throw on clothes and scour my room. Sometimes Sam likes to play stupid tricks on me; he’ll leave traps around, or that’s what he calls them. Once it was a hidden speaker he used to wake me up in the middle of the night. Another time it was a stink bomb rigged to release its fumes when I was having a few friends over for a slumber party. Sam’s pranks have tapered off over the years, but maybe this lighter is one of his, and it’s a sign of something worse coming.
But no, my room is normal. No secret trip-wires rigged to confetti explosives or anything like that. I sit on my bed and hold both lighters, one in each palm. They’re almost exactly the same, except mine is heavier, and the other one looks older.
What in the world is going on?
There’s a knock at the door. I flinch and stifle a yelp as my youngest brother Davit pokes his head inside. His dark eyes are always so expressive, his eyebrows twitching and his mouth forming odd shapes, like his emotions crawl across his face and he can’t control them.
“You wanted to know when Dad was home,” he says, looking worried. “He’s in his office now.”
“Great, awesome, thanks.” Before he can leave, I hold up the lighters. “Hey, do you know anything about these?”
“Um, should I?” He comes inside, squinting. “I don’t recognize them. Look fancy though.”
“Okay, no worries.” I toss them aside like they’re not extremely important and valuable. Like I didn’t steal one of them from the office of an arms dealer the other day. “How’s Dad seem? Good mood?”
“Not too bad, I don’t think.” Davit sits beside me hesitantly. Of everyone in our family, he’s the best at reading the room, especially when it comes to our father’s mercurial moods. “Whatever you’re planning, I don’t think it’s going to work.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“I mean, has Dad ever changed his mind before?”
“There’s always a first.”
“Maybe.” He sucks his teeth and fiddles with his pants. It’s clear he thinks I shouldn’t bother. He’s worried about me and not exactly good at hiding it. “I’m sorry, you know. I always thought arranged marriages were, like, something you see in old fantasy movies or whatever. Then it happened to Annie, and now—“