“Working.”
“Night and day, then. Wow … worried about money? Do you need a loan?”
“Not from you. I can’t afford the vig.”
“Too right.” Black eyes narrowed on his own. “So where are you.”
“Around. Here now, obviously.”
“I don’t think you live here anymore.”
“Then why are you sitting on something I own.”
“I’ll bet if I go in your room, the closet’s empty.”
“And I assume breaking and entering is part of your ‘flybys’—unless you’ve changed your style.”
s’Ex eased back and crossed his arms under his robes. “Now how rude would I be if I did something like get in here and sniff around. It would be unthinkable.”
“You’re saying you haven’t done that.” iAm rolled his eyes. “Really.”
“No. Or I could be lying. Kind of like you are about living here anymore.”
“Maybe you’ve just come while we’ve been out.”
“Okay, let’s look at tonight. Why are you in your coat? Why are the spoons on the counter clean? Oh, and that magazine? Last month’s. And yet it’s been open like you’ve been ‘reading’ it.” He even did the air quotes. “And one, already-opened bag of chips does not a full pantry make.”
Goddamn it. “Isn’t GQ contraband in the Territory?”
s’Ex smiled again. “Her Royal Highness likes to keep me happy. What can I say.”
Either that or the queen herself was scared of the guy.
iAm lowered his lids to half-mast. “Talk to me.”
“I thought I was. Or were we using sign language and I missed it?”
Except the enforcer got serious, frowning into his mug, going still.
And the longer the silence lasted, the stranger things got. s’Ex didn’t waste time, and he had no patience—ordinarily, the fucker was as decisive as a chain saw.
iAm waited things out for two reasons: One, what other choice did he have. And two, he was used to that by now.
Thanks to Trez’s shit, he’d had a master class in nothing-I-can-do.
s’Ex’s eyes shifted back over. “The high priest is coming to tell you that Trez’s time is up. The queen wants what she’s been promised and the daughter is ready to receive him. Any delay from this point on is going to have measurable repercussions. So, no lie, if you’ve got any way of making your brother toe the line, do it. Now.”
“She’s going to get you to kill him, isn’t she,” iAm said grimly.
The enforcer shook his head. “Not yet. I’m going to start with your parents. Your mother first. Then your father. And it’s not going to be pretty.” The male’s stare never wavered. “I’ve been ordered to tie her up and shave her head first—then rape her and cut her so she bleeds out slow. Your father is going to watch it all and then what I do to him will be worse. If you honor them in any way, talk to your brother. Get him to the Territory. Make him do the right thing. She’s not going to stop until she gets him—and just so we’re clear, I will not hesitate to do my job.”
iAm braced his hands on the granite counter and leaned into his arms. The situation with their parents was … complicated, to use a Facebook term. But that didn’t mean he wanted them dead and/or desecrated.
As s’Ex got to his feet and slung his executioner’s hood over his shoulder, iAm heard himself say, “You didn’t touch your coffee.”
“You might have poisoned it.” The enforcer shrugged. “I don’t take chances with anybody—sorry.”
“Smart.” iAm measured the male. “But then, you’re a real professional.”
“And I have my reputation for a good reason, iAm.”
“I know.” He cursed under his breath. “I am well aware of your work.”
“Don’t pull my trigger. I didn’t have parents, and wish I had. I’m not looking forward to this.”
“Goddamn it, it’s not up to me.” iAm curled up two fists. “And I don’t know if Trez is going to care, to be honest. He hates them.”
s’Ex shook his head. “That’s not good news. For any of you.”
“Why the hell can’t she just get someone else.”
“Not a question I’d be asking if I were you.” s’Ex looked around the apartment. “Nice place, by the way. Just my style—and I’ve been enjoying the view while I’m here.”
iAm narrowed his eyes at the odd tone in that deep voice. Son of a bitch … “You get it, don’t you.”
“What? How someone would want out of the Territory. To be free to live their own life.” Abruptly, s’Ex’s face turned into a mask. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”