Page 120 of Where Sinners Repent

My focus remains on the needle as I dip it in ink and return to Kaleb. If I look at him, I might just fall apart.

“What about their friends?” Leon presses. “Which ones should we keep an eye on?”

It’s sick, the way my lips curve at this question. Now, I finally stare into Kaleb’s eyes, just inches from mine.

“I killed the two worst ones.”

Something of a smirk flashes across his face. Almost like he’s proud of me.

“Well, shit, little killer,” Leon croons, and I giggle. “Anything else?”

My mind ticks over everything I tried to avoid. Things I wanted no part of it.

Now look at me.

“Um... Oh! They had this safe house. When things went south, they didn’t come home. It was the only time I had peace. There was this old seafood processing warehouse on the south wharf. Dad called it the freezer.”

Leon begins to type away furiously on his computer. I swipe the tattoo, adding some finishing shading.

This time, when I speak, it’s for Kaleb.

“Why can’t you just kill them?”

Words I never thought would leave my lips. But the second they leave, I know it’s the only solution. People like them... blood or not, should not be left to terrorise the city.

Dark eyes search mine.

“Is that something you want? For me to kill them?”

Kaleb’s eyes seem to sparkle, like the very idea excites him. He’s terrifying.

I nod once, just like he does. “More than anything.”

Yep, he’s definitely excited. Between his legs, his cock jerks. Getting hard over the thought of killing someone for me.

Swoon.

“Fucking hell,” Leon mutters. “Where does Ash find these bloodthirsty fuckers? We can’t kill them. Not yet, anyway.”

I turn to him with a pouty scowl.

“As much as your brothers are our most immediate problem, we’ve got an even bigger one lurking in the shadows. And your brothers might be the only link to him. For as bad as your brothers are, Zeke is the real nightmare. And if he comes back, we’re royally fucked.”

I’m scared. Because what does this mean for my... Kai and Kaleb. Will they still be stuck in this war? Will this be never ending for them?

Their lives have been nothing but violence. Just like mine. I just wish they could experience something lighter. Something that wasn’t earned with blood and pain.

“And then you kill my brothers?”

Kaleb growls. “And then I'll kill your brothers.”

Biting my lip like a blushing schoolgirl, I give the tattoo one last swipe.

“I’m done,” I murmur, wide eyes glued on him.

His eyes slowly move down his body, landing on the tattoo. A black cat wearing a balaclava sits right over his heart.

I fidget, waiting for his reaction. But just like his brother, he’s impossible to read. He stares at it for what feels like forever.