Page 7 of Please Open Me
Her eyes narrowed. “There’s nothing for you to figure out. I’ve given you the information. I’ll send you the poison. All you have to do is exterminate Sebastian Castillo.”
Andthatwas what I needed to figure out.
My chair creaked as I sat a little straighter. “I just want to run through a few things—if that’s alright.”
“What’s there to run through? He’s a threat. It’s your job to eliminate him. End of story.”
Andthat’swhere she was wrong.
“You said he’s connected to some Canadian cult—right?”
She nodded twice, not seeming to notice how ridiculous that sounded.
“And, according to what we know about this cult... they kill pregnant women,” I said slowly, hoping she’d pick up on what I was putting down.
But my mom seemed unfazed.
Jesus. She’d met our new baby girl. Did she not remember how babies were made? Did I need to giveherthe birds and the bees talk? I mean, I get it—me and my siblings were mostly test-tube babies. Char was the only exception, and she came before my moms were officially a thing. But still, Momma should know where babies come from.
“I hate to burst your bubble—”Actually, I loved it“—but Sebastian had a chance to kill a pregnant woman.”
My voice tightened at the end as I drew in a pained breath through my teeth for emphasis.
“Sophia—what are you getting at?” Her irritation was plain.
“Nothing! Just that he didn’t kill Mason. And he definitely could have.” It wouldn’t have been hard.
My sweet little Honeybee had been miserable during the last few weeks of her pregnancy. Also, she was teeny-tiny, which meant it would’ve takennothingfor Sebastian to overpower her.
“For your information, the cult doesn’t slaughterjust anypregnant woman.”
“It’s a little rude of you to call the mother of my childjust anypregnant woman.” I gasped, placing a freshly manicured hand to my lips.
Her blue eyes went cold, and I wondered if this was my chance to cooyou’re too pretty to be angry—like she used to say when I was a kid. That would've beenreallyfunny.
“You are making a joke out of a very serious situation,” she snapped. The edge in her voice was almost enough to make me care—almostbeing the key word.
So instead of giving her the attention she clearly wanted, I resumed spinning in lazy circles, my gaze drifting around the pastel walls of my office.
“Momma, you’ve hated Sebby since he was a kid,” I drawled, remembering how often she’d beg Mom to quit working for the Castillos. “He’s not exactly the type that screamscrazy cultist.I know you’re mad that he quit the organization, but he did his time.”
Lucky son of a gun.My chest hollowed with a sigh.
S.H.A.D.E. operated in the gray areas of the law. All our operatives were wannabe serial killers who got caught—yours truly included.
For each unauthorized kill they uncovered, we got a red tally mark on our files. Each kill meant five years of service to earn our freedom. We could stay longer if we wanted to, but if we left early, our crimes got turned over to the local authorities, and we’d rot in prison.
Which, admittedly, wasnotthe vibe.
Sebby had to serve five years. He served six. I, on the other hand, had only served four out of the required thirty-five. Itshouldhave been forty, but so far I’d gotten away with at least one of my murders.
Yay me.
“This isn’t about grudges,Sophia,” she said my name like an insult, which was wild considering she picked it. “It’s about Sebastian’s potential to not only unravel the organization but harm your family.”
“Mmmm, I don’t think he would.” Between Mason and Cameron, Seb lived on a very short leash.
A leash I wasdyingto hold, if only for a little while, but Momma didn’t need to hearanyof my dirty fantasies.
