Page 101 of Unholy Masks

“I’m not talking to you,” I said.

“Alright. You know I won’t do that to Yara. But if Yara ever gets tired of you and breaks up with you, then all hell will break loose.”

“What the hell? Wait, did she tell you anything?”

“God, you’re gullible. She loves you. She’s not going to break up with you.”

These women were going to be my fucking death, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

This was one weird little family, but it was mine, and I’d do anything to protect them. The three of them.

“And Ryden, dude, next time you propose to her, find a different setting, one where every human is whole and intact. Buy a ring. A big one. She likes flashy things. Maybe throw in a closet full of designer shoes while you’re at it and a few book boxes.”

“She already has a massive closet full of shoes and a library.”

“I know. But she could always use more.”

The look in Yara’s eyes every morning when she opened that damn closet… God, sometimes I wished I lived in that closet with her shoes.

“I’m not rich like Yara, you know?” I asked with a frown.

Irene scoffed. “Do you want her to say yes or no?”

“She’s not that materialistic,” I said, knowing very well that the woman I loved was really that.

“Oh, come on. We both know she is. A little bit. I don’t know… Maybe a lot.” Irene said with a grin. She was enjoying this way too much. “You accidentally impressed her by killing a guy, and now you think that’s enough? Yara is way out of your league, dude. You gotta work for this.”

I grunted. “She already loves me for who I am. I’m in her league, and she seduced me first.”

I was fucking whining. It couldn’t go any lower than this.

Irene let out a dramatic sigh. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that. For a serial killer, you sure are boring.”

“Thanks for the pep talk. You know, this makes me feel so much… not better. I’m not paying you for this useless session.”

“I’m just saying. You need to step up your game. Flash some wealth. Get her a yacht. Or, I don’t know, buy her a small island?” Irene said, looking almost too serious.

“Yeah? Let me sell my kidneys.”

“You probably have to, to buy the special editions she wants. They cost a lot.”

“Books? Are they the dragon ones?” I asked. I might sell my kidneys if they were anything like that.

She laughed, shaking her head.

“Jokes aside…” She suddenly looked serious. “It was not your fault, Ryden. Not the article. Not their death.”

“I know, but it somehow feels like it is.”

Objectively, I knew it was true. I knew what Thatcher did was on him.

“If you carry that guilt, you’ll be carrying it forever. That’s no way to live. Yara lived like that; she still sometimes lives like that, and it’s no way to live.” Irene fisted her hands. “She should have slapped me hard when I told her it was her fault. Or at least told me to fuck off. You know why she didn’t? Because she believed it, and…” She leaned forward, placing a hand on mine. “The only thing you can do now is hunt him down. That’s it. That’s all.”

“Yes.”

23

FORMING