Children of Redemption (Children of Vice 3)

“I’m sure I enjoyed it,” I whispered back, placing my thumb on her bottom lip.

We both were quiet and didn’t move any further than that. Finally, she spoke up and said, “Do you need help with anything? I can look into the list they gave you this morning.”

“That reminds me, how did you know I was going to have to kill them?”

She shrugged, covering her mouth with her hand when she yawned before speaking. “Because no one is as cold as us…as heartless as us, and even we would never work with people who killed someone from our family unless it was to help kill them in the end. So whether the information they gave you is true or not, they are not on our side. Besides, the moment you gave the order you knew you were going to have to eventually kill them.”

I did know that. But I hadn’t really thought about it when I gave the order. I just wanted to hurt them badly at that moment. “I can’t get rid of them now. If the whole government collapses, it’s not going to work in our favor.”

“No one ever said you have to do it now. It’s just you’ll have to do it at some point. Elections are this November anyway.”

They were? I’d forgotten.

“You forgot, didn’t you?” She giggled at me, and I frowned. “Well, in your defense, you didn’t really have time to keep up with elections while you were away.”

“All I wanted was to help Ethan get revenge. And yet I haven’t even been able to focus on that or the problems in the south because of all the shit happening here—”

She kissed my lips gently and pulled back. “No one is expecting you to fix everything. Not even Ethan could do it. Why? Because this is a family business. You need help. Ethan needs help. And right now, you working on the city and taking out the rats is important. Ivy’s death doesn’t change.”

“Ethan might come home, though, if I caught them.”

“Ethan will always come home. Like you came home. That’s why it’s called home. It’s the place you come back to.”

“When did you become so wise?” I asked, somewhat amazed at her. She gave me a look, and I immediately knew what she was going to say.

“Because I’m a genius.”

“Because you’re a genius,” I said at the same time.

She nodded, smiling proudly. Leaning in, I kissed her lips, and though I wanted to deepen it, I pulled back. “Tonight, we’ll see a play.”

“Is that code for something?” She narrowed her eyes at me.

Smiling, I nodded. “It’s code for we’re going to tempt each other in a dark hall, trying to act natural in front of the public until it drives us crazy and we find a place to ourselves and fuck till the sun comes back up.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” she shot back and as she pushed herself up off the bed. “I’ll start getting ready.”

I wanted to stay in bed longer but watched her get out of bed happily. “Wear something sinful.”

“You’re a bad man, Wyatt Callahan.”

“And you like that about me,” I fired back.

She didn’t reply but laughed while walking into her closet. Sitting up, I watched her go…feeling abnormally warm all of a sudden.

I didn’t mind this.

No… I kinda liked this.

HELEN

I wondered, when an apple fell on Newton’s head, did he feel like an idiot because he didn’t realize the answer was above him all along? Now I realized he most likely didn’t have time to berate himself because he was so damn excited at the new world and possibilities that had just been revealed to him.

That is how I felt.

“Someone looks happy.”

Turning around, I watched as Nari tied her white sneakers. Her black hair was pulled into a top bun. Only she would want to wear all-white active wear.