The Sinner's Club [18+] Complete

chapter forty.

I JUMP UP at the sound of a knock on the front door.

"Is that them?" Elodie asks, raising her head from her drawing.

I don't reply, pulling open the door to find Reaper and a sullen Luka standing on the other side.

Nathaniel gave Reaper the night off work yesterday, but he's back at the club tonight. So Luka is staying with Elodie and I.

"Thank you for doing this," Reaper says quietly, not meeting my gaze.

"I don't need a babysitter," Luka spits, clearly unhappy with the arrangement.

"We're having pizza for dinner," I try, and see his eyes light in excitement before he quickly tamps it down, hiding it beneath a veil of anger. He is more like his uncle than I think he realizes.

"Hello," Elodie says from behind me, her voice shy.

Luka crosses his arms over his chest. "Hi." His tone is blunt.

El looks at me for reassurance, and I give her an encouraging smile. Inhaling deeply, she starts forward and holds out a picture to him. "Ammy says you live on a farm. I drew a horse for you—they're my third favorite animal."

Luka's eyebrows furrow, and he casts me a look like 'seriously?', then a similar one to his uncle, who gives him a hard, warning glare.

"Uh...thanks." He takes the picture from Elodie, studying it for a moment. "You know horses don't actually have wings right?"

"It did end up being a pegasus," she admits. "But you guys were running late, and I was bored."

Luka folds the drawing up carefully and slips it into his backpack, which is hanging over one of his shoulders.

"Do you want to see the rest of my drawings?" she asks, a hopeful note in her voice.

He lets out a long sigh, like he is drawing on every ounce of patience he has and preparing himself for a very long night, then says, "Sure."

Elodie's face explodes into excitement, and she wraps her hand around his bony wrist, leading him into her room as she babbles.

I smile as I watch them go. I think some normalcy will be good for Luka after everything he's been through. Turning back to Reaper though, the smile fades, nerves igniting. "Can you come inside for a minute?" I request.

He hesitates, then nods, waiting for me to step aside and then trudging in.

I face him anxiously, scared I'm going to say the wrong thing and push him away further. "Did you speak with your sister?" My voice is quiet.

"Not yet. I called the hospital she's in. But technically the state has custody of the kids at the moment."

"Your other nephew?"

"He's with a good family. I might try to see if they'd be willing to take on Luka as well."

My eyebrows pull down. "You can't be serious."

His face is a stone wall; utterly impenetrable. He says nothing.

"Reaper, you can't leave them in foster care."

There is a long pause. "I don't know what you want from me, Amelia."

Frustration bubbles up, hot and uncomfortable. This is personal to me, and I am perhaps judging him unfairly as the circumstances are different. But when there was no one to take care of my sister, I didn't hesitate to step up to the task, even though I was far younger than Reaper is.

"Did you even talk to Luka about what happened?"

"My sister went off her meds and had a breakdown. She has...some issues. Mental issues. Trauma."