(Sequel to Two Gangs and a Golden Girl)
***
"If you even think about touching me, I will literally rip off your arm," I growl when Xavier prowls closer. He doesn't stop. His poison green eyes drill into mine.
"I will have you, Marigold, and we will...
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I stand in front of the mirror and watch the impostor in the reflection. Fraud. Fake. Sham.
I finish buttoning up my maroon shirt, effectively fold a bow tie, straighten my color, put on my cuff-links and shrug on the jet black jacket. I make sure to gel my auburn hair back and not allow even a single hair to stand out of place.
Silently, I keep staring at the pretender - drill into his venomous green eyes and hope he feels ashamed.
I've always been a con artist. At the orphanage, I pretended to be fine while the other kids mocked me. Someone would tease my scrawny figure and I'd laugh with them. Someone would rally the older kids to wrap me in my standard maroon blanket and kick me while I can't move, I'd smile the next morning.
Then I got taken in by the Northern leaders. I got raised by that lovely lady with her maroon lips and kind eyes. When I wasn't out hacking or spying or delivering messages, Miss Sauvage would teach me art. I loved painting in maroon.
When the North was murdered and I was promoted the new leader, Miss Sauvage had to officially adopt me. At my first gang meeting at the age of 17, I wore maroon. When I killed my first rapist, I wore maroon. When I tortured my first child murderer, I wore maroon.
And whenever I want to be myself, the orphan boy who didn't let the world stain him, I take off that maroon.
Something tells me I'm not taking it off anytime soon anymore.
Jane has agreed that we postpone the wedding to after we at least wound the South. We won't have our full force until the wedding, but hurting them might give us the gap we need to finalize things and merge the gangs.
The date for the attack is already set. One week from now. There's a shipment coming in at the Blood Islands - exclusively for the South. They'll be stupid to try and get shipments from the docks.
So we fight them on their territory. The Blood Islands are a series of small, red-stained islands at the neck of the tiger's head. It's as South as you can get in Tygerwell and they'll never expect it.
