You Better Bring an Umbrella, Vol. 2

Chapter 38: Seconds, not Decades

            The moment my siblings and I reached the barn doors, I stopped dead in my tracks and stuck my hand up, causing them to do the same. Five and Lila stood bloodied, bruised, and panting, their fists clenched tightly as they stared each other down with complete and utter contempt. Neither of them had noticed the rest of us in the doorway, but based on the topic of conversation, that was probably a good thing. They needed to hash this out on their own... unless someone was at risk of dying, of course.

"This isn't gonna be quick," Lila sneered, her breath visible against the dark boards of the barn. "You are going to suffer for what you did." Five slammed his hands against his side, brows furrowed.

"Lady, I got no idea what you're talking about," he admitted. I tensed as she stepped closer to him, her feet heavy with the weight of whatever burden she was bearing.

"Ronnie and Anita Gill." The venom completely dropped from her tone as the names spilled from her lips. She spoke them with a sort of authority, as though asserting to Five that he absolutely should remember them. He, however, continued to blink at her like she had two heads.

"Mean nothing to me," he finished, attempting to feel out where this was going.

"1993. East London. You hog-tied them and you shot them in the head."

I leaned against the doorway, my insides lurching at the mere image of that. I sometimes allowed myself to forget the brutal things my brother had done with his own hands, but one way or another, they resurfaced to give me another image of gore to keep me up at night. Still trying my best to remain silent, I took in deep breaths through my nose, attempting to calm myself.

The little bits of hope I had completely tumbled out of me when Five's expression fell, the memories finally returning to his mind.

"The flower merchants." The connection immediately clicked for him. "They were your parents?" For the first time, I watched horror overtake Five's face as he stumbled backwards.

"And they never did anything to anyone." My heart was rended from my chest as her voice trembled, allowing emotion to seep through. "They didn't deserve to die like that."

"You're right, all right?" Five admitted, trying to put out the fires before they grew too large. "I killed them. But I killed a lot of people over the years. It was just a job, all right? It was nothing personal."

"'Never personal,' my ass," Lila spat, straightening back up again as Five gave her another excuse to bring in resentment. "Yeah, I've killed. It's always, always personal."

"That's why you're not cut out to be an assassin."

Five jumped back when Lila reached down and removed a knife hidden in her boot. Her knuckles paled as she gripped it like her life depended on it, set to aim it right at my brother's throat if she needed to.

"Bet your life on that?" There was almost a laugh in her tone. She was enjoying this game they were playing.

"You wanna blame someone? Blame the Handler, all right?" Five spouted out quickly. "She faked the kill order."

"Bullshit! I saw the kill order." Lila couldn't see past the bias she'd been fed throughout her whole life. Her mother was not a good person, yet she would mercilessly defend her when she got the chance. "AJ Carmichael ordered it, and you carried it out."

My heart hammered throughout my entire body as I watched the scene unfold, tensions and threats mounting by the second. Adrenaline begged me to step in and save my brother, but the logical part of me knew an intervention now could pull someone's personal trigger. It was better to stay back until absolutely necessary.