𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 || j. daniel atlas

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐖𝐎

Alena gave him a gracious look, bowed her head. "Be my guest."

Merritt didn't even look at her as he pulled Chase aside. "Hey, bro. Listen, I know that the only thing that we agree on is that our mom and dad had one too many children."

Alena made no attempt to hide her smirk as she turned the box over in her hands. She'd heard Merritt say as much a hundred times before. Those simpler times, of scrimping and playing poker on the floor, felt so far away now.

"So why don't we just let the kids play with their toys and go get a little drinkey-poo?"

"If it's free, it's me," said Chase, and for the first time since she had met the evil twin, Alena had to agree with him.

"Guys," Merritt called out to the Horsemen, "we'll be right back."

"Okay, kiddies, Miss Warbeck's got her pretty brown eyes on you. Don't do anything I wouldn't enjoy."

The last time Alena had to hear Chase trying to insert his nose into her arsehole could not possibly come too soon.

"Okay, have fun, you two." Daniel stole a glance at Alena, but she was busy fiddling with the box.

By now, it was muscle memory. Slide this panel up, push the end of that panel down. In seconds, the lid popped open and Alena gave a little giggle.

"You like it?" Li grinned at her from the end of the aisle. "I'll do a special price."

Alena snapped the lid shut and placed the box back on the shelf. "No, thanks. It's less fun once you've figured it out."

"You looked like you were having fun."

Alena shook her head. "Are you spying on me?"

Li chuckled. "No," he said, though not convincingly.

"You served me dinner the other night. At that little restaurant."

"What? You've never worked two jobs?"

Alena narrowed her eyes. "Yes. But I needed two jobs. You seem to have a pretty good set of here as it is."

Li placed a gentle hand on Alena shoulder. "My grandmother would like to speak to you."

"You're avoiding the question."

"My grandmother has all the answers you are looking for."

Alena looked at Li sceptically, but let him guide her through the shop, past Daniel, and behind the counter. Li's grandmother smiled widely, held out her hand, and led Alena through a door and into a musty corridor. Through a curtain of beads at the far end, Alena could see a storage room, but the woman stopped her as soon as the door closed behind them.

"Look, I know that you're just trying to get me out of the way-" Alena whispered.

"Is your family safe?" the woman asked.

"What?"

"Is your family safe?"

"I don't understand."

Li's grandmother fixed her with a hard stare.

"Yes, they're safe, as far as I know. They've got a couple of rooms at a hotel," Alena frowned. "How do you even know about that? Did Li tell you about them?"