5. Loren

5

LOREN

It takes Imry three hours to identify my guy as Oakley Curzan. I have his date of birth, blood type, and college records in my possession within half a day. The only way I'd be convinced not to follow this guy instead of our target was if Imry found me his information.

Including his address.

We trailed Daniel for the rest of the first day, but once he headed home and Imry made sure the cameras he'd set up were still in place and functional, we headed to Oakley's house.

As luck would have it, there was an empty house for sale right across from the one he was staying in. It took me three minutes to break in and disconnect the alarm. With Voss's help, of course. Thankfully, he rarely asks questions when I need him to hack into a security system for me.

Then again, there's a chance Imry's already told my brothers I've gone off the deep end following a guy that isn't the one I intend to kill. Honestly, I know where Daniel is right now. I should just kill him and be done with it.

Instead, I'm standing in the big window staring at the house Oakley's inside.

Over the next three days, this becomes a pattern. Imry feeds me information regarding Oakley's roommates, which I also memorize. Haze Prosser is a name we're both familiar with since I had his father killed last summer for the belligerent harassment of Noah's friend's friend's friend? Yeah, there was a trail I didn't quite follow. I was honestly so stoked that he'd asked me for help a second time that I didn't even question who I was killing or why.

As it turned out, Jessup needed to be dead. Nasty guy right there. There's no room in the world for people like him.

Levis Li is somewhat fascinating. He spends more time in a dojo than he does studying, yet his grades are impeccable. On paper, he's a real overachiever.

Albrecht Holleran is a rich kid from a very well-off family in Anaheim. He's the sole beneficiary of a very large trust that he'll inherit on his twenty-third birthday. There aren't even any outrageous requirements attached, which I find suspicious. That kind of money isn't usually released to such a young man without any guarantee of maturity and responsibility.

The only girl in the group is Jessica Rivera. Her parents are immigrants from Puerto Rico and own three restaurants. I went to one when I was in California checking out Jessup, and it was really good. I'd eat there many times again. Jessica is studying to become a lawyer, and she's already applied for admission into the local law school. Imry is tracking the progress of the application. Just for fun, he says.

Lastly, there's Briar Keller-Navarro. He's from a family where his parents lived eight hours apart most of the year, but remained married for years. It wasn't until after Briar graduated high school that they divorced, and his father remarried—to a man just barely older than Briar. I'm sure there's an interesting story there. I'm morbidly fascinated by it. Though Briar has been boxing since he was a kid, he has zero interest in going professional. It's just a passion hobby for him.

It's Saturday and Imry is sitting on the floor by the window I'm staring out of. Oakley is outside tossing a football with Jessica and Briar. Jessica is easy enough to identify, but I haven't seen their pictures to know who I'm looking at. Imry has though, so as they've come out of the house, he identifies them for me.

Oakley and his friends all stare at this house often. I noticed it the first morning as I watched them leave, but kept an eye on this house as they walked down the road, I was very curious about why. Once they'd all left and before I followed Oakley—I mean, tracked down Daniel for a day's worth of stalking—I examined the house from the sidewalk just in front of their house.

I didn't see anything exciting. It's just a house. I'm not entirely sure what has them so fascinated. I still don't understand three days later, but they're always watching it. Glancing at it. Studying something about it.

"Why do they do that?" I ask.

Imry looks up from where he's camped at my feet with his tablet. "What?"

"They're always looking this way. I'm sure they don't see me. They're rarely even looking at this window."

He chuckles. "You live in a hole, Loren."

I frown at him.

Still grinning, he says, "If you were paying attention to what people say around you," he chides, "you'd know that the entire community claims this place is haunted."

Okay, first—I do pay attention to what people say around me. As long as it's interesting and relevant. I don't care what Jenny said to Tory about Bobbie's lack of stamina. I don't care whose aunt is flying to Denmark. Gossip is usually what I'm surrounded by and, quite frankly, people need a damn life.

And second—haunted? "You're kidding, right?" I deadpan.

He laughs. "Nope. But I'll have you know that I've been through the house and I haven't heard or seen anything concerning. I've also dug into the history of this house and property. There's a house three doors down, that way"—he points to my right—"that's seen not one but three deaths—one of which was a murder still unsolved to this day, yes I'm looking into it out of curiosity—and is a much more likely environment for a haunting. But this one has been on the market for a year, when it's in a prime location and properties are often sold within a week of listing."

"It being haunted was their first reason that it's not sold?" I ask. That does not give me a lot of faith in this community.

Imry grins. "Those who don't know the market, yes. The real reason is that it's not only a million dollars over-priced but that it also has some scary foundation issues. The owners refuse to negotiate." He shrugs.

I look down as if I can see the foundation through the floor. "Are we going to fall into the earth?"

He laughs again. "No. Actually, it's not in the main house. It's in the pool house out back and the foundation problem also compromises the pool itself since it's so close."

"Ah," I say, turning my attention to the window again and watching Oakley.

He has good form when catching and throwing. More so than is strictly natural. While there's not a chance he plays based on his build, but he's several years out of high school… maybe he was a kicker?

Before I can ask, the three across the road are distracted by something or someone coming this way. A car that I'm quite familiar with slows as it nears and pulls into the driveway of the house we're in, followed by a moving truck.

"Im… did this house sell?"

He smirks. "It did."

I'm about to ask why he didn't fucking tell me, when the other two-thirds of my triplet brothers step out. No need to ask now, as I glare at Imry again.

He's still grinning. "I'll have you know that Dad can be very persuasive. Not only did he get the price back to a reasonable listing price but also lowered further for the issues with the foundation."

The front door opens, and the other two brothers step inside with identical grins.

"Hey, baby brother," Avory says.

Imry gets to his feet, and I watch as the three of them share a group hug. It's longer than most other hugs, but I've read that multiple birth babies always have a unique, special, and somewhat ethereal bond. There's this weird telepathy thing and some even have the ability to hear the other's thoughts.

Oh, my favorite curious tidbit is the ability to feel their twin's pain. Like physical. I keep waiting for a day when I receive twin targets. I have some experiments that I plan to conduct before I kill them.

The three break apart and look at me expectantly. "Why are you here?"

"You're fixated and Imry needs more eyes on you," Avory answers as he turns to the door to talk to the movers.

"We're moving in?" I ask. "Don't we already own property in Arizona?"

"Four now," Imry says, "but convincing you to move to one of them was going to be far too exhausting and unsuccessful. This is by far the easier answer."

My gaze drifts out the window. The three passing the football are now joined by the remainder of those who live in the house and they're all staring this way now with surprise and curiosity on their faces.

I know he can't see me, but I stare at Oakley, imagining his eyes connecting with mine. A shiver runs through me.

I've been waiting for Daniel to show up at his house since they spoke at the coffee shop. When he didn't, I expected to see that they'd get together somewhere else. They haven't but how much Oakley's been on his phone, even while home, suggests that they are talking. I hate the way he smiles at his phone. It makes my blood burn.

"I see what you mean," Ellory says, and I glance behind me. He and Imry are watching, both with smirks. "It's unreal."

"Right?" Imry says. "I'm not sure whether to be fascinated about the fact that he's transfixed by a man or that he's showing an interest in someone at all."

"I'm not something you need to investigate," I say, narrowing my eyes.

"Oh, no," Ellory says, still grinning. "I plan to observe you like a science experiment."

Sighing, I turn back to the window. "I should have been an only child."

Both of them snicker. I ignore them and the movement in the house over the next couple of hours. From what I can tell, they only brought the basics—furniture to sit on, beds, clothes, and kitchen shit. It sounds like everyone else is following and will bring the rest of our belongings with them.

"This is entirely unnecessary," I say when the movers leave.

Ellory drops onto the couch with Avory following, swinging his legs over Ellory's lap. They look at me with far more amusement than I think is truly warranted. "I don't know. We've been here for like four hours and you've turned your eyes away from Oakley for maybe ten minutes total."

"Fine," I say. "But why is Dad coming? Myro and Voss are coming too?"

They nod.

"Unnecessary. I'll kill Daniel and…" And what? Because I'm not leaving without Oakley. I'm not even going to pretend to entertain that idea. I'm not even going to lie about it.

Turning back to the window, the six of them have gone inside. I have a feeling kidnapping him and hauling him home with me wouldn't end how I'd like it to. Not that I have a true grasp on how I'd like it to. As much as I've been watching him, I don't have any idea what I want with him.

The only thing I know is that there's no doubt in my mind that he belongs to me. Somehow, that man is just… mine. I'm not even sure what that means, never mind why I feel that way. Or what I am supposed to do about it.

Imry bumps his shoulder into mine. "You know what you should do?"

Warily, I raise a brow. "What?"

"Get rid of Jason and then talk to Oakley."

"And say what?" I ask. "I'm going to need him to come home with me so I can get back to my life?"

"Is that what you want?" Ellory questions.

I scowl at him and stare at Oakley's house without answering. Truth is, I have no idea what I want.

"How about you start with introducing yourself," Imry suggests. "Hi, I'm Loren. Can we hang out?"

"Yeah? Is that how you talk to guys?"

He smirks. "Talking to guys isn't any different from talking to girls. It's always in your intent behind it."

"You have a lot of experience talking to girls, do you?" I ask.

Imry laughs. "No. But I promise, it's not that different."

"You're assuming I want to talk to him."

"You'd rather just stalk him for the rest of your life? He's going to catch on eventually," Avory points out.

"Especially since you fuckers announced our presence here," I counter.

Imry grips my wrist. "Loren." I meet his eyes and pull my hand away, stuffing it in my pocket so he doesn't touch me again. It's not the tense feeling I usually get from being touched, because it's not a problem when it's my brothers or father. But I'd still rather keep my personal space. "It's cool if you like a guy, you know that, right?"

I roll my eyes because I can't help it. "I don't care that he's a guy."

"Ha!" Ellory says, making me turn to look at him and his outburst. "I told you Loren's pansexual."

"I'm not pan," I say without any true conviction.

"He's only been with women," Avory argues.

"How do you even know that?" I ask.

"You don't think we watch our brothers?" Ellory asks.

"Ugh, fuck's sake?—"

They laugh. "Not like that," Imry says. "We keep tabs on you to make sure you're not in trouble. Honestly, I thought you knew that."

"I love how you treat me like your dog with a tracker and all," I deadpan, "but you can stop. It's disturbing."

"We mostly watch when you're taking out a target, Loren. Believe it or not, you're not invulnerable. Just because you don't have any sense of self-preservation because you don't experience fear, we're afraid for you because we know this about you and we really don't want to lose our brother," Avory explains.

I sigh and rub my eyes. Without meaning to, I glance out the window again. They're inside still.

"So, is this some sexy bi-awakening thing?" Ellory asks. "If you're straight and are suddenly turned on by a man?—"

"Stop," I cut him off before he can continue. He grins, linking his fingers with Avory's and leaning his head against Avory's. They give me sappy smiles. "I get that you want to make me a project and believe me, I'm flattered." They laugh, though I'm entirely bemused by this entire thing. "But you didn't all need to come here. I'll figure this out on my own."

"We don't plan to help you figure it out," Imry says. "We're here for support and to keep you out of trouble. Besides, you had to know if you ever picked up and left, we'd follow you. I mean, we're all fucking adults and still choose to live with Daddy. We love being with family. So do you, even if you don't want to admit it."

"I'd be willing to bet you've tried to think of a way to get Oakley to come home with you, haven't you?" Ellory asks.

My shoulders tense. Fuckers.

The three of them grin knowingly. I give them my back and stare out the window. They're right about one thing—Daniel needs to go. Then I can focus on what this weird obsession is and what to do about it.