Sixpence & Whiskey Read Free Page A

fuck with. Like ever.
    She smiles at Georg, and I swear I feel him tremble. Six feet, six inches and two hundred odd pounds of shifter about to piss himself. It’d be funny if I wasn’t in the firing zone. I take a small step sideways, easing away from his hips, but that massive arm tightens at my waist. He straightens, unmindful that my toes are now dangling half a foot above the walkway.
    “Let’s be reasonable, sisko . I do not want a family squabble, but—”
    “Reasonable, Kivistö? Reasonable isn’t kidnapping a woman who doesn’t want you, and squabble isn’t the word for what’s gonna happen if you don’t release my sister in five …”
    “Ajax, Dominic!” Georg is backing up as he calls out, coming alarmingly close to the edge of the pier.
    Jett cocks her head and winks. “Were those the two red-headed ones? Red is such a power color, and really warms a room, don’t you agree, Sephie?”
    I nod enthusiastically, because she’s kidding. I mean, I think she’s kidding. Georg isn’t in on the joke.
    He starts to sputter when she says, “ Four …”
    “Stephen?” His voice has taken on a note of disbelief.
    “Black hair, kinda cute, right? The one who’s almost as big as you? Well, you know what they say, the harder they fall and all that. Three … two …”
    Her smile sweetens as she steps closer, her boot heels striking sharply against the concrete. I swear she nails metal to the soles to get that creepy sound.
    Georg shoves me at her with a curse, expecting Jett to catch me. Instead, she wrinkles her nose and steps aside, ignoring me as I fall hard, skinning my knees.
    Jett points a finger at Georg just as he tumbles backwards off the pier and into the harbor. If I remember right it’s about fifteen feet to the….
    Splash .
    Jett looks over the edge for a moment, then back at me. “Bears can swim, yeah?”
    “Do we care?” I get to my feet stiffly.
    “I thought you might.” She shakes her head and steps away from the edge. “You sure can pick them, baby sis. At least Frost had some balls.”
    Yup, my sister is definitely a bitch.
 
    We’re back home in a flash. Literally. ’Cause Jett can apparate, à la Harry Potter. Just disappear and reappear somewhere else at will, even with a passenger in tow. It’s kinda like sliding down that wicked-looking tunnel in Doctor Who —pretty and full of purple and green lightning. But I’ve never seen David Tennant in there.
    More’s the pity.
    We don’t really know why Jett can do it and not the rest of us. Even Mom can’t do it. But Mom can travel in time, so I guess they’re even. I stumble through the doorway behind Jett. Still reeling and cold from my encounter with Jack.
    Why his deceit shocks me, I don’t know. Like he said himself, I should’ve learned not to turn my back on that man a long damn time ago. It’s like there is some stubborn part of me that refuses to accept that he is what he is. No matter how thoroughly Jack proves otherwise.
    The words I heard earlier echo softly through my head in his rough velvet purr.
    I’m sorry, princess .
    Maybe I imagined him saying that.
    Maybe I didn’t.
    Goddamn you, Jack.
 
    Carly is painting in the hallway when we appear in the foyer. Her hair is up; rose-gold curls falling out of a messy bun in soft corkscrews here and there. There is a smudge of yellow paint on her nose. Carly is freaking adorable. Her paintings are less so. Not because they aren’t good. They’re hella good. Too good.
    I eye the mural she’s working on now. It stretches the length of the hallway. Bears cavort and frolic in a pastoral woodland scene. I’m not feeling particularly friendly toward bears at the moment, but these look cuddly enough at first glance. Then I notice they seem to be snapping playfully at glittering fairies. Their teeth gleam like bone. One big specimen is crunching up a struggling sprite dressed in blue with obvious relish. Okay, so maybe cuddly and pastoral aren’t really