Sinners & Saints (Sinners & Saints #1) (6 page)

He doesn’t move. His jaw doesn’t even
flinch. Maybe his eyes say something, but I would never be able to see because
of those bloody shades.

 
“Well, in other news,” Jordana interrupts
our cockfight. Personally, I think I won. “Eleanor received a phone call from Scarlett.”
The mention of her name again causes all of them to look at Hugo.

“Interesting,” he says and his jaw
twitches.

“Scarlett doesn’t even like Eleanor, I
thought,” Cody says.

“I know, but Eleanor said she called and
announced that she’ll be returning,” Jordana claims.

“Really?” Cody asks.

“I quote Ms. Eleanor, ‘The cunning
Marilyn is returning,’” Jordana dramatically gasps and clasps her hand on her
cheek. “Oh, dear God, I fear the island may burn.”

Poppy, Jordana, and Cody laugh and I
giggle a bit, but Hugo doesn’t. He’s still staring my way. I can feel his gaze
piercing through me. I’m excited to meet the infamous Scarlett. Maybe if I meet
her I could get more of a clear insight on Hugo.

“Well,” Hugo says, standing up. “That
means this will be a very interesting summer. Enjoy your treats, kids. I’ll be
in my room until dinner.”

Once he’s out the room, Jordana slowly
claps, grinning at me.

“I must say, you surprise me. You are a
delightful one,” she compliments.

“I tend to shock a lot of people.” I
smirk then waste no time asking, “Were he and Scarlett together?”

“Define together,” Jordana lightly
laughs. “Hugo and Scarlett had an arrangement. They didn’t do relationships so
they found comfort sexually through each other.”

“So, friends with benefits?”

“Yep. It started right when he got here.
She was eighteen. He was fifteen. Taught him everything he knows. With Hugo and
Scarlett, it’s never natural. They don’t do love. Hugo has never used the term,
not even with his own brother.”

“Where is his brother?”

“He’s with their father on a trip to a
charity event for the foundation of youths that are autistic and mentally
challenged. Really their dad just needs to look good in front of potential
business partners and bringing his autistic son does the trick.”

“He sounds like the usual areshole.”

Jordana takes a shot before answering,
“You have no idea.”

3

HUGO

I see everyone as a pawn. I have my own
little chess game that goes on in my head daily. I can’t even play chess, but
mentally I have developed my own way of the game. I give nicknames to my chess
pieces, a name that suits them best. Cody, the Virgin. Jordana, the Unwanted
Advisor. Poppy, the Clueless One. Ms. Eleanor, the Eccentric. My brother
August, the Wise Recluse. This girl, Juliet. She is a fine creature. She
intrigued me from the moment she spoke. She will be dubbed English Rose.

I write the name on my black chalkboard
wall. Every week or so I pick up a piece of chalk and draw out a new chess
game. Every time I add a new player and today that new player will be her.
English Rose is fitting. She’s British and sexy as fuck. What more explanation
to that name does anyone need? Her light brown hair radiates along with her
blue eyes. I can already tell that she talks too much. She’s one of those miss
fix-its and is not afraid of a challenge. In fact, she probably loves
challenges, as should anyone with enough balls. It makes life interesting.
Although fresh potentials do excite me, the mention of Scarlett’s return does
something more. It excites me and worries me. Wherever Scarlett goes, bodies
are trailed shortly after
—
metaphorically
speaking. I’m not complaining out of guilt, it’s just that usually when
Scarlett leaves town for a month, or a year in this case, I’m the one cleaning
up her mess. Last year she decided to get back at her professor at Columbia
when he tried to fail her for dumping him. Scarlett and I basically ruined his
career and his family life with the porn video we recorded of him and another
student. His wife left him, moved to a suburb in Illinois along with their
daughter, who was suffering from a broken heart due to me fucking her and
leaking this information to her fiancé. He was an idiot who left his hot virgin
girlfriend alone for two years to go on a mission to promote Christianity in
foreign countries. They were both supposed to save themselves until marriage. I
actually saw on Facebook a month ago that he had forgiven her and they are
engaged again. How I see it, I did him a favor. Someone’s got to know what
they’re doing on their honeymoon, and trust me she will know. I am an
exceptional teacher.

Wait. Where was I again? Oh, yes
—
how I am the one to clean Scarlett’s
mess. Rumors had spread that Scarlett was behind the leak, but I took full
responsibility, spilling the information to the right gossipers
—
housewives and maids
—
and the professor beat the shit out of
me. He jumped me in the middle of class. Seriously, he did. He was teaching on
his last day, his wife had just left him and he lost everyone’s respect. No one
was even taking him serious in class. After a few giggles and snide remarks,
the bastard transforms into the fucking Hulk and jumps over my desk, tackling
me. I had a mild concussion from him slamming my head on the floor and a broken
nose.

“You and that little bitch ruined my
life!”

That’s what he repeated to me as he
punched me in the face. The shit hurt. Then again, my wounds did get me a
foursome with some sorority girls. Pain always leads me to greatness; that is
what Scarlett taught me. Scarlett, The Beautiful Serpent. Her name too is
self-explanatory if your path ever comes across hers.
 
She is beautiful and treacherous. She is
the closest thing I have ever come to feeling something. I add her name back on
the board. She’s back in the game and what a splendid game it will be.

JULIET

“Who’s this?” Poppy asks, looking
through my Polaroids in my white box that was covered in Sharpie doodles.

           
“That’s
my best mate, Jazib,” I say looking at the photo she’s holding.

           
“He’s
hot.” Poppy gleams over the photo of Jazib posing in front of his red Maserati.
Jazib is a hottie. Arabic men to me are usually hot. Especially Jaz with his
shiny black hair and the incoming facial hair on his chin. I always tease him
about it.

           
“You
sure he’s just a friend?” Jordana asks, eyeing me curiously.

           
I
laugh at the thought. “Yes, if you know Jaz and I, us more than friends is
ridiculous. But he’s a great person. He’s always been there for me.”

           
Jordana
gets up from my bed and gets ready to leave with her tablet in hand.

           
“Where
are you going?” Poppy asks.

           
“To
go be nosey on Juliet’s Facebook and give Hugo some dirt on her.”

           
“Please
don’t judge my photos before 2010,” I warn her. She smiles at my lack of care
and goes on ahead. Stuffing my clothes in the drawers, I glance at Poppy.

           
“What
are your parents like, Poppy?” I ask, wanting to know more about the ditzy but
sweet girl.

           
She
sighs, still looking through my pictures. “Daddy is very sweet to me. Calls me
the light of his life.” She smiles to herself then looks at me with sparkles in
her eyes. “He always tells me that he loves me more than my older brothers.” I try
not to laugh as she continues. “I think it’s because one is gay and one married
a former escort.”

           
“How
old are your brothers?”

           
“Forty-one
and thirty-three.”

           
I
gape at her. “How old are your parents?”

           
“Daddy
is seventy. Mom is forty-three even though she likes to tell people she’s
thirty-eight.”

           
“Oh,
that explains it.”

           
“Yeah,
my mom stole my dad from my brothers’ mom. She’s really nice to me though
because my brothers love me and in her words, ‘It’s not my fault that my mom is
a little, greedy, heartless slut.’”

           
“Oh,
she sounds cultured,” I say in amusement.

           
“I
sometimes wish she was my mom. My mom doesn’t like me much.” My heart hurts a
bit for Poppy. Anyone that doesn’t like her must be a self-centered bitch.

“Why would you say that?” I ask and she
looks back up at me and that sparkle disappears.

“She doesn’t like anyone that’s prettier
than her.”

HUGO

“Hey.” Jordana as usual comes in my room
uninvited while I’m doing pull ups in my boxer briefs. I don’t see the point in
wearing workout clothes when exercising in my own room.

“What do you want?”

“Looking through the new girl’s...” She
pauses, looking at the chalkboard. “I mean the English Rose’s social media.
Nice name. You’re more kind to her already than the rest of us. You know
Unwanted could have been left out of my name.”

I jump down from the pull up bar. “You
come in my room and give me advice I don’t ask for all the time.”

“Just because you don’t ask for it
doesn’t mean you don’t want it.”

“That’s exactly what it means, Jordana.”

“Well fine, but you definitely need it.
As your friend, I seriously advise it.”

“I tolerate you the most. Doesn’t mean
we’re friends.”

“In
your fucked up world, that makes me your best friend.” She gleefully sits on my
bed.

Jordana is one of the sexiest women I
know. She is a mixture of a classic and exotic beauty. Being the daughter of a
model has done her well. Unfortunately, the universe decided to punish men by
making her a full-blown lesbian.

“I probably tolerate you the most
because I haven’t had sex with you,” I suggest.

“That’s why you should thank God for
lesbians. The limitations of the female species make you humble.”

“Whatever,” I say sitting on the bed
next to her. “But why should I care about the new girl’s social life?”

“Or lack thereof. Well, no she does have
a social life but not friends,” she says staring at the screen. “I mean, she
has friends, but in her personal pics it seems only this guy Jazib is her
friend. She claims they’re just friends, which means he’s gay because she is
sexy as fuck.”

I can’t disagree with her there. Juliet
isn’t exotic looking or your typical beauty, but there is something sexy about
her. Maybe it’s the banter. It’s definitely the accent.

“As your unwanted advisor, I advise you
to steer clear if you want to maintain your tortured, brooding, bad boy image.
If you want a change of pace, then go ahead and go for it.”

“You’ve only known the girl for a few
hours and already you think she is something special?”

“Hugo, I bet you five hundred that this
girl is more than meets the eye.”

I always love a wager. “Fine, we will
see, but this girl is clearly a reformed bitch.”

“What?” Jordana looks at me confused and
I point to the old pictures of Juliet. They’re pictures of a young Juliet with
girls that look like the normal high-class bitches and surrounded by alcohol
and people. As if some of the captions reading ‘me and my bitches’ isn’t
enough.

“You know when she first met the Queen
of England, she asked what type of underwear she wore,” Jordana tells me. I
smirk at that, picturing the girl asking the Queen of England that. I’m not
surprised, so why do I find that amusing and… oh God. I find it cute.

“She probably gained a conscience,” I
say. “I have a cousin from London; I’m sure she can confirm it for me.”

“I thought you weren’t interested?” she
asks, her brow arched at me.

“Know thy enemy more than thy friend.”

“Who says she’s an enemy to you?”

I never answer Jordana’s question.
Truthfully, from the moment she first challenged me, I knew she was going to be
a problem, but still I find myself looking forward to dinner tonight.

“Juliet, my dear, I am so delighted that
you’re here,” Ms. Eleanor addresses from the end of the dinner table.

“Thank you for having me.” Juliet,
across from me, smiles as our butler, Thomas, pours us glasses of wine.

“I’m sorry, I forgot the school you’ll
be attending.” Ms. Eleanor raises her hand as Thomas begins to pour her wine.
“Thomas, may I have my usual please?”

“Bloody Mary with an extra kick, madam.”
He winks at her and goes to fetch her drink.

“I’m starting at Columbia in the fall,
mam,” Juliet tells her. So, she will be going to my school. That should make
for an interesting semester. Poppy already makes it entertaining enough.

“Oh! That’s wonderful! Hugo and Poppy
attend there.”

Juliet looks at me. “How do you like
it?”

“It’s a wonderful educational
experience.” I speak in no other tone than my own and she arches her brow. “You
don’t sound so in love with it,” she points out.

“Education is very important, but I just
went to the one school that would piss off my father the most.”

“Your dad doesn’t like Columbia
University?” she asks, emphasizing the school’s name.

“My father was a Harvard man. In fact,
eight generations of Mandrake men went to Harvard. I decided to destroy that
tradition.”

“Oh, how very ardent of you in your
rebellion. What else do you plan to do to anger you dad?”

“The usual
—
ruin the family name with immoral antics and then ultimately
take over the family business after he dies.”

“Hugo,” Ms. Eleanor tries to be serious
but the woman is as serious as Doctor Seuss. “No bad mouthing the people that
gave you life.”

“Well, technically it’s not bad
mouthing. His death is inevitable like the rest of the human population.”

“Hugo has been here with me for years,”
Ms. Eleanor informs Juliet. She adores me. I don’t know why. Never have I showed
her any true affection, but she somehow overlooks my coldness. I will say this;
she is more of a parent to me than my own father. “No matter what they say, I
know he’s a sweet boy.”

“Oh, could have fooled me,” Juliet
mutters.

“I thought you said even the devil has a
heart,” I fire back.

“There is a difference between having a
heart and being sweet. I don’t see you as a ‘let me help you with your
groceries’ or flowers and candy type of bloke.”

“Judging so soon?”

“No, just observing. I mean, you’re
pretty blunt.”

“That is accurate,”

“Maybe if you took off your sunglasses,
I could see more. They say the eyes are the window to the soul.”

“Exactly… I don’t want anyone seeing
into my soul. Be careful what you ask for, Juliet. When someone gets glimpse of
it, they beg me to put them back on.”