Sin & Spirit (Demigod of San Francisco #4)(30)

My heart was full, but my head could not believe my ears. I didn’t even know how to respond.

“Kieran was Valens’s heir,” Mordecai, the more reasonable of the two, said. “His dad hadn’t changed that before Kieran killed him. So Kieran got all Valens’s holdings, plus the millions he already had. He’s a billionaire, Lexi. He’s sitting on an empire. He won’t even miss a million or two.”

“It’s like Robin Hood,” Daisy said.

My mouth dropped open. “A million? When have you had time to buy all these clothes?”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “He means long term. I’m going at a reasonable pace, Lexi, don’t worry. I’m very careful to show off everything in front of Kieran at least once. I gush a little and everything. I only buy as much as an air-headed, spoiled teenager would. And I never return too much at one store. I spread it around. Disguises, too. Or I have other people do it for me.”

“What other people?”

“Street people. Or college kids who have showered. Whatever the situation calls for.”

“Street people? College— Where are you meeting these people?”

She looked at me like I was dense. “San Francisco State, city college—the other day, I got a guy from the art school to take back a TV. Two grand into my pocket, a hundred spot for him. Everyone was smiling.”

I leaned against the car, then jumped back, afraid I’d scratch it somehow. My mouth opened and closed like I was a fish out of water. I just could not believe all this had been happening without my knowledge. When we were poor and in that tiny house, with nothing but each other, I knew absolutely everything that went on. Everything. But now, when life was so much easier financially and I had a plenitude of time to look after them, everything was going sideways.

“Stop it.” I put out my finger, knowing I’d get flack. “Just stop. That is stealing, it’s immoral, and it’s not right.”

“Whatever happened to taking the handouts?” Daisy pushed back.

“Take the handouts.” I gestured at the car. “I’ll be taking this. It’s way too much—way too much—but it’s expected of me, he is at fault for that, and I need to look the part. But it wouldn’t be okay to sell it and pocket the money. That’s wrong. If you aren’t going to use what he gives you, fine. But don’t steal.”

“Okay, but it’s not really stealing, is it?” Daisy pressed. “He sees the purchases. He’s not batting an eye. What’s the difference between cash and clothes? He’s giving me the same amount; they are just in a different form.”

“He’s giving you clothes as a basic necessity of life,” I said.

She laughed theatrically. “The clothes we’ve all been buying over the last few months are not the necessities of life. The clothes we used to wear? Yes. Our new clothes are outrageously expensive because of stupid labels. Do I love wearing those stupid labels? Yes, I do. But not as much as his kind of people do. So I am living up to his standard, yet I’m also taking what I don’t need at present as cash. I will need it down the road, so I’m putting it away. It all comes out the same.”

A knock sounded at the garage door. I stared at Daisy, fuming. “Mordecai, what do you think about all this?” I asked, needing some sense here.

Daisy smirked. “Yeah, Mordecai, what do you think? Better yet, tell her how often you help me.”

“She does have a point, Lexi,” Mordecai said. “He isn’t worried about what we’re spending, so why would he care what we’re doing with it?”

The knock sounded again.

“Because you’re lying, don’t you see that?” I walked over and slapped the garage door opener. “Don’t say you are buying clothes when you aren’t. Don’t…” I threw up my hands. “No more, do you hear me? No more. You are both grounded. You will train, and you will stay in this house. That is it. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” they muttered, Daisy with more sauce than was good for her.

The cat zipped in under the door and disappeared amongst the boxes on the shelves.

“I’m not looking after that thing,” I said, rounding to the door of the shiny masterpiece I was almost afraid to drive. A part of me wondered how much I would get if I did sell it. “I can’t even look after the wards I do have.”

“We gotta go,” Bria said. “We need to meet up with that trainer and then get organized for tonight. Kieran said we’re a go for calling that Spirit Walker again. We know what he’s about this time. We won’t be surprised by what he can do.”

I nodded, pulling open the car door. Boman jogged in and handed off the keys, his grin showing his delight. “I’ll follow behind,” he said. “I’ll close the garage door, too. We should leave it open a crack so the cat can get out.”

I pointed at the kids. “What’s your plan?”

“Jack is on the—”

I put a finger up to silence Boman as Bria got into the passenger seat of my new car. “I want the kids to answer.”

“Jack is going to train us pretty soon,” Daisy said, plenty of attitude in her voice. “Kieran wants Zorn close at hand.”

I hesitated a moment, wondering why Jack wasn’t sticking around if he was doing a morning training with the kids. That wasn’t normal. Just like it wasn’t normal for all the guys but one to go to work with Kieran. He’d only pulled them in yesterday for the Demigod meeting, and last I heard, she’d headed out of town.