My Heroes Have Always Been Hitmen (Humorous Romantic Shorts) (Greatest Hits Mysteries) by Leslie Langtry

and realized that he lived here. There were few items that Gaul was never without—his lucky chisel (Don't ask.) and a bronze cup he'd had since he was a child. These were sitting on a shelf not far from me. I also noticed that he'd pilfered one of Father's miniature badgers and had decapitated it.
    Other than that , the apartment was small but clean. Why did he live here, off this anonymous little alley? He had enough money to buy a villa.
    " That," Gaul finally said during the break that it took to pour himself another glass of wine, "is none of your business. What I want to know is why you're here in the first place."
    I rolled my eyes . "Well clearly," I said pointing at the single glass of wine, "it isn't for your hospitality."
    " Is it Father?" Gaul's eyes flashed with anger and then went cold. He asked, almost bored, "Is he dead?"
    I felt my anger swelling. He was such a bastard. If Father was dead, he clearly didn 't care about it.
    " No," I said evenly, "Father isn't dead. Not that you care about us."
    Gaul shrugged. "I just thought maybe there'd be an inheritance or something."
    That 's when it hit me. The small, hidden apartment. Beating a man to death (well, trying to) over money. Gaul was broke. And he was hiding out from the law. It was inconceivable to me that he had burned through all of his funds. Maybe the Council had cut him off?
    " You're broke," I said as a statement of fact. "You've gambled and whored away all of your money. That's why you live here."
    His eyes flickered with mild surprise. "Why yes. You've figured it out. I have nothing."
    He continued to pour himself more wine, ignoring the fact that I was something of a guest. "The fucking Council has cut me off. Those bastards. I really should kill them all."
    I froze to the spot . I looked into his dead eyes, eyes that had always frightened me and worried my parents, and realized he just might do it. Gaul said it casually, but in my heart at that moment, I knew. Gaul was thinking about wiping out the Council.
    " You wouldn't!" I said, wishing I hadn't. Of course he would. Why did I even say that?
    My brother nodded . "I've thought about it. No one would miss those dried up prunes anyway."
    I could kill him now, I thought. No one would be able to trace it back to me. The Council would be pleased. His body wouldn 't be found for days. Gaul had so many enemies, the authorities wouldn't even try hard to solve the case.
    " Maybe you'd want in on that action?" Gaul was grinning evilly at me. "Maybe you'd want to be the one who plunges the knife into Grandmother's heart? She's never been that nice to either one of us."
    He was baiting me , and I tried not to let revulsion show on my face. Gaul wasn't just tormenting me like he did when we were kids. He was trying to decipher my loyalties with a dangerous trap. If I reacted negatively, he would probably try to kill me and take whatever money I had. If I responded positively, chances were he wouldn't buy it.
    Gaul was on his guard here. Trying to take him out right now would be almost impossible. It would be two Bombays fighting against each other—two Bombays who had trained side-by-side and knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. I'd walked into a trap.
    The only advantage I had was that Gaul didn't know about my assignment. The disadvantage was that now I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my brother would not hesitate to kill me or any of us for his own gain.
    " I'm leaving." I shrugged—trying to re-create my nonchalant actions when he'd annoyed me in the past. The trouble was, I was shaking. "You're a dick, and I'm gone."
    It took everything I had to turn my back to him and walk calmly to the door. My senses were heightened to the highest level of awareness. Somehow, I made myself put one foot in front of the other until I was out the door and out of the alley . Then, I ran.
    Back in my room at the inn, I paced the floor, shaking with rage and fear. Why hadn 't Gaul attacked me? He'd