“Tell me about the chain,” I said, circling my finger around the dark curves of ink.

His chest rose and fell, a quiet breath escaping. “I used to be a big shot in certain circles. Legit work. Saying I worked for a few rich immortals is a gross understatement. I managed their money, made them more, and suddenly I had offers being thrown at me from all directions. I had standards. My clients had to be reputable, meaning no dirty dealings that could land me in Breed jail. My conditions were that they paid me a fair rate and allowed me to work from home.”

“Why would that be such a big deal?”

Wheeler rubbed at his chest. “Some of the rich boys live in mansions and like their trusted employees nearby. Sometimes they move their staff into the house to either live or work, that way they can keep a close eye on them. When they find someone good, they don’t want another immortal to lure them away with a better offer. That’s too much control, and I don’t do business with men who don’t trust me. Anyhow, it wasn’t a big deal to the guys I worked for because I learned how to draw up contracts that made everyone happy.”

“So what happened?”

“Ben happened.” Wheeler tugged at the short hairs of his beard with his left hand. “He makes money playing tournaments, but he’s also got a gambling problem. He wins big, but he loses bigger. Ben was never able to make money the way I could, so he learned early on how to get it fast with little work. He’s always been competitive with me, and maybe it didn’t sit well with him that I’d finally found a career making more money than he did. We’re both good with numbers; he just went in a different direction. He was always betting when we were kids. Always getting us in trouble, always daring me to do things I shouldn’t have. Back then, our own parents couldn’t tell us apart. It didn’t make sense for both of us to take the punishment when he wouldn’t admit his guilt, so I stepped up and took his place.”

“And your other brothers?”

“I’m older than I look, kitty cat. Reno was a grown man back then and the others hadn’t been born.”

“Ah. I bet you two were a handful for your parents.”

He chuckled nostalgically. “Yeah. Things weren’t so bad back then. As the years went on, Ben kept getting in trouble, and I kept digging him out. Maybe it’s not all his fault. I had it coming because I conditioned him that way.”

My finger ran across the broken link again. “You had what coming?”

Another quiet moment passed. “Back then, we were identical. Even now, people can still tell we’re twins. The first time it happened, he lost his ass gambling. I ran into a couple of guys who had a serious issue with how I didn’t pay them after losing a game. When I told them my name, it didn’t stop them from beating me with a crowbar.”