“Okay, you got me,” I begin as I raise my hands in surrender. “Your guy is pissed that we fucked, big deal! He’ll get over it! Everyone usually does. Now, I think it’s about time we call it a night because you really don’t want to deal with what I’ve got waiting outside and to be quite honest—neither do I. So, let’s let bygones be bygones, shake hands, and go our separate ways, eh?”

  I hold a hand out toward Gray.

  His eyes lower slowly toward my peace offering before he rebuffs the last chance I’m giving him and quickly whacks my open palm with the end of his bat.

  “Fuck!” I yell as I try to shake the sting away. “Alright, I probably deserved that, but I’m telling you that—”

  A doorbell rings somewhere, a small smirk creases my lips, and Gray turns his attention toward the open door behind him for a moment before narrowing his eyes back in my direction.

  “Too late.”

  Thirteen

  The Devil’s Saint

  Gray

  “Do not move,” I warn Lakyn as I head toward the door and step into the hallway. I wasn’t entirely sure I heard the doorbell, but the smirk on his face tells me that my ears weren’t playing tricks on me.

  “I won’t have to,” he replies with a laugh.

  I give him a level stare before I turn away from the door and walk down the other end of the hall and take a right. Once I’m in front of the main entrance, I wait again to see if the doorbell really rang. I’m not worried about Lakyn going up to fuck with Penn and Aiden again since they’re both armed with whatever they were able to get their hands on.

  I’ll have to start training her again as best as I can so that this never happens again, I tell myself as I lean toward the peephole and look out into the night once the doorbell rings again.

  I’m a little confused when I don’t see anyone at first, but then the person I’m assuming is Lakyn’s ride steps away from the door, puts her hands on her hips and looks up the length of the building. She taps the screen of the phone, and I watch as her hands move quickly before she puts it away again.

  She steps toward the door, clearly frustrated, and raises her fist, but before she has the chance to knock again, I brush my fingertips against the dusty door frame just above me, and flip a small switch to unlock the front door.

  She’s much smaller than Aiden.

  Blonde, a perky little body hidden under an oversized sweatshirt, but defined by a pair of leggings, and a million dollar smile—and I can smell the bullshit on her breath before she even opens her mouth.

  “Hi! I’m Beatrix,” she says brightly holding out a hand. “I’m here to take Lakyn off your hands.”

  Her smile falters slightly when I don’t take her hand or return her friendly little greeting. Instead, I look her up and down. I can’t help but think of what a beautiful pet she’d make for someone.

  “Come in,” I finally say in a soft tone, taking a step back and allowing her to enter. “Um, I’m Gray.”

  “Thanks,” she replies as she pops a stick of gum into her mouth. “Want some?” she inquires, holding out the small treat toward me, and I shake my head. She shrugs as she shoves the gift into her pocket and tosses her hair behind her shoulders. “Has he been giving you trouble? Is that why you look so damn doomy and gloomy? What I am even saying? It’s Lakyn, of course he has,” she continues with an eye roll. “Know what your problem is? You’re too good looking and that’s what he likes—the kind of guys that look like they aren’t real cause let’s be honest, who the hell looks like you really; chicks too, though, but between you and me? I think he’s more into guys lately. Not that I care, but don’t mention it in front of him or he’ll lose his shit.”

  I raise an eyebrow wondering how it’s possible that she can talk so goddamn much, when she takes a step toward me and narrows her eyes conspiratorially, “I wouldn’t be able to talk you into keeping him, would I?”

  “What? No!” I exclaim in shock.

  She gives me a dejected look as she shrugs, “It was worth a shot. Alright, where’s Prince Not So Charming?”

  “It’s about fucking time!”

  I turn and glare at Lakyn who’s making his way down the hallway toward us. Beatrix scoffs before she lets out a heavy breath. “Keep your pants on, Lakyn—try something new for once.”

  “I told you not to move,” I say to him in a soft tone.

  “He’s not much for listening if you haven’t noticed,” Beatrix intercedes with a laugh. “But I’m pretty sure you’ve had more than enough of his company for the evening, so we’ll head out now. It was nice to meet you, Gray,” she says with a wave as she reaches past me and grabs Lakyn by his arm.

  I lean over and quickly slap another hidden button that slams the door shut and locks it in place. Beatrix raises an eyebrow curiously at me, then glances up at Lakyn, “What the hell did you do this time?”

  “The usual,” he answers with a shrug. “He just doesn’t have a sense of humor as you can see.”

  “What did he really do?” she asks me.

  I cross my arms over my chest, gently tapping the bat against my arm wondering how she’d feel watching her friend get his skull caved in, when Lakyn speaks up.

  “Fine,” he finally says with a loud sigh. “He’s pissed off because I told his man/girl thing upstairs that I fucked him. I wasn’t supposed to tell because I promised I wouldn’t, which I didn’t. All I did was ask who did him better and then suddenly he got all ragey and the thing upstairs started moving. It’s all very emo, Trixie—totally your scene.”

  Beatrix looks up at me with curiosity dancing in her eyes and I can feel myself getting angry. This isn’t a fucking circus and Penn and Aiden aren’t the sideshow performers these two are treating them as.

  “Can I see?” she asks me with wide, innocent eyes.

  I shove the bat roughly against Lakyn’s chest, almost knocking him off his feet. He coughs and gives me a dirty look before he lets his eyes wander back to Beatrix who’s watching me with a smile now.

  “Well? Can I?”

  I raise the bat and smack it across her little buddy’s arm causing him to swear loudly and take a step back.

  She giggles.

  It’s almost like she knows that the more she asks me to see the only thing on this planet that loves me, the more it’ll put Lakyn’s safety at risk ahead of schedule.

  She opens her mouth again but he immediately cuts her off, “Stop egging him on, you little shit!” he yells at her.

  “With as much as I’d love to stand around and watch you beat him to death, I can’t,” she says, cutting him off with the wave of her hand. “Ich loves him for some reason and he doesn’t need to deal with anything else going wrong in his life. I really would like to do this the easy way, Gray, but I’m not above doing it the hard way either. Don’t let your eyes fool you—Lakyn’s got nothing on me when someone pisses me off.”

  Good, I think giving her a level stare as I swallow the rage back down that’s rising inside of me. There’s no more time for anger and childish games.

  I’m feeling creative and the longer the little girl with the cute little body stares at me, the more I find myself amused by this entire situation.

  I went out for a drink.

  I ended up getting followed home by a psychopath with loose lips and a friend apparently as crazy as he is.

  I glance between the two, a smile starting to spread across my face. I’m tired, but I know that I have to finish this.

  Besides, I always did wonder if I’d be able to replicate what I’ve done with Penn and Aiden.

  Now I have the perfect pieces to try.

  Fourteen

  Cry, Baby

  Lakyn

  I glare at Trixie who’s still eyeing Gray carefully.

  I can tell that she’s ready to make a move, and it better be soon, because if he hits me with that bat again I’m going to shove it up both their asses.

  “Catch me if you can,” she suddenly hisses at Gray as she takes off running like the proverbial bat out of hell. I can hear the sound of her footsteps echoing as she runs up the staircase and I can’t help but laugh.

  She’s always been resilient, and I know she’ll get out of this predicament just fine. I just hope that she’ll take me with her.

  “Hey!” Gray barks as he immediately begins to give chase.

  He’s angry.

  Trixie is having fun.

  As for me, I’m left wondering how the hell she managed to get inside if these doors are supposed to be locked.

  When her laughter echoes down toward me again, I roll my eyes and decide it’s best to catch up to them. If Trixie loses her grip on reality, he’s gonna need all the help he can get, and I personally don’t ever pass up a chance to put that little shit in her place.

  “Is there an elevator in this place?” I call up when I reach the bottom of the stairs. The only answer is the sound of Trixie’s laughter and Gray’s angry footsteps as he races to catch up to her. I close my eyes for a moment, take a deep breath, and tell myself that the danger is over. He’s outnumbered now whether he realizes it or not.

  I wait for a few more seconds.

  The moment I hear the echo of a door slamming and Gray’s angry swearing, I begin my ascent. She’s gonna have fun with the meat puzzle, but this is really his fault. Had he let us out when she asked him too, he wouldn’t have to worry about what she’s going to do. Not that I know what she has up her sleeve obviously, but I have no doubt it’ll be something fun.

  He sounds angrier the closer I get and I’m wondering if maybe I should just wait and see what she’s up to before I try to break it up.

  Thump! Thump!

  I chuckle and shake my head at the sound of his body crashing into the door again. Beatrix obviously has barricaded herself in with his precious little toy and that man is going to wear himself out trying to get to her.

  He’ll fall right into her hands and I’ll get off watching whatever little trick she has up her sleeve.

  “Hey, Gray?” I call up from the second floor landing. “It would be best if you don’t piss her off! I speak from personal experience,” I finish quietly to myself.

  I jump when I hear a new sound. He’s slamming the bat furiously into the door trying to get it to give way and the response he gets? Trixie’s laughter coming from the other side.

  “You’re going to give yourself a stroke if you don’t calm down!” I shout as I start climbing the third and final set of stairs.

  A stroke.

  I laugh at my choice of words. It’d be nice if he calmed down and gave me a stroke, but I’m pretty sure we’re past that now. It’s kind of a shame really, though I should be used to it by now.

  The only person I haven’t worn out my welcome yet, is the little goat-god worshipper, and there are even some days where I feel like she’s planning on getting rid of me somehow. Of course, I don’t think she’d have the balls to explain that to Ichabod, so she’s stuck with me, like I am with her.

  I finally reach the top floor in time to see Gray shatter the baseball bat against the door, then rest his head against it, a sob escaping his throat.

  “I told you to let me go,” I chide him as I walk over to where he’s standing. I do take care to stay just out of his reach since I know he’s been jonesing to snap me in half for the past couple of hours. “Listen, if you get the hell out of the way, I can go in first and see what she’s doing. And I really think you should take me up on this because if she goes loopy on us, there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to get her head back out of the clouds until she feels like coming down.”

  Gray looks at me with desperation and heartbreak in his eyes and for about 0.2 seconds, I feel for the kid.

  There are a few factors as to why it doesn’t last long.

  The first being that I gave him an honest to goodness chance of getting rid of me, but his macho bravado took over and he decided to play the part of the Dutiful Hero of Meat Puzzles.

  The second reason is because, well, he could have just let me play with his goddamn fuck toys like I asked him to and then I would have been out of his hair right after.

  And the third?

  The fact that he’s lunged at me and has his arm wrapped around my neck. Can’t really feel bad for someone that’s trying to choke the life out of me, and just as I’m about to pass out, the door to the room opens slowly.

  It’s the last thing I remember before the world goes black.

  Fifteen

  The Thing About Trust

  Gray

  I let go of Lakyn once he’s unconscious. I should have just finished the fucking job and killed him, but the door opening suddenly is more important to me.

  This Beatrix chick is crazier than her handsome counterpart and she’ll do harm to Penn and Aiden without thinking twice about it.

  I get to my feet and wipe the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, as I take a tedious step into the room.

  She’s standing with her back to me, flashing Penn over and over, giggling like a little schoolgirl while Aiden grunts and rolls her eyes.

  “Bet you’ve never seen a pair like these before,” she coos at him as she flashes him one more time.

  He scoffs, and when he realizes that I’m in the room, takes special care to keep his eyes off the woman in front of him desperate for his attention.

  “Hey,” she says, snapping her fingers in front of his face, “I’m right here.”

  Penn slowly turns his gaze toward her again before he licks his lips, then hocks the biggest fucking loogie I’ve ever seen right into her face.

  “Fuck off,” he tells her evenly.

  Aiden starts laughing, Penn grins at her, then Beatrix slaps him across the face. “You’re gonna wish you never did that, you fucking prick,” she hisses at him.

  That’s when I finish closing the gap between us. I grab a fistful of her hair and yank her away so violently that she stumbles a little bit, then falls onto her ass.

  “What gives?” she shouts angrily. “I just wanted to play with them!” She begins to wipe Penn’s spit away from her face and I smirk as I cross my arms over my chest.

  “They’re not interested,” I tell her in a soft tone. “And neither am I. Get your friend and get the fuck out before I move on the inspiration I’m feeling.”

  She pushes herself to her feet, purses her lips, and puts her hands on her hips.

  “Not until I get to play with them,” she counters giving me a level stare. “So get the hell out of the way before I get really angry.”

  “It’s okay,” Penn whispers into my ear. I close my eyes for a moment. I don’t care for what he’s suggesting in the least, but I understand. I betrayed his trust with Lakyn, and now it’s his turn to get me back, so to speak, with this little whore.

  When I open my eyes again, I feel a tear roll down the side of my face and I glance at him. He smiles at me, leans over and whispers something into my ear, and I nod.

  “Hey,” Aiden says to me in her throaty tone. I’ll have to bring them water after. “Give me a hug and get out of here.”

  I let out a loud laugh as another tear rolls down my face and she gives my stomach a gentle punch. “Stop being such a crybaby, Gray,” she teases, making a face at me. “We’ll be okay.”

  I take a step back, facing them both and sigh. I trust Aiden, and this little hair-brained scheme that Penn just whispered to me, definitely has Aiden James written all over it. She winks at me, and when I’m finally ready to leave them alone in the room with Beatrix, Penn reaches forward and pulls me toward him. Before I realize what’s happening, he’s pressing his lips against mine. The one thing I’ve been desperate for—to truly taste him again—for some reason now, it feels like a good-bye.

  “I love you, Gray,” he whispers when our lips part.

  The sweetest thing he’s ever said to me.

  The three words I would have given anything to hear, he finally says.

  And I’m just scared that it’s for the first and last time.

  I run my hands back through my hair as I walk out of the room without repeating the sentiment. I know that if I do, I’ll burst into tears and refuse to leave.

  I have to trust them.

  Both of them, not just Aiden.

  I have to trust Penn too.

  “Bring it on, bitch,” Aiden snarls as I leave the room and slam the door behind me.

  Sixteen

  Adrenaline

  Lakyn

  Gray grabs me by the collar of my shirt and drags me toward the staircase. Before I have a chance to realize what’s happening, he lifts me up and tosses me down the flight of stairs with a very angry, caveman kind of yell.

  My guess is that the precious princess pissed him off, and he’s taking it out on me.

  When I land on the second floor, I roll onto my back and grunt. That shit hurt—I’m sure that’s what he wanted, but he could have finessed it a little bit. Not to mention that he could have almost killed me. Falling down the stairs is a dangerous thing, let alone being tossed like a sack of garbage.

  “Alright, I’m getting sick of this,” I tell him in a pained tone as I struggle to push myself up to my feet, but the big man with the even bigger arms is already descending down the staircase with rage in his eyes and I have to do the one thing I’m not comfortable with to get out of this alive.

  I have to run.

  Taking a deep breath, I move quickly and start sprinting down the stairs wondering if, or when, Trixie would ever let me live this down. I’ve never run away from a fight—I run toward them, but this isn’t an ordinary fight. This meat head is out for blood and I’m not exactly interested in letting him have mine.

  “Come on, big boy! Catch me if you can!” I call up, mimicking Trixie, as I race down the last flight of stairs toward the main floor.

 

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