In Silence She Screams (Midnight Mayhem 3)

King flops onto the chair beside me, sighing. “Bruh, pregnancy hormones have P all the way fucked up.”

I clink my bottle with his. “Good luck with that shit.”

King follows my line of sight and stretches his legs out. “You know she’s fucked up, right? Perse said that it’s real deep-rooted shit.” When I don’t take my eyes off her, King taps my foot with his. “Bro, I’m talking she plays dollhouse with her own mind. She’s smart as fuck. Can easily compartmentalize shit and act as if it never happened. She has no triggers, no fucking emotions, or anything that is remotely normal.” He’s talking, but I’m not listening, mainly because I don’t buy it. The thicker the walls, the bigger the secrets. I just have no interest in being the one to tear them down.

“Mmmm.” I go to take another drink when I realize it’s empty. I toss the bottle into the bin beside King and reach around him to grab another. I pop off the lid. “I need something stronger than this if you want to be talking about Lilith fucking Patience.”

King chuckles, scratching the side of his cheek where stubble is coming through. “Fair call.” He leans forward. “We’re calling a meeting when we get to Florida, but basically our parents are wanting to gather us up to go over God knows what. Perse said that Saskia has been saying that Patience isn’t dead, it’s merely sleeping.”

“She killed Kallisto. He’s dead. He ran the operation. It’s dead.”

“No…” King says, and I finally look up to him. “You damn well know it’s never that easy, especially for an organization as hard as Patience.”

“What are you asking of me?” I run my tongue over my bottom lip, turning to face him with raised brows. “You asking me what I think you are?”

“Actually, more than that” —his eyes fly up and I follow to where Eli is standing talking with Kenan. Fucking Kenan—“we need to get close to both of them.”

“We are fucking close,” I growl, my tone lowered so no one can hear. “They’re fucking living in my bus. I don’t need to put my dick inside them to find out anything else.”

“Ky.” King glares up at me from behind his shoulder. “You know damn well I need deeper than that big dick of yours can reach.”

I hiss, my lips curling to bare my teeth. “I hate you.”

My parents weren’t like normal parents. By that, I mean they didn’t have anything maternal or paternal about them. But it was fine. It worked for me, and honestly, I could have turned out worse. Like my brother Brantley’s father Lucan who would lock little kids up for his own sick pleasure, or even be the son of Hector Hayes, like my brother Bishop, and have to run an entire criminal organization that has been passed down to me from generation to generation, but among all of that and no matter how hard our life got, we all knew we had each other. Forever.

I bleed fucking gold—that’s how The Kings are—but right now, as we set off on the road to fucking Florida, all I can think about is the drama happening back home. I know I’m going to have to go back eventually to see how everything is unfolding, but I also know that if I’m needed, Bishop will call.

Lilith is lying on the sofa beside me, earbuds in her ears. She’s wearing an oversized ripped shirt and thick woolen socks. The fact she doesn’t go a day without wearing makeup isn’t lost on me, even when we’re not going anywhere in particular. I stand from my chair and pick up her slim legs, falling onto the sofa on the other end of her and placing her feet on my lap. She doesn’t hesitate but doesn’t move out of whatever she’s doing on her phone. Lilith is the kind of chaos you find yourself needing because she makes you feel like you’re not alone with your madness.

I tilt my head back and turn to face her, just as her eyes open onto me and a smile is on her pouty lips. I squeeze her leg as she removes one earbud and hands it to me.

“Do you like Korn?”

“Do I like Korn?” I mimic, bringing my hand to my bare chest. “That’s like asking me if I like ice cream.”

“You like ice cream?” Little lines etch into the soft skin of her forehead.

“You don’t?” I gasp, shuffling to the side to turn toward her farther.

She shakes her head slowly, her long hair trailing over her shoulder. “No. Here.”

I take the earbud from her and push it into my lobe. I rest my eyes for a few songs before taking it out and handing it back to her. “You’ve got good taste.”

Lilith smiles, and in that moment, I would pretty much give my left nut just to see it again. “Music has always been home to me.”