In Silence She Screams (Midnight Mayhem 3)

Euphoria gasses my laughter as blood slides down my face, falling between my tits. I release his body forward just as the song stops playing and my eyes land on the door, where all of Kiznitch and The Kings are standing, watching me with wide eyes. My eyes roll over all of their bodies. “Oh, come on…” I swing down from the pole—thank you, shitty old building, for having some ancient fire extinguishers built into the ceiling—landing on the ground with a thud. I don’t realize what they’re all looking at until it hits me.

Bear.

“Jesus.” King steps back, gripping onto the wall to steady himself. “Kohen is going to lose his shit when he sees you.”

“He won’t see me—” Bear says, placing the sword back into the holster on her back. “I don’t want to see him.”

“Dove, he’s fucked in the head. You have to see him.”

“And that’s not my problem, Kingston!” Bear snaps, shoving past them all. “We’ve all battled wars that the other hasn’t seen. We can at least all agree on that.”

“Bear!” I call out to her. “Go and check to see where that bitch went.”

“On it.”

Kyrin and Eli are both moving in on me. One with a prideful grin, the other looking like he’s going to tear me apart with his bare teeth.

Both excite me.

“Foreplay?” I bat my lashes up at Kyrin, since he’s always the grumpy one and I know I need to butter him up.

“Not even fucking funny.” He pulls my mouth into his by the back of my head, before grabbing Eli by the chin with his other. We’re just two scolded toddlers at this point. “You’ll both be lucky if you can walk for the rest of the week.”

“How’d you find me?” I ask, stepping around the bodies, while looking up at the other two guys who are by the door. “I guess we haven’t formally met yet. Hi, I’m Lilith.” I put my hand out to both of them, just for laughs, because no way will they touch me.

Only they both slide their hand into mine, shaking tightly and nudging their head. “I’m Nate, this is Bishop, and the broody one who left to make sure the red-haired one doesn’t die is Brantley.”

“The notorious Elite Kings. I’ve heard so much about you.”

The one with the darker hair looks over my shoulder, tracing the line of bodies I’ve left. “Yeah, something tells me none of what you heard shocked you.”

“Not a bit.” I tap him on the shoulder, walking around him with a smile on my face.

As soon as I’ve stepped over the last body, I stop in my tracks when I see Kennedy standing near the opening door and whatever is behind it. To the naked eye, this place looks shifty and rundown, but to someone like me who is used to all of the breadcrumbs that Patience leave around, I see it all fully clothed.

“You wanted me.” I crack my neck, walking straight for her. “You got me.”

“Ah!” She raises a finger, and five familiar bodies surround her. The Dolls all stare down at me with a mixture of looks. Mainly confusion. I know all of them and would have done anything for them. Whatever Kennedy has told them must be a good lie to have them defending her against me. If anything, I thought they were with me. “You’re forgetting one little thing.”

“I can assure you, I am not.” I take another slow step and feel Eli and Kyrin both beside me.

“No, you have.” She curls her finger toward someone else. “Come. You know what you have to do.”

“What the fu—” Eli steps in front of me, turning over his shoulder at both Kyrin and me. “What are you doing? Get back here.”

“I can’t, Lil. There’s something I have to do. I’m sorry.”

His eyes fall to the ground, before his shoulders square.

“Oh, you forgot.” Kennedy starts raising a finger with each word. “Surprise, sight, sound, trickery.” She starts laughing, and for the first time, I wonder how the fuck this woman could be my mother.

…no, I can see how.

I reach for Eli’s arm, pulling him back to me as Kyrin grits out, “What the fuck are you doing?”

Eli turns back around to both of us, one hand on my chin and another on the back of Kyrin’s neck. “One day, it will make sense to you. I promise.”

“No.” I step forward. “You don’t have to do this.” I shove myself in front of him, my eyes on Kennedy. “Take me. I’ll go. Leave him here.”

I’m fucking yeeted backward until I’m crashing into Kyrin’s hard chest, with Eli’s finger pointed in the middle of my throat. “You fucking will not. This was my choice, Lil. You see those girls? That’s what she wants you to see. There’s a fucking army waiting downstairs to escort us out. There was never a plan for any of us to walk out of here with our lives, unless this trade was done.”