Malum: Part 1 (The Elite King's Club 4)

A few of them snort but carry on with their game of poker.

“This is Tillie, and she’s—”

I cut Madison off, “—really good at poker.”

He flicks his tongue out and then gestures to the seat beside him, but I take the one closest to the older guy. Madison slips beside the bold one after handing me my drink. She glares at me but with a smile and I shrug. I’m done playing nice girl with Nate while he’s off being a ho and I’m home playing baby mama. Just because a girl is a mom, it does not mean that she can’t have a life. You know, outside of mom-hood. I’m going with that anyway.

“He’s a little straight forward,” the one beside me leans into my ear after dealing us up.

I shrug, taking another sip of my drink. “I don’t mind. Is it Texas Hold ‘Em?”

They nod and I pick up my cards. We keep playing as more music blasts through and more drinks disappear.

“Alright, girls,” bold one, whose name is actually Lennox, says. “You riding with me?” He looks at me, and in my fuzzy brain, I shrug, standing from the table. Not sure where we’re riding to, but right now, I don’t care. I haven’t seen Nate all night, and there’s a dark part of me that thinks he has probably found the blackbird chick. Whoever she is.

Madison’s hand comes out to mine. “Don’t be reckless…”

I yank it out of her grip. “I’m not you, Madz. I don’t deal well with games unless I’m playing.”

She chews on her lip nervously then stands up, leaning close to my ear. “Listen, there’s something I need to tell you, but I don’t want you—”

“—Come on, pretty girl, let’s go have some fun…” Lennox says, hooking his arm around my neck. I drop the shot that’s on the table and let him drag me out of this glass house of doom or whatever it is. I probably should drink some water soon if I want to wake up in the morning with some memories.

A couple of the other guys are following us out when Lennox beeps a Maserati. “Ride shotgun, baby.”

“Hold up.” My hand comes to his chest. I’m experiencing a wave of honesty and I feel bad if I’m dragging some poor kid into mine and Nate’s rip of drama. “Do you know who I am?”

He seems to search my eyes, and it’s the first time I notice the flecks of blue in them. He really is gorgeous, as are the other guys, but I’ve come to learn over the year that the only people associated with The Kings are beautiful one way or another. On the outside. They’re rather shitty human beings on the inside.

He smirks, leaning into my ear until his lip touches my lobe. “Yeah, baby mama, I do. You wanna play or what?”

I lick my lips, my eyes going to the other three guys who are watching me. “You do realize Nate will kill you, right?” I’m bluffing. Nate doesn’t care.

Lennox grins again. “You do realize, he’s probably fucking Laken right now, right?”

“Wait!” I shake my head, trying to clear the fog. “Who is your sister and how old are you?”

“Get in the car, baby.” He points to the car.

I lick my lips. “No. Who is Laken?” Raven, Laken. I’m not leaving without answers.

He pauses, searches my eyes and then smirks. “Laken Sloan. You don’t know her—yet. And I’m sixteen.”

Reality comes crashing back into me. He’s sixteen, I’m not a fucking cradle snatcher. “You know what? Pass.” I start walking toward the gravel road. Everything is spinning in my head and I’m not sharp enough to catch onto a word that has been said. I pull my phone out and see a text from Nate.

Nate: Where the fuck r u?

I flip my phone off because that’s mature. This was all his stupid idea anyway. Headlights stream from behind me, but I hear the car before I see it. Stepping to the side of the road, I signal to let the car pass, only it doesn’t. It hangs behind me, engine idling loud enough to wake the devil himself. Definitely a V8. I turn, shading the headlights from my eyes. Black with circle headlights, looks like an old-style car. Something you see on Fast and Furious. It rumbles up closer, pulling right beside me. The windows are tinted so I can’t see inside, but even if they weren’t, I wouldn’t be able to make out much of anything. The back-window slides down as the deep growl of the engine reverberates around me. I almost have to block my ears it’s that loud.

Three guys are in the back, and—I squint my eyes. “Okay, I didn’t realize it was Halloween in April?”

The back door opens, hitting me in the leg.

“Ouch!”

My eyes go over them again, each of their faces are painted in the Dia los Muertos face paint. Black and white with translucent eye contacts in. I wouldn’t recognize them from a damn line up.