In Peace Lies Havoc (Midnight Mayhem 1)

I step up to him, my eyes commanding his as my hand wraps around the back of his neck. I yank him down to my level so our noses touch. “I’ve been in your hands since I was one day old, King.”

“Yeah,” he whispers, his eyes deep in mine. “And look at what good that has done.” He pulls away, leaving me standing here alone.

The wind whisks through my hair, and just as he steps through the door, I call out, “I know why you did it!” I tuck my hair behind my ears. “Follow me all those years. I know why.”

He steps backward and spins around to face me. “Why. P? Why do you think I stalked you for years?”

“Because I was your task, to watch and wait, to pounce, but the other half of you knew, King. Deep down, you knew I wasn’t Dove.”

“I didn’t,” he whispers.

“You’re a liar,” I counter.

He picks me up by the backs of my legs and slams me against the wall on the patio, probably giving everyone inside a show of our own. “I’m many fucking things, P, but a liar is not one of them.”

“Then why?”

“Why?” King counters. I can see his anger simmering beneath his cool exterior. “Because you’ve been wanted, hunted for years before your mother lost her shit.” He exhales. “Because even though I knew what I had to do, I knew you were my brother’s one true love. The one girl who could bring his sanity back to him, but I still didn’t want to give you to him. I still wanted you even though I knew I shouldn’t!”

My airways close in. “That’s not a bad thing, King.”

“No,” he mutters, his hand coming to the front of my throat where he massages gently. “But it’s a dangerous thing.”

He drops me back to the ground. “There’s a whole lot you need to hear.” Then he disappears into the house, leaving me breathless and twisted in knots.

Delila’s eyes glisten as I walk in, a glass of vodka on the rocks dangling between her fingers. She exhales. “Goddammit, Perse. Way to freak us out.” I lower myself onto the plush white sofa as she stands and pours herself another drink.

Maya, Val, Mischa, Rose, Saskia, Callan, and Kenan are seated around the enormous sitting room. There’s a large U-shaped sofa that is facing the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking where King and I just came from.

I was right. We would have given them all a show.

“We need to talk,” Delila says, just as Justice walks in with more people behind him.

I notice a few of them. One being Killian’s mom, the sex-crazed addict, and another being King’s mom. I wince when I see her. I find Keaton’s—well, our mom—Ash, and their fathers, as well as a few older men and women. There was another woman who walked in too, but she came alone. She looked out of place the most, wearing a knit cardigan and a long dress. Her blonde hair was pinned back in a braid, and her eyes looked tired.

“Help yourselves. I don’t have time to call the maid.” Delila gestures to the small bar that’s tucked away in the corner. I watch as some follow and gather drinks and others take a seat in various parts of the room. No one is speaking. The air is suddenly thick, and my anxiety comes in quicker.

I lean into King out of instinct, and his arm wraps around my back, forcing me closer to him. He presses his lips to my head. “You’re safe.”

I trust his words, but it wouldn’t be the first time I have, and he’s failed me one way or another. Trust is a learning process. You can completely trust someone, but it will still be a work-in-progress.

“Right.” Delila claps her hands, standing in front of her chair. “I would like to take this moment to allow anyone who is looking to harm Perse because of her parents’ mistakes to step forward right now, so I know who to kill first.” Some chuckles vibrate around as well as gasps of shock. King’s shoulders shake beside me, his face burrowing into the back of my neck to hide his laughter.

“No one?” Delila looks around at everyone. “Good, because although I know The Brothers and Four Fathers run this world and we answer to them,” her eyes fly straight to King’s father, “I have no problem ending anyone if someone else comes after my prized possession. In fact!” She raises a hand, and I wonder if she has slightly lost the plot after all this time. “If you come near any of my prized possessions, I will see to that ending.” She exhales peacefully and finally falls to her sofa, takes a sip of her vodka, and then flicks her hair over her shoulder. “Now to the issue at hand, Patience.” I’ve heard that name be passed around a lot lately.