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“But why?” I snap, looking between the both of them. “What does Eli have that you fucking want—”
The skin around the edges of his eyes softens, and he brings my palm to his lips. He squeezes me three times to force my eyes onto his, and I do, grudgingly. “Just be patient, okay?” His fingers curl behind the back of my neck, pulling both Kyrin and me in close. His thumb slips into my mouth. “And I love you, too.” My heart shatters into pieces, and I’m pretty sure they land in his pocket.
Tears slide down my eyes. I’ve cried only twice in my life. This being the second time. I already know we will never see him again. Once he has gone with her, she’ll kill him when she’s finished with him, and there’s not one thing I can do to stop it. I step forward again, but Kyrin catches me with his arm. Someone’s yelling, and my eyes are blurry. I can’t see what’s happening, and it’s not until my throat burns that I realize the one who is screaming… is me.
Kyrin wraps his arms around my waist, holding me in place as Bear appears in front of me. “The Dolls are going to escort them down. Now I need to ask you something serious, Lilith. Hey!” She slaps my face and everything comes back into view. Like an ice-cold bucket of water being thrown on me, I stand straight.
“What is it?”
“The Dolls are here for Eli’s safety. They serve you, you know that. They’re going to escort them both to the car, and then they’re going to be back here. For you.”
“Bear, I can’t. This is too much. Why did she take him? She’s going to kill him.” I spin around, looking among all The Kings. “Is this why you’re here? To watch your fucking friend walk off to his death?”
Bishop is the first one to walk closer, his shoulders back and his eyes on me. He’s all business, which is surprising for his age. “In three days, I’m going to come to you. In three days, this will make sense. Until then, I need you both to not do anything reckless. Don’t look for him. Don’t fight Kennedy. Eli is right. We were never going to get out of here alive without his trade. You need to trust what I’m saying—what he just did. At least for three days.”
I squeeze Kyrin’s arm, but my eyes stay on Bishop. “I can’t live without him, Bishop. Do you understand that?” I begin hyperventilating, my breathing short and panicked.
For the first time since meeting Kyrin, his mouth softens enough to smirk. “Historically speaking, I sure do. I’m still trying to make mine work with me, though, so cut me some slack, too.”
“Nothing reckless?” I say out loud, though not even I trust the words that are coming out of my mouth. “But I’ve not spent any time away from him since he’s been here.”
“You’ve become reliant on him for certain aspects that Kyrin can’t give you, and Kyrin gives you elements that Eli can’t either, and I’m sure you feel the same for them, too. I get it.” Nate points his finger between the two of us. “It’s almost like—”
“—fucker, if you try to add Madison’s name into this equation, the next body that drops will be yours,” Bishop calmly says while still smiling at me.
“Touchy subject still.” Nate winks at me. “But I get it. The next three days are going to be rough. Just try to keep it straight.”
“One more question…” I say, though the bile that’s rising in my clogged throat tastes a lot like anger. “Eli once told me that The Kings play games and riddles. Is this one of them?”
Bishop flicks his tongue over his lip, and I see it. I see a glimpse of the chaos he can offer. “Three days.”
When you’ve lain with your demons all of your life, death always seems like the better option. Eli isn’t much different than me in that aspect, and that’s the only thing I can think of for why he would set himself up the way he did. He’s ready for death. Fucking hope he is, because next time I see him, I’ll be sure to draw him close enough to smell her fucking poison. Three days is fucking nothing, I can handle it fine. It’s the secrets I can’t deal with. Fucking EKC and their bullshit. I knew they were behind something. There was no way Eli was hanging around Mayhem just for my dick and Lilith’s pussy.
Well, Lilith maybe…
Just as we get back to the valley, Cartier comes jogging out of the house, waving behind herself. “Just so you know, a couple of Fathers are all down in the bunker waiting for you all.” The Bunker is right between the lake house and Killian’s house, buried underground and only accessible by a trap door made of steel. Its space is as big as two football fields and is where we do… more questionable shit. I mean, there’s a fucking furnace down there… just saying.
