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She sat at the end of the table and wore the brightest red coat that I had ever seen. I didn’t have much to do with Delila, but we all knew what she was like. Bossy, demanding, conceited. It was why Maya hated her. They had no relationship, and everyone assumed it was because Delila was busy. Driven. They didn’t know the real truth.
“Keaton? Do you understand what I’m saying?” Delila leaned back in her chair. I hated when she did that. Stared right through me like she could control my every move.
“I do.” I squeezed the arms to my chair, tight enough for the veins to ripple up my forearm. “I fucking do.”
“Good.” She pushed up from the table. “This is what you are for, Keaton. Your father did it, and now you will too.” My jaw tightened. Just as she was about to pass me, she rested her hand on my shoulder and leaned down to my ear. “Remember to use your pretty face to lure them in before you take them.” I fought with myself to not launch up from the chair and wrap my hands around her neck. It wasn’t because it angered me what I needed to do; it was because any time she touched me, my skin burned so hot I wanted to tear it off.
The music was loud. Eminem rapping about girls shaking their ass seemed to match the flickering of bright purple neon lights that rimmed the outline of the floor. My phone wouldn’t stop fucking vibrating, but I knew who it was and I wasn’t in the mood for her right now. I’d been told I didn’t have much humanity in me, but what I did have belonged to her. We both knew that, and Cartier played it like a fiddle. I couldn’t answer the phone because I knew it would soften me.
I shuffled through the sea of people, pushing people out of the way. My fingers twisted with another’s, and I spun her around until her tiny body crashed against my chest.
Eyes as sweet as honey blinked up at me, rimmed with dark lashes. “Oh…”
My hand came to her cheek and I glided my thumb over the hard edge of her jaw, the corner of my mouth curving upward in a wicked smile. When my eyes crashed back to hers, a goofy smile was plastered over her mouth.
Too fucking easy. Fuck that. How did parents raise daughters to do dumb shit like this? I’d be teaching my kid to cut any motherfucker who touched them without permission. Not that I was having children.
I ducked down to the side, gliding my lips over her ear as my eyes flew up and collided with Kohen, who was standing near the bar, watching us. Music thudded, lights flickered, and every now and then I’d see the strobe deepen Kohen’s smirk.
“Let’s get out of here…”
She melted against me like I was the one she was waiting for. Her knight in shining armor. Too bad for her, I was more like a hooded villain and it wasn’t a sword I yielded, it was my demons.
She followed me down the long hallway, and I ignored the pounding tune of whatever song was thumping against the walls the deeper we walked. Kohen wouldn’t be too far behind.
“My friends invited me to this bar. Do you know where we’re going?” she asked loudly from behind. I ignored her. Desperate to get to the end of the hallway, I reached for the vertical bar that slid across to access the fire exit, pushing it open. A gust of wind flew between the cracks, and when I turned around, I could see her eyebrows fold in. Her pale arms were wrapped around her small waist, and her little mini skirt gave an exact image of what it would look like without her wearing it. “Where we going?” Her blonde hair was short, cropped around her jaw, and her makeup was almost non-existent. She had to be sixteen. Maybe. If that.
“Home.” I gave her something so she didn’t scream.
“Yours?” Her shoulders weakened a little, that tightness around them slacking. This was barrier talk, and she fell right into it.
“Sure.” I waved outside, and she took a second. Her eyes came to me, before going out the door. She couldn’t see anything from where she was standing, since it was late out, but by the time she would have figured out what was going on, it would be too late.
She stepped up to me, and when she took the final step to pass me and walk outside, my hand came to her mouth and I pulled her against my chest.
Leaning down, I grinded my teeth down over her ear. “You can scream all you want when we get back. But for now, gonna have to gag you.” Her legs flew back, colliding with my shin and she pressed up on her toes in an attempt to run from my grip.
I chuckled, directing her to the waiting SUV. The door swung open and I lifted her off the ground by the grip around her mouth, throwing her in and slamming the door once I was inside.
“What the fuck!” she screamed, the tires screeching as we pulled away from the trashy bar. “You could have just asked me!” Her eyes flew between Kohen and me. “And I’m all for a threesome too. You just had to ask.” Her arms folded in front of her and she looked out the window.
I cocked my head, spreading my knees wide. “Fuck, you are desperate.”
Her cheeks pricked pink. “What?”
I leaned forward just as Kohen clucked his tongue. “You really think I want to fuck you?”
Her brown eyes were now a shade below black. They almost looked unreal. “What is this?” Her tone was a lot softer than it was seconds ago.
I grinned at her, pulling my hunting knife out of the holster around my jeans. “I’m about to hear you scream.” She launched forward, her fist gaining speed toward my face, but Kohen caught it and shoved her back against the chair, his arm snaking around her throat to put her in a sleeper hold.
He stared up at me from behind smoky eyes. “We’re not allowed to play with this one. This one is different.”
I flicked my knife between my two fingers, studying him closely. Kohen was a lot of things, most of them deranged, but he did things by the book. He was loyal to Mayhem, and that was one thing people couldn’t fault him on.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “I am aware of who she is.” I was the catcher. Kohen was just there to keep me on track so I didn’t lose control.
