Page 72 of Pretty Little Psycho

“Mother fucker,” Riot roars. He pulls me from the bed and pins me up against the wall. As the sheet falls to the floor, he gazes over every inch of me. “Did he fucking touch you?”

I shake my head. “No. But he wouldn’t let me out unless I touched myself in front of him. I—”

Valentin reaches for the blade inside his pocket. He pulls it out and brandishes it. “Atlas, find him. Right now.”

Atlas leaps from the bed and throws on his pants before downing a vial of poison.

“Hold on,” I cry. “I didn’t have to do it because somehow the elevator got up to my floor and Libra busted in with a baseball bat. I think Jessamine must have intervened or something because Zeke had his finger on the button that keeps the doors closed.”

Riot clenches his jaw and throws Valentin a dangerous look. “We get him tonight. At the Winter Solstice. And we let everyone know what happens when someone fucks with what’s ours.”

Oh, fuck. More murder. Great.

I’m starting to think that this is just my life now. “Isn’t there another way to handle this?” I ask.

Atlas laughs. “Sure. We’ll invite him over for dinner and ask him nicely to stop harassing our girl. I’m sure he’ll be super agreeable.”

I roll my eyes. “Very funny. I just thought it would be nice to not murder the problem away for once.” They look at me like I have two heads.

“Zeke is more than a problem, Maur,” Valentin snaps. “He’s an initiate who’s betrayed the oath. He knows our secrets. Your secrets.”

“We have to make an example out of him or there will be anarchy,” Riot commands.

I know they’re right. I think back to the promises I made and kept to Bailey. The blood I spilled for her. For myself. I nod. “Okay. Fine. But I want to have fun first. The last party I went to wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time.

Riot throws me a knowing look. I will tell Valentin and Atlas eventually but right now one of them knowing is enough.

Atlas chuckles. “I don’t think these two know what fun is, pretty girl. We’re going to have to show them.”

Valentin snickers. “Oh, is that how you convinced her to let Zeus take a chunk out of her leg? You tell her it’d be fun?”

My cheeks burn. Of course, they know everything. There are probably fucking cameras in here.

As if reading my mind, Riot snaps his fingers and a swirl of light trickles out. “We have gifts, Firecracker. Power that we share. It connects us.”

Valentin clears his throat as he glances down my naked body. “You also have a very visible snake bite on your thigh. So there’s that.”

It was my turn to chuckle. “Right. Forgot about that.”

“You want to go to this ball and drink and dance under the stars, Firecracker?” Riot asks as he throws Atlas’s furry blue robe around me.

I nod. “Yeah. I want one magical night where I can feel like a fucking fairy princess. Is that okay?”

His eyes soften and a smirk plays at the corners of his mouth. “All right. Done. But then we kill that fucking bastard.”

The mud underneath my boots is as thick as the fog surrounding me. The ravens circle overhead as I try to make my way back to The Nest. Apparently, there was a storm last night and it did a pretty good job of fucking up the path. Between Atlas sucking poison from a snake bite out of my thigh and him fucking me from behind on his apothecary table, it was hard to notice the lightning and thunder going on outside.

The Winter Solstice ball isn’t till later tonight, but I have to get back to the dorms before Libra and Villette send out a search party for me. With my phone dead, I can’t even text them to let them know I’m okay. Although, they’re not stupid. I’m sure they figured I went to Nocturnus House. Still, I want to get back to shower, change, and drink mimosas with them before the ball tonight. It was something Bailey and I used to always do before a big dance or event.

I don’t know exactly how close I am to the dorms at this point. I’m not lost, just a little disoriented. I pick up the pace but walk carefully enough, so I don’t fall or trip over all of the wet foliage.

I’m deep in the woods when I hear the roar of a motorcycle. Its headlights illuminate the ground in front of me. I freeze just as the rider whizzes past, slams on the brakes, and then circles back.

A knot grows in my chest as the driver skids to a stop mere inches away from me. The force of the wind blows my hair back and sends chills up my spine. My heart races as I strain to see who the mystery rider is through the mist and fog.

He snaps open the face of his helmet and my heart skips a beat when we lock eyes. Ice-cold, neon-blue eyes that pierce me and always send a sea of butterflies to the pit of my stomach. I exhale a deep breath. “Riot…”

“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he shouts over the engine. He offers me a helmet. “Get on.”

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