Page 15 of Killer Kiss

I’d been on the next plane out.

Scythe shook his head. “You are such a typical eldest child. You do realize my shit had nothing to do with you, or even Mom, right? Fawn… That’s on both of us for not keeping a closer eye on her.”

“She wanted space,” I admitted. I’d thought we were doing the right thing in giving it to her. In letting her have a normal life, away from our mother’s demands. I thought she’d be safe.

His eyes darkened as he flexed his fingers into fists. “We were wrong in giving it to her. She was already too deep to get out. Not just with us, and Mom, but with Eddie and his bullshit as well. We should have known he wouldn’t just let her walk away, even if we did.”

I hated that he was right. But there was no point dwelling on it. What was done, was done. All we could do now was try to fix the mistakes we’d made.

Because the thought of Fawn lying on a dirty floor somewhere, bound and gagged, was too much for me to comprehend. I shoved the thought out of my mind and steeled myself with determination. “We’ll find her,” I said to myself as much as my brother. “I’m having coffee with Jezebel tomorrow. I’ll ask if she’s heard anything.”

Scythe made a face. “You know Mom tried to marry me off to her, right?”

I cringed. I’d heard all about that. I didn’t know what our mother was thinking when she’d tried that one on for size. Jez was my best friend, had been ever since we were kids, but her and my brother would have been a recipe for disaster. She liked knives as much as he did and had no problem using one when the mood struck her. All I could think about was the two of them sitting together at a breakfast table, Scythe asking her to pass the Froot Loops and her stabbing him in the hand because she didn’t like the way he held the box.

One psychopath with a penchant for violence per relationship.

Two was a crime scene waiting to happen.

Even still, a protective urge rose in me. Jez was my best friend, and I didn’t want to have to choose between her and my brother. “That wasn’t Jez’s fault. We’ve known our entire lives we’d be married off to one of Mom’s connections eventually. At least Jez is a good egg.”

“She’s completely fucking insane.”

“So are you.”

“Thank you. But I’ve got my girl. And my guy. And my… Nash. That’s more than enough.”

I eyed him, a tiny spark of jealousy lighting up inside me. His life was so incredibly different now. It still amazed me that Mom had even allowed it to happen. Her marriage to my father had been arranged. Jez’s parents had been the same. It was just kind of the done thing in the circles we ran in. You married for position and power. Not for love. Hell, I was pretty sure my parents barely even liked each other. They were about as romantically involved as coworkers who only passed each other in the office hall on the way to the bathrooms. A polite nod was about the most intimate I’d ever seen them.

That sort of thing was normal to me. It mirrored all the relationships I’d ever had. I might have, so far, been allowed to choose my own dates, but I always picked men who were as vanilla and dull as my father, all while knowing that eventually, the man I ended up with would be chosen for me by my parents.

But Scythe and Vincent had wanted more, and Mom had somehow allowed it.

“You always were Mom’s favorite,” I complained. “You’ve always been able to do whatever you wanted.”

He scoffed, “Tell Vincent that. You didn’t see the shit she put him through.”

“But the two of you got what you wanted in the end.”

“You could stand up to her too, you know. You don’t have to marry someone she picks out for you. Even Fawn woke up and backed out when Mom tried to marry her off to fucking Eddie.” He cracked his knuckles again at the very mention of Fawn’s ex’s name.

I shrugged. “It’s not like I’m doing a good job of choosing men for myself. You met Nicholas.”

Scythe rolled his eyes. “Did you drown that guy in his cereal yet? Like, literally? ’Cause oh my God, that one FaceTime call I did with him made me want to put a rope around my neck and—” He made choking noises that were muffled by the music coming from inside the club.

I elbowed him. “Nicholas wasn’t that bad.”

Scythe stared at me. “He’s worse than bad and you know it. At the risk of making myself sick because I’m talking about sex with my sister, you need someone who gets you hot. Nicholas the Noodle ain’t it. Neither is settling for someone Mom picks out for you. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

I couldn’t disagree with him. Nicholas was an American I’d met in Spain while he was working abroad for his technology firm. They’d had some big project he’d told me all about in great detail. I’d smiled and nodded and laughed, all while thinking about how much I’d rather watch paint dry than listen to another word about his boring-ass career.

But my friends all thought he was wonderful. They’d gushed about how handsome and smart and wealthy he was, and though I couldn’t see the appeal, I’d figured if they’d thought he was so great, then I could at least give him a shot.

The sex had been as vanilla as his conversation. Missionary position, me flat on my back with him heaving and sweating over me. I’d had to mentally recite the national anthem in my head to keep from making faces at his expression, contorting into weird shapes as he’d moaned my name in a high-pitched wail.

I shuddered just thinking about it. I hadn’t even said goodbye to him before I’d gotten on a plane to come back home, and I’d avoided his calls ever since.

Nicholas had never gotten me hot. Nor had any other man. There was none of the excitement of meeting someone new that my friends talked about. I didn’t know what ‘chemistry’ felt like, nor had I ever had a burning desire to get naked with someone.

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