Page 49 of Mending Mayhem

My brow furrowed. Where had a thought like that come from? As a Prince of Hell, I never cared about…or even considered…the emotions of others, yet the idea that the two men should be happy together rooted firmly in my chest.

How strange.

“Fine.” Ember crossed her arms. “But only if it’s absolutely necessary to save one of our lives.”

“Agreed.” I couldn’t stop the smile from lifting my lips. Her passion and determination warmed my coal-black heart.

“That sounds reasonable,” Chaos said.

“Good.” She resumed her pacing. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning so we can scope out the place in the daylight. We need to get in, grab the amulet, and get out without causing a scene.”

I held in my laugh. She had Chaos and Mayhem on her team…there would always be a scene.

“If you believe the movies,” Ash said, “the best time to grab it would be when they’re transporting it from the vault to the auction room.”

“Yes, that’s good.” Ember pointed at her sister. “You and Chaos can go in and do your mind control thing. Make the guard hand over the amulet.”

Miles had been typing on his laptop, but he stopped abruptly. “There will be at least three guards and an auction official who move it. It’s a standard security protocol for high-value items. You’ll have to mind control all of them to make it happen.”

“Oof. I’m not sure we can do that.” Ash rose from the couch to sit on the arm of my brother’s chair. “What do you think?”

Chaos rubbed his thumb and finger on his chin. “I can cause chaos to the masses, but your magic is much more focused. I wouldn’t chance it without practicing it first.”

“You can try it on us,” Miles said. “As long as you don’t make us do anything embarrassing.”

Shade shrugged one shoulder dismissively. “I’m game.”

The memory of what happened when I used my power on Ash made my stomach sour. “You will not attempt to control Ember. I will not allow her life to be put at risk.”

“Wait. This is deadly?” Shade held up his hands.

“The reason I vanquished him was because he tried his magic on Ash and it got stuck. Her bond with Chaos did something weird to the connection, and Mayhem couldn’t let her go.” She stretched out her arm, gesturing to my mark on her skin. “And now I’m bonded with him.”

Possessiveness tightened my chest. I wanted to take her, to wrap my arms around her and return to Hell, where could spend eternity together. But it would not be our happily ever after. My witch would never leave her family and her duty to her coven behind, and if Ember wasn’t happy, I could never be.

“Try it on them. If you can control two, you can manage four.” Ember sat on the arm of my chair and massaged her neck, stretching it from side to side as her fingers dug into the muscles.

Her close proximity set my nerves ablaze. She didn’t touch me, but she didn’t need to. Our bond electrified my soul.

Chaos took Ash’s hand, and they both focused on the men. “Miles, you will give your computer to Shade.”

Miles’s expression blanked, and he nodded. “Yeah. Here you go.” He slid the computer into Shade’s lap.

“Shade, you will bring it to me so I can destroy it. Miles, stand up and bring me a beer.”

Miles did as he was told, padding to the kitchen and taking a beer from the refrigerator.

Shade laughed and closed the laptop. “I don’t think so. This thing cost him two grand.”

My brother and his witch exhaled, releasing their hold on Miles. Confusion furrowed his brow, and he looked at the beer in his hand.

“I see it worked on me. Do you still want this?”

Chaos shook his head. “We could not control you both.”

Miles put the bottle into the refrigerator and returned to his spot on the sofa. “So that plan won’t work.” He opened the laptop and typed rapidly.

Ember pushed on a spot in her shoulder and groaned.

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