Page 153 of The Dollhouse

“Thanks,” Zoey said. “You remember Lake.” She pointed to Lake beside her, who appeared to be feeling quite awkward.

Nodding, Lola said, “I do. The normal boy.” Lake opened his mouth after that, possibly to correct her, but in the end, he shut his mouth, knowing better. Good boy. “This,” she turned toward Viper, a man with muscles and snake tattoos all over, “is Viper. I don’t think you ever met him?”

For a while, we chitchatted. They had arrived somewhat early, which meant we had some time. Zoey told Lola what her plan was, and Lola grew excited. Though I didn’t know Lola well, I knew she was planning something, something to help Zoey, something that would make her family more aghast and embarrassed.

Then other people started arriving, and that only meant one thing.

Showtime.

Chapter Fifteen – Zoey

Lola was just as off-putting as I remembered, but I was actually glad she was here. She looked stunning in the dress she wore, and I noticed she had a new tattoo on her right arm. Something with heels? I didn’t really get a good look at it.

I could tell Roman and Carter felt better with their guys here. Maddox and Sylvester and Viper were a part of all that mafia business. Or mob business? Whatever. I still wasn’t sure what to call what they did. But, anyway, that was a good thing, because other people came, people that Roman and Carter didn’t know.

That guy came, the one who’d come with the doctor at the cabins, after I was shot. The tall, dark and, yes, handsome one that kind of reminded me of Carter in that he was grumpy as hell all the time. What was his name again? Oh,Lincoln.

Lincoln came, along with a tall blond man. They walked into the house with a woman who I’d never seen before. At least, I was fairly sure I’d never seen her. It was hard to tell, since they wore masks. They wore clean, pressed suits, while the woman wore a sleek brown dress.

Lola still stood near me when they approached, and her demeanor changed. She set an arm on my shoulder, leaning into me and whispering, “Ooh, that’s the hunk from a few months ago, right? Damn, he looks as good as ever.” Behind her, Viper rolled his eyes and muttered something about pretending he didn’t hear that.

The group of three walked up to us, and the blond man with crisp, clear sapphire eyes offered his hand to me. “You’re Zoey, right? Markus told us you were in charge of this show. Don’t worry, he’ll be here soon enough. I’m Ed, by the way.”

As I took his hand and shook it, Lincoln harrumphed, “Yeah, so enjoy the party before the asshole gets here.”

“Lincoln, right?” Lola purred out, taking a step away from me. “I remember you. Do you remember me?” She twirled some of her yellow hair around a finger, obviously flirting with him even though she had her three boyfriends here with her.

Lincoln chuckled. “Yeah, the crazy blond chick. I remember you.”

“Funny,” the woman he stood beside spoke, though it didn’t sound like she thought it was funny at all. In fact, she sounded rather monotone and bored. “I don’t remember you mentioning a crazy blond chick.” She leveled her stare at Lola, and then that stare shifted to me, and I was momentarily caught off-guard by that stare.

One blue eye, one brown eye, the difference between their colors absolutely striking and kind of off-putting. I knew heterochromia was a thing, but I’d never met anyone with it before, and any pictures I’d seen on the internet hadn’t been this distinct.

Ed chuckled, while Lincoln shrugged. The woman with the peculiar eyes cocked her head at Lola. “My name is Stella. Who are you?” A strange aura radiated from her, and even though I’d never met this woman before in my life, I had the feeling there was more to her. A darkness, something inside her she only let out in the blackness of night.

She kind of reminded me of Lola in that respect, except where Lola was more obvious about her unhinged nature, Stella was more reserved.

“Lola,” she said. “Though you might’ve heard some things about me before. I’m the Night Slayer. I like killing men.” What a bold, semi-crazy thing to admit to a total stranger. Lake must’ve thought the same thing, for he and I exchanged a quick look after that.

Lake probably wanted to run out of here and never look back, but too late for that, now.

“I’m the Butcher,” Stella replied, sounding unimpressed at Lola’s title. “I kill people for a living, too.”

Ed chuckled. “Stella, I don’t think Markus would appreciate you telling strangers what we do for a living—”

“The Lucianos know what we do,” Lincoln said. “It’s no secret here.”

Lake raised his hand. “Uh, random guy here. I didn’t know.” His voice wavered a bit, and he glanced at me. “Uh, maybe I should’ve kept that to myself.” Lower, he added, “Are they all looking at me like they want to kill me, or am I just being paranoid?”

“You’re just being paranoid,” I told him. At least, I thought so. Everyone here was giving everyone else such intense looks, it would be a miracle to get through tonight with no bloodshed. But maybe that was the point. Inviting all these people here, all these psychos coming together… was going to be interesting, to say the least.

“So, no one else is here yet,” Lola said, glancing around. “I’m sure there are plenty of bedrooms upstairs. Who’s up for an orgy?”

Lake coughed, his face flushing such a deep shade of red I’d never seen before. All eyes had turned to Lola, and for a moment, no one spoke. No one at all. Not even her guys, who she’d rendered speechless.

“What?” Lola spoke with a shrug of her shoulders. “We’re all hot. We’re all used to a lot of dicks. It’d be fun.” She seemed to think on it. “Except I’m known to get a little jealous, so just keep that in mind if you want to play with my guys. But I brought no knives, so that’s a good thing for you—”

While the guys mumbled amongst themselves, Lincoln and Ed together, Lola’s guys with mine, Stella studied her. “You like knives, too?”

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