Page 120 of Ruthless Kings of Havoc

I don’t know what’s running through his mind, but I can see he’s relieved.

“You’re not going to cheer with us?”

“Do you want me to, Sweet Precious Gem?”

“Yes.” I want him to be a part of our dynamic. Not just serve when we need him to be a leader in our lives.He needs to experience the highs, too. The little joys of being a group of individuals who can rely on one another.

“Then,” he lifts his coffee mug, encouraging me to do the same. “Cheers, Ruthless Kings of Havoc,” he affirms and looks my way, “and to our Ruthless Maiden.”

“To our Ruthless Maiden,” Zander, Ares, and Aries affirm in praise.

Whatever wrath is heading my way, let me be able to ride the storm.

And if I’m not strong enough to face it all… let these men save me from peril.

19

HIGH TIDES OF VICTORY

~GEMINI~

“You have drool on the side of your face.”

“Ares Albrecht, don’t you dare lie to me,” I say in horror when we’re seconds from walking into the courtyard.

He chuckles with a playful grin as his arm hooks around me.

“Okay, I’m lying, but your lipstick looks divinely perfect,” he emphasizes as he leans in to whisper, “I want to mess it up.”

“This is why we don’t let you drink.” Zander groans in dismay and pushes him away so he can wrap his arm around me possessively. “Go entertain your posse of fans who want your autograph outside the gates of Leighton. Sweet Dynamite will be fine without you.”

“You’re just jealous I got to lick her all up in the car,” Ares tosses back. “So obvious when you’re jealous.”

“I sit in the back seat with Dolcezza. All the time. Why the hell did you get to sit in the back?”

“Because if you and Matteo were both in the back, you’d be finding every way to kill one another,” Ares announces as thoughthis is a fact already played out. “Having two psychotic stalkers in the back isn’t good for Sweet Canary’s health.”

“And you’re not psychotic in any way?” Aries offers with a side glance at his younger brother. “You’re a narcissist with an obsession for twinkling things.”

“Twinkling, I hope, refers to good luxurious taste,” Ares huffs and side-eyes his brother right back. “And delicate feminine women like Verena are perfect.”

“V only tolerates you because she has no choice,” Aries argues.

“Last time I checked, she only tolerates you cause her father employed you, too,” Ares tosses back. “But what a shame. You’re one of us now. How does it feel to be on the same level as your competition?”

“If you were competition, you’d be the first to die.”

“And waste your valuable bullets on me and not Benedict, who’s more of a threat. That’s just favoritism.”

“I can see what you mean by sibling rivalry,” I conclude loudly while looking up at Zander as he laughs, drawing the attention of a few students.

“This has to be why these two can’t stand being in the same room with each other. Can you imagine family dinners? Add their father into the mix. Nothing but argumental debates on who’s dying first,” Zander mocks.

“Is their mom the referee?” I wonder.

Zander further leans in to whisper, “Hell no. She joins in and brings up every most embarrassing secret each of them carries.”

“Ouch,” I gasp and shiver at the idea of such happening at the dinner table, no less. “Yeah, fuck that. I’d shut up.”

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