Page 3 of Monsters of Mayhem

“Just, you know, I would never have guessed.” I realized I was being awkward and sticking my foot in the middle of my mouth.

“You don’t have to guess. Now you know.” Sofie rolled her eyes.

“Okay but getting back to the plan. It’s not as if you need to distract him with sex,” I said. “Maybe we can distract him with something else. Is there a type of cupcake he likes that we could bake?”

Sofie let out a burst of laughter. “Seriously? You want to distract Tony Furlan, one of the most ancient satyrs in all New Attica, who runs the most badass bar in town and rides with his satyrs across the country every year, with a cupcake?”

“At least I didn’t say a cookie,” I insisted.

“Think it through, Caroline. Let’s say we do distract him or get away from him and the whole gang of satyrs hanging outside this building protecting you. Then what? You’re just going to high tail it out of here?” Sofie asked. “Out of Alameda?”

“I saw where the bridges are. I think I can figure out how to get out of here and call a rideshare.”

“Call a rideshare?” Sofie said, looking confused. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“That’s what people use to get around. You know, you call a rideshare.”

“We don’t exactly use rideshares,” Sofie retorted.

“Can’t you just make a portal?” I queried. “There’s got to be some way out of here.”

“Nope.” Sofie shook her head and inspected her fingernails. “Most witches don’t have the power to create portals. It’s a pretty specialized skill. The demons can do it and some demigods can do it, but most of the time witches fly and honestly, portals can sometimes really suck.”

Sofie glanced down as her phone rang. “It’s Laney. What do you want to do?”

“Can I talk to her?”

Sofie shrugged. “I don’t see why not. You just can’t tell her anything.”

“What am I going to tell her? I’m a banshee and Ryder’s a monster and he’s locked me up in a Victorian house on the West Coast?” I glanced anxiously at the phone, wanting to get it before it stopped ringing.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if you did. I do know this isn’t your ideal place to be.” Sofie was blunt.

“I’d like to hear her voice.” Even I could hear the slight desperation in my voice.

“I know what you mean,” Sofie said. “Ava is my best friend. You’ve got to be connected to the people you love.” She held out the phone to me. I grabbed it, like it was a lifeline.

“Laney?” I asked, badly wishing for my old life back again. The life where I went to the lab, worked on my experiments, and went home. Even going home to an empty house was better than being trapped in someone else’s.

I sighed. I’d been so close to getting over Ryder. However, then he showed up again and my whole life fell apart. I had tried to rebuild when he left, but now here I was in this crazy situation.

“How are you?” I asked into the phone.

“Caroline!” Laney screamed. “Are you kidding me? How am I? How the hell are you?”

“Oh, I’m good,” I tried to sound convincing. “Ryder and I are having a bit of fun over here on the West Coast.”

“You keep saying, but I don’t I don’t really believe it.” Laney’s tone was worried.

“I don’t know what else to tell you. It’s the truth,” I could hear the falsity in my voice. “What are you up to? I hear you’re dating somebody new? That’s what you were texting.”

“Yeah, I’m dating this guy, Magnus. He’s amazing. I want to have his babies,” Laney gushed.

“How long have you known him?” I asked.

“It’s Magnus. It’s the guy you went on a date with,” Laney said. “I hope you don’t mind but you didn’t seem that into him. I’ve known him as long as you’ve known him.”

“He’s really nice?” I asked.

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