Page 78 of Start A War (Saint View Psychos)

BLISS

The Saturday night crowd hadn’t arrived yet when I pulled into Psychos’ parking lot, but it was still early. Rebel finished at six, and I was picking her up with a back seat of shopping bags, ready to go back to her place and get ready for the Slayers party that night.

I’d had Vincent on my mind all day, and something inside me had wanted to ditch the party. But then I’d convinced myself that one nice night didn’t equal a relationship. I wasn’t doing anything wrong by accepting War’s invitation. My intense and immediate attraction to War aside, Rebel had seen Axel hanging out with the Slayers. Somebody there had to know more than we did. They wouldn’t tell the police, but maybe they’d tell me.

Unless it was the Slayers who’d killed him.

If that was the case, going to their compound tonight was a very stupid idea.

I let myself in, frowning at Solomon, the door guard, asleep on his chair. “Good to see I’m paying you to take a nap.”

He didn’t even stir. I shook my head. I’d assumed War’s friend, Hawk, had gotten past Solomon at the sex party the other night after a hard-fought battle… Probably not if this was anything to judge by. He’d probably just walked on in, and Solomon had only chased him after the slam of the door woke him up.

I waved to Nash behind the bar, but Rebel was in the middle of explaining something to one of the other girls, and I didn’t want to interrupt her training session. So I wandered behind the bar and into Nash’s office, plonking down in his comfy chair. Nash glanced over and frowned at me, so just to needle him a little more, I stuck my feet up on the desk with a challenging grin aimed in his direction.

I could practically hear his teeth grinding.

It was almost hilarious. I needed to stake out the giant labyrinth of a building for a space that could be my own office, but I liked that Nash’s was right in the center of everything.

My phone buzzed in the back pocket of my jeans, and I pulled it out quickly, hoping it was Vincent.

Caleb’s name flashed on the screen.

I pushed it to voicemail.

The phone immediately lit up with another incoming call, which also got sent straight to voicemail.

The third call made it clear Caleb wasn’t going away. I slammed my finger on the answer button. “What do you want?”

I’d never spoken to Caleb like that before. I’d never spoken to anyone with pure aggression and fierce anger in my voice.

“Where are you?”

“None of your business.”

“You stupid little ho. I’m standing on your front step in a suit, ready to pick you up. Where the fuck are you, Bethany-Melissa? I’m coming to get you, and you’d better be ready by the time I get there.”

“Go home, Caleb. I told you, we’re done—”

“And I told you we weren’t and that you needed to be by my side tonight.”

I could picture it. Me, putting on a pretty dress, like I had every other time he’d told me to. We’d go to the country club, where he’d spend the entire night ignoring me, while he laughed and joked with his work colleagues. I’d smile dutifully at their sexist comments and pretend they weren’t insulting.

Caleb didn’t want to show up alone. People would ask where I was, and he would have to say I’d broken up with him. It was a bad look for a businessman in his thirties if he wanted to be taken seriously. It made him appear unsettled and untrustworthy if he didn’t have a steady relationship to flaunt at such events, even though everybody in the room knew that married men cheated.

I don’t know why I’d thought Caleb would be any different. But I knew what he was now, and I didn’t care about his wounded pride. I was free from him, and I wasn’t going back. Goddamn him for even thinking he could call me. “We’re not together, Caleb! You don’t get a say in what I do anymore!”

A shadow fell over me. Nash’s eyes were fire, his entire body ready for a fight even though the fight was miles away, standing on my doorstep. “Is everything okay? The entire bar can hear you shouting.”

“Who the fuck is that?” Caleb growled. “Is it him? The piece of trash you’re sleeping with?”

“Oh, if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black. Did you forget how your dick accidentally fell into Lucinda?”

“Because you’re a frigid bitch who couldn’t please a man if you had a guidebook by your side. You think he wants your used-up pussy? You think any man is going to want you when you don’t even have the self-control to stop putting food in your fat fucking face? You ugly bitch, no man will ever want—”

Nash yanked the phone out of my hand. “You want to know where she is, rich boy? She’s at my bar. Spread out naked on my desk. I stripped every piece of clothing from her body, and then I worshipped every inch of her. I erased every trace of you with my tongue. I went down on her, licking her sweet, wet, juicy pussy until she screamed my name loud enough for the entire bar to hear. My name, fuck boy. Not yours. Has she ever even uttered a sound when you fucked her with your tiny dick? You could never even get her wet, could you? And yet you call her frigid because you don’t know how to please her. You’re an embarrassment, Caleb. You’re a little boy, with a small dick, trying to play with the men. She doesn’t need you. She doesn’t fucking need anyone.”

He slammed his finger down on the red cancel call button.

---