Page 98 of In Chaos We Reign (Midnight Mayhem 4)

“And she won’t.” Delila’s cold eyes come to mine. “Because she’ll be dead.” Her admission leaves a stale taste at the back of my throat. Has she gone so far down the rabbit hole that she would kill Maya? Maya, who has always been so close to her mother?

I sigh, unclipping my belt and hitting end on the call that was live in my pocket, still connected with The Brothers. “Kaius isn’t coming, Delila.” I have about six seconds to get from here to that exit door, and I know I won’t make it. Kohen is a good shot, and although I would like to think he wouldn’t kill me, for Dove he would. He would do anything for her. She comes above everyone and everything. I have no misconception about Delila. I know she plans to kill me just like she plans to kill everyone in Midnight Mayhem.

“What are you talking about?” She shifts to the side, looking to the back window. “He most definitely is coming.”

“He is not. He is dead.” I say the words slow enough to catch her reaction. It’s as satisfying as I hoped.

Her face whips to me and she raises her hand up to slap me across my face when her door is reared open and she’s falling backward.

Kohen is glaring down at her, a knife held against her chest. “Change of plans, lady love.” My door opens, a gust of wind twirling in behind me.

I turn to face Dove and her head tilts to the side. “What? You didn’t think we would let you die, would you?” I don’t know what to think. Dove is inconsistent. She’s one thing, but then another. The only person I know she is loyal to is Kohen, and likewise.

“I don’t know, Dove…” My eyes narrow on her. “Would you?” She cackles a loud laugh before skipping off behind the back of the SUV and around to Kohen. I’m sliding out the back seat, massaging my wrists when two black SUVs skid to a stop behind ours.

Fuck. I’m in trouble.

Doors fling open and I watch as Keaton shoves his way through Kyrin, his eyes on me. I swallow roughly, my throat contracting around my nerves. Keaton has always been a storm that hovers without rain. He doesn’t need to be dramatic with his rage, because everyone knows once they stand beneath his shadow, they can feel him. His wrath, anger, and lack of restraint when it comes to his energy. Keaton is a weapon in human form, and he utilizes it frequently to release his urges. Up until now, I’ve liked it. Almost relished in it. There’s a sick part of me that likes the touch of a killer, knowing he softens his edges for me.

Now I’m not so sure.

“Keaton, I can—” A hand is clenched around my throat before I’m slammed back against the car I just slid out of. My airways close around me as he lifts me from the ground. I cling onto his arm that’s holding my throat, feeling his veins pulse beneath my palm.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” His mouth is against the curve of my neck, the warmth of his breath massaging my flesh. “I fucking knew you were hiding shit.”

Tapping his arm, I suck in a deep breath before he drops me carefully to the ground. Heaving, I massage my throat as I take deep breaths in and out, leaning over.

“You could have fucking died, Cartier!” Keaton is still standing opposite me, but he’s not whispering anymore. It’s probably the most he’s raised his voice at me in the entire time I’ve known him. Which is all my life. Much to his surprise.

“I’m—” I breathe in. “I didn’t know what else to do”—breathe out—“I did it for you all.” His fist flies into the car and I wince, finally standing straight and facing him.

“You could have told me sooner,” he whispers, taking a step closer.

I take one back.

He points right in my face. “You should have told me.”

Then he’s gone, leaving me with my thoughts. My regret. Did I do what I was supposed to do? Did I betray too many people at once? Probably. But it’s no less than what they all do to people.

Stepping around the car, I pause when I see Kyrin and Eli. The corner of Kyrin’s eyes wrinkle as he smiles tensely at me. He’s angry. Maybe. He takes a step closer to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me in to place a kiss on my head.

“I should have known. He should have known. That’s why he’s mad. This isn’t on you. I should have known.” His whisper is soft and tears well in my eyes when the comfort of my brother’s energy drowns me. I need him. He’s the rock of my life and the end all of my existence. “I should have known. I’m sorry.” His whispers get lost in the back of my mind because Eli is behind me, his arms around my waist.

I turn my back on Kyrin, bringing my hands to Eli’s face. “I’m sorry for what she did to you. I’m sorry.”

Eli shakes his head. “Don’t. There’s more than that. I’ll explain when we get out of here.” Turning back around, I bump into Kyrin, who’s staring down at me with his brows pulled in and his frown low.

“He’ll forgive you one day.”

Breathing out a long-held breath, I find Keaton near Dove, King, and Kenan. “No, he won’t.”

When I was twelve, I remember my mother telling me about the day I was born. She said there was a commotion. People she didn’t want were in the room—Kaius included—and told me that when I ever had a baby, that she would make sure my privacy was protected. She told me Dhalia took me from her straight after birth, and for a brief second, she thought someone was trying to steal me. They weren’t. She was just wrapping me in my cotton wrap, but I remember her telling me this story, and it stuck. It stuck in my mind so well that I confided in Delila with it. Like I did so many other times because I thought she was a friend. A kind of mother figure.

There’s no simplicity to forgiveness. The pieces of the puzzle won’t always fit. I don’t expect any of them to forgive me for hiding what I found out, but betrayal is an emotion weaved with simplicity. Betrayal is poison, and once you taste it, you can’t get it out.

I haven’t spoken to anyone since boarding the plane. Kyrin said that everyone was sent back to New York, and that that was where we were headed now with Delila caged in the luggage department. We’re an hour and a half in the air, and I can’t sit still, so I open my phone to check my messages.

Dhalia: I hope you know that since Kaius is gone, everything falls on your lap. I don’t envy you at all, Cartier. You are still a child. I think you made the right choice doing what you did, playing with The Brothers until they took his life, but I do also think you made it prematurely. What are you wanting for Midnight Mayhem? You need to sit and think about that before making any irrational decisions.

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