Page 18 of Cruel Charming Psychos (Necessary Evils 2)

“The two of you are still a thing?” she questions without looking to me.

“I don’t know what you would call it to be honest.” I smile at her. “I’m surprised you showed up.”

“I obviously don’t want to be here. There are a million places I’d rather be, including six feet under the ground.”

“Then why did you come?”

“Because I’m a sucker for a good case of blackmail.” She looks to me. “Dad got a hold of me and said it would mean the world to Mother to show up. He also said that he would give me access to some of my trust, so the only reason I’m here is to hold up my end of the bargain.” She looks back out over the railing, at the sea of guests meandering in the foyer. “Isn’t it funny, that our parents treat their own children like business deals?”

“It’s not the worst way to be treated.”

“You hate them as much as I do.”

“Hate is a strong word, but I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them.” I turn to her fully. “How are you holding up out there in the real world?”

“I have food in my stomach and alcohol in my liver. I’m surviving day-to-day but that beats dying in this house any day.” She lets out a heavy sigh and shifts the weight of her body from foot to foot. “Being in this house reminds me too much of Carter.”

“It’s like I can see his ghost in every corner of every room, just little memories of him here and there.”

She shakes her head and sighs. I can tell the weight of his death and his actions have her torn between two extremes. I know this because I feel the same. “I have a strange relationship with the memory of Carter. I can miss him at the same time as hating him and loving him.”

I nod. “I’ve been struggling a lot with the same shit lately. I even went to his grave.”

“And then I see that you’re with Addison, and I know why she did what she did, but it still doesn’t feel right.” She cocks her head to me, eyes watering. “She killed him to protect all those girls. That was the right thing to do, but he was our brother, and I can’t let it go.”

“I wanted to kill her before I knew her,” I say lowly before letting a laugh escape my throat. “Sometimes, I still want to kill her. I don’t know what it is between us, but I’m drawn to her like a moth to the flame.”

“That’s because you like danger,” she points out, correctly. “Be careful with her though.”

And then she’s gone, walking away, not to the party but to where her room used to be before she moved out of the house. My best guess is that she has no intention of hanging out with the older people downstairs who aren’t here to celebrate her, but rather out of a fealty to our parents. I can’t blame her one bit, but I have other intentions for bringing Addison here. I want to rub her in Mom and Dad’s faces.

I head back down the stairs, but before I can make my way to Addison, my father grabs me by the arm and pulls me into his office. He closes the door behind him and crosses his arms.

“Do you have any brain cells left in that head of yours?”

“No, Father. The drugs killed them all.”

“You’ve always been a smartass just like you’ve always been a dumbass,” he grinds out. “Are you aware that your whore has been stealing from this family?”

“You and Mother are going to have to start getting cool with some shit real fast.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

I ponder the thought of dropping the bombshell of Addison’s pregnancy on him, because it seems that my mother hasn’t passed along the memo. “That girl might be a lot of things, but she’s not a whore. And she hasn’t been stealing from this family or anyone else for that matter.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Well no, I know she stolesomethingbut it’s not like I can say that out loud without properly incriminating her. Instead, I decide to throw his own words back at him. “Areyousure about that?”

“I have her on video stealing some important disks from this very office.”

I step closer to him, interested about what’s on the tapes. “What’s on them?”

He averts his eyes. “It’s just important business files.”

“I think you’re lying.”

His gaze falls back upon me, sharp and deadly. “What you think doesn’t much concern me. This is the last time you are to bring her here; do you understand me? I feel the need to remind you that those disks aren’t the only thing she’s stolen from this family. Have you forgotten that she stole your brother from us? Or do you simply not care?” He scoffs. “No pussy can be that good to the point where you forget that you had a fucking brother.”

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