Page 42 of Pretty Monster

My phone dings in my back pocket, and my brows furrow. Maybe it's Alex checking in. I’m usually home by now, but it was a long day. Even though I had a week off work, the rent is still due, so I’ll be doing some longer hours to make up for the missed work, otherwise, I’ll find myself not only down a friend, but down an apartment too. Though if it were to come to that, I’m sure Nat would take me in, but it wouldn’t last long. There’s only so much of each other we can handle before needing a break.

Glancing down at my phone, I prepare myself for whatever ridiculous message Alex has sent, a thrill already pulsing through me, only as I unlock my screen, I realize the message isn’t from Alex at all. It’s an unknown number.

Curiosity gets the best of me, and I open the text and quickly scan over it while doing my best not to run headfirst into the people on the street.

Unknown - Yo, this Kyah? Crew’s funeral is Thursday, downtown. He’d want you there.

What in the ever-loving fuck? Who the hell is this? If anyone was going to organize a funeral for him, it’d be me and Big Jim, and we decided that some big fancy funeral is the last thing Crew would have wanted. He would have just preferred we all get wicked drunk and talk about how much we loved him.

Kyah - Who’s this?

Unknown - Crew’s brother. You coming or what?

Okay. Now I know I didn’t read that right because as far as I was aware, Crew didn’t have a brother. He was an only child, and as for his parents, I don’t think he even mentioned them once.

Kyah - Crew didn’t have a brother.

Unknown - Shit. Is that what he told ya? Fuck me.

Not wanting to respond anymore, I lock my phone and keep it clutched tightly in my hand, my head spinning with the possibility that Crew might have a brother out there somewhere. But yet, the more the idea circles my mind, the more I think this guy is lying. I mean, I know Crew certainly had secrets. That much has been made painfully clear, but surely the fact that he had a brother would have come up at some point.

Reaching my apartment, I take note of the six Harley Davidsons parked outside my building, and as I crane my head toward the sky, I realize the light is still on in my apartment and let out a heavy sigh. The last thing I want is to have to deal with Viper and his men tonight, but at the same time, Viper still has my keys, and I’d really prefer not to spend the night sleeping in the hall outside my door. Though something tells me that Alex might just be kind enough to offer me his couch, and if I’m lucky, he might even welcome me into his bed. Just to sleep though. He wouldn’t dare risk losing our little challenge, especially now we’ve been putting so much effort into resisting each other. Alex doesn’t strike me as the losing type.

Making my way up to my apartment, I push through the door to find Viper and his men just finishing up with the cameras scattered throughout my apartment.

Spider hovers in my kitchen and the second he sees me, a smirk cuts across his face. “Nice decor,” he murmurs, glancing above my head to my new favorite art piece that stands proud and tall, and so damn thick, for the world to see.

I go to respond, but before I get a chance, Viper is standing before me, his hand out expectantly. “Phone,” he snaps.

Not wanting a repeat of what happened in the shop, I quickly hand it over before kicking the door closed behind me and watching as Viper unlocks my screen. He scrolls through the multiple pages of stupid apps I don’t even use before finally finding my app store, and I watch as he downloads some kind of security app.

“Hey, did you know Crew had a brother?” I ask as the app starts its download.

Viper’s icy gaze cuts to mine, and it sends a chill sailing down my spine. “Who told you that?”

“The brother did,” I say, pointing toward my phone. “I just got a text from him, inviting me to Crew’s funeral.”

Viper immediately goes into my texts, clearly not having any issues breaching my privacy, and he takes a screenshot of the text exchange along with the unknown number at the top. “Crew’s family had a private wake for him three days ago,” Viper tells me, that icy gaze returning back to mine. “There is no funeral, Kyah. The bastard’s trying to lure you out.”

My brows furrow. “What do you mean he’s trying to lure me out? Who the hell is he?”

“A fucking dead man,” Viper tells me. “You hear me, Kyah. You’re not to involve yourself with this asshole. Is that understood?”

I arch my brow, not liking the audacity pouring out of him, assuming he has any say in who I involve myself with, but judging from the deadly look in his eyes, it’s not something I’m willing to push right now. “Yeah, got it,” I say, watching as Viper blocks and deletes the number from my phone before checking on the progress of the app download.

A few minutes pass and before I know it, Viper has me set up with an account for my new cameras and shows me exactly how to work it. “There’s a panic button,” he says, showing me how to find it on the home screen. “But in a real emergency, if someone is trying to break into your apartment, you call me directly, and I’ll be here. No matter what.”

I nod, knowing exactly when to play along with his demanding nature.

He goes over my alarm, showing me how to enable it each night and explains that the security company will receive a notification when it's tripped. Then after practically giving me a pop quiz, Viper and his men are gone, and before I get a chance to even set the alarm for the night, I fall face-first onto my bed and crash, the exhaustion of the day, knocking me out cold.

19

REID

“Whataclevergirl,”I murmur to myself, watching as the Grim Reapers fly down the street after spending the last few hours installing Kyah’s new security cameras, their bikes rumbling like a thunderstorm through the night.

I knew she was starting to sense me there, starting to feel that something was off, and installing security cameras was the perfect confirmation. She’s finally starting to play my game, and I’ve never been so excited.