Page 16 of Mistress Mayhem

Don’t do it. Don’t look at him—

But it’s too late. I’m already lifting my head, my eyes clashing with his. I have to bite my lip to fight against the tears suddenly threatening at the warmth and, dare I say, love in them. Austin’s always been able to pull my emotions from me when no one else could. There’s no way I can stare into his amber gaze and not feel something—or, in this case, everything.

It takes an immense effort on my part to tear my eyes away from him. I shake my head, turning my back on them. “I don’t answer to you—any of you. My reasons are my own. All you need to know is that I plan to kill him and go about your evening.”

“He’s not the only one you’re hunting tonight, is he?” Cooper asks, suddenly much closer than he’d been. I hadn’t even heard him move—something that never happens.

“It’s Mayhem,” I say instead of answering his question. “I can do whatever I want to do without having to answer to anyone—let alone the three of you.”

“That might be true,” Cooper says as he pushes against my back, his hands going to my hips. “Except we’re here to do a job, just like you. He’s one of four men we’re meant to kill tonight. If you want us to back off, and possibly not get paid, then you need to tell us why.”

His words shock me enough that I jerk out of his hold, spinning around to stare up at him in shock. “You’re here to kill him? That’s the job you’re here to do?”

“Not just him.” It’s Fox that speaks up this time. “There are three other names on our hit list we intend to take out tonight.”

Three other names? There’s no way they can be hunting the same men as I am, can they? How? Why? Who would pay them to do this? There aren’t many people that know about what these assholes do in their spare time.

“That’s right, princess. We’re killers for hire.” Cooper raises an eyebrow, waiting until I turn back to him before continuing, “And why do you think we did that?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know?”

He laughs, though there’s no humor in the sound. “I’ll give you a hint. That’s why we left Lockwood. We needed to find a way to make bad people pay for what they’ve done. Any ideas why we would suddenly feel the need to do that?”

I stare at him blankly, trying to process his words. Is he telling me that he, Fox, and Austin became killers for hire because of what happened to me and Charlotte? That doesn’t make sense. They don’t even know what happened to us. I’ve only told one person what happened to me and that was my mother just a couple of months ago, but I hadn’t given her any names. Not to mention, I know she hasn’t spoken to them... So I just don’t understand.

“I don’t understand.”

Cooper scoffs. “What’s not to understand? Two of our best friends disappeared for almost a month, only to show back up the morning after Mayhem. One of them was dead, and the other one wouldn’t speak to us. Something had obviously happened to you, but no one would tell us what. Maybe they didn’t know, maybe they did. I don’t know. I just know we couldn’t get the answers we needed. We couldn’t punish the people who hurt you, so we learned how to punish others who deserved it.”

“You all became killers because of me?” My eyes flash between the three of them. Cooper steadily meets my gaze, completely unrepentant. Austin ducks his head, refusing to meet my eyes now. Then there’s Fox, who just grins back at me.

“We’d have done anything for you, angel. All you would’ve had to do is ask, and we would’ve razed the earth for you. But you didn’t. You left us. So we did the next best thing.”

“I... I...” Shaking my head, I’m at a loss for words.

I’m going to have to tell them, aren’t I?

My eyes jump from man to man, trying to reconcile the men they’ve become with the boys I once knew. A memory of the past springs to mind—the last time I saw the three of them before me and Charlotte were taken. A memory that I can’t seem to stop from being pulled into.

Cooper wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side. I lift my head so I can smile at him—something he takes advantage of when he leans down to kiss me. While it’s a short kiss, desire builds in my belly—at the least opportune time.

“Can the two of you knock off the kissing?” Charlotte asks with a giggle. “You’re making me jealous.”

“Ohhhh, I see how it is. You want to make out with Cooper, too? What does he have that we don’t?” Fox asks as I flush. He shoots me a grin, telling me he’s doing this for my benefit. He’s always been like this—always making sure to take the attention away from me when I become embarrassed or overwhelmed. It’s one of the reasons I love him so much.

Biting my lip, I fight back a sigh. I know I shouldn’t be in love with him, or even Austin, since I’m with Cooper, but I’m not even sure I can pinpoint when I fell in love with all three of them. It feels like I’ve been in love with them my entire life.

“Well, first of all, Austin is my brother so ewwwww.” Charlotte wrinkles her nose. “Second, I’m not actually attracted to any of you. You’re all my older brothers, even if we’re not blood related, so that’s just gross.”

I roll my eyes. “But it’s okay if I date one of them?”

Charlotte laughs as Austin throws an arm around her shoulders. “Avery, my girl, not a damn one of them has ever looked at you like a little sister.”

And somehow, I flush even darker as Austin mumbles something under his breath to his sister. She squeals before running over to me.

“Alright, boys, this is the end of the line for you. Avery is mine for the rest of the night.” Charlotte grabs my hand, pulling me away from Cooper.

I shoot an apologetic smile over my shoulder as I wave. The three of them move to stand side-by-side. Their eyes never leaving the two of us as we march into the movie theater.

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