Page 27 of Mischief Mayhem
He didn’t say anything else, just stared at me for a moment before dropping his gaze to the spot on my chest where I’d been shot, the middle of my left pec, four inches from my heart. The shock had knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up, I was struggling to breathe in an ambulance on my way to the hospital.
Of all the times I’d been injured for this club, that one had brought me the closest to death. No one knew that, no one except V. She’d been there when it happened. She’d stared into my lifeless eyes and believed I had died, that I’d given my life to protect her.
Bear cleared his throat, picked up his beer, and walked away, wrapping an arm over Saint’s shoulders so they could talk about plans for Julia Caputi’s visit.
I focused on V, raking my eyes down her cropped band tee and baggy black cargo pants, ending with her platform boots. Sure, she looked the part of the scary goth girl, the one that would deck a random hang-around for touching someone without their permission. But I remembered how hard she’d trembled when I had her cornered yesterday, how flustered she’d gotten when I told her all the twisted fantasies I had starring her.
She might have a diamond-coated exterior, but deep down inside, she was a pile of mush.
10
VERONA
“Listen, the way I would leave those peasants behind for Elijah is shocking,” Ru said, giggling while she stuffed popcorn into her mouth. We were crashing at her house for a girls’ night, The Vampire Diaries already marathoning in the background.
“The whole premise is ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s oddly compelling though.” To be fair, I wasn’t into this show when I should have been in high school. Now that I’d circled back around to it with my friends, I didn’t mind it so much. I liked when the vampires ripped people’s hearts out of their chests.
“I heard you got into it with a hang-around the other night,” Selene said, raising an eyebrow in my direction. “What was that about?”
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my cool despite three pairs of eyes flicking to me. “She tried to grab Hollywood’s junk.” Fucking disgusting. “Is consent just a fleeting thought these days?”
“Hmm.” She narrowed her eyes, considering. “Is she a problem?”
I snorted and raised an eyebrow. “Why? Are you offering to stab her in the neck with something fun?”
“I only do that for lecherous traitors.” She sniffed, acting like it was no big deal she’d taken off after a hang-around turned snitch and killed her almost at the expense of her own life. “But I suppose I could make an exception if she doesn’t knock it off.”
A door sounded down the hallway by the kitchen and Hollywood appeared a moment later, wearing his cut over a black hoodie, a dark leather jacket, and matching dark jeans.
“Speak of the devil,” Alba said, leaning her head over the back of the couch as he came closer.
“Now, Sunshine, I thought we agreed not to insult the devil by comparing him to me.” Hollywood playfully winked at me and leaned down to plant a kiss on her temple. He did the same to Selene and Ru, but when he got to me, he paused to take a deep breath of my hair.
“Fucking sinful,” he whispered before standing upright to put his hands on the back of the couch and glance up at the TV. “Vampire Diaries? Fuck yeah. Scoot over. I might blow off the guys to stay here instead.”
“It’s girls’ night, Hollywood,” Ru said, shoving his foot away when he tried to swing it over the back of the sofa in between me and her. “Hence why you’re going out with the guys instead.”
“Hrmph.” He straightened and crossed his arms. “All I’m hearing is a bunch of stereotypical gender binary horseshit. What if I wanted to stay for girls’ night?”
“Then, how would we talk about you, huh?” Alba gave him an innocent smile when he clutched his heart and pretended to be offended. “All good things.”
“Yeah, like how V nearly knocked the teeth out of Chelsea’s head for grabbing you.” Selene nodded at me with a suspicious side-eye, and I pretended not to see the accusations lurking behind it.
“Fucking club girls, man.” Hollywood blew out a breath and kicked his foot playfully on the ground. “They’re gonna be the death of me.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you take candy away from children.” Selene pursed her lips. “They’ll cry until they get it back.”
“Are you saying I’m sweet as sugar, Sel?” He gave her his most charming grin.
“No, I’m saying they treated you like junk and you deserve better.”
“Damn, that’s fucking cold,” I cut in, grimacing on Hollywood’s behalf as I stood to grab my winter coat, deciding to go outside for a cigarette.
“It’s the truth,” she called after me. “I call ’em like I see ’em.”
Ru and Alba sided with me, arguing with the older MC princess about the proper time to roast someone in the name of love, but Hollywood took the hit with grace, bowing out of the conversation to follow me to the front porch. His expression flickered, a soft desperation echoing behind his eyes before he shut it down and returned to the same jovial Hollywood that everyone knew and loved.
Your move, Mistress.