Page 67 of Mischief Mayhem
This is it. This is the end. They’re gonna walk up and shoot us all in the head.
“Fuck.” My heart sank into my torso like lead, a sob barreling up my throat as I realized I’d never get to have that future with V like I’d imagined. I’d never get to make up with her, and she’d been right. I hoped she moved on. I hoped she found someone better, someone that would love her and take care of her the way she deserved, the way I tried to.
Her bright violet gaze flickered through my mind, followed by the sound of her laugh, and I collapsed onto the tree next to KC, relegating myself to my inevitable demise. When I’d joined the MC, I figured this would be the way it would end, especially after Trojan died this way two years ago.
These fucking Caputi fucks would take everything from me: my brother, my freedom, and now my life.
I reached into my pocket to get my cell phone, sending a quick SOS to Thor. I wanted to say goodbye to V, to roll over her name and tell her I loved her again, to apologize for the way I’d left things. But the world had started to go wonky, and I didn’t think I’d be able to see the letters.
I tried, I said to Trojan, wherever he was. I tried to keep my promise.
“Don’t you fucking do that to me,” KC growled, slapping me in the face. “You get your shit together, Hudson. You don’t get to check out. Not here. Not today.”
The sharp shock of pain brought me back to myself, and I gasped, sucking in air. My vision sharpened, and I shook my head, reaching for my hunting knife just in case these bastards came closer to us.
“Now, now,” said a Caputi prick as he walked toward me. “There’s no need for more violence. At least, not yet.”
I swallowed down sweat and panic, scooting closer to KC to protect him with my body, to do anything to keep my brother safe so he could get home to his Sunshine.
“What the fuck do you want?” I snarled.
The Caputi only smiled and squatted down in front of us, his grin turning evil as a sinister look appeared in his eyes.
23
VERONA
“Would you relax?” Selene said, gesturing to the empty spot on the couch. She’d brought a damn arsenal with her, literally decorating my coffee table (which used to be her coffee table) with her guns and ammo. She ran a brush through the barrel of her rifle while Ru typed on her laptop and Alba went through a binder full of financial reports from the last year at Crimson.
“Something’s wrong.” I rubbed at the center of my chest while I paced in front of the window. “I can feel it.”
Selene cracked her neck and stared up at me. “You’re making me nervous.”
“You should be,” I said.
“Hush.” Ru pushed to her feet so she could grab my shoulders and stop my pacing. “Everything is fine.”
I didn’t think so. Hollywood and I hadn’t left things on good terms, and since he walked out yesterday, I hadn’t heard from him. Maybe I needed space to figure things out, to figure out what I wanted, but something still felt off. My blood sang with danger, as if the few pieces of Hollywood that were inside me and the pieces of me in him recognized that all was not well and had been trying to alert me.
“He’ll let you know when he’s back,” Castor said from his spot at my dining room table.
“He’s with Slip and Coins, and they do this run all the time. It’ll be okay,” Alba said, smiling in that sunshine way of hers.
“We got into a fight,” I admitted, causing both Alba and Ru to glance up at me with identical raised eyebrows. “He wanted to go public, to tell everyone about us.”
“So there is something going on?” Ru said, her eyes wide with hopeful anticipation. “I knew it.”
“Yes,” I said, rubbing my hands over my face. “But I fucked it up.”
I told them the situation, trying to keep my voice down so Wheels and Castor didn’t hear from the kitchen, but screw it. They were here most days anyway, and based on the conversation a few days ago, they already knew. Apparently, everyone already knew. I was the world’s worst secret keeper, even when it was my own.
“He’s changed,” Ru said, as Alba nodded in approval.
“He wants to be better,” Alba added. “To do better.”
“I’ve never seen him this smitten with someone,” Ru said.
“If he told you he loved you,” Selene said, “that’s pretty big. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him admit that about someone before.”