the ground. “There’s a whole lot you need to hear.” Then he disappears into the house, leaving me breathless and twisted in knots.
Delila’s eyes glisten as I walk in, a glass of vodka on the rocks dangling between her fingers. She exhales. “Goddammit, Perse. Way to freak us out.” I lower myself onto the plush white sofa as she stands and pours herself another drink.
Maya, Val, Mischa, Rose, Saskia, Callan, and Kenan are seated around the enormous sitting room. There’s a large U-shaped sofa that is facing the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking where King and I just came from.
I was right. We would have given them all a show.
“We need to talk,” Delila says, just as Justice walks in with more people behind him.
I notice a few of them. One being Killian’s mom, the sex-crazed addict, and another being King’s mom. I wince when I see her. I find Keaton’s—well, our mom—Ash, and their fathers, as well as a few older men and women. There was another woman who walked in too, but she came alone. She looked out of place the most, wearing a knit cardigan and a long dress. Her blonde hair was pinned back in a braid, and her eyes looked tired.
“Help yourselves. I don’t have time to call the maid.” Delila gestures to the small bar that’s tucked away in the corner. I watch as some follow and gather drinks and others take a seat in various parts of the room. No one is speaking. The air is suddenly thick, and my anxiety comes in quicker.
I lean into King out of instinct, and his arm wraps around my back, forcing me closer to him. He presses his lips to my head. “You’re safe.”
I trust his words, but it wouldn’t be the first time I have, and he’s failed me one way or another. Trust is a learning process. You can completely trust someone, but it will still be a work-in-progress.
“Right.” Delila claps her hands, standing in front of her chair. “I would like to take this moment to allow anyone who is looking to harm Perse because of her parents’ mistakes to step forward right now, so I know who to kill first.” Some chuckles vibrate around as well as gasps of shock. King’s shoulders shake beside me, his face burrowing into the back of my neck to hide his laughter.
“No one?” Delila looks around at everyone. “Good, because although I know The Brothers and Four Fathers run this world and we answer to them,” her eyes fly straight to King’s father, “I have no problem ending anyone if someone else comes after my prized possession. In fact!” She raises a hand, and I wonder if she has slightly lost the plot after all this time. “If you come near any of my prized possessions, I will see to that ending.” She exhales peacefully and finally falls to her sofa, takes a sip of her vodka, and then flicks her hair over her shoulder. “Now to the issue at hand, Patience.” I’ve heard that name be passed around a lot lately.
Kaius steps out of King’s mom’s grasp, a cigar hanging from his mouth. He reminds me of a drug lord. Tony Montana. “Patience wanted Persephone because they knew her linage with Mayhem. They didn’t get her. It’s settled. We part ways for now.”
Delila shakes her head, throwing back more vodka. “Nope. I’m not okay with that. King, are you okay with that?”
King freezes, and then slowly peels himself away from me, his eyes going to his father. “No. I’m not.”
Kaius shakes his head. “You’re blinded, son.”
“Sorry I’m late! You fuckers didn’t invite me!” Kohen stumbles into the room wearing suspenders and a tie. His eyeliner is smudged beneath his eyes and his colorful socks are pulled up to his knees. His hair is a jumble of chaos like he hasn’t showered in days and his mouth is in a perfect O when his eyes land on mine. “Oh, wow. Looky what we ’ave here.” He staggers toward me, snatching a bottle from the bar.
“Jesus, Dahlia, stop your son,” Draya murmurs, shaking her head while sipping on her glass.
The woman who looks uncomfortable twists her fingers together, her eyes always coming back to mine.
Kohen drops onto the other side of me, taking a long swig of the bottle. He stares at me blankly, void of all emotion. It’s like staring into a machine.
“We share. Did King tell you that?”
“Fuck off, Kohen.” King cuts him with a death glare