vMayhem At Prescott High - C.M. Stunich Page 0,145

save for some sparkly appliques over the pale mounds of her breasts.

If circumstances were any different, I’d probably be creaming my pants right about now.

As things stand … I sort of just want to kill somebody. Preferably Vic’s mom. What a psychopath she’s turning out to be. He’s convinced that she has Aaron, and honestly, at this point, I don’t see who else possibly could.

If the Charter Crew had him, we would’ve either received his corpse on our doorstep in the morning, or else they’d have called us to, at the very least, gloat, if not just torture us with the sound of his screams.

So there’s something bigger at play here.

Ophelia motherfucking Mars.

“Blackbird,” I whisper, because I can’t stand to see her upset. It kills me. I don’t like seeing women upset, period. After all the horrible things my father’s done to my mother, I just can’t take it. Add in the fact that I am crazy, head-over-heels, stuck in the clouds in love with this chick, and her sadness just consumes me. She sighs, holding her black high heels in one hand and sitting down on the bottom step to put them on. “This is a good thing, right? If Ophelia has Aaron, then he’s still alive.”

“We don’t know for sure that she has him,” she says, sliding her feet into the strappy black shoes and buckling them on. “And if she does, I don’t see what going to the winter formal is going to do to help with that.”

I kneel down beside her in the outfit she picked out for me: black slacks, a pair of boots, and a black button-down with white skull and crossbones cufflinks. We all have the same outfit. It’s kinda sad, considering Aaron’s is still lying on his bed upstairs, but I can’t start thinking like a nihilist here.

My hand cups the side of her face, and she closes her eyes, leaning into my touch.

“We need to go and show everyone we’re still here, that we’re not worried, that nothing bad is happening. You know how Prescott is; they’re like sharks. One drop of blood and they go into a feeding frenzy. Once we’re there, we can look for Kali or Mitch; we can see if I managed to toast anyone with my little car bomb.” I force a grin, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. Doesn’t matter because Bernie’s are still closed. “If one of them has Aaron or knows anything about his disappearance, we’ll find out.”

Bernadette opens her eyes then to look at me, and I see fury burning deep within her.

Taking Aaron was a bad idea.

Ophelia—if it was her—has just royally pissed my little bird off.

I would hate to be Kali Rose, or Billie Charter, or anyone else that gets in my baby’s way.

She’s going to fuck them up.

“I want a knife, and a gun, and a mask,” she says, rising to her feet. I follow her up as Callum comes down the steps to pause beside us. We exchange a look, but neither of us argues. If she wants those things, she’ll get them. “I am done playing it safe. I don’t care if Sara Young is watching me, or if Constantine suspects we hurt Danny. I’m going to find Kali tonight, and I’m going to torture whatever information I can get out of her. That’s how I want it done. She’s a name on my list, and I’m ready for her ass.”

Bernie storms past me as Vic comes out of his bedroom, watching her as she storms over to the back door and lets herself outside to smoke a joint.

“She’s dangerous as fuck, Vic,” I tell him, and he nods. He knows that. It’s why he loves her; it’s why we all do.

“Good thing I really got her that crown,” he says, and I notice he’s got a box under his arm. “It was supposed to be fun, for her to wear this to the party tonight. But I guess it’ll be just as interesting to see her spill blood in it.” He moves away, and I watch him go.

We have some issues to work out, me and him, but I can happily put those on the backburner to save my friend. Without Aaron, we won’t work. Our group is too tight knit; we each have our own roles to serve. Losing him would be like losing an arm.

“Here,” Cal says, handing me my hunting knife and looking me straight in the face. “I have a feeling you’re