Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 114936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
I shake my head until my hair falls over my shoulders. “I know enough, but what I don’t know is how I’m going to help by being here.” I sigh, turning my head to look out at the passing streetlights. “Kind of hoped I’d be able to do exciting things for Mayhem, not basic bookkeeping shit.”
She clucks her tongue, drawing me back to her while squeezing my phone in my hand to calm my disappointment. “Boring bookkeeping shit? Okay, Nero. I’ll keep that in mind.” She stubs out her cigarette on the astray and looks up at me from hooded eyes. “I can assure you, what we need you for is not boring, nor does it have anything to do with bookkeeping.”
I chew on my lower lip. Maybe it is exciting.
“Then what?” My eyes narrow. “What do you need me to do?”
Delila has always been the woman no one wanted to mess with. She is the ground Midnight Mayhem performs on. Everything ends and begins with her. I should question why she’s agreeing to allow me to join Midnight Mayhem and what she wants me to do, but knowing Delila, she’s ten steps ahead of whatever I’m thinking about.
We continue onto the highway, the same one that takes us toward The Village.
“Did your mother ever tell you that you were spoken for?”
“In what way?” I ask, clenching my thighs together. After my sexcapade with Eli Rebellis earlier, I’m not sure I know who I am anymore, let alone who I’m spoken for.
“We need you to fill big shoes, Cartier. The biggest ones we have.”
“Sounds serious!” I widen my eyes at her, a smirk on my mouth.
“You’ve always been so cute, Cartier, but I see the fight behind your eyes. You’re always hungry for more and to feed your beast is loyalty to Kiznitch. To your Brothers.”
I shuffle around my chair as the car comes to a stop. I was too busy judging Delila to notice where we had come to. “I would have preferred to ride for Mayhem.”
“Oh, you can ride, but you will not be riding for Mayhem.” Both doors open, but I don’t move. “You won’t be in the shows.”
I toss my hands up. “Then what will I be doing?”
The corner of her mouth curls upward as she swipes her handbag from beside her and hooks it over her arm. “You, our Little Ice Queen, will be just that—” She pauses, one perfect Valentino heel outside the door while the other stays in. “Come on. I believe you’ve already seen this place during one of your many… adventures.” Sliding out my side, loose gravel crunches beneath the soles of my Vans as I shut the car door. A large concrete building sits in front of a lake that backs up to a high cliff. I tilt my head up to see the exact spot I rode to when I stole Kyrin’s bike for the first time ever, coming back to the building. Tinted glass walls overlook the vast driveway, and fat tree branches spread over the sides to shade them in. There’s a large metal door directly in the center, and I look between it and Delila.
“I’ve not been told of what really happens here.”
Delila nudges her head toward the stairwell. “You’re about to find out.”
I follow behind her as she leads us up the concrete stairs and to the front door. I remember the day I saw Keaton down here, staring up at me from below. After that day, he told me this place wasn’t for the show. It was the wheels that kept the show turning. Whatever the hell that meant. I was fairly used to being left out of all the cool shit with my brother and his friends.
“What do you think?” Delila asks, hanging her trench coat on the hook near the front door. If I were honest, it’s cold, but that was when I knew this wasn’t a house as in a home. The foyer spreads wide, offering a direct view of the room in front of us that’s held up by even more glass windows that give a full view of the narrow valley of water between the stony cliff and where we stand. A single art piece hangs in the main room, directly above the fireplace. An abstract piece of beige, milk and honey which matches the brown leather sofas that sit tidily around the space.
“Well, it’s big?”
She laughs, taking my hand with hers and directing me deeper into the room. A long dark hallway to the left, and to the right there’s another room and kitchen. It’s now that I realize the whole place has glass windows for a view outside no matter where you are.
“Yes, it is.” Delila lowers herself onto one of the suede chairs and gestures to the one opposite her. Obviously, Mayhem hasn’t left yet since Delila is still here, which means Keaton is right over that cliff and through the bushland. “Take a seat. Tonight is all about introductions.” She reaches for the lone cigarette on the marble table beside her, placing it between her lips and lighting the end. Gag. “As you probably know, Mayhem is on an international trip in three days, so that’s all I have with you until I fly back in six weeks. What you will be doing between the times that I’m gone, I will explain to you on day three, but there is one thing that is absolute, Cartier.” She leans forward, resting her hand on her thin knee. “You must continue to keep up appearances during the entirety of the process, until you’re ready.” Delila has always been a hard ass with everyone, but I’ve never seen the brutality that she shows other people. I never thought much about that until right now.