We aren’t those kids anymore.
Yeah, it would have been better to torture Emmett to death. The scumbag deserved everything we had planned for him—and more. But at least he’s dead. That counts for something. He’s dead, and we’re alive. If I’ve learned anything from how Kerri and her family have been healing after their tragedy, it’s not to give your enemies power.
Whether those enemies are dead or alive.
You’d think I’d have learned that on my own by now.
But no.
It took a duchess from Brighton to teach me that lesson.
I throw my arm around Discord’s shoulders. “We can always dig him up and create a urinal out of his skull,” I suggest.
Kerri gasps, then laughs.
How cute. She thinks I’m joking.
Discord slides out from under my arm and moves away, and shrugs in a way that reminds me of when he was a kid. “Nah, it’ll clash with the new bathroom décor Kerri bought.”
“This is true,” I agree. “But we can always put it in your bathroom. Maybe have Faith paint her signature dick and balls on the wall, too, because after the masterpiece she etched into Jester’s Jeep, we can do a whole theme room in there.”
“I’m totally in.” He nods at Kerri, smirking. “What does the lady of the house say?”
Kerri throws up her hands and backs away. “Hey, it’s your bathroom.”
Discord opens his mouth to say something—a snappy retort, of course—but his gaze drifts back to the papers on the table. The mask he wears for the world slips. It’s been happening more often now that he’s involved with Kerri’s family. People who don’t know him believe the façade. The sly smile. The teasing. The over-the-top charm. But it’s all an act he’s honed from years of practice.
Lately, I’ve wondered if the man beneath the disguise is more dangerous than the character Discord presents to the public.
“Discord, look at me,” I demand, and when he does, there’s so much agony in his dark eyes. “We can rest easy now, baby bro. The fucker is dead.”
“I can’t, Hav. It’ll never be over for me.” He goes to Kerri and takes her hand. Brushes his lips over her knuckles. “Thank you, though, for finding that monster for us.” He goes back to the table, downs the rest of his coffee, then gives us a wide, mischievous grin, his mask. “Well, I gotta go, you crazy kids. Try not to fuck on every surface of the house. And if you do, remember to wipe it down with bleach because I may be crazy, but I’m not gross. Even I have my limits. Love ya both.”
I watch him grab his phone and keys from the table and his jacket from the hook near the door before skimming his way outside. Once Kerri and I are alone, she turns to me and I see her question before she asks.
“He’s not okay,” I tell her.
“But is he a threat to himself or to others?”
I glance at the front door, cold dread working its way up my spine. “Both. Always has been.”
Kerri cringes. “Maybe I shouldn’t have shown him that?”
I crook my finger, beckoning her. She walks toward me, wringing her hands. “He has a right to know, Kerri. Now we wait for the explosion.”
When she rests her cheek on my chest, I wrap my arms around her, and Christ, I could stay like this forever with this woman. Right here, like this. “What about you?”
“I’m good. For real. I’m just glad that motherfucker is gone.”
Kerri looks up at me, her eyes so big and so blue. “I’m sorry he hurt you.”
I smooth a hand over her hair. Months ago, I would have taken her words as pity. Not anymore. “Yeah, me too.” I kiss her forehead. “But it is what it is.”
“I love you, Havoc.”
No matter how many times Kerri has said these words to me, they amaze me.
Every. Single. Time.
