“That’s a stupid last name,” I pushed out. “Who the fuck is Runo?”
There was a lone picture at the edge of the board, a silhouette with a cliché question mark inside. Samael pointed to it. “I would tell you if I could find one shred of evidence he existed. Typing in his name gives me nothing but according to Finn, he’s getting out this weekend. The chief seems fucking terrified of Runo but I can’t find anything about him. Not even a court case. Whatever he did is locked uprealtight.”
That didn’t add up. “His previous psychiatrist was at my hospital?”
Aeron and Samael both nodded. That made it easier to find someone to talk to and then I could publicly tell Niles to fuck all the way off. But nicely, so that no one would connect me to The Skinner or anything remotely deviant. Samael snorted and dragged me onto the couch to sit beside him. “First, we need a fucking plan. God, I sound like Finn. But we do need one. The chief is stupid, but he isn’tthatstupid. The tapes from Bondage Palace put us all in the same place. There’s going to be questions and a full investigation. It’s going to be hard to escape this one.”
“We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
“In a town like this, there’s always a dead end.”
Which meant that we’d have to move. It would cement just who was The Three Terrors, our identities plastered on every goddamn billboard. We’d have to live in the shadows and that just wasn’t an option. We’d succumb to the madness of our darkness without an outlet.
“Then we just need to find a way out,” Samael offered. I knew that he planned on having someone pose as The King, pushing suspicion away from us but there was no hope in his words.
FINN
I wasn’t looking forward to an evening with my father, especially when I realized Jade was going to be joining us. She couldn’t leave me well enough alone and it was ruining my vibe. My phone vibrated as I headed up the steps to the front door, a text throwing my entire world upside down.
I’m coming home tonight
Wait, what? They’re letting you out! I’ll be right there.
I’ll come to you.
Excellent. How long?
Not sure. I’ll let you know when I know.
A wild grin spread across my lips, Killian and the others dampening my excitement.
Who the fuck are you texting? Something’s wrong with your phone.
Only right-handed bubbles. God, don’t you know not to double-text?
My brows furrowed as I entered the house, not surprised at the rich aroma of a chuck roast. Dad always liked to overdo things, especially when it came to family discussions. Although, Jade wasn’t family and she shouldn’t be here.
Wait. What do you mean only
right-handed bubbles?
I think Runo is ignoring you.
They were confusing me. If they were trying to bait me into a response, I wouldn’t give them one. It was already fucked up that I wasn’t the original but Killian toying with me just made all this worse. I shucked off my shoes and wandered into the dining room, glaring at the woman I thought I could trust. Sitting next to my father, the same worry in his eyes now mirrored in hers, I knew that I couldn’t.
“Lovely to see you, Jade. Truly,” I spat as I plopped into a seat across from her. “Father, you said you wanted to talk but I don’tthink this is a conversation for her.” I laid my phone on the table and then leaned back, folding my arms across my chest, waiting for one or both to speak.
My father sighed, ignoring the fully set dinner plates in front of us. My stomach grumbled so I dug in, loving the way the meat fell apart on my tongue. “Son—”
“Yeah, no. You know who I am now. You never thought of me as yours, just some abomination you had to protect. So, it’s Finn. What’s the point of this dinner?” My words were muffled as I stuffed more meat into my mouth, trying to hide my excitement for my friend returning home. Tonight, everything would return to normal. My father wouldn’t like it and Jade would finally meet my true partner in crime.
The troubled look I always hated crossed my father’s face. “Finn, I never thought you would resurface. Between the meds and the therapy, when you disappeared, I thought you would be able to live normally. Without all of the chaos and dangerous stunts. But now that you’re back, it’s a slippery slope. You always try to push the envelope and your relationship with Runo—”
I cackled. “You make it sound like Runo and I are dating, which is gross. Second,why is Jade here?” I glared at my ex, waiting for her to speak up. There had to be some god awful reason she hadn’t followed the plan.
Probably because you rejected her this morning.
You were pretty brutal.
