“See you on Monday?” I suggest, trying to keep my voice light, and he nods, offering up a little wave before slipping into the garage and closing the door behind him.
I turn back to the boys.
Chasm has a small plastic container under his right arm, and I see what they’ve decided upon for tonight: he’s going to be the one to give me the corsage. Seeing as he’s my boyfriend in Tess’ eyes and Parrish is, well, just my stepbrother, it makes sense.
It also bothers me.
I had three boutonnieres; I want three corsages.
Gamer Girl is thirsty AF, apparently.
I smile as Chas slips the cluster of red roses onto my wrist, meeting my eyes with his amber ones.
“I’ll admit, you two make a cute couple,” Tess says, sighing softly and holding out her hand. Paul passes over a phone, and she lifts it up in suggestion. “Pictures? A few with Dakota and Chasm, a few individual shots, and one of all three of you?”
“One of me and Dakota,” Parrish suggests, and Tess gives him an odd look. “And one of me and Chasm. Just to cover all of our bases.”
She blinks at him for a moment and then smiles.
“That sounds like a great plan.”
Tess guides us into position, directing us to pose for the camera, and takes about ten thousand photos before finally releasing us from the torture. I think, if things were normal, the three of us might have some fun playing with pictures and videos, selfies and TikToks. But not with Justin around. Not when the eye of every camera belongs to the Seattle Slayer.
“Okay. The three of you in the limo. I’ll be following behind, and when we get there, you can pretend that I don’t exist.” She waves her hand magnanimously, and Parrish cocks a brow.
“Don’t be weird in front of my classmates,” Parrish warns her, and she gives a soft smile in response.
“I won’t; I promise.” Tess turns to give Paul a look. “Kids in bed by ten, can you do that for me?”
“Of course,” he says, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to make hot cocoa and popcorn, and we’ll watch a family movie together.” He sighs and reaches up to adjust his glasses. “Whether Kimber likes it or not.” Paul glances our way and offers up a smile. “You three try to relax tonight. It’s important for kids your age to have some fun.”
“Will do,” Parrish says, but his voice is tentative, threaded through with tension. He knows as well as I do that relaxation isn’t exactly on the cards for any of us. Not anytime soon. Not until Maxine is safe, and the Slayer is neutralized, and … I can’t even think about that right now.
I have one goal tonight: attend prom.
Justin has made it more than clear that he intends for us to do exactly that.
The prom is being held in the ballroom of the same hotel where I had dinner with Justin that day.
Under ideal circumstances, I’d actually be thrilled to attend.
All that glitters is gold is right. The entire room is decked out in swaths of gold silk and champagne tulle with a massive chandelier that’s bigger than Tess’ car. There are round tables with candelabras glittering atop their rose-petal sprinkled surfaces. The students themselves add to the atmosphere, dressed up like movie stars with expensive ball gowns and high-end tuxes, perfect hair, stage makeup, and diamonds galore.
It’s a bit gauche, a lot luxurious, and completely over-the-top.
I wish I could enjoy it more than I am.
The kicker here is that everyone in that room has decided that Parrish, Chasm, and I are bad guys. I can feel it as soon as I walk into the room with one boy on either arm. We pause at the top of a large staircase, looking over the scintillating and highly venomous crowd of Whitehall Prep students.
“Princess,” a voice greets before I’ve even entered the fray. Justin glides over to us in a tailored tux, and Parrish’s eyes go wide. This is the first time he’s met his kidnapper/my bio dad/the Seattle Slayer in person. Nice to know the face that goes along with the guy who was plotting to kill you, eh? “I’m so happy you made it.”
As if I had a choice.
Chasm scowls as Parrish studies the man with open animosity, glancing over his shoulder as if to reassure himself that Tess isn’t standing anywhere near us. She’s close by, but not within hearing distance. Instead, she’s parked herself in a sea of coruscating trophy wives near the refreshments table at the top of the stairs. She glares at Justin as she nurses a glass of champagne—there’s a bar, but only for the chaperones—and he, of course, goes out of his way to pretend that she doesn’t exist.
“Thank you for the outfit,” I grind out between clenched teeth. It’s the only subtle way I can think of to voice my displeasure.
“You are so very welcome, sweetheart,” Justin purrs, reaching up to play with my braid. His eyes shift over to Parrish’s and his smile grows even larger. “And you. The miracle child. Returned safely to the arms of his adoring mother by God’s good grace—and of course, Milk Carton’s superb technological advances.”
“You’re Justin Prior,” Parrish says, but more to himself than any of us, just to confirm that this is, in fact, the man to whom he should be directing all of his animosity. “I hope you know that if I get the chance, I’m going to kill you.”
Justin throws his head back in raucous laughter, bright blue eyes glittering as he lowers his gaze back to his kidnappee.
“Oh, I absolutely invite you to try, son. It would be a fantastic test of skill for both of us. You’d lose, of course, but I wouldn’t kill you. I promised Dakota that I would not, and my word is sacred.” Justin grins sharply, his teeth gleaming in the light of the chandelier. “But I would hurt you. Oh, and I’d love it, too. Part of me considered killing you in the beginning, just to piss old Paulie off, but what fun would that be?”
“You’re fucking sick,” Parrish snarls at him, but I can’t let the two of them start a fight. Not here. Not anywhere. Justin has too many lackeys, too much money, too much power. If we’re going to launch a direct attack on him, it has to be subtle, quick, and final.
“Excuse us,” I say, affecting the prettiest smile that I can manage. “But we’d rather spend our time together than with our parents. It is prom, after all.”
“Of course, my darling,” Justin oozes, reaching out to pat me on the head in the most patronizing way possible. “I’ll be over here, gossiping with Seamus. If you need me, just holler.” He winks before gliding off, and I yank on the boys’ arms to get them to move.
“Goddamn it, I hate that man,” Chasm murmurs, and Parrish grunts his agreement.
“He’s even more terrifying in person than I expected,” he adds, glancing back just once in Justin’s direction before shivering.
We hit the bottom of the stairs and the crowd of students parts like a wave, moving aside to make room for us. I’d be impressed if I didn’t think they were moving not out of respect, but hatred. Disdain. Old family grudges. Blackmail. That is, not for any good reason.
“Looks like we’re all social pariahs now,” Chasm comments, taking note of the faces around us. I imagine this wasn’t what he expected when he invited me to prom originally.
“I don’t give a shit.” Parrish turns his glare on the students closest to us and they back up even further. “As long as they leave us alone.”
I spot Lumen and Danyella in the crowd, but I don’t approach them, not this time.
I do, however, spot both of them looking our way every now and again. I try to take that as a positive sign.
Veronica and her cronies are clustered up on one side of the room with a group of boys that I assume must include Chasm’s attackers—Gavin and Antonio, among others. I don’t know any of them. I never got to know any of the boys at school but for the two on my arms, and now that they’ve kicked my crush’s ass, I don’t think I’d like to.
“Well,” Parrish says, as the three of us find ourselves alone in the middle of the ballroom. He meets my eyes, and a thrill travels through me, bringing goose bumps
up on my arms and legs. “We’ve got the dance floor to ourselves. We might as well?” He glances back toward Tess. She’s still at the top of the stairs, watching us.
“Do you think it’s safe for us to dance?” I ask him, turning my attention away from Tess and back to him. My handsome prince of sloths. My stolen crush. My … stepbrother.
“I don’t care if it is or not,” he tells me, lifting his chin as Chasm releases my arm and crosses his over his chest. “We’re telling Tess next week. I don’t care what day: you can pick. But she needs to know. I can’t hide this any longer.”
“You’re going to regret that,” Chasm murmurs, and then he adds something in Korean that Parrish immediately responds to. I watch them go through an entire conversation before Chas just throws his hands up in surrender. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He puts a hand on my arm, his fingertips teasing my skin with pleasant warmth. All my cuts are covered with expertly applied latex—in the same way that Chasm covers his lip piercings. Thanks to Justin’s team of beauty experts, I can wear this dress without Tess being the wiser.
The man is a genius at subterfuge and illusions, isn’t he?
“I’ll dance with you next, naekkeo,” Chas promises, and then he takes off to wait at the edge of the crowd.
I notice that, even as Parrish puts one hand on the curve of my waist and enfolds my other hand with his own, he keeps his eye on Chasm.
A new song starts up as our eyes meet and then, like Belle in her gold dress at the ball with the Beast, he begins a waltz that makes me feel like a goddamn Disney princess. Even though I can’t dance, even though I’m nowhere near as refined as Parrish Vanguard, he turns my clumsy gamer ass into a graceful swan. I don’t know how. Maybe it’s just because we’re so in tune, and I’m mirroring his every movement, following his every step.
Even though we both know we shouldn’t dance together for more than a song or two, it bleeds into three and four and five, until we’re leaning in too close, and his breath is stirring my hair while mine feathers against the side of his neck.
“Fuck, see what I mean?” he grinds out after the next song ends. Still, he doesn’t release me, even as Chasm comes up to stand beside us again, clearly waiting for his turn. “This is why I can’t keep hiding this.”
“Dude, Tess is staring at the pair of you. We need to switch: now.”
Parrish hazards a glance toward his mom, curses, and then reluctantly relinquishes his hold on me. It’s like the entire world goes ice-cold for a minute. But then Chasm is stepping forward and taking over Parrish’s place, and I’m melting all over again, but in an entirely different way.
Dancing with Parrish is like dancing with a prince; dancing with Chasm is like accepting the dark knight into your heart, your bed, your soul. His gaze is intense as he sweeps me up against him, far bolder than Parrish was allowed to be. His hand drifts down toward my ass, stopping just short of inappropriate as he carries me across the dance floor.
We follow the same routine, allowing one song to bleed into another, until all I can see is Chasm’s handsome face against the glimmering beauty of Medina’s poisonous youth.
As soon as that song ends, the lights above us dim, and the music switches gears. Rather than classical music—which, if you think about it, is just weird for a high school prom—the DJ begins to play modern hits, and the grinding starts. The chaperones do their best to stop it, but the room begins to fill with gold-colored smoke as confetti flutters down from the ceiling along with a mess of gold and white balloons.
The boys and I excuse ourselves to the edges of the crowd only to run right into Tess.
“I need to speak to the two of you,” she says, pointing at me and Parrish. The expression on her face scares the shit out of me, but what can I do? Say no to her? “Chasm, if you’ll give us a minute, please.”
Tess turns and walks away as Parrish and I exchange a look.
“I’ll follow at a distance,” Chas says, but he sounds resigned. “She knows, man. I can tell.”
Parrish locks his expression into one of determination, hooking his arm with mine and and dragging me along beside him. We follow Tess into a sheltered alcove near the bathrooms and pause as she turns around to face us, her eyes flicking to the side where Chasm waits, giving us just enough space to talk privately.
“I’m going to ask this question once and only once, but I want an honest answer.”
The strange fear in Tess’ voice scares the shit out of me, but what can I do at this point? I don’t want to hide my love for Parrish anymore than he wants to hide his for me.
“Shoot,” Parrish says, nodding his head.
Tess looks him in the eyes first, and then me.
“Are the two of you dating behind my back?”
The question hangs in the air like that gold smoke that covers the dance floor, but neither of us gets a chance to answer it. Tess’ phone buzzes and she digs it out of her clutch to glance at the screen, a frown appearing on her lips.
She holds up a single finger as Parrish and I exchange a look.
“Hello?” Tess asks, and then her eyes get wide. At about the same time, Chasm sneaks forward with a similarly matched frown on his own face.
“You guys …” he starts, showing us the text on his phone.
It’s from Laurent, one of Maxx’s dads.
Do you know where Maxim is? He came for dinner and was supposed to stay, but he isn’t in the guest room. It’s like he just up and left without telling us.
My eyes meet Parrish’s as icy terror creeps into my veins. I can’t do this again. I can’t deal with Maxine being in danger at the same time as X. And I most certainly can’t do it after getting Parrish back after so damn long.
“Oh my god.” Tess clamps a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with terror as she looks over at the three of us. “The house is on fire!”
She takes her phone with her and starts running. The boys and I pause just long enough to exchange a shared look before I gather my skirts and take off after her, Parrish and Chasm just behind me.
I don’t know exactly what any of this means, but what I do know is this: Justin is smiling at us as we race up the stairs and sweep past him, heading for the gravel parking lot out front of the hotel.
The way he’s looking at me, I can tell that none of this was accidental.
Oh no, Justin Prior has plans for me. His Payback Princess. His obsession.
And the only way I’m going to be able to get out of it is to kill him.
Ironically, I’ll have to let the Seattle Slayer turn me into the very monster he so desperately wants to create in order to destroy him.
To save myself and everyone I love, I’ll have to get comfortable with the idea of blood on my hands.
Because love, as we all know so well, is a double-edged motherfucking sword.
To Be Continued …
Lost Daughter of a Serial Killer, Book #3(Final Book)
Stepbrother Inked, Standalone
Adamson All-Boys Academy, Book #1
Rich Boys of Burberry Prep, Book #1
Devils' Day Party, Standalone
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About the Author
C.M. Stunich is a self-admitted bibliophile with a love for exotic teas and a whole host of characters who live full time inside the strange, swirling vortex of her thoughts. Some folks might call this crazy, but Caitlin Morgan doesn't mind - especially considering she has to write biographies in the third person. Oh, and half the host of characters in her head are searing hot bad boys with dirty mouths and skillful hands (among other things). If being crazy means hanging out with them everyday, C.M. has decided to have herself committed.
She hates tapioca pudding, loves to binge on cheesy horror movies, and is a slave to many cats. When she's not vacuuming fur off of her couch, C.M. can be found with her nose buried in a book or her eyes glued to a computer screen. She's the author of over a hundred novels - romance, new adult, fantasy, and young adult included. Please, come and join her inside her crazy. There's a heck of a lot to do there.
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Payback Princess (Lost Daughter of a Serial Killer Book 2) Page 63
