As a smile broke out on my face, Viper stepped forward, saying, “Viper. Mike’s my brother.”
The man nodded. “Doc’ll take care of him, I’m sure.”
Wait. Doc? I glanced past Maddox, at Sylvester and Carter, but the two men were silent. It was then another man emerged from the hall, followed shortly by Richard. This man was not nearly as tall as the other newcomer, and not nearly as muscled, either. He was… well, he looked like a normal guy, actually. Clean pants, a white button-down shirt. No bulging muscles. Light brown hair, coupled with green eyes that seemed to light up when he saw us. And glasses. The guy was actually wearing glasses.
Just… what?
He stopped before us, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m confident I can get the bullets out with minimal damage. I don’t think anything major was affected, but it’s hard to tell without a scan. Your brother should be fine.” As he spoke, he grinned, and it was not a crazy smile, and there were no glints of madness in his eyes. The doctor was… normal, which was just strange. Around the same age as the other man, but not at all the kind of person you’d think of when you imagined a family like the Lucianos.
I couldn’t stop staring at him, and then the doctor turned his green eyes upon me. That smile… too normal. Too sane-looking. I didn’t like him, I instantly decided. I didn’t like him at all.
“Uh, I need to get some things from the car,” he mumbled.
“Go ahead,” I said.
“You’re… you’re kind of in the way,” he added, to which I realized I was, and I stepped aside, letting him out. Richard and Viper had disappeared into the hall, probably to watch over Mike, which left Carter, Maddox, Sylvester, and I to stare at the other guy.
That other one… I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and I found myself gravitating toward him as he headed towards the kitchen. The guys were near me, whether they didn’t trust me to be close to the newcomer or they didn’t trust him, I had no idea. All I knew was I needed to know more about this guy, whoever he was.
A tall drink of delicious, yummy water.
The man’s dark eyes locked with mine, and he let his gaze drop to my feet, slowly lifting it, taking in my stance, my body, the smile on my lips. He did not appear too impressed, not at all. “Who’s the crazy bitch with the smile on her face?”
I knew Maddox and Sylvester would prickle at that, so I was quick to say, “The crazy bitch is Lola. Who are you?”
His eyes were narrowed on me. “Lincoln, not that it’s any of your fucking business. Normally, Markus makes the house calls, but he was busy with… again, none of your business.” His head cocked, his lips pursing into a frown as he folded his arms over his chest and glared down at me. “I get it now. That look in your eyes, I know why it’s irritating the fuck out of me.”
Lincoln. What a name for such a ridiculously sexy man. Was it possible to have a crush on someone else while in love with three other people? Hmm.
“And why’s that?” I had to ask. I had to know. Anything this man wanted to say, I was here for it, one hundred percent, grinning up at him to the point where Maddox and Sylvester kept trading glances.
Oh, they had nothing to worry about. This sexy stranger wouldn’t steal me or anything… Although I would be down for some hookups if everyone else was okay with it. I mean, God, Lincoln was like sex on a stick.
So were my guys, mind you, but he was new and shiny. Like the newest toy on Christmas day, he had my attention.
The man didn’t look too thrilled to say, “You remind me of Stella.”
“Is that a good thing?”
Lincoln turned away from me, grumbling out, “Depends on the hour.” He moved into the kitchen, starting to go through all the cabinets. “Now, what the fuck do you guys have to eat in here?”
Stella. So he had a girl. Of course he did. That was fine, though, because I had my guys, too. My kitten needed to reel herself in and be happy with what she had. Three amazing dicks and the assholes attached to them. I was living the dream already, really. It wasn’t like I wanted a guy for every day of the week.
Although that would be fun, too…
Sylvester grabbed my hand, pulling me away from Lincoln, who’d discovered a box of unopened cereal and was in the process of tearing into it. He dragged me to the couch, sitting me down first, then taking his spot beside me. Maddox huddled on my other side, and soon enough I was in the middle of a man sandwich—though I still kept throwing glances Lincoln’s way.
He was just sticking his hand into the box, not even bothering to get a bowl. Savage.
Carter, meanwhile, remained stationary in the kitchen, unable to hide his glare. That, or not caring enough to try to mask it. Lincoln noticed, and in the next moment, the two men were frowning as they glared at each other.
They were, I realized, quite alike, and I burst out laughing, causing them both to turn those glares upon me. “What?” they both hissed in unison, and then they shot icy stares at each other, which only made me laugh more.
“You don’t see it?” I asked, still laughing to myself. I nudged Sylvester and Maddox, who were both currently staring at me like I was crazy. “Tell me you guys see it.” Neither one said or did anything, shocking me. “Really? I’m the only one? Jeez.”
“What is the crazy bitch going on about?” Lincoln spoke with a mouthful of cereal.
“Her name is Lola,” Maddox growled out, “and unless you want her to slit your throat in the middle of the night, stop calling her that.” Ah, right. The protective Maddox, because he was the only one who could call me a crazy bitch.
The doctor came in carrying a few leather totes, and he said nothing as he walked towards Mike’s room down the hall.
Lincoln swallowed what was in his mouth before saying, “Look, I live in a house full of killers. If you think I’m scared of that wiry bitch, you have another thing coming.” Before he could say anything else, his phone rang, and he answered it, saying, “What?” The one on the other line must’ve asked if they arrived here safely, for he said, “Yeah, we’re here. Doc’s about to pull the bullets out and stitch him up.” His jaw ground. “What? Of course I’m being fucking civil, Markus—”
How I wished I could’ve listened to whoever was on the other line, for the way Lincoln’s face twisted into a scowl was quite hilarious.
“I don’t give two shits if swearing is uncouth or whatever,” Lincoln went on, practically shouting into the phone. “I shouldn’t even be here. You should. It’s fucking ridiculous is what it is—no, no, don’t even bring up the fucking ginger—”
“Well,” I spoke to the brothers around me, “he seems to have a lot of baggage, huh?”
“Yeah,” Maddox mumbled, turning his serious expression to me. “Now, if you could stop staring at him like you want to jump his bones, that’d be great.”
I tried to act shocked, clueless, completely innocent of it, but I ended up looking utterly obvious, so I just shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Says the girl who was just getting fucked in the woods by Viper—”
At that, Sylvester said, “What?”
“Oh, yeah,” Maddox went on, “and apparently you already know all about it. Funny how you never told me shit, Sylvester.” I could feel him fuming beside me, his body tense and stiff. Thought our earlier fucking would’ve helped get rid of that, but apparently not.
Sylvester stared at him. “I was waiting for the right time, because I knew how you’d react. I’m surprised Viper didn’t come back with a bullet in his back.”
“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Maddox hissed. “Like I would’ve shot him in the back.” Basically saying he would’ve shot him in the front, which, yes, he had been seconds from doing, admittedly. An enraged Maddox was certainly a sexy Maddox, in my opinion.
Collectively, we all must’ve been too loud, for Viper came storming down the hall, a severe look on his face. He brought his stare to all of us, even Lincoln, who was now just hanging up the phone. “Can you all shut it? He needs silence to focus.”
Right. The doctor was about to pull those bullets from Mike’s body, and we would only be distractions if we kept up the yelling and the arguing.
I leaped to my feet the moment Viper left, and I declared, “I think it’s time I met Zoey.” It was such a random thing to say, but if I stayed here, nestled between Maddox and Sylvester, I doubted we’d be quiet. “Carter, you want to come with?” I figured I’d invite him, since she was his girl, too.
“I’ll go,” Sylvester started, but I shook my head.
“No, it’s okay. Stay here. Let me know if… if anything happens,” I told him, and finally he understood that I didn’t want him or Maddox with me when I met Zoey. As far as I knew, the girl wasn’t like me in the serial killer aspect, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Storming the other cabin with my mafia men in tow might just be a little much.
Carter threw one last look at Lincoln before mumbling, “Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Together, we left the cabin, heading to the one that stood a few hundred feet away. As we walked, I couldn’t help but think back to the glaring contest between Carter and Lincoln, and a chuckle bubbled its way up my throat.
“I really don’t like that guy,” Carter mumbled, for once not unhappy to be in my presence, which was so unlike him. Usually he spent as much time as he could near me complaining about being forced to go with me to the Gilded Rose. Yeah, clearly that wasn’t going to be happening again anytime soon.
“You don’t see it, do you?” I questioned, giving him the side eye.
“See what?” Carter’s mouth was nothing more than a thin line on his jaw, his teeth grinding.
Did I really have to explain it to him? Apparently so. These guys thought they were so smart and all that, but in the end, they were just as stupid and clueless as the rest of us, huh? Grinning ear to ear, I said, “You and Lincoln are the same.”
That earned me a scowl. “What? No fucking way.”
We neared the other cabin, and we paused at the base of the wooden steps that led to the front porch. “You are,” I told him. “Both kind of grumpy and mean. You both have a thing for the word fuck. You’re both tall and handsome and—”
“All right,” Carter grumbled. “I get it.” He pushed past me, heading up the steps first, and I held back the laughter that threatened to spill over once again. He was definitely not thrilled to be compared to Lincoln, and that made the whole thing funnier, if you asked me.
Smiling to myself, I followed him to the door. I peeked inside before stepping in. I didn’t see Roman; not sure if he was in one of the backrooms or what, but I did spot the girl in question, along with another guy who looked to be around my age. She did too, actually. Maybe a year or two younger than me, but not much.
Zoey was… not at all what I was expecting. Don’t ask me what I was anticipating, because I had no fricking idea, but as I met the light, watery-blue eyes of the girl sitting cross-legged on the floor in the living room, I knew it was not her.
For one, she had bright pink hair. Like, wow, pink. So fucking pink and neon I think I partially went blind while I was looking at her. Her hair was cut shorter, framing her face, resting just above her shoulders. She wore a loose t-shirt, one of her arms wrapped in a bandage; the arm that got shot.
She seemed normal, just like that doctor, which I found so strange.
Before Carter could introduce me—although I wasn’t sure if he would, since he and I weren’t exactly best buds—I walked around the couch and plopped myself on the floor beside Zoey and the other guy. They were playing some kind of card game, and until I sat down, neither of them looked at me. They were either ignoring me… or really, really into this card game, whatever it was.
Zoey looked up, her eyes wrinkling as she smiled, while the guy across from her had a wide-eyed and startled look that made him appear quite awkward. He was blonde-haired and blue-eyed, but he didn’t remind me of my brother at all. His shoulders were hunched a bit, and he was kind of thin—not the typical muscled man I was used to around here. He wore a t-shirt with the Superman logo on it, and his blonde hair fell over his forehead.
Cute enough, but kind of nerdy. Not really my type. Zoey, on the other hand, must have an eclectic taste in men to be with both Carter and Roman… and this guy, whoever he was.
“Uh, hello there?” the guy spoke, sounding unsure of himself, as if he wasn’t certain if he was allowed to say hello to me. Last I checked, there were no rules against it, but who knew?
“Hi,” I said, beaming as I glanced between him and Zoey. Now that I was thinking about it, Zoey didn’t seem like Roman and Carter’s type, either. The pink hair, the innocence that seemed to radiate off her… no, she seemed normal, too. I mean, unless she was good at hiding her inner psycho or something, which could be possible.
Then again, compared to me, nearly every girl was innocent and angelic. Couldn’t all be crazy serial killers like me, could they?
“I’m Lola,” I added. “I’m with the others. You must be Zoey and…” I turned my gaze upon the guy. “I’m sorry, I have no idea who you are.”
He feigned hurt, setting down the cards in his hand before holding that same hand over his heart in a dramatic gesture. “What? You mean Carter and Roman don’t talk about me? I’m hurt. I don’t think I’ll ever recover—”
Zoey used her good arm to give him a playful shove, and he responded by laughing. It was all such a normal thing to witness, I almost forgot we were stuck in the middle of nowhere because of the DeLucas. “Ignore Lake. He still doesn’t know when sarcasm isn’t necessary,” she said, giving me a smile. “It’s good to meet you. I’ve heard… well, not exactly good things. Carter hates when he has to go out with you.”
If I were her, I might be jealous that my man was going out on a job with another woman, especially a pretty one. But she wasn’t. Zoey didn’t act jealous in the slightest, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that was just another trait of mine that was of the unhinged variety.
I glanced over my shoulder at Carter, who was in the kitchen, still looking quite unhappy that I’d dared to compare him and Lincoln. “Yeah,” I said, turning my gaze back to Zoey, “trust me, he complains the entire time he’s with me, too.” My gaze moved to her arm. “How are you holding up? I heard the Dollhouse was shot up.”
Zoey pursed her lips, slightly lifting her injured arm but unable to move it much without wincing. “I’m fine. I’m alive, thankfully. I don’t think they came to kill.” Her voice quieted as she said, “I think they just wanted to scare us, which, judging from how fast we got out of there, they definitely did.”
“The other workers?” I asked. It wouldn’t kill me to know innocent blood was on my hands—like, come on, I was a psychopath—but knowing they were girls made it worse, somehow. I’d kill ten innocent men before I ever killed an innocent chick. Gals had to stick together and all that.
“They’re fine,” she said. “A few of them got shot, but they went to the hospital. I wasn’t so lucky, since apparently they only went to the Dollhouse to get at me because I’m close to Roman and Carter.”
I turned my eyes toward the other guy, Lake. “And you?”
“Me? Oh, I’m with her,” he hurriedly spoke. “Wherever she goes, I go, and if someone’s after her, it probably isn’t too long before they’d come after me. Or at least, that’s the argument Zoey had with Roman and Carter to get them to agree to bring me here with them.” Lake paused, glancing around at the cabin, at its rustic interior. “It’s nice. It’s… kind of like a vacation, minus the getting shot at part.”
I didn’t want to tell either of them that this was kind of my fault, that the DeLucas wanted to get to me, so they had to separate Carter and me that night. Hey, at least they didn’t outright kill him, right? I assumed that was because they thought I’d go nuts if they did… and they were right. If I saw them kill Carter, I wouldn’t have gone so willingly to meet with their Bloody Princess.
“So, what do you guys do? Ho
w did you get wrapped up with Roman and Carter?” I asked, in no hurry to get back to the other cabin. Why not get to know these two a little better? They seemed so normal—too normal, almost. They were what I could’ve been, maybe, if my childhood wasn’t so shitty.
“I actually go to school,” Lake said, shrugging. “College, though I don’t know how this little vacation is going to go over with some of my professors.”
Zoey didn’t say anything right away, causing me to speak, “And you? Do you go to college, too?” College. University. It was something I never thought much about. Growing up, I never thought I’d live to see the day, or that I’d have a choice in what I did. To have the entire world at your fingertips, it must be exciting.
And exhausting.
“I used to,” she whispered. “But, uh, then I left. Somehow I found myself at the Dollhouse, and that’s where I met Roman and Carter. Lake’s my neighbor.”
Awe, how sickeningly adorable. I glanced between them, unable to stop smiling. “And how did you get Roman and Carter on board with this? With him, I mean.” With Lake. Honestly, I was curious, because I was kind of going through the same thing. This girl had three lovers, as did I. How did she keep them from getting jealous and trying to kill each other? I had to know if there were secrets to the trade.
Zoey chuckled quietly. “It was kind of like an ultimatum, sort of. I basically told Roman if he wanted me, he could have me, but I wanted to be able to live my life the way I wanted to, still—and that involved dragging Lake into the fray.”
“If you’re asking if it was smooth-sailing,” Lake cut in with a dimpled grin, “it wasn’t. I mean, the bastard kidnapped me twice—”
Carter was finished brooding in the kitchen, and he joined us in the living room, sitting on the couch, overlooking us all since we sat on the carpet just before it. “All Roman wanted to do was test your loyalty toward Zoey,” he grumbled, folding his arms over his chest, still appearing quite grumpy. “It wasn’t like he wanted to kidnap you. If we had our way, you’d be dead, floating downstream in the river.”
Zoey smacked his leg with her good arm, while Lake forced a smile and said, “Right, thanks for the reminder.” To me, he added, “I love her other boyfriends, can’t you tell?” His sarcasm made me chuckle.
Violent Heart: A Dark Reverse Harem (A Death So Sweet Book 3) Page 11
