Merchant (Revelations #3)

Chapter 1 FINN

FINN

“You’re welcome, boys,” I chuckled to myself, staring down at the mess I had made.

Blonde hair spilled around the nurse’s body, her once wide smile twisted in pain.

Her white uniform was stained with the crimson color I loved so much, several streams grouping together around her abdomen.

They soaked through her shirt and pants, pooling onto the dark pavement as I crouched down to admire my handiwork.

I had carefully removed the lungs for Aeron and even written a message for the citizens of Primrose, one that would have everyone believing a copycat Skinner was running loose in the streets.

I even messaged Samael, letting him know cleanup on aisle one.

He didn’t think it was funny, sending me a few messages and even calling to figure out where I was.

Did he not know that this was my game now?

He was no longer in charge. No longer calling the shots.

It was my turn to have a little fun.

Which was why I was picking off everyone that had ever pissed me off, one god-awful person at a time.

Maybe I shouldn’t have started with the nurse from the mental institution, but she had pissed me off.

Telling me that the police would be investigating the men who had submitted me for a psych evaluation. No, no. That couldn’t happen.

My men were mine to play with. If anyone else tried that shit, I would rip their lungs from their body and present them to the public just as I had Nurse Gwen. I sincerely hoped she didn’t have any family.

I glanced to the side of her, cackling at the shocked expression on Dr. Lewis’ face.

His death was an accident, mostly because he happened to be in the area.

I actually kind of liked him. He believed my bullshit.

Unfortunately, when he came yelling for Gwen, he suffered a similar fate.

I’m not a monster, though. I made sure his death was painless. Mostly.

You’re a goddamn demon, Finn

No, no. You’re the one named Daemon.

I’m just Primrose’s newest nightmare.

24 HOURS EARLIER

Trying to play the part of the prodigal son backfired.

The first stipulation my father had was subjecting me to a personal psychiatrist in the very same mental facility I had escaped.

He required an entirely new evaluation and while I was almost 100% sure that this shit wasn’t legal, I couldn’t very well say anything that would deter Primrose’s chief of police.

So, I gave in to another 24-hour hold.

But this would be the last fucking time.

Living in Killian’s world had been a fucking drag, mostly because I had been watching him fall apart and couldn’t even have any fun with him. What was the point of living if we didn’t have fun destroying the world around us? My men did it, why couldn’t I?

I rubbed at the discomfort in my chest as I stuffed Killian and the boys deep down into my psyche.

They could come out later when I wasn’t being actively watched for my levels of crazy.

My new nurse was way too fucking attentive for my liking.

Every glance toward the entrance or pause in my sentences resulted in her scribbling in her cute little notebook.

The whole procedure made me paranoid, every second inside these white walls making me feel like we’d never escape.

However, I knew we weren’t crazy. Not like the other bastards locked up in here.

They needed the help that psychiatry could give them.

Me? I didn’t need my brain picked apart by scientists and doctors to tell me that I had Hyzophrenic Manic Disorder or HMD.

Even if it wasn’t hereditary, it was the only thing that made sense.

It wasn’t curable and it wasn’t killing me as far as I could tell so anything inside these four walls was actually hampering my ability to thrive.

It was all Killian’s fault, really. If he hadn’t fallen apart so easily, we would have never been here. So, now, I was one step away from being stuffed into a white jacket because the fucking alter couldn’t keep it together.

I mentally held up a board and placed a strike next to Killian’s name, a sort of game that was helping me choose who to eliminate first. Well, not truly eliminate but just take away their real-life privileges or however, this disorder supposedly worked.

As the dominant personality now, I was running the show.

Daemon already had a mark for talking back to me, telling me that we needed to be careful after I cut my finger and wrote Slash’s name in blood on the wall of my room with a little heart at the end.

Sure, it was a little off-kilter but I was still mad that no one had appreciated my abstract art.

Slash would have fucking loved it. Dark was safe, mostly because his horny ass was constantly moping at being cooped up in here when we should be wrapped up nicely in our men’s beds.

Which I agreed with 100%.

But they had a little groveling to do first.

A wild grin spread across my lips at the image of them on their knees, pleading for my forgiveness or maybe sucking my cock as I stood there over them.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted the second version.

Especially that beautiful beast—Samael. To have him on his knees for me? Yes, please.

“Killian Matthews?”

The grin disappeared at the name I had to answer to.

It should be Finn Matthews but that would be a problem for another time.

I leaned forward, placing my hands on the edge of my bed, waiting for whoever needed me to actually come get me.

I was no one’s bitch and especially not the nurse who had been haggling me the entire time while in here.

So, I waited.

And started picking at the scab from last night, watching as a single stream of crimson began to run down my finger.

It was so beautiful, so raw, so real. I just wanted to write with it or paint words of meaning.

Slash would be proud of my handiwork. He might even have it framed and I hoped he would put it next to that wall of toys he used on Dark and Daemon while they were together.

I rubbed my thumb across the small cut, loving the way the little river smeared across my flesh.

“Killian, did you not hear me calling you?

A scowl met the nurse’s question as I sat there, looking up at the woman who had become the bane of my existence.

I only had a few hours left on this 24-hour observation after which they would deposit me back into the supposed loving arms of my father.

I wasn’t looking forward to seeing him or following his rules but pretending wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Especially since I’d finally have access to the fucking trust fund the other three were too stuck up to use. I had seen Killian’s little apartment, and I couldn’t fathom visiting let alone staying there when there was an entire luxurious basement bedroom calling my name.

“Killian?” Her voice was full of concern as she slowly approached, crouching in front of me.

Her gaze dipped to my bloody fingers, her shoulders falling in defeat.

“Oh, you cut yourself again. Let’s get that bandaged up and get you out of here.

” I held back a snort, wondering how she couldn’t see through the pitiful rouse I was putting up.

Four days ago when my loveable cannibal tried to apologize for stuffing me in here, every last person in here should have known that something was off.

After all, my fucking eye color changed.

Killian always adored that god-awful innocent look with the mismatched eyes, playing into a persona that completely wrecked my image.

Dr. Lewis had believed my pitiful explanation, that I had been traumatized and was just acting out in a way only I could understand.

Nurse Gwen wasn’t as stupid and I hated that I couldn’t bullshit my way through all of this like I usually did.

The worst infraction was that Killian had ripped out all my facial piercings.

He would pay for that. “You know what?” I muttered to myself, mentally putting another strike by Killian’s name.

Fuck that guy. We looked good shrouded in metal.

That would be one of the first things on the agenda—to replace every last piercing Killian messed with and maybe add a few more for good measure just to piss the alter off.

“Killian, sweetheart,” the nurse mused, placing a gentle hand on my knee.

I jerked forward and then hissed at her like every normal person does when someone touches them.

She immediately retracted her hand and stood up, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Killian, I just came to let you know that you’re being released into your father’s care.

We’ve prescribed a few medications that should help combat symptoms of your current diagnosis.

Should that not work, when you attend your next session, you can let the doctor know. ”

I hated those pills. They made me feel like I wasn’t in charge of my body.

The other alters faded away until I was just there—in total darkness, unable to breathe or climb out of the void that the medication thrust at me.

That pitiful existence would not be mine.

However, now that I knew what they felt like, the absence of them made me anxious.

Like a little motor constantly running beneath my skin, reminding me of the peace I could have.

Nurse Gwen’s smile widened slightly. “While I was working through your discharge papers, I noticed that there weren’t any filed documents from your first stay. I watched the security tapes and the men who dropped you off aren’t ones I recognize. Do you know who brought you in a few days ago?”

She meant well but she didn’t belong in my business. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s okay. I copied the tapes for your father. Regardless,” she waved her hand. “It’s time to go. Let’s clean that cut and get you home, alright?” Going home had never sounded sweeter but there was just one problem.

My father told me he knew that Samael—or Merchant as he was known to everyone else—had brought me in here to save me from myself.

What he didn’t know was that Aeron and Slash had been present too, three men who should not have been in contact with each other.

If my father watched those tapes, he would start making connections that I needed him not to make.

Which meant the tapes had to be destroyed.

And Nurse Gwen had to be punished for not minding her own business.

This would be fun.

Right after I plastered on a fake smile and fell into my father’s arm with the correct emotional response to fool everyone around us.

After all, I was the prodigal son returning to my rightful place.

Killian had had his moment in the sun and he fucking ruined it, creating a life of boredom and safety.

I didn’t want safe.

I wanted to play.

I wanted to ruin the world.

For no other reason than… I could.