Chapter 4 AERON
AERON
I leaned back in a lounge chair, staring at the box on my kitchen table.
Finn had it delivered the same way Jenny’s lungs had arrived but there was no fear exploding through my chest as I stared at the white box.
In his own twisted way, he was telling me that he still loved me, still loved us.
The note, however, told me that Finn’s mental state was fragile, one crack away from full-blown insanity.
To my favorite cannibal,
I present to you Gwen. A nurse. I cut them out thinking of you.
Make us something nice.
See you soon.
-F
I was already thinking of several different dishes, most likely with a red wine sauce until I realized he had mentioned making something for us both.
Even if Finn was his own person, the other three alters didn’t indulge in my obsession.
There was no way Finn was that different from them, right?
I snorted as I remembered the destruction Finn had caused and the letters carved into his arm.
Finn was on an entirely different level.
We’d either have to embrace it or find out what happened when we rejected him.
Because the last time we rejected him—placing him in St. Garner’s Mental Hospital for his own safety—had resulted in two deaths.
Granted, he believed he was protecting our honor, but that didn’t make his kills any less unhinged.
Especially when Samael wandered into my house last night looking a little worse for wear.
Slash was twirling that machete again, eyeing my wall with a certain interest that told me I’d be patching more holes up later.
The fracturing of Killian’s mind had messed with all of us in different ways.
I curled into myself, unable to pair this version of my first love with the one I had met in college.
Slash wanted him locked up again and Samael hated being out of control.
Despite all of that, Finn’s chaos spoke to some part of our psyche.
He was playing with us for sure, but in a twisted way, we all kind of loved it.
Samael burst through the front door and I glanced up, confused and worried that we were no longer trying to hide the connection between us three. His jaw was clenched, his eyes nearly black as he stared at us. “Finn is out of control.”
“What did you expect, Samael? Finn’s been itching for his moment in the limelight and we threw him in a fucking mental hospital.
Did you at least get to see him?” Slash threw him a wild grin and I knew he was moments from snapping.
We didn’t need another kill to contend with, especially when Killian’s father would think the killers in Primrose had started a competition.
An annoyed sigh left my lips as he chucked a knife at my wall, narrowly missing my ear. “Fuck you, Slash.”
“I’d like that. I need a distraction.”
I snorted and shook my head. Slash needed an outlet and as much as I loved the guy, knives were more of Samael’s thing.
And apparently Killian’s. Or was it Daemon?
Or Finn? I had no fucking clue who was who anymore and it was starting to freak me out.
“So, Finn is our copycat killer. Why do you look like you’re going to beat someone into the ground? ”
“Because Brent can’t keep his fucking mouth shut.
” Samael let out an inhumane growl as he stalked toward me, throwing open the lid of my prized box.
“Throw it the fuck out. Finn’s toying with us, Aeron.
” He sifted his free hand into my hair, yanking it back so that my eyes met his.
I clamped my lips together before I said something stupid, warring with the desire to fight his grip or submit.
I stared into those hardened eyes, searching for something until I found it, chuckling at the discovery. “You want to fuck him,” I said. “You want him beneath you and not just the other three. You want Finn.”
It wasn’t a secret but it also wasn’t something we had voiced aloud. In the last few days, Finn had burst through our lives but instead of tearing us apart, he was somehow pulling us closer to him, revealing parts of ourselves that I’m not even sure we knew existed.
Samael’s jaw clicked and I decided to push my luck as I reached up to curl my fingers in his shirt. “I know that look in your eyes but we don’t even know what we’re working with.”
A deviant grin spread across his lips. “And I know that you want him to be the man you fell in love with. Don’t bullshit me and make me think I’m the only one who wants him.”
“So, we’re just going to fuck this better?
” Slash asked. “Because you’ll have to get past his father first. Samael even dropped off Killian’s cat and Chief Matthews didn’t let him inside.
As far as obstacles go, that’s going to be an impenetrable one.
That man has been wanting his son back for years. ”
Samael finally let me go, turning to Slash. “And that’s why we play Finn’s little game until we can get him alone.”
“Samael,” Slash purred, standing up to retrieve his knife. “And what if Finn’s games are more than just a few well-placed kills? What if when he chooses to reveal his cards, it’s something we can’t handle? Daemon was a surprise but a welcomed one. Finn isn’t welcome here.”
Samael laughed as he settled back against the table, arms folded across his chest. “And if I didn’t know better, you’re just hoping Finn asks you on the next killing spree.
You might have not liked the fact that Finn was in control last time but the pure unadulterated glee on your face as you sliced into your foster mother couldn’t be faked.
We all want Finn—maybe because he’s still Killian or maybe because our lives have become stagnant.
I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. We just need to be on the same fucking page so that we do this shit together. ”
Doing this shit together was going to be near impossible when Finn was working us separately.
He was appealing to our individualities whereas his other three alters always wanted us in the same space.
I still couldn’t get the look of betrayal on Killian’s face or the smug one on Finn’s out of my head.
I missed the bastard, pretty sure that I would be okay with any of the four showing up at this point.
Needing a distraction, I plugged in the coffee pot that had been abandoned over the last several months.
Caffeine wasn’t my thing, but Slash and Samael chugged the muddy bean juice like water.
Since they were both currently taking over my bed, the least I could do was give them what little sustenance I had left in this house.
I ignored the vibration from my phone, smiling as arms banded around my stomach, a scratchy chin rubbing against my cheek. “Morning, Slash. I’m making coffee.”
“Without human liquids, I assume?”
My face turned up in disgust. “I’m an artist and a chef.
Drinking human blood or any other liquids would make me a monster, vampire, or some combination of darkness that is both disgusting and should be put down.
The coffee is just coffee.” Slash still didn’t understand my obsession—not that I did either.
My diet was a way to honor a life, a way to give meaning to someone who had ruined themselves while they were alive.
Drinking their blood did not fit into that sentiment.
Slash kissed my cheek and then pulled back. “So, vampire is where we draw the line. Got it. You going to eat those lungs or chuck them like you did Jenny’s?”
“Finn gave me a present. In his own way, he’s trying.”
Slash shrugged, gesturing to my hair as he pivoted the conversation. “Gonna fill in the color or try something new?”
I hadn’t thought about it. My image was part of my presentation as it was for Slash.
However, with everything going on, I had neglected the artsy half of my craft which meant that the blond roots were starting to show.
“Might go back to the blond,” I mused. It wasn’t a terrible idea and it would be a new start.
Keeping up the bright colors was more for the personality I had crafted when I moved here.
With a dying need to play Phoenix, reverting back to the man I truly was seemed a bit more enticing.
My phone vibrated again and I glared at the poor device hanging off the edge of the kitchen counter.
No one should have been calling this early in the morning.
The PR company I used to work with had dropped me for my sporadic availability in the past week.
My truck was closed more times than it was open and news circulating about the end of Gourmet Eats was the norm these days.
I’d have to find a new hobby but with Finn running around, I didn’t have the attention span to start a new venture.
Slash yanked my phone from its perch and thrust it at me. “Seems important.”
I let out a heavy sigh as I pressed the green button, about to bitch out whoever decided that Monday morning was the best time to call.
“It’s really not nice of you to let me go to voicemail. I even left you a present, Aeron but what should I have expected? Even when Killian was kicking and screaming for you not to send him to that place, you did it anyway. All you had to do was keep me away from those padded walls.”
Just like I could tell the difference between the other three, Finn was easy to pick out. His voice was slightly deeper, a haughtiness and confidence to his words that wasn’t present even with Daemon. “I’d say I was sorry but you weren’t yourself. How were we supposed to know that you were Finn?”
“I left you so many damn clues. That’s not even the point!
They never put you away, Aeron. They never threw you into a place like that.
Why would you do it to me?” The pleading in his voice almost sounded real until a cackle followed, echoing in whatever space he was in.
“You have some apologizing to do, my love. Have you thought about what you’re making me for dinner? I was thinking curry.”
I swallowed nervously, pulling the phone away from my ear.
Finn was definitely a different beast but he had a point.
Slash and Samael had never thought about placing me in a mental institution.
That had never been part of the plan. Had we done it to Finn because we were truly scared for him or did we just need to control the situation?
“Curry sounds nice, Finn.”
“Good.”
“Where are you? Why-”
“Aeron, I’m home. Enjoying all of the wonderful things that Killian denied us of. I’m lying on silk sheets right now. Silk.”
A purr erupted in the background, Finn cooing at his cat. I couldn’t imagine someone like him enjoying the fluffy animal. Slash cleared his throat and stole the phone from me. “When do we get to see you? We have a few things to discuss.”
“Ah, The Skinner. I was wondering when I’d get to hear your voice. I’ve only changed where I lay my head. Show up at The Revival and ruin my day like you always did for Killian. Who knows? It might be fun.”
Finn hung up just as the coffee pot dinged, pulling us back into the reality of our kitchen.
Slash was still staring at the phone, chewing on his bottom lip before meeting my gaze.
“Wow, he’s a real peach in the morning, isn’t he?
If he really thinks I’m not going to show up at his fucking job, he has another thing coming. ”