Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
PENELOPE
Minxy falls asleep faster than any of us expect.
An hour ago she sat at the coffee table, tearing up her Chinese food feast, telling us how her mother killed Todd, drained Randy’s accounts, and staged Dominic’s death. Her voice shook, but she didn’t break.
Silas carried her to the guestroom, tucked her under one of my fuzzy blankets, and sat on the edge of the bed with his hand resting on her ankle until her breathing evened out. Talon stood in the doorway the whole time, eyes red, like he didn’t trust his sister was here still.
The Chinese containers sit half-open on the table. Gideon’s cleaning up, probably trying to keep himself busy so he doesn’t explode from knowing his sister is a serial killer.
Can you be a serial killer with two bodies under your belt, or do you need more?
Doesn’t matter… a killer’s a killer.
Silas and Talon come out of the room, and Talon sits on the couch while Silas helps Gideon put the food in the fridge and wash the few cups and silverware we used.
I give them a moment and go down the hall to my room, but stop to peek in on Minxy on the way.
She’s curled on her side, hand clutching the blanket, hair falling out of her braid like a messy halo.
She looks even younger in her sleep. A kid who should've been worrying about first school dances and bad math teachers, not whether her mom was murdering husbands like it was a hobby.
I close the door quietly and turn to head to my room.
“Is she okay?” Talon startles me, shoulder propped against the wall, tats visible where he’s shoved his sleeves up, eyes rimmed red behind his lenses.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “She’s out.”
Gideon steps out of the kitchen like he’s been waiting for his cue. “You two go decompress. Silas and I will handle things out here and listen for her.”
Talon opens his mouth to argue, but Silas speaks first. “She’ll sleep for hours, I’m sure. She finally feels safe. You’re no use to her if you’re tired.”
Talon huffs but doesn’t push it.
I rest my hand on his arm. “Come to my room for a second?”
He nods.
Inside my room, I change into a silk nightgown with lace at the hem and sit on the bed facing Talon.
“She’s safe,” I remind him.
He breathes out. “I keep waiting to wake up and have it all ripped out of my hands.”
“You won’t.”
“You don’t know that, Penelope.”
“You’re right,” I murmur. “But I know she’s not alone. That’s what matters.”
He looks down at his hands, jaw tight. “You were good with her tonight. You kept talking to her, and she calmed down. I haven’t seen her breathe like that since Dad…” He stops, curses. “Thank you.”
The gratitude hits deeper than anything else tonight.
“You don’t have to thank me. She’s family now.”
Something cracks inside of him. He leans forward and presses his lips to mine, and for a moment the world holds still. No school, no wedding, no Abi hovering in the background.
When he pulls back, I’m the one who feels unsteady.
“I’m going to sit with her,” he says. “Just so I know she’s still breathing.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
He leaves my room, and I stay on the bed, collecting my thoughts. A soft knock taps at my door. Silas slips in without waiting for permission, leaning against the frame.
“You look wrung out.”
“Gee thanks. So do you,” I counter.
“Probably.” His mouth tips in a tired half-smile. “But you’ve been carrying everyone tonight. Minxy, Talon. Hell, even Gideon. Come breathe for a minute.”
I raise a brow. “In here.”
“No.” His eyes soften. “Out. With me. You need noise and something that’s not our family dumping their shit on you. So Gideon and I think you should go to Velvet.”
I blink. “Silas…are you asking me out?”
“I’m asking to take care of you before you break.”
“And you two think Velvet…tonight?”
He nods. “Right now.”
“Talon…”
“Talon has his sister for the first time in years. He wants you to go.” He steps closer, his fingers brushing my hip. “You’ve got anxiety humming under your skin. Let me take it from you for a few hours.”
My breath catches. “Okay.”
His eyes darken. “Wear something you can move in. And something I can take off.”
Heat flashes through me so fast I nearly pass out.
He smirks. “Ten minutes, Angel.”
“I’ll just wear this.” I stand and smile at him, his eyes running the length of my body and the sapphire nightgown I’m in.
“Well then, Angel. Let’s go.”
SILAS
Gideon watches from the kitchen doorway while I put my shoes on.
“Text when you get there,” he says. “And when you leave. I want timestamps if Abi pulls anything tonight.”
“If she pulls anything dangerous, you’ll be the first to know,” I answer.
Penelope comes out of her room in that sapphire nightgown that makes my brain misfire.
Thin straps, deep V, skirt that hits mid-thigh.
Her blonde hair tumbles around her shoulders like she already rolled around in my sheets, and those brown eyes lock on me, wide and shining.
Her throat is bare, her hands trembling as she smooths the fabric over her hips.
Gideon’s gaze softens. “Minxy’s still out,” he tells her. “Talon’s in there on the floor like a loyal dog. I’ll take first watch. You two go.”
She bites her lip. “You’re sure?”
“Little Menace,” he says. “I promise. We’ve got her.”
She looks toward the guest room once, then nods. “Okay.”
I hold the door open. She steps out, and the night air lifts a few strands of her hair. Her scent hits me, a mix of citrus shampoo and nerves.
“Talon knows where we’re going?” she asks as we head to the truck.
“Yeah,” I tell her. “He told us to go. Swore he’d text if anything changed.”
“Good.”
I unlock the truck and help her in, my hand on the back of her thigh as she climbs. Her skin is warm under my palm. My brain notes every detail and files it away under mine.
We pull away from the curb. Campus lights blur past. The farther we get from her place, the more her shoulders start to loosen.
“Ground rules,” I say.
She huffs. “Of course you have ground rules.”
“Rule one,” I continue, unbothered. “You tell me if anything is too much. One word. Red. We stop. No questions.”
“Red,” she echoes, testing it.
“Rule two. No talking about Abi while I’ve got you in a place that is supposed to be fun. She does not get to live rent-free in this part of your head.”
Something in her expression eases. “I can agree to that.”
“Rule three,” I say. “You’re mine tonight. No flirting with anyone else. You want something, you ask me for it.”
Her thighs press together. “I wasn’t planning to flirt,” she says, voice a little hoarse. “But noted.”
I tap the steering wheel. “Rule four. If you need to stop and just breathe, you say so. Velvet is good at giving people a way out, but I don’t want you white-knuckling anything for my sake.”
She watches me, turning all that sharp Penelope focus on my face. “And your rules?”
“My rules?”
“For yourself,” she says. “You’re allowed to have those too.”
I flick my eyes from the road to her mouth and back. “My rules are simple. I don’t touch you unless you want it. I protect you. I bring you home in one piece.”
“That last one feels non-negotiable,” she mutters.
“It is.”
Her hand slides over and rests on my thigh. “Okay,” she says quietly. “I’m in.”
Velvet sits at the edge of the warehouse district, painted black, a subtle sign, one red light above the door.
“You still good?” I ask.
She studies the entrance, then nods. “I want this. I want to feel something that isn’t anxiety or dread.”
“Perfect,” I say. “That I can handle.”
Inside, the club is dim and warm. Colored lights wash over bodies mingling on the main floor. Leather and lace and a few things you won’t find in any mall. The air smells of sweat, perfume and bliss.
The bouncer at the door recognizes us and tips his head. “Silas, Pen.”
“Evening,” I answer. “We’ve got a room?”
“Red two,” he says. He looks at Penelope for half a second, clocking her nightgown, the way she stands close to my side, then nods with professional neutrality. “Enjoy.”
Penelope’s fingers curl around my forearm as we move through the main room. Her pupils are already blown wide, catching neon and shadow. A few people glance our way. Most don’t. Everyone here is too busy chasing their own vices.
Her mouth curves. “You really thought this through.”
“I have needs,” I say. “So do you.”
Red two is down a short hallway. I key in the code and push the door open. There’s a low couch, a small table, and a control panel for the lights. A red bulb glows softly in the corner.
I close the door behind us and flip the lock.
The moment it clicks, some of the performance drops from her shoulders. She exhales like she’s been holding her breath since we left the house.
“What do you need?” I ask.
She looks at me, really looks, like she’s searching for the answer in my face. “I need to not think,” she says. “I need to get out of my own head. I need…” Her throat works. “I need someone to push me until I stop replaying everything in there.”
I step closer. “Someone?”
“You,” she corrects. “I need you.”
Heat ripples through my chest.
“Come here,” I say.
She does without hesitation.
I take her face in both hands and kiss her hard. She melts against me, fingers fisting in my shirt, body arching like she’s trying to get under my skin. It goes straight to every place that has been thrumming since she walked out of her room in that nightgown.
I back her up until the backs of her knees hit the couch. She drops onto it with a soft gasp, knees spread just enough to make my vision tunnel. I brace one hand on the cushion beside her, the other on her thigh.
“You’re beautiful,” I tell her. “You know that.”
“Say it again,” she whispers.
“You’re beautiful,” I repeat. “And you’re mine tonight.”
Her eyes flutter shut for a second like that hits somewhere tender. “Show me,” she says.
I do.