Chapter 12 RUNO
RUNO
Daemon: I never realized how boring this shit was until you took over. Even Finn made this job look interesting.
“I am bored as shit. Bored out of my mind. How the fuck did Killian do this day in and day out?”
Killian: Because it’s interesting and you get to research new—
“Shut up, nerd!” I cackled to myself, swiveling around in my chair.
It was nice not having a cubby mate, especially one I wanted to murder.
Although, I guess I had already done that, hadn’t I?
I did another twirl in my chair, wondering what to pick up next.
One of the gods had handed me something to look into and type up but I was having way more fun doing absolutely nothing for the remainder of my 8 hours.
The only interesting thing about this place was the gossip.
Whispers about Niles’ death floated around the office—cubicle chatter about his body in the woods, carved up like a roast. However, there was also chatter about how the top ten bachelors in Primrose were falling apart—Ryker had quit and Phoenix’s food truck hadn’t been open in a while.
Finding out that Aeron had posted on his social media about the ‘death of food’ or something equally hilarious had me making a mental note to ask what was going on. Other than that, though, there was nothing to do around here.
Dark: For old times’ sake, we could go to Bondage Palace.
“That’s been the best idea all morning and I would. However, Tyrone is fucking on our ass and I know he’d find some reason to connect me to every single murder in Primrose.” I twirled around in the seat again before stopping.
Killian: I like how the only reason you wouldn’t go is because of a murder investigation and not because of your fucking boyfriends.
I snorted. “Killian, I would go because of them. Every time we went, they’d show up and fuck us. It would be a wonderful escape from all this madness.” I waved my hand around my cubicle and then sighed. “Where is Finn?”
Finn: Right here. Ya’ll are having a jolly good time and I’m wondering how we get out of this fucking mess. If you haven’t noticed, we don’t do well in confined spaces so jail isn’t a great option for us. There’s also the matter of my fucking child…
“That’s your fault for sticking your penis where it doesn’t belong.
Although, I wonder if Jade did that on purpose.
” I really had thought about killing her even after her pregnancy admission but I’m not completely heartless.
Just mostly. And I really was curious about what kind of child I would create.
I had an inkling it would be a girl. “I’ve got a plan. ”
Killian: Runo with the plans, everyone!
Daemon: Would you like to share with the class?
Finn: Loop us in before one of us gets thrust in the driver seat again.
“Well, Finn is never getting the driver seat again because he fucking locked in and forgot about it. Asshole had me in pretend jail with all the other whispers.” The alters froze, each of them metaphorically looking at me.
“I told you that we fracture. The bits and pieces are still there but deep, deep down. It’ll be a while before we’re stuck in that mess. Now, you wanted answers, right?”
Killian: Yes. Answers. Good ones because I’m not entirely sure dear old dad is prepared to clean up Niles the way you need him to.
Finn: Let’s just kill them all. Problem solved.
Dark: Focus.
I leaned back in my chair, threading my fingers behind my head. “I’ve got a plan, but things have changed because Finn got someone pregnant.”
Killian: Seriously, focus! What’s the fucking plan?
I gritted my teeth, my fingers digging into the armrests.
“Buzzkill. I know what I’m doing. Dad’s been burying my messes since I was a kid—Carlie, the others.
He’ll keep doing it to save his image. I’ve known him longer than any of you.
As for our men, they’re in. Slash loved last night, Aeron’s curious, and Samael’s hooked, even if he’s mad because he’s not in control. ”
Daemon: And when Dad cracks? When Tyrone connects the dots?
Dark: You’re playing with fire, and we’re all going to burn for it.
Finn: Then we can roast marshmallows.
Another cackle fell from my lips at Finn’s humor. Hopefully, he’d get over the whole ‘I nearly had his baby mama killed’ so we could get back to the good stuff. I needed to keep from fracturing, stress out my dad, and then make my men fall in love with me all over again.
A knock on the edge of my cubicle tore me out of my head and I looked up, horrified to see Alex grinning as he plopped into the seat across from me. “Okay, so I heard several names other than just Killian. Which one are you?”
My face contorted further, a mixture of anger and irritation flaring up as my hands fisted in my lap. He was becoming more and more annoying every day.
Finn: Deep breaths. If you blow up at him, he’s going to catalog it and you know he’s probably already got a project name.
Killian: Don’t give him the satisfaction that he’s looking for.
There was only one real way out of this. Unfortunately, that meant completely ignoring whatever Alex was trying to get out of this moment. I swallowed once and then stood up, offering him a tight smile. “I’m going home.”
“Really, that’s it?”
I sighed, my nails digging into my palms as I fought the urge to lunge at him. Alex was enjoying this, his eyes glinting like he’d struck gold.
Daemon: I’m not opposed to a little blood but we can’t exactly lure him to Bondage Palace.
Dark: Does he even like men? I don’t think we can seduce him.
Finn: I thought I was supposed to be the evil one.
Dark & Daemon: You are. We’re the fun ones.
I blinked several times, trying to stay present in the moment.
In the many pamphlets and textbooks I had read, trying to understand my diagnosis, there hadn’t been much to go on.
Aside from my consciousness or mind or whatever the fuck slowly fracturing into several parts, there was also the issue of all of it meshing back together. In ways that didn’t make sense.
Alters acting out or differently.
We would cease to be five separate parts and more like, parts of a whole. Kind of. Not really. But it was the only way to explain Dark and Daemon’s shift in personality. Fucking hell.
A tap on my shoulder had me gasping for air as I threw up my fists and then sighed when it was only Alex. “I’m taking some sick time. I think I have some stacked up.”
Alex said nothing as I gathered up my stuff and headed for the door.
It took me entirely too long to swing by Dad’s house to swipe one of Dad’s cars.
Fuck taking the bus, anymore. We didn’t have time for that shit.
However, by the time I got to Aeron’s house, it was empty.
Well, it was locked and no one was answering, which meant that they weren’t there.
I immediately called Samael, knowing that this was his doing.
“Come to the estate. I moved them because I don’t know what your endgame is, and Aeron’s house is a fucking rental,” he had said.
So, I did just that, haphazardly parking in the little semi-circle, pushing past one of the newer guards, and making a beeline for his office. My men all looked up when I stepped inside, all three of them hunched around a screen on Samael’s desk but that was the last of my worries.
I was about to start shit.
“You wouldn’t believe the day I had,” I pushed out, a grin spreading wide across my lips.
Slash growled at me and pushed me into a chair by the desk before crouching down to lift my shirt.
He hissed at what I guessed was a few torn stitches, Samael handing him something.
In the next second, a sharp pain added itself to the dull throb, a needle slipping through my skin. “What the fuck?”
“We all told you to stay put but you said it was important to go to work so I’m restitching your ass. I hope it hurts,” Slash growled.
It did hurt, more than it had when Samael had done it which meant Slash was doing it this way on purpose. I waited until he finished before asking my main question. “Hey, so why the fuck is Tyrone an officer? He came to the newspaper today to ask questions about Niles’ murder.”
Samael’s jaw tightened, his massive frame tensing behind the desk. “He did what now?”
“Yeah, he cornered me in Alex’s office, digging about my connections to all of you. He thinks we’re tied to the Three Terrors. And then Alex caught on to the alters. Even brought up my mother and her HMD, like he’d been waiting to drop that bomb.”
Aeron cut in. “Alex knows about the alters?”
I turned to Slash, my grin twisting as I chewed the inside of my cheek. “And finding out that you and Tyrone had a thing was fucking weird. Samael’s cock is so much better.”
Slash stood up and discarded the bloody supplies before leaning back against the desk beside Samael.
“I know. It was a lapse in judgment, and for the record, I went over to Tyrone because of your sorry ass up and leaving me with only a fucking letter. And now that I know Killian isn’t really all that innocent, I don’t even know why you left any of us. ”
I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to figure out what to say. None of the alters were any help, though. “This isn’t the time,” I finally said.
Slash roughly grabbed my chin between his fingers and forced me to meet his gaze. “Make time, you little fucker. I’m not too arrogant to admit that you fucking ripped my cold, dead heart out when you left. What was the real reason you left any of us?”
I ripped myself away from him, my chin stinging from his grip.
“Emotions are fucking confusing, okay? We’ve—all them in my head—all been told we’re too hard to love.
As for Killian, he really didn’t know what the fuck was going on at first. After that, I couldn’t tell you.
I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. ”
Samael’s voice cut through the moment. “We can figure out all that shit later. For now, Runo, I need to know what the game is because currently, I have one of my best friends tied up in the basement. There’s no letting him go at this point.
We had a relationship based on trust, and that has been destroyed.
If I let him go, he will upend everything I’ve worked for.
So, what’s the point? And don’t give me the bullshit of getting rid of the past.”
Glad the conversation had shifted, I grinned and leaned back a little, trying to find a more comfortable position. “I’m glad you asked. I wanted you to wait for me because I wanted to see your face when he tries to explain his way out of this bullshit. Shall we?”