Start a War (Saint View Psychos #1)(30)

BLISS





I almost didn’t hear the knock on the door of my living suite over the roar of pathetic despair that had cloaked me ever since I’d gotten home from the city. But then a little blond head poked through the doorway, and I knew I hadn’t been imaging it.

“Bethany-Melissa? May I come in, please?”

I adored my sister and her sweet manners. “Of course you can.”

“Mommy told me to come get you. There’s someone at the door for you.”

The smile fell straight off my face. “Who, Verity?”

The girl shrugged. “I don’t know. Mommy just said to get you quick.”

Nobody visited me at home, apart from Caleb and Sandra. Nichelle knew Sandra well and would have just sent her up to my rooms.

Caleb was probably still cleaning Lucinda’s vagina off his dick.

With my heart hammering behind my chest, I nodded. “Okay, good job. I’ll go check. But hey, want to play a game?”

Verity’s smile turned into a grin. “Yep!”

“Good. Hide-and-go-seek. First, find your brother and get him to play too. Then go hide. I’m going to see who’s at the door, and then I’m coming to find you, okay?”

When Verity nodded, I dropped a kiss on her head. “Okay, go!”

She scuttled off to find Everett, while I grabbed my phone, dialed 911, and then shoved it deep in the pocket of the oversized cardigan I’d thrown on after I’d gotten home from walking in on Caleb’s after-work sex date. My finger hovered over the call button, ready to press it at any minute if it was my masked friend. Or worse, some new debt collector Axel owed.

I took the stairs down to the grand entrance two at a time. The banister was dusty, since the cleaning staff had been let go, but that was the last thing on my mind. Nichelle stood in the open doorway, blocking someone outside from getting in.

“Nichelle? Is everything okay?” I could barely keep the wobble out of my voice.

Nichelle opened her mouth to answer me, but a voice from the other side of the threshold spoke up. “No, Disney. Everything is not okay. Could you please tell whoever this is that I know you? She seems to think I’m some sort of salesman, or worse, a Jehovah’s Witness. I swear, lady, I met her at Psychos. I ain’t here to try to save your soul. You rich folk don’t have one anyway.”

I put my hand on the huge, heavy wooden door and yanked it open. “Rebel?”

Rebel stood on the other side, an armful of clothes and jewelry in her arms, and a makeup case on top. She raised one eyebrow at me. “Nice place, Dis. You gonna let me in or we just gonna stand out here giving all the neighbors a show?” She jerked her head toward the left. “The old bastard next door was checking out my ass when I was getting this stuff out of the trunk. Pervert.”

Nichelle’s mouth hung open, and she stared between Rebel and me like we were something in a museum that she couldn’t quite work out. “You two know each other?”

I was almost as surprised as Nichelle was. But I ignored her question because it was clear I did indeed know the pixie with the foul mouth on the front step. “What are you doing here? How did you even know where I lived?”

“Nash and Nash.”

When I just blinked at her dumbly, she elaborated. “Nash thought you might need some help getting ready for tonight. So he sent me.” She did a cute little curtsy. “Your own personal dressing, hair, and makeup service.” She glanced at Nichelle. “But your guard dog won’t let me in.” She leered at Nichelle. “Woof.”

Nichelle spun on her heel, and with a dirty glare at me, stormed off. I stared at Rebel. “Oh my God. You did not just do that?”

She shrugged. “She was looking at me with judgy rich person eyes. You gonna let me in or do I gotta bark at you too?”

I laughed and grabbed her arm, pulling her inside and up the stairs to my suite. “Oh, shoot. Wait. I gotta find the kids. Leave that stuff here in the doorway and come with me.”

“You got kids?”

“Sibling kids.”

I made a beeline for the large walk-in linen closet in the east wing, that was a favorite hiding spot. I dragged Rebel along with me, her eyes wide, and peering around at everything we passed. “Dis…you no shit live in a palace.”

I shrugged. “I think a palace denotes royalty. This is just your regular, run-of-the-mill mansion.”

“You could fit my entire apartment in this hallway.”

It made me think of the tiny trailer I’d spent my early years in. It was even smaller than the hallway. It could have fit in the closet I found Everett and Verity in a moment later.

I used the distraction to not comment on Rebel’s observation and chased the two kids out of the closet, grateful they’d actually listened and hid when I’d told them to. If the person at the door had been the guy with the mask…

I shuddered while we walked back to my rooms. That couldn’t happen. Not here, with Verity and Everett around.

It was a wakeup call. And a realization that I needed to stay somewhere else until this was all taken care of.

Rebel peered over at me. “You cold? You’re gonna have to get over that, because the outfits I brought with me do not have a lot of coverage. But it gets warm inside the club anyway.”