Page 34 of King of Lies (Mayhem Manuscripts Season One: 1nf3ction #6)

Keaton

Despite leaving space for him on the mattress the previous night, August hadn’t come upstairs. I’d stayed awake for an hour, oscillating between the urge to ask who the fuck he thought he was to assume I’d deviate from the only plan I’d clung to for months, to wanting to apologize.

Eventually exhaustion dragged me into a restless sleep, my subconscious replaying everything I wanted to avoid: the family I no longer had; the way my sister must have suffered; the near miss with the biter only days ago; Oz’s trap; his grotesque gallery; his intention to cut August’s tongue out; August’s lies.

All of it circled again and again while I tossed and turned.

The worst part was knowing I would have slept better with August next to me. It was amazing how quickly a person could become accustomed to someone else’s warmth, the rhythm of their breathing, the brush of skin. None of it was about sex—just presence.

Sunlight pouring through the curtain-less window had me lurching from sleep to alertness in seconds.

I sat up and listened. The house was silent enough to make me wonder if August had left.

Could I blame him if he had? He’d offered me a future last night, something I knew didn’t come easily to him, and I’d thrown it back in his face.

If I were August, I wouldn’t have stuck around. Especially when I needed him—or at least his bike, which sounded dreadful—more than he needed me.

He had a home. He had transport. He had ways to make money, dishonest as they might be. He had a family. I had none of that. I just had him, and a need for vengeance so hot it blinded me to everything else.

That thought carried me downstairs, relief flooding through me when I found August tinkering with the bike. August grunted and didn’t make eye contact when I greeted him. “I hope you slept better than I did.” My attempt at offering an olive branch met with more silence.

The only relationship I’d ever observed closely was my parents’, and I couldn’t recall them ever arguing. Which left me clueless about how to make things go back to how they were.

A breakfast of fresh meat, hard boiled eggs, and fruit commenced in silence. If not for August passing me food, I might have believed he’d forgotten I existed, the floor apparently more interesting than my face.

After five minutes of being invisible, I couldn’t take any more, grabbing August’s arm and spinning him toward me. I ignored the look that said he was seconds away from reaching for his knife. “I get it,” I said quickly. “I fucked up.”

“Do you get it?” His quiet calmness somehow made it worse.

“Yes. I was a bastard last night. I deserve the silent treatment. You offered me…” I stalled, the right words not coming to mind.

“I offered you myself,” August said matter-of-factly. He tugged his arm free. “It’s fine. We made no promises to each other besides my getting you where you need to go. I’ll do that, then you can―”

“No.” I backed off a few steps, dragging a hand through my hair while I attempted to make my brain work properly.

“Every night since I came home to find my parents gone, since I learned what happened to my sister, I’ve thought of nothing but looking that bastard in the face while I put a knife in his gut.

You see, I don’t want him to die fast. A crossbow bolt between the eyes is too quick.

Too merciful. It’s the first thing I think of when I wake, and the last thing before I sleep. ”

August studied me, silent but watchful. “And you were right about me treating this like a suicide mission, because I didn’t care about anything else. That’s why I broke into your room. That’s why I tied you up when you tried to cheat me.”

“It’s why you came back and rescued me,” August said, nodding toward the bike.

I studied the bike for a few seconds before returning my gaze to August. “No. I came back because it was the right thing to do. I claimed it was about the bike to save face, but it wasn’t. Not primarily, anyway.”

August laughed. “Doing the right thing isn’t something I’m familiar with.”

“That’s crap. You did it when you saved me from the biter about to take a chunk out of my neck. Even when you had every reason not to because you knew your lies would be exposed.”

August rolled his eyes. “I saved you. You saved me. Is there a point to this conversation beyond raking up the past?”

“The point is what you offered me last night… I want that. I really do.”

I stepped in close, August looking amused when I crowded him against the wall.

He could have easily moved me aside to regain his freedom, but he chose not to.

This close, his warmth scrambled my brain, words tangling just when I needed them the most. All I managed was, “You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. ”

“Thing?” August laughed. “Wow! Thank you. I guess I should be glad the world’s a shithole and you haven’t stumbled across any beautifully carved tables or chairs to replace me.”

“Person… Man. Jesus, you know what I meant. It was a compliment.” I attempted to do better. “I’d be glad to be with you.”

“Even though I’m a conman?”

I thought about it. I couldn’t claim I had no issues with the way he chose to use his intelligence.

And I only knew of the one con, the one I’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for.

But now that I understood his motives, it was different.

“Even though you’re a conman.” His eyebrow arched, surprise showing on his face.

“But it has to be after. Everything has to be after. I’ve lived with this for too long to even consider giving it up.

” Inspiration hit. “Imagine it was your grandma. Imagine someone tricked her and it resulted in her death.”

August tilted his head to consider it. “Hard to imagine. Usually she’s the one doing the persuading. But…” he cut me off before I could comment, “if anyone hurt her, I’d hunt them to the ends of the earth. Beyond, if I had to. I wouldn’t rest until they were food for the biters.”

I nodded. “Exactly. That’s how it feels. So I need to do this, and then maybe I’ll have the headspace for something else.”

“Maybe?” August’s question was sharp, his stare intense.

“I can’t think.” I fluttered my fingers near my temple. “It’s like bees in my head, all buzzing around in different directions. I need to silence them.”

August wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and yanked me forward, his lips coming down on mine. In true August style, it wasn’t a question; it was a demand. His tongue sought entrance, his hands busy—one pulling me flush, fingers digging into my arse, the other sliding into my hair.

It would be a lie to say I’d done much kissing before August. Sex, yes. Kissing, no. But I doubted anything would have compared favorably. I melted into him, every nerve recognizing only heat, muscle, desire, and pleasure.

Biters? Virus? All just words lost beneath a veil of lust.

As suddenly as it had begun, August ended it, tugging me back by the hair until I broke away. He held me there, inches apart, blue gaze locked on mine. “How are the bees?”

“What?”

“The bees.” He let go of my arse to perform an over-exaggerated parody of my earlier move. “The ones in your head.”

“Sleeping.” His self-satisfied grin made me shake my head. “You’re dangerous.”

“You better believe it, baby.” The grin faded before I could savor the endearment. “Promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“Drop the nothing else matters but revenge mindset. We find a way to do it so we both walk away.”

“And then we live happily ever after?” My voice dripped with snark.

August tipped his chin up. “Why not?”

“I’m infected, and you’re…”

“I’m…?”

“You’re you.” His flicker of emotion told me he wasn’t sure how to take that. “You’re never going to settle for a quiet life.”

“Who said anything about quiet? I was thinking about the adventures we could have together.”

“Maybe.” The idea wasn’t without merit, and for the first time since getting kicked out of the army, I could imagine a world beyond vengeance. A light at the end of the tunnel.

“So promise me,” August insisted.

“I promise.”

His slow smile pulled one from me too. He yanked me forward again, brushing my lips with his. “After,” he whispered.

“After,” I echoed.

He shoved me back, hard enough that I almost fell. “If the bees get too bad, tell me, and I’ll do my thing.”

“Your thing?”

“My thing. My fingers, tongue, and cock are at your disposal.”

I shook my head, smiling despite myself.

“Tell me everything you know about William Anderson,” August said between bites of breakfast, both of us now with a better appetite. He sat against the wall, long legs stretched out in front of him, while I sat on a rickety chair.

“I don’t know much,” I admitted. His slight eye roll said I could do better. “I already told you most of it.”

“They’re called The Seekers, right?” I nodded. “Canadian guy shows up, takes over a castle, calls himself ‘ Beloved Father,’ and what? People just flocked to sign up?”

“I assume it started slow. That he built up gradually.”

August frowned. “Why? Why would people give up everything to follow him? I wouldn’t. I’d tell him where he could stick his ‘Beloved Father’ moniker. I had a father, and he let me down. The last thing on earth I’d want is another.”

“I don’t think they actually believe he’s literally their father,” I mused. “Besides, you’re looking at it from the wrong side.”

August paused mid-chew. “What do you mean?”

“You’re not the person he recruits. You’re the recruiter.”

He snorted. “I’ve done many shady things in my time, but I can promise you I’ve never started a cult.”

“But could you if you wanted?” I challenged. “Isn’t a con about finding what makes people tick and selling that dream to them? That’s what you did with me—and I’m not gullible. Or at least I didn’t think I was until I met you. Couldn’t you sell it?”

His jaw tightened, the admission in his silence. “So what dream does he sell? Come and live in my castle. It’s got plenty of rooms and a sea view?”

“I don’t know. But it had to be good enough for Serena to leave home.”

August considered my point while he continued eating. “So he just leaves his castle to take a tour around the country to recruit more members?”

I laughed. “I highly doubt it. I imagine he’s like all the officers I had in the army.”

“Explain. I’m not military-minded.”

“They give orders, stand back, and let others do the work. Do you think there were any officers around the day I got bitten?”

“I’m guessing not.”

“And you’d be right. They were safely tucked away somewhere drinking tea.” A note of bitterness had crept into my voice, and I did nothing to eradicate it. “Must have been a terrible shame for Captain Marsh when he had to get off his arse to hand me my dismissal papers.”

August grimaced. “Just like that?”

“Just like that. No notice period. No suggestions for what I might do with my life when the army was all I’d ever known for the last decade.

Just pack up and leave. I’d seen it happen to others, but you always think you’re different.

I busted my balls for that unit for years, and one mistake, one bite, and I was gone. ”

I rubbed the scar, discussing it making it throb.

“Anyway. My point is, ‘Beloved Father’ will have other people to do his dirty work while he stays safe in his castle.” A smile slipped onto my face while I considered taking him apart piece by slow piece.

“Or at least he thinks he’s safe. Until I get my hands on him. ”

August finished eating and wiped his hands on his trousers. “You’re probably right. I’m surprised I haven’t crossed paths with any of his recruiters.”

“I told you. You’re a recruiter, not a recruit. They’d have taken one look at you and steered clear.”

August crossed his arms over his chest and studied me. “I’m trying really hard to take that as a compliment.”

“It is.” I smiled. “You know I like you, faults and all.”

His mouth quirked. “I like you despite yours, too.”