Page 94 of These Monstrous Ties

A fucking shot rings out in the living room, the sound of glass shattering. I whip my head around, my heart leaping into my chest. Lucifer is holding his gun, and it’s pointed at Mayhem. The window above the Unsaint’s heads has a fucking bullet hole in it.

“What the fuck?” I hiss.

Atlas tips his head back and laughs like this is a fucking joke.

Ezra rolls his eyes, Cain says nothing at all, and Mayhem’s eyes light like he’s just been challenged to a fucking shootout.

“Glad to see you got your balls back,” he drawls.

Lucifer puts his gun back on his hip. “Go fuck yourself.”

He really shouldn’t have said that.

“I didn’t have to, bro. Your girl did it for me.”

I groan and they look to me, all except Lucifer, who is still staring at Mayhem as if he might actually shoot him this time. “Can we not?” I snap.

“You know what,bro,” Lucifer says, his lips twitching into a smile. “I’m going to see your sister tonight.” I think I know where this is going, and I tense. Mayhem’s smile is gone. “And when I do, I’ll be sure to pay you back for everything you owe me.”

Mayhem’s lip curls and he stands to his feet.

“What the fuck?” I hiss. I mean, I know this was really over before it could even begin, but did he really have to say that right now?

Lucifer looks at me, and his expression is still angry. “If you can have your fun…” he shrugs. “I can have mine, right?”

Atlas snickers. “I mean, he’s got a point, Sid…”

I shake my head. “Can we just go?”

All the Unsaints are standing now. I rake my eyes over them and shake my head. “No, you guys cannot come. My brother won’t let us in if—”

“This is our payback, too,” Ezra says quietly.

I’m quiet a moment, thinking. I can’t argue with that. I don’t want to argue with it. I just shake my head, throw up my hands, and head for the door.

We walk to an empty parking lot of Raven Park in silence, and I slide into Lucifer’s M5. Mayhem gets in his grey McLaren, and Ezra, Atlas, and Cain get in the Range Rover.

We drive to the Rain mansion.

I know my brother will want to kill the Unsaints as soon as he sees them, but he won’t if I tell him not to. I also know he’ll be at the mansion. He knows what night it is. I hope to God he’s drowning in the misery of his own crimes.

There’re guards stationed at the gates when the three overpriced cars pull up. We get out, and my brother’s guards draw their guns on us, but I step right up to them, glaring.

“Let me see my brother,” I spit out, even though that last word tastes wrong on my tongue.

The guard on my side blinks at me, as if he’s surprised. He tosses a glare at the Unsaints.

“Not with them.”

Atlas laughs and Mayhem whistles.

I step closer to the guard, even though he’s got a good half a foot on me. He actually backs up. Atlas laughs again.

“Now.”

The guard looks annoyed. But then he nods. I see him speak into the mic on his collar, and the gates open up.

I’m surprised, as we get back in our cars and drive up the paved driveway, that the lawn has been decorated. There’re pumpkins among the bushes, white, paper ghosts swaying from the trees. As we pull up to the gargoyle fountain, I see someone has placed a Jason mask over his face.