Page 33 of In Chaos We Reign (Midnight Mayhem 4)

There are cages that line the edges of the wall to form little rooms and lights flash to the beat of the music.

“Are they figuring it out?” Eli says from beside me, a glass of whiskey in his hands. I watch as the girls inside the cages rub against one another.

“No.” I lean back on the bar, crossing my legs in front of me. I wasn’t there the night Eli and Dominic crossed paths while they were here the last time, but I’m beginning to think that my brother and Lilith missed a massive hint as to what Eli was truly dealing with.

I lean into him, ignoring the beeping in the background. Dominic has been trying experimental drugs on people for a year now, according to Eli, but he still hasn’t told me why he’s where he is and why he must be here. “You can come back, E. You know we have your back too.”

Eli leans down and snorts the line of coke that’s spread over the marble counter. The Connoisseur is a club that is built into the old city tunnels which run beneath the ground. Dominic is known to traffic drugs and guns by using this system. He’s about as rotten as they come.

Eli tugs on the black collar around his neck. “Can’t.” He slams his empty glass onto the table, and I search his features. He’s lost a lot of weight since I last saw him, which was when he was with Mayhem.

“Why?” He never hid from me that he would be leaving; I had known long before he “died”. He has just never said why. I think Kyrin assumes it has something to do with what happened before he left, but it doesn’t. Eli has been talking about this for years.

“The takeover, Cartier—” His eyes meet mine, and it’s the first time I’ve seen him bare so much vulnerability to me. “You and I both know it’s going to happen.”

I pause my movements, my hands squeezing the glass that’s resting on my thigh. “How do you know about the takeover?”

He raises his brows. “Everyone knows.”

My brain fuses and all I hear is the buzzing of white noise. “No—what?” I place my glass back onto the counter, turning to face him completely and ignoring all of what is happening in the background.

“You already know, Cartier. You can lie to The Brothers, but not to me. You know everything there is to know about the takeover—in fact…” He pauses and my throat throbs from the words that are stuck inside of it. “I would go as far as to say you’re doing what you need to do to make sure it works in your favor.” He’s right. I can’t lie to him. Eli doesn’t see me the same way as The Brothers do. He doesn’t tiptoe around my feelings or treat me like a fragile little flower who can’t get her petals touched.

“I can’t talk about it.”

“Neither can I, but just so you know… it’s not just Midnight Mayhem that this is going to affect.”

I was always confused when it came to talking with Eli about anything to do with his Elite Kings’ world, but he never really spoke about it, so it was never enough to be annoying.

“The Kings?” I whisper, finally turning to face what’s happening behind me. Naked bodies are twirling together in the cages. Sex after sex after sex. It plays continuously like a porn that won’t stop. The live band starts playing another song, and I tilt my head to the side, watching the woman grip the mic around her fingers and start singing the hook of a familiar tune.

“Wait…” The room tilts slightly, and I grip the back of Eli’s chair. “What’s happening?”

“You know that woman?” Eli asks, and I turn back to face him, but everything slides in triples. I reach out to touch his face, but my hands move through the air.

“Yes. I watched her play in New York one time with Nial.”

Eli’s eyes fly up behind me and he launches off his chair, hitting the floor in a thud. “E… I.” Everything goes black.

Mold sticks to the back of my throat, and the distinct sound of water hitting concrete wakes me out of my slumber. Metal cages surround me like iron pillars, and I fly up to my feet. I trip over a hump on the floor when I launch forward, hitting the hard ground with a slap. I push myself up slightly, turning over my shoulder to see what it was. The outline of a body lies facedown with blood pooling around his face. I could know this person and not know. Crawling over to him on my knees, I swipe away the brain matter and chunks of hair, rolling him over onto his back. His eyes come to mine. Pale and white. Unfamiliar. I stand back to my feet and scream out a frustrated cry.

“Ahhh, you’re awake.”

I jerk in shock, spinning around and reaching for the iron bars. Whoever he is, he blends with the shadows in the corner, unwilling to move. “Where’s Eli?” Within those three years of training, I’m finally glad for the second year. Training. Combat. The art of manipulation.

“Don’t worry about him just yet, Ice Queen.”

My shoulders straighten and I tilt my head when he finally steps out from the dark. Black hair that curls behind his ears, tanned skin, and a lion tattoo that snakes up his forearm.

“Well, if it isn’t Bam Bam Ricaiah.”

Bam Bam’s smile turns wicked, the unlit cigarette hanging loosely from between his fingers. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite Ice Queen…”

“Huh,” I purr, stepping back slightly to put some distance between us. “If I was truly your favorite, then what am I doing on this side while you’re there?” Bam Bam and I don’t have a necessarily clear history, but we do have one… nonetheless…

Past

Year Two

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