It Ain't Me, Babe

I hauled Dyson back with my foot, her junkie ass slamming to the floor. I took a few hesitant, guilt-ridden steps toward Mae. Big fat tears fell from her wolf eyes and her hand slapped over her mouth, trying to stop the broken cry she couldn’t help but let loose. I tried to speak, but before I even had a chance to explain, Beauty and Letti burst through the doors, searching for the source of the wail.

They immediately froze at the sight of me—in a dark corridor with Dyson on her knees, tits out… and to the side, Mae decked out in club gear and in my cut, sobbing into her hands.

Could things have got any f**kin’ worse?

“Mae! No. Don’t cry. Come with me, honey,” Beauty soothed, gently placing her arm ’round Mae’s shuddering shoulders. Beauty ushered Mae round the corner and outta my sight, my cut thudding onto the floor in their wake. Shit. Mae’d shed my f**kin’ cut.

The chase was on. I set off stumbling, the room tilting on its side, only to be met by Letti’s renowned death stare. She stepped forward, cracking her knuckles at the slut on the floor. Dyson scurried back on her hands as the larger-than-life Samoan closed in.

“Listen up, slut. You have ten seconds to get the f**k outta this club. I see you here again, I’ll shank you myself… and I’ll take my own sweet time. Comprendo?”

Dyson looked at me, pleading for support. Fuck that! Jerking my chin, I nodded in the direction of the exit. Righting her clothes as she passed, the Hangmen’s biggest slut hightailed it outta the club.

Letti glowered at me, shaking her head in disbelief.

Don’t f**kin’ look at me like that. I ended it before y’all came crashing through, making this shit worse. Yeah, it looked bad, but I didn’t f**kin’ touch her. She didn’t even get to my cock, I signed.

Letti looked like she didn’t want any excuses. Flipping me the bird, she turned on her heel and followed Beauty down the corridor.

What a f**kin’ clusterfuck!

Ky chose that moment to come ’round the corner, glancing at Letti as she made her prissy exit. “Styx, man! I’ve been looking all over for you. The psycho trio are back with their prize catch.”

His eyebrows danced in excitement as he rubbed his hands, smiling. His triumphant smile quickly turned to a frown when he saw me leaning back against the wall, running my hand down my face, fixing my jeans.

“What you done now?” he asked with a shit-eating smirk.

Don’t f**kin’ ask. Now, where’s the f**ker? He talking? I signed.

“Nope. Not a damn peep.”

Smiling a hungry smile, I signed, Perfect. Just what I need right now. Let’s go.

Chapter Thirteen

Mae

One hour earlier…

I was a child when it happened. A tiny, innocent child…

“Salome, come with me.”

“Where are we going, Sister?” I had asked, as Sister Eve took my hand and dragged me down the corridor from the safety of my room. Her hand had squeezed my hand so tightly that I recall feeling intense pain. For reasons I could not fathom at the time, Sister Eve would not look me straight in the eye.

“You are to be taken to the great room.”

The great room. I remember feeling my stomach churn on hearing those words. I had tried to resist Sister Eve, tried very hard to pull her to a stop. She had looked down at me and her pale eyes seemed to soften a touch. This was so strange that I had become anxious. Sister Eve did not like me, never had. I was a Cursed. One of the segregated sisters. There were four of us and she hated us all. Told us we were inherently evil. Born baring the original sin of Eve.

“Why have you stopped, child?” she asked calmly, her cold voice devoid of any affection.

“W-why am I to g-go to the g-great room?” I enquired in a shaky voice over which I had no control. I remembered Jezebel had been taken to the great room for the first time three years prior. She had not been the same since that day. She had changed; she became angrier, withdrawn, and colder. She never spoke about what happened. I even recall I asked Jezebel five times about it, but I was rebuffed on each occasion. She point blank refused to say a word to me or anyone else for that matter. Nevertheless, Jezebel went to the great room every time she had been summoned by Gabriel. She had no choice. Lilah had been the same several months prior when she had been called in too. Maddie and I had never understood why it changed them so. But I knew at that point I was about to find out.

“You are of age now, Salome. You must do your duty as a sister.” Sister Eve sighed loudly and bent down from her tall height to meet my eyes. “I will not lie to you, Salome. Today will be a very strange and uncomfortable experience for you, but it must happen. You have reached the appropriate age. There is no way around it.”