Read Online Madness Ends by Beth D. Carter - Free Book Online Page B

expression and Cipher had the uneasy feeling that the man was staring into his soul, devouring it slowly.
    “I think we can help each other,” Vicious said calmly.
    “All I want is my goddamn money,” Cipher muttered.
    “Really? That’s all you want?”
    And before Cipher knew what was happening, Vicious slapped him on the back, directly on his right shoulder blade. It had been almost two months since Romeo had sliced his tattoo off and he was still healing from the fucking skinning. Regrowing skin took a long fucking time. Agony ripped through him and he couldn’t stop the cry that escaped his mouth.
    Vicious frowned and stood to pull back the leather jacket Cipher wore. If he weren’t in such fucking pain, he’d push the asshole away, but as it was, he was trying his damnedest not to pass out.
    “What the fuck?” Vicious asked. “You’re bleeding.”
    “They took my tat.”
    Vicious let him go and sat back down. Cipher downed the rest of his beer, not caring in the least that it was room temperature. He desperately needed alcohol now to dull the fire licking through his wound.
    “They fucking made you bleed?” Vicious asked. “Don’t you want to hurt them the same way? Slice off a piece of them where it hurts most?”
    All his simmering resentment suddenly burst forward, and Cipher pounded his fist on the scarred bar top. “I want to fucking rip them apart.”
    Vicious’ mouth curled into a satisfied smirk, the thin veneer of civility ripped away. Malice glinted in his dark eyes, and Cipher was surprised acid didn’t drip from the canines peeking from beneath his lips.
    “So we’ll start with Boone. And get your fucking money.”
     
    * * * *
     
    As Kaiya suspected, Chloe was all over the place, signing with angry points and jabs. When the words rambled together, Kaiya simply read her lips. Chloe could rival a soldier’s vocabulary when having a very bad day.
    “This is fucking stupid!” she ranted. “Most fucking insane thing I’ve ever heard of. Of course you can’t go on a fucking bike ride to Canada. That’s like…millions of miles away. You’ll get hurt. You’ll fall off. You’ll break your ass!”
    “I’m not going to break my ass,” Kaiya signed back. “And it’s only six hundred miles. The circumference of the Earth is less than twenty-five thousand miles. To go millions of miles I’d have to get a rocket ship—”
    Chloe waved her hands in agitation. “So not the fucking point!”
    Kaiya turned her head to hide her smile. Chloe continued her curse-word-laden tirade while Boone and Gabby watched her impassively with their arms folded across their chests. Kaiya gave them apologetic glances, but they just shrugged. Obviously, they were aware of how Chloe could work herself up. Finally, out of desperation, she grabbed hold of her cousin’s head and brought their foreheads together. Chloe covered her hands and they stood like that for a long time, until their breathing synchronized and her cousin had calmed. It was an old trick she used to do whenever her outbursts got a little too wild. Chloe wasn’t a bad person, but her past had definitely messed her up.
    “I’m going to be fine,” she whispered in Chloe’s ear. At least, she hoped it was a whisper. It was difficult to remember what the volume was for a whisper. When Chloe didn’t pull away or cringe at the sharp pitch, Kaiya relaxed.
    Chloe nodded, not answering. She didn’t need to. Kaiya knew her cousin well. She might have a temper and might act before thinking, but she loved with her whole heart, and when something moved out of her control, she lashed out. Throughout her stay in the psychiatric hospitals, only Kaiya had been able to calm her.
    They stayed like that for some time, until Chloe pulled back to stare her into her eyes. A small, sad smile lingered on her lips.
    “When did you grow up?” Chloe asked.
    Kaiya snorted and dropped her hands to step back. “I’m only four years younger than