My Darling Mayhem
: Chapter 24

I spent the night staying in Juan and Taylor’s wing of the house. That’s what these people had: wings. Alex, Taylor and my mother kept us company while the boys played in their indoor pool, then over dinner. The conversations always revolved around me or the boys. Taylor would share stories of Alex, Juan and even a few of my mother or Leo, my stepdad. She never spoke of her sons. Taylor, Alex and even my mother were all smiles and sunshine, and I was too engrossed in the warmth to destroy it by bringing up other, more complicated topics.

I had about a thousand questions, but I respected my brother’s life enough to not barge in and demand answers on anything. I had sauntered back to the living room with all the photos and inspected each and every one, twice, before taking a glass of wine up to my room. Sleep didn’t come as I worried for Archer, and now with a new day dawning, I was tired and scared.

The sun came up with no news from Archer. I had another text from Brian come through, which confused me

I stared at the text and reread it three times before texting him back.

Another text came in immediately.

My stomach tensed as fear and confusion warred for dominance. I had no idea what the hell was going on with him, but I blocked his number. There was too much on my mind to think through it or focus on him.

I decided to venture through the double glass doors, holding Kane and Cruz’s hands. A gorgeous view greeted us as the breeze slid across my skin, chilled with hints of autumn clinging to it.

The boys were bundled in thick sweaters, running through the freshly cut grass, laughing while they rolled down one of the steeper hills. I tucked my arms in close and watched them with a smile on my face.

“Good morning, Wren.” Taylor came up next to me, holding a thin blanket around her shoulders.

I turned to greet her, seeing her differently out in the sun. Pieces of blonde hair flew around, trying to escape her low chignon. Her makeup was light, highlighting her lips, cheeks and eyes. With her light blue dress, her features were a little washed out, but there was something haunting in her gaze, something that spoke of a heartbreak that only a mother would know. It made me feel strange, like perhaps I should walk over and hug her.

“I met your sons.” I decided to say instead.

Taylor’s blue eyes flashed, her nose flared and then she found the grass by our feet.

“I’m sorry.”

Her response threw me. “Why?”

She looked down. “You know why.”

The breeze blew between us while the sun warmed our faces. I watched the boys while I tucked my arms in and stepped closer, hoping to encourage her to continue. She watched the tree line near the back of the property and let out a small sigh. “Once upon a time, I had these beautiful baby boys that worshiped their father and looked at me as if I hung the stars. They adored their big sister and this life we gave to them, with their friends who became chosen family. Once upon a time, our lives were beautiful and full of wonder. Not perfect, but full of color and laughter.”

Her face dipped, which only made me feel something in my gut twist, as if that haunted look was more pronounced. I had to look away, so I found the boys and trailed them as they ran toward us, giggling and playing tag.

“What happened?” I asked softly, hoping I wasn’t overstepping.

Taylor’s posture shifted, just the slightest bit. Her fingers gripped the edge of her blanket tighter, and her hair swayed in the breeze. The house stood like a tall monument behind her with glass windows that faced grassy acreage and was bordered by a thick forest. The cream color of the stone made the home feel like a castle sitting on the edge of a coastal cliff.

“Did you know that when I met Juan, I was pregnant with another man’s baby?”

I kept my expression impassive while I shook my head.

Taylor’s expression was stoic as she continued, “Not only that, but I was also engaged to a man that was neither the father of that baby nor was Juan.”

“Sounds messy,” I mused, wishing we had coffee to go with this chat.

I had stopped into the massive kitchen this morning and made the boys two bowls of oatmeal, but the coffee machine was more complicated than my Keurig back home, so I didn’t touch it.

Taylor tucked her blanket tighter while she continued, “I was in danger and completely alone. Juan saved me, saved Alex. Stepped up in a very big way, and because of us…because of me, it forced his hand and had him taking the reins of El Peligro again. Your mother hated me for it.”

I couldn’t tell her that I also hated her, but perhaps I shouldn’t anymore. It seemed there was more to her story than I understood.

Taylor gave me a look as though she heard me. “I’m sure you did too.”

I replied with a half-smile to which she laughed.

“Sometimes we do things for the love we know we can’t live without. The thing we know will change our life forever. We go the furthest, act the most irrational, and make the boldest claims…and sometimes, even that isn’t enough. You asked what happened…My sons found themselves at the mercy of demonstrating their love for someone.”

I turned the smallest bit, tucking hair behind my ear. “And it changed them?”

Taylor’s lip wobbled while a harsh whisper left her.

“It destroyed them.”

A tiny ping stung my chest with empathy for them. For Taylor and my brother. “So they became monsters?”

“They became whatever they had to become. Same as Juan…same as me. The difference was the love Juan and I shared, we shouldered together…When you don’t have the person with you to share it…it goes deep inside you, and it rots. It turns all the good you clung to, to something unrecognizable. It makes you stop believing. My boys shared a womb. They shared the same birthday every year for nineteen years. They even shared the same first love, and the force of that love ruined them both.”

“Is she…” I still wasn’t sure how to ask this question.

Where was this girl that these boys seemed to love? Fear had me thinking the worst, but right as I was about to open my mouth, the back patio door creaked, and someone stepped outside. A strong wind that seemed to roll up through the hills along their property forced a sheet of dark hair to fly as the girl exited. Her angular face was familiar, even without the bruises she had in the photo I’d seen. This was her.

Presley.

Her body was toned and lithe, like she’d been honing each and every tendon to be used as a weapon. Her lashes were dark and thick, framing beautiful blue eyes. She wore light blue jeans, ripped at the knee, a tight black turtleneck, and Doc Martens.

“Scotty wants everyone to come inside. He said there was something off about the sensors around the property.”

Taylor gave her a warm smile. “Okay, we will. Presley, come here, meet Juan’s sister.”

Presley stepped forward with a warm smile. I eyed her hand, seeing her knuckles were puffy, red, and shredded. Did she train without gloves or any protection?

“Hi.” I held out my hand, but Presley leaned in and took a hug instead.

“Hi.”

Presley was warm, and her hug felt genuine, even as she pulled back and faced Taylor.

“When are Juan and my dad coming back?”

Taylor replied, “I’m not sure.”

Presley’s brows furrowed as she seemed confused. “Where are they anyway?”

Taylor seemed to hesitate the smallest bit before she replied, “King and Gio…they⁠—”

I missed what Taylor said because I was searching for two little boys who had stopped giggling…I wasn’t seeing their little heads pop up around the grassy field. There were a few hills that might block my view and a foot deep cliff that dropped into a garden bed. I jogged over, calling out for them.

“Cruz. Kane!”

There was no response. My heart began pounding so hard that I felt like it would push through bone and skin at any second. My gaze cut to the left, searching, and then the right, as my voice rang out again, screaming their names as loudly as possible.

Taylor and Presley stopped talking and turned to see what I was doing.

The moment it seemed to register that my boys weren’t here, Taylor joined me in yelling, while Presley turned back toward the house and threw the patio doors open.

“Uncle Scotty!”

The man from last night burst from below where the courtyard was, and four large dogs trailed after him. He spoke in German to them as their noses slid to the ground. Scotty had a large gun in his arms, running toward the back of the property. I was about to yell at him to lower it, that having a gun out was unnecessary when suddenly the world tilted, and I saw him⁠—

White hair, broad shoulders and a leather cut that he shouldn’t be wearing because it said he was a part of a club he was no longer in.

The same man who’d approached me at the barbeque. Saul materialized just outside the tree line with at least ten men. His arm wrapped around Kane’s middle while another man held Cruz.

My feet froze, and my heart twisted in my chest as the air left my lungs.

I could tell even from where I was that Cruz was crying, Kane was kicking against Saul’s hold, but I couldn’t make out his reaction other than that. He had to be terrified though.

Scotty aimed his gun at them while running, the dogs’ legs picked up as they burst into a run.

No one else was here. We needed more people, more backup. My legs lifted as I started running. I didn’t even have shoes on, and I knew my white socks would be stained green and covered in mud, but I just kept running toward my boys. Taylor was behind me; she’d dropped the blanket, and her dress was unbuttoned enough from the bottom so her knees could rise while she ran. At least she wore boots. In her hand, she had a gun just like Scotty did, but hers was much smaller and must have been pulled from a holster somewhere.

My hair flew behind me as tears streamed down my face. I drew close enough that I could make out Saul’s expression. He gave me a sly smile as he turned away and began to walk away with Kane. The man holding Cruz used him as a shield, stepping behind him knowing we couldn’t shoot with him in front of them.

My heart was going to stop. I felt it. This terror was ripping through me at a rate that I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t⁠—

A shot rang out, loud and powerful, from behind me.

I saw a burst of red coming from the man cowering behind my son. He went down, dropping Cruz. My son began crawling away right as another shot echoed through the air and the man directly behind him had a cloud of red burst from his head as well.

Then, another perfect shot.

I paused for a second to check that I wasn’t about to get shot and found Presley lying on the tallest hill with a long-range rifle set up. She was sniping them one by one. Her hair blew in the wind while she leaned forward and pressed her eye to the scope, and then I heard another shot, and when I turned to look, another man went down.

The dogs were still running past the dead men into the trees where Saul had taken Kane.

Cruz was crying, holding his little arms over his chest while tears streamed down his face. My feet felt nearly frozen as I faltered, coming to a stop in front of my son, pulling him into my arms, against my pounding heart.

“Are you hurt?” I asked, breathlessly.

Cruz shoved his face into my shoulder. “No.”

My gaze searched the tree line frantically. Taylor, Scotty and the dogs were all gone, chasing Saul. Presley was running toward us, the gun strapped to her back. I opened my mouth to say something when all of a sudden a rugged off-roading vehicle came racing toward us. The tires were massive and slotted for terrain. Alex was in the passenger’s side, and the girl with reddish brown hair I’d seen in the photo was driving.

Within seconds the vehicle slid to a stop, kicking up grass as the girl with dark red hair from the photos jumped out.

“Pres!”

“Carter?” Presley asked, narrowing her focus as if she was confused.

Alex opened the passenger side door, exiting while sliding a large clip into what looked like an automatic machine gun.

“What are you doing here?” Presley asked, sounding shocked.

Alex glared over the top of the Jeep at Presley. “Don’t start, Pres.”

“Whatever, we need to drive along the edge and trail him. He has a kid.” Presley was about to get inside the Jeep but then she paused, glancing back at me. “He might have more men; I think Scotty would want us to hang back and protect Wren and the little guy.”

All three women glanced over at me. They were barely over eighteen, maybe early twenties. How on earth did I feel like the inexperienced one?

“She can come with us,” Carter suggested.

I liked that idea, but Cruz was still crying into my shoulder.

Alex’s lips twisted. “No, Pres is right. Scotty would never risk them if⁠—”

Presley’s head suddenly snapped back toward the house. “My dad needs to know that our perimeter was breached. My mom is in town; she’ll need to be warned too.”

My head was spinning as they spoke, all holding weapons like it was nothing. They’d all obviously been trained in some capacity to do this…like the twins.

They were all monsters.

Whatever happened twenty years ago with my brother and his friends, their legacy was this. Girls who looked like they should be out shopping with their girlfriends, holding sniper rifles and automatic weapons.

Presley gestured toward me while keeping her focus on the two girl’s. “I’ll stay with them, take them to a safe room. You two go out, back them up. Juan won’t be happy when he realizes Taylor went out without him.”

Alex’s face shuddered the smallest bit, her gaze moving to the trees. “Dad is going to lose his shit when he hears this.”

“Carter, you think you can remember how to hold a gun?” Presley asked, while securing her sniper rifle against her back once more.

Carter flipped Presley off and then crawled back into the driver’s side of the Jeep. Within seconds, they took off, shooting grass behind them as they headed toward the perimeter.

I picked up Cruz and moved toward Presley who waited for me while watching the perimeter. How did she just walk away from the fact that she shot so many people? Was this her first time, or had she done this before? She didn’t seem phased in the slightest by it.

We started back toward the house all the while my gut sank because I’d promised Archer that his brother would be safe with me. I failed him.

The only thing he’d tried to do since I met him was keep Kane safe, and one night with me, and all that was undone. Shame slipped in through the tiny cracks of my heart, along with fear over my recent choices. How could I do this to my son? How could I do this to Kane, placing another young person in danger?

I lived a safe life with Cruz when it was just the two of us. I had nearly gotten him kidnapped by dating Archer and stepping outside of the safety circle that I’d drawn around my life. The one where I had kicked everyone out and refused to ever it open it up…at the risk of being lonely, it would have been worth it if it meant everyone remained safe exactly where they were.

Archer’s easy smile flashed in my mind while I walked back inside, leaving his brother in the woods. I’d do whatever it took to undo this and get us back somewhere we’d be untouchable again.