Payback Princess (Lost Daughter of a Serial Killer Book 2)

by C. M. Stunich

  It’s nearly four in the afternoon. Holy shit. I turn over, and then startle when I see that Tess is sitting on the bed staring at us.

  She smiles at me, so I guess everything is okay.

  “My two missing babies,” she says softly, and my heart stutters. Please don’t say that. Don’t refer to us like that. “You kids are my heart,” she tells me, just as Parrish sits up slightly and notices his mother at the foot of the bed.

  “Don’t be creepy, Mom,” he mumbles, so sleep-tousled and cute that I could scream. I still can’t believe he’s actually here; it doesn’t feel real. “What are you doing?”

  “Your brothers and sisters really want to see you. I know you need your sleep, but Maxx made breakfast. You should come down and eat.” Tess leans over to peer down at Chasm on the other side of the bed. “Time to get up, sleepyhead,” she says, more cheerful than I’ve ever heard her.

  She stands up and pads out the door, her hair mussed, her glasses on, her quirky writer persona in full force.

  Chasm sits up with a groan and then crawls onto the end of the bed to collapse. I have to resist reaching out and brushing his hair back from his eyes. He mutters something in Korean and Parrish chuckles, replying just as easily.

  “I know one of those words—I think,” I start, and Chasm snorts.

  “You don’t know anything but—” he starts, and then cuts off abruptly. Parrish notices, obviously.

  “But what?” he inquires, his voice strained.

  “Little Sister here thought she was saying ‘good night’ to me,” Chasm mumbles, sitting up and flicking his tongue against one of his lip rings. Another nervous habit of his.

  “What was she saying?” Parrish asks, sounding genuinely curious.

  “I was saying ‘I love you’,” I admit, glancing over at Parrish to gauge his reaction. He doesn’t have one. Not at all. He shrugs and throws the blankets back as Chas and I exchange a look, and then both move to follow after him.

  “It feels so weird being back here,” he says, looking around the room. “Like familiar, but also not at the same time.” He sighs and gives the bunny a look as it thumps its foot at him, then he turns and stares at himself in the mirror, sweeping his fingers through his messy hair.

  “It’ll take some time to readjust,” Chasm offers, hovering just behind Parrish, ever his knight, his protector. I love the relationship they have; I love it. I’ll do everything I can not to come between them in any way.

  “Don’t get me wrong: I’m happy. I’m … I can’t believe you guys did all of that for me.”

  “I would’ve done more,” I tell him, sweeping past and pausing at the door. Our eyes meet, and I hope he can see how serious I am. “Anything.”

  I yank my door open and head into my room, searching for my phone. It’s gone, so I figure Maxx must have it.

  “I need to find out what’s going on with Maxine,” I say as both boys pause in my doorway, and Parrish sweeps his gaze over my room, his attention fixated on the bed for a minute before he drags it away. “But I think Maxx has my phone.”

  That must mean there aren’t new messages. I finally gave in and told X my pin the other day so he could just log in wherever he wanted—without snatching my hand and forcing it to the screen. Actually, I think biometrics are just trash at this point; the pin is better.

  “Then let’s go get it,” Parrish offers up, taking my hand. He drags me close for another kiss, one that burns, that makes my belly ache. Chasm turns away, staring down the hallway toward the staircase. My heart breaks for him, but I have to put Parrish first right now, and we both know it.

  Parrish keeps hold of my hand until we hit the bottom of the stairs, effortlessly releasing me like he was never touching me at all.

  He doesn’t even make it into the living room before the twins appear, screaming and hopping around him. I have never seen Henry behave like that. His enthusiasm and love for his brother makes me smile.

  Parrish snatches them both up, grunting at their weight in either arm.

  “You guys are getting way too big for this,” he complains, but with a smile on his face. A real smile. I’ve only seen that a handful of times before, and it stops me right in my tracks. I put my hands to my chest and take a deep breath.

  “I can’t believe we did it,” Chasm murmurs from beside me, tucking his hands into the pockets of his slacks. He slept in them which can’t have been comfortable, but I notice he at least unhooked the clasp at the front, letting them sag down his hips. As per usual, he has no shirt on.

  “We did it,” I agree, my mind drifting back to Maxine. But at what cost?

  Chasm and I turn to look at each other, exchanging so many things in silence that we can’t say with words right now.

  “Don’t worry about me, naekkeo,” he says, but I’m already frowning at him.

  “But I do. I am.”

  “No. Put Parrish first,” he growls at me, and I narrow my eyes at him.

  “I am putting him first—but I still worry about you. We didn’t just ‘bang it out’,” I mutter, making little quotes with my fingers. That’s how Chasm described what happened between us last night during the talk with Parrish.

  “Oh. That bother you, Little Sister?” Chasm whispers, giving me a long, assessing once-over. “Should I have told him we made love and then confessed our feelings to one another? That I’ve been calling you ‘mine’ on the regular? We’ll get there, just not yet.”

  “I know that. Just don’t trivialize important things,” I add before heading into the kitchen. Maxx notices me right away, offering up a plate of food. It’s got an omelet on it, some toast, some sausage.

  Tess and Paul are fawning over Parrish, so we take a moment to talk.

  “Nothing from Justin yet,” X offers, slipping me the phone so I can tuck it into my pocket.

  “Thank you,” I tell him, and our eyes catch on one another before I pull away to join everyone else at the table.

  Kimber is talking a million miles an hour, trying to get some words in over the twins. Ben sits quietly, beaming as he eats his food and keeps looking up at his big brother, and Tess is saying something about a press conference.

  “You don’t have to participate,” she assures Parrish, and he nods, looking wary.

  “I don’t want to do any interviews or anything like that,” he warns, and then his attention strays to me. Maybe he’s thinking about the talk show I was forced into against my will, I’m not sure. “But I’m guessing the feds want to talk to me again today?”

  Tess gives a sharp nod and a long sigh. For once, Paul isn’t on his phone. He is, however, still sitting at the head of the table. Since Parrish is surrounded, I sit on the opposite end with Maxx on one side, Chasm on the other.

  We all eat breakfast together, and I have to admit, it’s nice. It feels like family. But even as I’m thinking that, I’m missing my grandparents, missing Saffron. Mostly, I’m missing Maxine.

  As soon as it seems feasible and not entirely inappropriate to sneak away, I do, ducking into the pool area to make the call. He ignores the burner phone, but answers right away when I use his ‘real’ number.

  “Princess,” he purrs, smiling at me through the screen. “I see you’re enjoying your reunion. What a lovely family breakfast.” I ignore the cold shivers I get at his reminder that he can watch me most days, most places, and put that aside.

  “Where is Maxine?” I ask, careful not to refer to her as my sister. That seemed to really get Justin’s panties in a wad last time.

  “She’s just fine. Would you like to see her?” he asks, and then he switches the camera feed. I see Maxine lounging on a bed in a large room, browsing on her phone. She doesn’t seem upset. Actually, she seems relatively relaxed.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I whisper, sitting down on the cement floor beside the pool. The smell of chlorine tickles my nose as I draw my legs close and rest my phone against my knees.

  “Well, Maxine finished the last of her exams ye
sterday. She came to me, looking for you.”

  My heart drops. Of course my sister would’ve seen the news coverage about Justin Prior. He’s been projecting to the world that I’m his precious daughter. You’d have to be living in a cave to have missed it.

  “And?” I push, desperate for answers. Clearly, there’s a plan here.

  “And, she’s here of her own free will. I told her that she was welcome to stay a few nights, and that we’d be seeing you on Saturday. I’ve decided you need the week free to focus on your exams.” Justin’s voice takes on that cold stillness he gets sometimes.

  “So, what, you’re going to imprison her the way you did Parrish?” I snap back, but Justin just turns the camera back on himself, raising a brow at me.

  “Parrish? My program found Parrish. He’s alive because of me,” he says, and I sigh. I see we’re playing games here. Makes sense, seeing as Justin is actually showing his face. Guess this is just a ‘normal’ father-daughter conversation. “For now, I want you to focus on your schoolwork. I promise you that if you’re diligent, and you follow my rules, your sister can stay safely with me until the weekend.”

  “You can’t just tell me to focus on my schoolwork and expect me to relax. I want to talk to Maxine.”

  “You can speak with her on Saturday—provided you don’t piss me off before then,” he adds, getting an edge to his voice. His smile is a terrible thing to behold. “If you’re a very good girl, and your grades meet my expectations, I’ll even allow you to speak to the Banks. I did, just a minute ago.”

  My blood goes cold.

  “You spoke to my … to the Banks?” I query and Justin nods.

  “Very nice people. I thanked them for raising you in my absence, and then I inquired as to Saffron’s location. Apparently, she left the mental health facility where she was staying; they haven’t heard from her.” Justin looks me right in the face, and there’s a very clear, undisguised threat in his gaze. “Have you spoken with her? Maxine doesn’t seem to know where she is either.”

  “Spoken to Saffron?” I ask, shaking my head. She left the mental health facility on her own? That’s not surprising. That wouldn’t be the first time that ever happened. “Not since Tess caught me at a coffee shop one day and threatened me against further contact.”

  Justin watches me through the screen for a moment.

  “I want to see all A’s on that report card,” he continues as I try not to imagine all the reasons he might be seeking Saffron Banks. That is, the one main reason he might be seeking her: to kill her. I know that as surely as I know that Parrish loves me, that I love him, that I would die to protect Maxine. These are all givens. “If you please me, I’ll allow you to not only speak to Maxine, but to see her in person. Would you like that, my sweet princess?”

  “You’re sick, you know that?” I snap back, unable to control myself, but Justin just raises his dark brows at me.

  “Is that any way to speak to your father?” he chastises, making a tsk-tsk sound under his breath. “Reconsider your actions or I might reconsider mine.”

  He hangs up on me, and I very nearly chuck my phone into the pool, stopping myself at the last minute and gritting my teeth. I slap the phone lightly against my forehead in frustration before standing up and putting it back in my pocket.

  Maxx is waiting for me as soon as I step out of the door.

  “Maxine?” he queries, and I sigh.

  “She’s safe. She went to Justin looking for me,” I choke out, and X cringes. He feels as responsible for my sister as I do. “Apparently, if I ace all my exams, I get to see her on Saturday.” I swing my fist in a sarcastic sort of way, and then sigh. “He promised she would remain safe until then. But like, what if she decides to leave? Will he restrain her? Tie her to a chair? Start cutting her?”

  “I’m assuming it’s implied that he’ll kill her if we piss him off?” Maxx asks, and I press my lips together in a grim line. I imagine that if I tried to alert the authorities—even if I went up to Itsumi, the FBI queen, and whispered in her ear—Maxine would die. I don’t know where, exactly, it is that she’s staying. It’s the same issue that I experienced with Parrish: if I tell the authorities what’s going on, Justin will kill Maxine before they can get to her.

  That, and I’m certain that he’s covered his tracks so well that an investigation would take months, if not longer. Maybe he’d never even be indicted? God, what then? He’d kill us all.

  “Everything okay?” Parrish asks, and I shiver all over at the sound of his voice. Maxx glances back as he moves to join us with Chasm in tow.

  “Maxine is safe—for now.” I look past Parrish at Chasm. “He said if I can ace all of my final exams, he’ll let me see her in person.”

  Chasm grits his teeth.

  “Ace all of your exams?” he says, and then lets out a low whistle. “That’s a tough order, Little Sister.”

  “We can try, right? If we start studying now?”

  Chasm looks at me, but I’m not sure I like the expression on his face.

  “Maybe …” he starts as Parrish frowns heavily.

  “Final exams …” he begins, and then he turns and pads back into the kitchen. The three of us exchange looks and then trail after him. “Mom, I want to go to school on Monday.”

  Tess stops what she’s doing—fiddling with the twins’ iPad—to look up at him.

  “School?” she chokes out, like that’s the craziest statement she’s ever heard. “Absolutely not. You just came home, Parrish. You’ve been missing for weeks. I’ve already spoken to the headmistress, and she’s agreed to allow you to attend a summer program to make up for the time you’ve missed.”

  “I can pass my exams. I was already ahead when I left. I know I can do this.”

  Tess is already shaking her head, passing the iPad back to the twins as she stands up from her chair.

  “You’re trying to jump back into life too fast. You need time to rest and recover, Parrish.”

  He narrows his eyes at her as we watch the battle of wills unfold.

  “Why send me to summer school when I can finish the year properly? If you think about it, I’m safer at Whitehall than I am here.” Parrish throws his hand out, indicating the Vanguard house and Tess’ face pales. She looks over at Paul, but his lips are pursed into a thin line. He, too, rises from his chair.

  “We understand that you’re upset, Parrish. It isn’t fair for you to miss out on the end of your junior year—”

  “I don’t have to miss out. I can take my exams; I can pass them.” He lifts his chin up and inhales deeply. “Also, I’d like to go to prom.”

  Tess and Paul exchange yet another look before turning back to him.

  “Honey,” she starts, but Parrish is already shaking his head.

  “I’ve already missed out on enough. Don’t make me miss out on even more.” He hooks his thumb at me. “I don’t have time to get a date, but I can take Dakota.”

  “You’re going to prom with your sister?” Kimber asks, sounding annoyed. She gives me a weird look, and I remember that she picked up on my attraction to Parrish. And that she also saw me and Chasm together in Parrish’s room. Ugh.

  “Better her than you,” he quips, but she’s so happy to have him back that she doesn’t respond. “I can do this.”

  Tess’ phone buzzes, and she glances down, giving a tired sigh.

  “Those FBI agents are here to talk to you; we’ll resume this discussion later.” She buzzes them in on her phone and then stands up, heading over to the front door.

  Parrish is still frowning when he turns back to me.

  “Go study, Gamer Girl. I’ll join you guys when I can.”

  The thought of being separated from Parrish kills me, but I know I won’t be allowed to listen in on the interview anyway.

  I give a quick nod, our eyes locking together for a moment, and then I head upstairs with Maxx and Chasm to get started.

  When Parrish comes upstairs later, he has a letter in his hand. It�
��s addressed to me.

  “Here,” he says, offering it up as my heart stutters at the sight of him. I’m on my bed, bent over my academy-issued iPad as I follow the lessons that Chasm’s been guiding me through. I thought all last week how ahead I was in my classes, how easy it was going to be for me to do my exams, but that was when I wasn’t worried about whether I’d get an A or a B or even a C.

  Now I’m worried.

  I want to see my sister more than anything in the world, and if I have to pass these stupid exams with flying colors, that’s what I’ll do.

  “Tess wanted to open it, but I told her that was fucked-up and creepy.”

  “You need to be careful with Tess and Paul right now,” X warns him, working on his own laptop. He has a few exams to take online before he’s finished with his university work the way Maxine is. He glances over as Parrish slips his hands into his pockets and then plops down on the bed next to me.

  I can smell him already, and it’s making me twitchy. That, and just the heat of his body seeping into mine makes me ache all over and turns my nipples to hard points that I pretend to ignore. In reality, I just want to throw myself into his arms. The way he’s staring at me, I figure I’m not the only person with those sorts of feelings.

  “They’re being ridiculous,” Parrish says, still staring at me. “I’m not made of glass; I don’t want to sit around this house all day while you guys are at school getting your asses kicked by Lumen and Veronica and whoever else.” He leans back on the bed, putting one palm flat on the mattress behind him. “And I’m not missing out on my junior prom because of some deranged ass motherfucker.”

  Chasm, seated cross-legged on the floor with his own iPad in his lap, studies Parrish carefully for a moment. He hasn’t mentioned it, but I can’t help but wonder if his own studies have been falling behind because of everything else that’s been happening. And if so, what Seamus might do to him because of it.

  “How did your interview go?” he asks, carefully avoiding the subject of prom as I open the letter that Parrish gave me. No doubt that Tess will want to know about it later—just in case it so happens to be from my grandparents or Maxine. God forbid I have any contact with them.