Quiet Chaos : The Chaos Series- Book #2

by Keta Kendric

  “Why do you think the pastor is still standing up there?” he asked.

  Since I was eye-level to his shoulder, I was forced to lean to the right to peek around him to find the pastor on stage, talking to a few of the guests in attendance.

  After I straightened my stance, I jerked my neck back, revealing my wicked side-eye.

  “Hell, no!” I barked, stretching the two words out as a heavy dose of attitude spiked in my system.

  “I want my own shit. I’m already feeling salty about being your second choice. Do you honestly think I’m settling for a damn second-hand wedding too? It’s tacky as fuck. No! Just no!”

  He stood before me, doing his best to suppress the laugh tickling his lips at my antics, a good sign that he had a sense of humor.

  “You must be smoking bad crack if you think I’m getting married in an off-the-rack suit that I bought on sale.”

  With a stiff finger aimed at the expensive white jumpsuit I wore, I continued my rant.

  “If we do this, I want an overpriced dress and cake, a bunch of stuck up guests that I don’t know, a bigger venue, expensive food and drinks, and a rock on my finger that cost enough to break one of your bank accounts.”

  His hardy laugh escaped, especially when he realized I was serious. I knew what I wanted, and he appeared to be at ease with my logic. If I was marrying a man I didn’t love, for a less than honorable reason, I may as well get what I wanted.

  “Laugh all you want, future husband,” I warned. “I don’t intend to be second in your life, but this one time. If I didn’t love my cousin as much as I do, your brother would be standing his ass right here with me, hearing the same speech.”

  The statement caused his laughter to push out harder. Seeing him laugh had me fighting back the urge to join him. He was the same towering height as his brother, and I liked that he wasn’t all skin and bones. He was manly, muscled. A pillar of strength like he could handle himself in a brawl.

  Starting at his feet, big and long even in black dress shoes, my curious gaze eventually reconnected with his.

  “What the hell are you Vallin men taking, some kind of growth serum?”

  He laughed loud enough to call attention to us this time. I wasn’t intending for my comments to be funny, but I think I enjoyed making him laugh, especially after what he had done for my cousin. The love he had for his brother had forced him to swallow his ego and give up the woman he had chosen to marry.

  I respected Arjen more for the selfless gesture he had made on that stage than for what his name stood for. He was willing to accept hurt and defeat for his family, an attribute I prayed he carried into our union, even though it was an arrangement.

  “Understood,” he finally replied to my earlier statement about me not being number two in his life again. “And no, we’re not taking growth serum.”

  He offered me a parting smile before he left to approach the stage and inform the pastor that we wouldn’t need his services today. His brother met him at the foot of the steps, giving him another long hug before whispering something in his ear.

  Observing the brothers together reminded me of me and Desiree, who was approaching me with a wide smile and teary eyes. We embraced for a long moment, her tears wetting my shoulder before she backed away.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, sobbing. “I know you were supposed to marry Khane. I didn’t know things would turn out like this.”

  Shaking my head and fighting back emotions of my own, I cupped her cheek and swiped a tear away with my thumb.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. He makes you happy, and that’s all that matters. I’m happy for you.”

  She slung her arms around me, knocking my breath away.

  “You’re choking me,” I edged out, laughing playfully. “Besides, Arjen just half-assed proposed to me.”

  She stepped back from our embrace to get a look at my face. Her lips parted in surprise as she prepared to respond to my revelation.

  “What? Are you serious? Did you say yes?” she asked.

  “Of course, I said yes. I’m nothing if not an opportunist.”

  “I’m happy for you. For some odd reason, I think you two are better for each other anyway.”

  My lips pinched at her statement before I tossed her a sarcastic glance and aimed a quick eye and a chin lift towards the brothers.

  “Today is not about me. It’s about you getting the wedding you wanted. I can tell that Khane makes you happy, but if he ever gets out of line or you need to get away, call me. Don’t go running off like you did the last time. You had my ass all up in Mexico, hiding in the fucking woods, playing sniper. But the Vallin men were on point. They handled their shit.”

  She froze and stared like I was a ghost, mouth wide, eyes even wider. Speechless, her lips quivered as she fought back more tears and searched for the words lost in her bobbing throat.

  I winked. “You didn’t think I would sit around and not find out what the hell was happening with my favorite cousin, did you?”

  No words, just her plowing into me again, squeezing me in another tight hug and releasing that I-love-you-forever crying. Her body started hiccupping against mine. Desiree easily released her emotions, where I often dug a hole and buried mine—except with her. After a moment of shared affections, I stepped back.

  “Okay. Enough of that. Go and be with your husband.”

  “Thank you, Mecca. I love you,” she choked out.

  “Love you too,” I whispered back, fighting the lump clogging my throat. Desiree was the only one who could get me all in my feelings and shit. Although she was a few months older than me, I acted like her big sister.

  Arjen was heading back in my direction, and Lord make me a liar, I couldn’t deny that the man was sexy. He had swagger, the kind that drew a woman’s attention and kept it.

  The tempting image he projected had me unable to stop myself from skimming his low-cut dark blond hair, before I took in his handsomely stubbled face, and glean his chiseled jawline. His eyes sparkled with hints of his devious nature and lured me in more than any of his other features.

  At a glance, I could tell that he took good care of his body and his appearance. Considering the type of lifestyle I was brought up in, I made it a point not to slack in that department either.

  There was something about Arjen that I couldn’t put my finger on, that spoke to me, but for the life of me, I couldn’t decipher the language. He stood beside me again, his muscled arm brushing my shoulder as we watched the happy couple.

  Khane and Desiree clung to each other’s hands like their lives depended on it. Seeing them together was an enlightening experience. Witnessing an Evans experience that level of happiness inspired a different kind of hope, outside the hope of staying one step ahead of my enemy.

  My smile deepened when a man tried to put his hand on Desiree’s waist, and Khane knocked his hand away so smoothly that no one around them noticed. The gesture was proof that my cousin had become the safest Evans on the planet.

  “I’ll admit, fire raced through my veins when I thought you were about to embarrass my cousin on that stage. But, I believe you made the right decision with those two.” I stated, finally glancing at Arjen.

  The statement pulled a smile from him. I didn’t like many people right away, but I liked Arjen, based mainly on the decision he had made today. Time would tell if he would take away the positive spark he had put in me.

  “Did I?” he asked. “Make the right decision?”

  “Look at them. There’s enough happiness flowing off them to strangle and kill everyone in this building. They are actually in love with each other. The fact that I can see it, sense it even, is astonishing.”

  I was not easily awed but watching those two inspired the emotion.

  “I can also rest assured that if anyone tries to come for my cousin, he’s going to gift them with a toe-tag,” I added, chuckling and sorry for whoever thought they were getting anywhere near Desiree. Arjen didn’t reply, only allow
ed a crooked smile to rest on his face at the sight of his brother with Desiree.

  “I’m happy for them, but that is one devastating emotion I’m glad to be immune to,” I announced, causing him to put his gaze back on me.

  “I fully agree. I was willing to allow myself to try with Desiree, but I do believe I dodged a bullet. Never again.”

  “Never say never, future husband. My irresistible charms have gotten me stalked a time or two.”

  He let loose a hardy burst of laughter at my remarks. If he hadn’t figured it out, I embraced my self-esteem, took it to a level below arrogant.

  Who the hell was I kidding, my ass was arrogant as fuck? Needed to be, since I was surrounded by testosterone producers twenty-four-seven, ones that not only wanted me to fail, they expected me to.

  “We’ll see,” was all he said. There was more meaning behind those words, I could sense it, but I didn’t comment on it.

  All I could think while getting swallowed by his potent energy was, what have I gotten myself into with Arjen Vallin?

  4

  Mecca

  My wedding day came in a rush, crashing into me hard enough to knock me on my wanna-be tough ass. The date was set a few weeks ago. After several short meet ups and phone conversations between my future husband and me, we confirmed that we would be married on a Friday, the last day in June.

  Why was I so nervous now that the day had arrived? I had agreed to this with a smile, certain it was necessary to elevate me, and the status of the Black Saints.

  Arjen had given me what I had asked for, the big expensive wedding at a large venue, surrounded by a bunch of stuck up people I didn’t know. The venue we settled on was called Sevens, located in an area that paid homage to the mountains.

  The view from any place inside the glass castle-like building atop one of the peeks was a majestic masterpiece. The slopes and valleys surrounding us sang a chorus of sweet nothings to the eyes, shimmered against your peripheral, and dragged your mind into the everchanging pictures they produced.

  The view was a rolling portrait that changed with such slight ease, you were reluctant to turn away for fear you would miss something. The energetic clouds reached to cover the peeks, creating optical illusions. The rise and fall of the landscape, and the way the mountains appeared to billow in the distance like they were adrift on an ocean of flowing rock was enough to steal your breath.

  The infinite number of floral arrangements of every size and shape made the venue a garden paradise of fragrant scents and provided even more beauty to feast the eyes on. The sheer volume of blue and white flowers was a stunning sight that breathed life into every path. Flowers were affixed to parts of the glass walls and stood as the centerpieces on guest’s table.

  Arjen had done well. The food and entire set-up had surpassed my wildest dreams. It wasn’t until I had arrived did I consider the amount of work it had taken to transform the place that was empty a few days ago into a living paradise.

  The workers buzzed about making sure everything was perfect. I noticed the guests’ awed faces as they entered and mingled. Some took seats while others pointed out the elegance of the gift laden place settings. There were those who were captivated by the views, snapped photos, and admired the surprises inside the giftboxes set at each of their seats.

  Now, inside my dressing room without the view outside distracting me, the notion that I was about to become a wife began to settle in. Since the place was nearly all glass, the dressing room’s wall panels smoked when the door closed to provide privacy. Hundreds of multi-colored blue roses had also been affixed to the walls as an extra layer of privacy.

  Desiree and Patrena were my guardian angels, floating around the room, taking care of me like I was a queen. They had done everything except put my lingerie on, and I’d had trouble getting into it. I was never like this, jittery and uncertain.

  “It’s pre-wedding jitters. I heard everyone gets them,” Patrena stated, staring with a touch of amusement flashing in her eyes. Desiree’s light strokes brushed away some of the tension from my hunched shoulders. Her face was fixed with a teasing smirk as she leaned closer to capture my stressed gaze.

  “I was a hot mess on my wedding day, and it wasn’t wedding jitters. I was about to marry a man I didn’t love. I think that’s what’s wrong with you. You don’t love Arjen. But…”

  Her brow lifted into a deep arch.

  “I thought you wanted this marriage?”

  “I did. I do. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me.”

  I couldn’t shake the heavy coat of dread toying with me and forcing me to question my decision. I’d had guns aimed at my face and not reacted like this. Hell, I’d been shot, and it wasn’t like this.

  My eyes closed, and I pinched them tightly before taking deep calming breaths, meditating, and calling up all the reasons this wedding was necessary. It was time I gave myself an internal pep talk.

  “Snap out of it, bitch! Not only are you about to marry a Vallin, but you’re also marrying into a criminal organization that some would kill to be in. You’re on the path to becoming one of the best boss-bitches in charge.”

  At those words, a sneaky smile bent my lips into a deep, cheek-lifting grin.

  “And there she is,” Desiree said, her smile brightening. She knew me better than anyone. Knew that when shit was hitting the fan, I kept my cool.

  I slipped my feet into silver platform pumps that were like two shiny machine guns under my feet. I stood, smoothing down my white off-the-shoulder dress with the illusion back lace that was shaped to my body like a caressing hug. The intricate pattern was adorned with diamonds, making my dress one of the most expensive items at the wedding.

  When the wedding planner had supplied the dress book, and even when I had gone to the fitting, they were adamant about not discussing price. It was a rule my future husband had set in place and one that I loved.

  However, I had overheard the wedding planner talking to the shop owner who had given her the price. The hundred thousand dollar price tag had shown me that Arjen wasn’t sparing any expense.

  The image staring back at me in the mirror lifted the last of my stress as it reflected a beautiful woman I didn’t even recognize. Radiance that had never graced me before shined through as every part of me gave off an unexpected glow.

  Patrena stepped closer, draping me in a big tight hug. She helped women who found themselves in domestic abuse situations, so she had me on speed dial whenever she was met with an aggressive husband, or boyfriend that decided to show up to threaten her or one of her clients.

  The list of women I called friends was a small one, but Patrena was at the top of it. She wasn’t catty, didn’t run her mouth, and her name never came up in any type of shit. She was the kind of person that was there when you needed her. It had taken years for her to get there, but she had become one of a few people I would go to hell for.

  She had even been caught up in a deadly episode when she and Desiree were at the spa of all places. Patrena had been modest in the telling, but Desiree shared how well she had handled coming to terms with the type of chaos that went hand and hand with being an Evans and a Vallin.

  “You look lovely. See you in a little bit,” she offered before stepping out to go and take her place. She and the two other women I called friends, would start the wedding march. The three and Desiree were the only ones I wanted in my wedding. I didn’t even carry a bouquet. I carried a single baby blue rose.

  Desiree laid her warm cheek with a delicate touch against mine as we embraced so that she wouldn’t mess up the excellent make-up job she had blessed me with. For someone that hardly wore make-up, Desiree had skills that could transform anyone into a superstar. I believed her being an artist played into her knack of transforming and sculpting objects into beauty.

  Despite the kind of work I did, I didn’t skimp on maintaining a respectable level of class where it concerned my femininity and presentation to the world. If I had to die, dammit, I was
determined to go out looking my best.

  I didn’t dress myself down with tight hip-hugging low-cut dresses. The go-to outfits I chose were usually designer slacks and expensive blouses, power suits, and jumpsuits that dripped enough class that you would know that I ran a multimillion-dollar corporation.

  My particular corporation wasn’t a legal one, but the operations and managing processes were the same. The world, even the illegal one, took you more seriously when you presented a smart appearance and a take-charge attitude.

  Desiree stood and ran an appreciative glance over me, her eyes scanning from head to toe. “I’ve got a feeling this marriage is going to go from arranged to real in no time once Arjen gets a look at you. You look so beautiful.” Her eyes were starting to glaze.

  “Child, please. You know damn well I don’t do white chocolate. He is merely a step in the pathway to greatness I’m about to climb.”

  Talking shit was my thing. Some was straight bullshit, however, more often than not, the shit I talked, I believed, because I usually strived to make the truth come from my mouth.

  As far as Arjen was concerned, I didn’t even care about getting to know him on a personal level. We were using each other, so my mind was keyed in on what his name and resources could do for my organization.

  Once the Black Saints was back up and running at full strength, it would make us and the Vallins one hell of a strong alliance. I could already picture my name in the dictionary, replacing the word untouchable and forming a compound word with danger.

  Desiree cast me a skeptical look before she went up on her already elevated toes and reached across my shoulders before she lifted and draped my veil over my head.

  “Love you, Mecca.”

  “Love you too,” I replied without hesitation.

  A lingering stare kept us in place before she turned and linked her arm with mine. The expression she had left me with before taking my arm was one I couldn’t figure out. I had always been able to read my cousin because we were like sisters. But not this time, and not that particular expression.