Psycho (Necessary Evils, #2)

by Onley James

“I just…like the way he smells. I look at him and I find myself wondering what his skin tastes like.” “Oof. Easy, Dahmer,” Adam said. “Maybe don’t start with that.”

“Have you ever just looked at someone or something and thought, I want to keep it? Like, I want to protect him from the outside world but, at the same time, his helplessness and fear are so…intoxicating? I want him to be soft just for me.”

Aiden sighed. “He’s already made up his mind. Look at him.” He gestured to August. “Have you ever seen him look this cow-eyed and dopey when talking about anything but string theory or murder?”

“Dude, you broke into a stranger’s house, told him you were Batman, kissed him, impaled yourself on a blade, and then asked to spend the night. I don’t know that God could help you,” Noah said.

“I want to keep him.” “Bruh. Those are thinking thoughts not speaking thoughts,” Noah coached. “You can’t just go around telling strangers you’ve imprinted on them like some werewolf in a Twilight movie. They won’t get it.”

August flopped back in his chair. “This would be a lot easier if I could just club him over the head and drag him back to my cave.” “You know what,” Noah said, “fuck everything I just said. If Lucas is going to like you, he’s going to have to take you as you are. Just show him who you are without a knife in your hand. Show him the things you like outside of murder.”

Why wouldn’t Lucas like what you like sexually? Are you into some weird fetishes? Necrophilia or, like, licking feet?” “A foot fetish comes after necrophilia for you?” Adam asked, chuckling.

“BDSM?” Noah asked, shoulders sinking in relief. “Oh, thank God, it’s something normal.

The students noticed his good looks, too. Girls giggled and pointed, whispering to each other. It made him want to cut off their ponytails.

August would happily rip this Kohn guy’s tongue out if it made Lucas happy. Was murder an act of service?

“No. I’m threatening to kill them. You’re mine, whether you know it yet or not. But if you tell the world who we are…what we do…you’ll ruin years of my father’s hard work and my brothers will want your head. Don’t make me kill my family to protect you.”

“I’ve heard of love at first sight, but this is a little intense.”

“I don’t love you. I can’t. You know that. You’re choosing to ignore years of training because you haven’t felt anything in so long and whatever this is between us is better than feeling numb. I imagine, a year ago,...

Adam was right—the whole family did talk to him like they were hostage negotiators attempting to talk him into releasing hostages.

“You act like time matters to the Mulvaney boys. It doesn’t. They’re like animals. Once they’ve locked onto a scent they like, whether it’s been ten seconds or ten years, you’re theirs. August won’t allow you to walk away from him. I know that sounds scary, but being around the family is…never boring. And nobody will protect you like they do.”

“You like being the object of August’s attention.” Lucas started to protest, but Noah shrugged. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I get it. Believe me, nobody understands where you’re coming from better than me. Adam is intense in his own way, but he looks at passing as a normal person as a game. He slides in and out of being the bored socialite and the relentless vigilante seamlessly. August…not so much.”

“If you’re part of this family, you have to know how to think on your feet, be prepared to move a body, provide an alibi, shoot a gun, wield a knife, remind your psychotic boyfriend why he can’t murder a man because he winked at you in a Starbucks. Being the significant other of a Mulvaney is a full-time job in and of itself.”

I’ll literally burn this world to ash before I let somebody hurt you. I don’t care who suffers because of it. I know that’s intense and weird but I need you to know I mean it. You’re not going to die, and I’m not letting you go. If you’re going to leave me, you’re going to have to kill me first. Please, kill me first.”

Lucas had known August would say something like that. He’d known, deep down, that August was serious when he’d said he’d never let Lucas go. Ever. And he needed that. In the deepest, darkest part of him—the one August said everybody had—Lucas needed to know August would never stop fighting for him. He needed to hear the words. More than once. Maybe every day. That dark part of him needed to see the desperation in August’s eyes at the thought of losing him, and maybe that made Lucas the sadistic one, but it was like pushing on a bruise or tonguing at a cavity. He needed to know August ached as much as Lucas did.

“Who the fuck are you people?” Kohn muttered. “I thought you were a fucking college professor.” “I am,” August said, bored. He pointed to Avi. “And he’s a fashion designer.” Then Asa. “And he’s an architect.” “But together, we fight crime,” Asa said in a mockingly cheerful tone. Avi grinned at Kohn’s frown. “Millennials. We’re all about the side hustle.”