Hidden Chaos (The Chaos #3)- Keta Kendric Page 0,1

the woman.

Move on, I chided myself. Watch, don’t linger, I reminded myself.

Women in our world didn’t seem to last long. Hence, the reason my cousins had me as a second set of eyes on the Evans women who may have had enough experience in chaos to survive in our world.

The friend with those pretty, perfectly-placed freckles dotting her face would be subjected to danger by association. My phone vibrated, cutting the strange pull she had on me.

“Hello?”

“T, how’s the people watching going?” Arjen asked.

“It’s boring as hell.” It wasn’t a complete lie. It had been boring until my interest was roused.

“I read through the data you sent me on Mecca Evans. It appears she’s never been to a doctor a day in her life, which tells me she’s hiding something.”

I could hear him thinking.

“What you see is what I found. She is good at letting people see what she wants them to see, but I’m working on uncovering more on her. It will take some time to find answers, but I’m sure there is more to these cousins than meets the eye.”

The low rumble of his chuckle sounded.

“Why do you think I agreed to bring them into the family? I believe they can handle being Vallins.”

My eyes landed on the friend whose gaze lifted and met mine like she knew I was watching her.

“What about the friend?” I asked Arjen. “She’ll be in danger because the three appear to be close.”

Another low chuckle vibrated in my ear. Arjen and Khane knew me better than anyone.

“I know you, T. What’s her file look like?”

“I haven’t built a profile on her.”

He was silent for a brief moment as it was unlike me not to build or at least start building a profile on the people I watched.

“I hate to add more to your plate,” he stated. “But, keep a watchful eye on the friend too. It doesn’t have to be a close eye, but check in on her from time to time. I don’t want my decision to marry and form an alliance with The Black Saints to have a domino effect and an innocent woman ends up hurt or killed.”

Why was there a smile on my face at Arjen’s suggestion? I was planning on keeping an eye on her regardless, but having a second opinion took the stress off of my curiosity.

“No problem. I’ll keep you informed on anything I find.”

“Thanks. Talk to you later.”

“Later,” I said before hanging up and zooming in again on her face. I whispered to her image on the screen.

Why do you keep talking to me?

2

Patrena

I was stuck straddling the fence of my consciousness, aware that I was dreaming but unable to drag myself free of its grasp. The dreams showed up and punched holes in the reality I had built for myself. They were like a past injury that ached before a storm blew in.

The dreams were reminders that I wasn’t innocent, that the chaos written in my history would someday shine light on my future. After some of the revelations I had received while having dinner with my friends, I believed that day had arrived.

My mind cast away the rest of my living reality and I drifted into the silent stillness of the unknown. Unconsciousness was in the driver’s seat now and it had chosen a classic, a blast from the past, a memory that I’d never forget.

A trickle of sweat slipped down the side of my forehead, inching down my face like an exploring bug. My pulse drummed under my skin like the beats were being hammered out with anvils against iron. This was another test, all others I passed with flying colors and with reassuring smiles of approval from my keepers.

I adjusted my grip on the pistol and steadied my aim, making sure the crosshairs formed a perfect cross that cursed the center of my target’s forehead. After being put through every test I believed imaginable, this one was by far the toughest. Thankfully, I was blessed with an abundance of determination that wouldn’t allow me to fail.

Determination was something my mother had been forging in me since my first memory. Though I lost her at five years old, it didn’t stop me from understanding what she was building within me. Her death didn’t stop me from remembering how good it felt to be wrapped in her arms, hear her tell me she loved me, and smell her honey-blossom scent.

I didn’t know what it was called back then, but it was an