Toxic Part Two (Celestra Series Book 7.5) Read Online Free

Melissa appears by her side and they try to sway me with their most distressed puppy faces. Funny how accouterments can bring together the Hatfield and McCoy’s of the Landon brood with even the suggestion of a fashion-based romp.
    “Yes, for the sake of unity. But you two have to promise no fighting.”
    “No fighting.” Their voices meld together as one.
    Perfect. Plus this will give me a chance to inject my own wardrobe with something special for Logan’s getaway birthday extravaganza at the Cape. Although, not even the prospect of new clothes can get my mind off Gage and the fornicating frenzy that most likely occurred last night in the butterfly room. 
    “Aha!” Tad flicks a finger at a piece of paper. “I just added up the expenses, and this little critter is going to run us an extra four hundred bucks a month—not to mention shots and exams. Get another dog, Lizbeth. Kids are an extravagance we cannot afford.”
    “A dog?” Mom’s eyes lodge out of her skull. “You do not replace people with pets. There is no dollar amount in the world that would keep me from raising another child.”
    “Replacing people with pets is all the rage,” Tad insists. “What do you think all these dog lovers are doing dressing up their pets in sweaters and shoes? They take them to daycare and on vacation. You can get as carried away as you like. It’s because times are tough, Lizbeth. People simply cannot afford pint-sized plebeians who gradually eat away your bank account and sanity, then go on to repopulate your household with yet more ingrates who wind up costing you a good night’s rest.”
    Mom’s entire body buzzes with rage. I can tell she wants to yank the bottle out the baby’s mouth and beat Tad over the head with the rubber nipple.
    Chloe walks in and zeros her hostility my way with a kind, courteous good morning.
    “Good morning?” I seethe, following her to the fridge. “I bet it’s a good morning,” I hiss. “Heard you had them lined all the way up to my bedroom last night.”
    “Just one,” she whispers with her lips dipped in a devious smile. “But he’s not the type to kiss and tell.”
    “He didn’t have to. As soon as you slithered out, I went up and found him sitting there.”
    Chloe cuts me a sharp look, examines me like I might be lying. “I guess we can’t pull anything over on you.”
    “I guess you can’t.” She might as well have plunged a blade in my heart when she said the word we .
    She tries to circle around me but I block her at the pass.
    “I need to wash my hair, Skyla, or I’ll be late for work,” she says it low as not to clue Mom and Tad in on our awkward exchange.
    “Let me help you with that.” In one swift move, I snatch her by the wrists and dunk her head in the smelly stew Melissa left fermenting overnight. Chloe bucks and writhes as I employ all of my Celestra strength to hold her under just another moment.
    “Skyla!” Tad leaps out of his chair and jumps in front of me like an impotent ninja, afraid to come too close lest he be baptized as well.  
    The girls breakout in a choir of disgust.
    Mom rises and shields the baby as if I might target him next.
    Chloe knocks me back and gasps for air, retching and gagging in the process. It’s the exact same reaction Gage should have for ever laying a hand on her.
    “Stay the hell away from the rest of my life.” I push her hard in the chest. “Or I’ll make sure it’s the end of yours.”
    “Skyla,” Tad barks, “you are not welcome to treat a guest in my house that way.”
    “ She’s a guest?” It drills out of me. “And you’d like to trade your own grandchild in for a dog ? If that’s how your house operates, it’s the last place I want to be.”
    “Fine!” His face inflames like a cherry. “Pack up and see if you can get a better deal elsewhere.” He glances at the demon to his right. “Chloe, it looks like a bedroom just freed up.”
    “You do not touch one of your things, Skyla.” Mom