Chapter 51
OCTOBER 24 – FRIDAY 9:01 PM
L iam
This was unbearable. I couldn’t believe we had to take off from school for this. Lawrence came back from Ireland and demanded my swearing in take place immediately. But it couldn’t be as simple as me handing over a check and then him writing in the book. No, not Lawrence.
We’d been here all day. Me, Nash, Myles, along with my father, Ethan, Ella, and every other family that Lawrence pulled into his cult of insanity. It started with a buffet-style breakfast and socializing, which wasn’t too bad. Then, I had to present the money, and since I won more than I needed, I threw in extra to go above and beyond. Everyone seemed thrilled except Lawrence.
He questioned how I got the money. Asked if I borrowed it. Wanted to know if he would find the transaction in my father’s books. He even implied I owed a favor to someone now. Lawrence wouldn’t be satisfied until he caught me in a lie. But I wasn’t lying. It all felt like a bad cop show where he was trying to frame me.
Then we moved on to lunch…and more talking. Only now, it was directed toward the future of our council. This included our ties to Ireland which Lawrence reassured everyone the issues had been dealt with and that the situation was under control. He then moved on to the Mikhailov family and how they would be increasing their required contribution by two percent next year. Nathaniel had given Nash a heads-up that this might happen. He’d pulled his legitimate businesses away from his father and Dimitri was scrambling to make up the lost revenue.
Shit got serious when Lawrence sent away all but his inner circle. He revealed that Dimitri wanted the trafficking business shut down completely because—as much of a cradle-robbing asshole as he was—he wanted nothing to do with the buying and selling of girls. I agreed with him on this, but Lawrence had other plans. He wanted to expand.
We followed him down into the lower levels of the house, where Lawrence kept his prisoners and his ceremony room. There, we found six girls chained to the walls.
Despite his invitation, no one in attendance showed the same excitement as Owen and Devin had in the past. Lawrence played it off as nothing more than a show and tell, but he was pissed, and we would pay for it another time.
The end of the school year couldn’t come fast enough, and whatever plan Nash had with Mr. Genovese needed to happen because I wasn’t working for him after graduation. I played nice now because my father was stuck, and Lawrence was vindictive enough to hurt my family somehow. But even I had my limits.
The chains rattled as Lawrence’s guards dragged the girls to a cell for him to deal with later. It wouldn’t surprise me if he sampled them himself first. I fucking despised him. No matter what, Ren couldn’t end up in his grasp.
I watched the last of the girls disappear from under my red hood and hated that I was any part of this. Nash had warned me. He tried to explain the horrors that he’d seen since he turned eighteen. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him, but I’d always hoped that he was exaggerating.
“Liam Hicks, it’s time for you to be sworn in. Step forward,” Lawrence said, sounding more deranged than I’d ever heard him.
As I stepped up to the dais, Lawrence’s blue eyes glared at me from beneath a red mask. Nothing, not even that, could hide the evil that lurked in him. A skull sat on top of a book cradled protectively in his arms. I cocked my brow, knowing it was real with one look.
“Today, you are reborn. Reborn into a family not only bound by blood but by something much stronger. Bonds that can’t be broken, loyalties that will never fade. Only in death will your ties to the Ord na Rithe be severed,” he said.
Too bad for him that my bond was broken long ago.
“Hold out your hand.”
He pulled out an ornate knife and cut across the center of my outstretched palm. If he expected me to flinch then he was disappointed because I didn’t.
My father, in his long robes, stepped up beside me, holding out a chalice to collect my blood. When Lawrence deemed it enough he handed me a white cloth, and I efficiently tied it over the wound. It was a struggle not to roll my eyes and laugh as he dipped his fingers into the blood and drew symbols on my face.
“Since you were unable to offer your pound of flesh and have refused to take of the bounty that was presented to you tonight. I’ve decided that you will be marked to show your loyalty to the council.”
“This was not agreed upon,” my father said.
Lawrence backhanded him across the face so hard that his mask flew off and clattered on the stone floor. My father grabbed my arm as I took a step toward Lawrence.
“Mind your next words carefully, or you will find yourself put to death for treason,” Lawrence growled.
Looking at my father, I stayed silent, and for once, I was happy he could read me so well. He nodded and lowered his head.
“My apologies, Master,” Dad said.
Emmett Hicks being forced to bow down to Lawrence Collier made me sick. He was a vile human being, and I hoped he could feel the walls closing in on him. Lawrence might not know it yet, but he’d just made a grave error.
My father was one of the last holdouts keeping Lawrence well-funded, supplied, and in power. Being a loyal follower of the Collier family for generations, my father had done whatever Lawrence needed, just like his father and grandfather before him. Abandoning tradition was difficult for him, but the look in his eyes just before he lowered his head told a whole new story.
“I will suffer whatever the council sees fit. I’m loyal to you and the Ord na Rithe.”
Feeding Lawrence’s ego was the fastest way to get this done so we could leave. If I never had to attend another one of these fucked up gatherings, it would be too soon.
“Very well.”
His arm rose, and a strange black pot was wheeled in on a metal cart. I couldn’t see the man’s face, but the black robes and white mask announced that he was one of Lawrence’s personal guards.
The cauldron, for lack of a better word, seemed empty except for a metal rod sticking out the top. When Lawrence put on the thick leather glove, I knew what it was. Shit. I liked pain, but this….
The group behind me got restless, their robes rustling as they shifted at the sight of the branding iron Lawrence pulled free. The end glowed a vicious shade of red, and I could feel the heat as he walked toward me.
“Hold out your left arm,” he ordered.
He wouldn’t get me to break. If that was what Lawrence thought would happen, then he was sadly mistaken. Pulling up the sleeve of the red robe, I turned my arm over to expose the pale skin on the underside.
Lawrence held the brand in the air.
“From this day forward, I decree that all who are true devotees to the Order will receive the Collier crest. You will embrace the name that has always stood for strength and unity. It will be an honor to bear this symbol on your body.”
“Yes, Master,” everyone chimed.
Lawrence gripped my wrist, and I clenched my hand into a fist. When the metal touched my skin, I gritted my teeth against the sizzle and the white-hot pain. My body shook as the scent of burning flesh filled my nose, but I didn’t scream or move as I stared the devil in the eyes.
He pulled the branding iron away from my skin, and I glanced at the bright red Collier shield. I thought of Nash as family, loved him like a brother, but this…this was Lawrence stripping us of our identity. Stealing our family names and making sure that we remembered who owned us. We might not be locked in cells or shackled by the ankles, but we were prisoners nonetheless.
“Today is a great day. Today marks a new beginning for the Order, reestablishing the trust between us and showing unity to the rest of the world. We will not be pushed around, we will not be passed over, and we will no longer be denied a seat at the head council table. I promise that change is on the horizon, power is coming, and I will strike the final deadly blow.”
While Lawrence was grandstanding, I caught Nash’s eye, and he shook his head. He knew as well as I did what this all meant.
Lawrence might be talking in riddles to the rest, but we knew this was about Ren. He was planning something else and had more up his deceitful sleeve than just marrying her. He was making a play for power.
And he was going to get us all killed.
OCTOBER 24 – FRIDAY 10:58 PM
Nash
“I really wish you would let me do this on my own,” I said to Myles, but he shook his head and remained seated on my father’s couch. “Fine, be annoying. But if he kills us both and you never get to see Ren again, that’s on you.”
Myles glared at me. “Yer not doing this alone. Besides, it’s to do with my family and the shite they’ve caused. Sometimes I thank the good lord that Ma isn’t alive to see this. As it is, I’m sure she’s rollin’ in her grave.”
Waiting on Lawrence was torture. After Liam’s initiation, he claimed he needed to test the new merchandise before it was sold, and we all knew he wasn’t talking about the drugs. I wanted nothing to do with trafficking, and it made my blood boil to think he had pulled us further into that world.
Myles and I looked over at the open office door when we heard my father coming down the hall. He was smiling as he walked in. I wasn’t surprised, although my stomach rolled at the thought of why…it disgusted me that I came from him.
Lawrence sauntered over to the corner and poured himself a drink before he turned and looked at us.
“I hope you have good news for me,” he said.
Myles looked at me and I sighed as I walked over to the mantle above the fireplace and grabbed the message from Nathaniel.
“It didn’t go the way I thought it would, that’s for sure,” I said, placing the box down on the desk.
Lawrence eyed the decorative golden M on the top that was far to nice for the purpose of the container.
“What is that?”
“Nathaniel’s answer. Apparently, he doesn’t respond well to prisoner release requests.”
Lawrence sipped his drink and set the crystal glass on the edge of the desk. He was suspicious, and rightfully so. They could’ve sent a scorpion or something equally poisonous. The Mikhailovs, especially Nathaniel, had a reputation for being vicious.
“Did you explain our situation?”
“I appealed to his sympathetic side as well as his financially acute mind. But he wasn’t interested in anything we had to say.”
My father growled, slamming his fist down on the desk.
“Fucking, Nathaniel. I can’t wait to wipe that smug smile off his face.”
“Are you making a move on the Mikhailovs?” I held my breath as I waited for him to answer.
“In a manner of speaking. Let’s just say that Vadin Mikhailov wasn’t happy to learn that not only is his granddaughter alive, but Dimitri helped to keep her hidden from him.”
I swallowed the uneasy feeling, but it just settled in the pit of my stomach.
“I can see how that would be upsetting,” I said, keeping my voice even and praying that Myles kept his cool.
Luckily, Lawrence turned his attention back to the box. He undid the metal clasps, swallowed the last of his drink like a massive shot, and opened it.
He stood still, staring down at the severed dick sitting in satin. I hadn’t expected the snort and for him to start laughing. He doubled over, and tears ran down his cheeks while Myles and I stared at one another.
“I guess Owen can forget about Devin ever procreating,” he said, sobering.
With a roar, my father picked up the box and heaved it across the room. It crashed into his portrait, and the glass shattered on impact. Myles ducked and covered his head.
“Son of a bitch,” Lawrence snarled.
There was rage in his eyes, and my body prepared for an attack. I was used to this look. He was searching for someone to blame. But he was responsible for everything that had happened.
“This will push Owen right over the edge. How the hell am I going to get my hands on him now?”
“We still have one card to play,” Myles said, standing from the couch. “He’s desperate for me ta help him. He snuck into my room at Wayward the other night to see if I’d work wit him. I told him that I couldn’t run away from the property but that I’d help him do whatever he wanted.”
Myles danced expertly around the details, only giving what was needed.
“Fuck.” Lawrence dropped his head and stared at the top of the desk. “That asshole just incurred the wrath of the Curators. Is he stupid? If they get him…fuck knows what he’ll spill before they slit his throat.”
“He’s not thinking clearly. He’s desperate, and desperation makes ya do things that ya normally wouldn’t. I can lure him out like you wanted. I’m sure of it,” Myles said, his hands balling into fists. “The shite he’s pulled affects me and me brother. I’ll happily kill him for this. Give us a little longer, and I promise we’ll get him.”
“Wait,” I said. Myles and Lawrence turned to look at me as I crossed my arms.
“Why would you care about the Curators getting their hands on him? They don’t get involved in family matters,” I said.
My father stared at me as the seconds ticked by, and I swore.
“You’ve done something, haven’t you? Something that will enrage the Curators if they find out?”
He snatched his glass off the desk and walked to the table in the corner not answering my question.
“Answer me. What the fuck have you done?”
Lawrence spun on me, violence oozing off him like it was coming out of his pores.
“I told you to watch your tone with me.”
“And if you’ve done something that will get us all killed, then I have the right to know what it is,” I countered, taking a step closer rather than shrinking away.
He had a gun strapped to that table and could pull it and shoot me before I ever got to him. But I’d never let him control me with fear again.
“I’ll tell you when I have no choice, but for now, you’re on a need-to-know basis. As long as we get to Owen first, then there is nothing to worry about. Now get out of my office. The two of you have ruined my evening.”
Not arguing was difficult, but this was not the time. We walked for the open door, and he pointed across the room.
“And take that thing with you.”
I sneered at him, my lip pulling up.
“Fuck you. Clean up your own mess,” I said, slamming his office door behind us.
“What do ya think he’s done,” Myles asked as soon as we got in my truck.
“No fucking clue, but I need to make sure we don’t get caught up with whatever the hell it is,” I said, speeding down the driveway.