Chapter 1
Chapter 1
IRIS
M y nerves are scattered in pure chaos. One minute I’m hopeful we can figure a way out of this and the next I’m terrified that these guys will force Kingston to finish what they’ve ordered him to do. Everything seems out of control and I can’t imagine anyone wanting to be a part of a group that has such tragic initiation processes. If this is what they order them to do to get into the society… what will they expect them to accomplish or be , once they’re in. And why would Kingston or Beau want anything to do with it?
Beau’s been beside me the entire time the strange, altered voice and Kingston have been talking. I’m certain it’s him because I recognized his cologne when they shoved him to the ground beside me. His deep inhales and forced exhales while trying to calm himself are possibly helping me more than they are him. He’s raging with anger; I can feel it radiating off of him and I fucking hate that I can’t help him.
“You have one minute to make your decision.”
I scream around the tape secured over my mouth, wanting to remind Kingston of his promise to me. Take me out and then make every single one of these fuckers pay for making him do it. When nothing coherent comes from my failed attempts at yelling, I burst into tears and immediately begin to pray to a God I haven’t spoken to in years.
Please, God. Please accept me and forgive Kingston for what he’s being forced into today. Have mercy on his soul and protect him in this life and his next.
“Shh, baby. I love you and everything’s going to be alright,” Kingston’s soothing voice sweeps over me, not at all making me feel at ease and tearing my heart to shreds. I’m shaking my head when I hear footsteps approach us, getting too close for comfort. My sobs seep through my bindings while snot and tears paint my face in sadness.
It’s his touch that finally brings a warmth over me, reminding me to be brave and trust him with my heart. I have no choice but to have faith in Kingston Banks and his promise to not leave me on this Earth without Beau. My body instinctively leans into his lingering touch and even though my eyes are covered, I clench them tight… my way of saying goodbye to both of the men who have filled my heart so full of love, not only over the years but more importantly these past few weeks.
The sound of him retreating becomes my new focus, I concentrate on the crunch of leaves and rocks with every step he takes. Breath after shaky breath, I await my doomed fate and allow the realization that these two guys will have each other just like they always have. They will get through this… together . The thought offers me more peace than anything else in this godforsaken place.
The wind begins to howl through the trees, carrying an ominous chill in the air. It muffles the noises from his footsteps until I can no longer hear which direction he is in. He’s not talking. No one is. The sound of looming silence is fucking deafening while time creeps on during this night from hell.
Finally, leaves rustling breaks up the quietness; there are some muted grunts and flesh hitting flesh, I’m sure of it. The noise reminds me of a scuffle of some kind, and I can’t help but wonder what’s going on. Before I can wrap my head around what I’m hearing, a loud blast from a gun echoes around us… and with a sharp inhale, I wait for the piercing pain or absolute darkness I’m supposed to be experiencing from the bullet.
Only it never comes.
My heart skips a few beats as the realization of what just happened absolutely wrecks me from the inside out. Short, hyperventilating breaths begin to squeeze my chest, the pressure building until I can no longer stay upright on my own. My body falls forward with tortured pain spiraling through my veins as the reality of my life completely ending hits me full force. Not in a literal sense… but knowing he’s chosen Beau to die and that I’ll never touch him again.
Never hear him.
Never smell him.
He’ll never hold me… and we’ll forever be lost in a tragic story of our love cut too painfully short.
“No… Kingston.” My words still not breaking through the tape across my mouth but my cries have to be heard for a fucking mile. I’m in denial; there’s no way this can be happening right now. I refuse to let it. “No!” I wail, screaming bloody murder until my throat burns with exertion. Neither of them can die…
Kingston will never forgive himself for this and I’m not sure I’ll be able to either.
I’m still blindly screaming against the wide duct tape when someone yanks me up by my hair and forcefully shoves a hood over my head in an attempt to muffle my heartbreak. However, they’ve sorely underestimated the depth of agony a person goes through when their literal reason for living has been stolen from them.
“Get the fuck up.” A deep voice slips between my sobbing, making me pause in my hysterics to listen.
The voice wasn’t close enough to be meant for me… was it for Beau? Did Beau survive? Did Kingston die? The possibilities of this living nightmare flash through my mind and it takes everything in me to calm down enough to listen for any more clues. Even though my sharp, broken inhales are distracting, I manage to begin to piece the facts together.
There was one gunshot, so Kingston either shot himself or Beau… or maybe the society shot one of them. There were too many masked people around us when they brought us here, so I know we didn’t get lucky enough for Kingston to have killed all of them. There’s no one trying to free me, just the robotic voice ordering whoever is left to clean up the mess. I can’t hear Kingston or Beau’s voices and the thought of one of them no longer alive has my chest splitting completely open.
My stomach heaves in protest as they unceremoniously drag me away and I begin to wretch with the gag over my mouth. If they’ll murder one of us with an audience and not hold an ounce of care, what will they possibly do if they get me to an isolated place? How can I fight if there are so many of them? Will they rape me? Torture, or maim me? The horrible scenarios are endless and it has a new slice of fear traveling up my spine. One thing’s for certain, the society doesn’t want me in the way, so whatever happens, it won’t be good.
The musty hood covering my face grows stifling hot as the sweat doting my skin joins the salty tears that are leaking from my blindfold and trailing down my cheeks. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to breathe and with each choked inhale, dizziness threatens to consume me. My vision dances with black spots as it begins to cloud with fuzziness. I try to suck in air, inhaling deeply through my stuffed-up nose from all of the sobs but only manage to draw in a bit of a strange smell. It’s nothing I’ve been around before and the realization hits me immediately. I’ve been drugged.
Oh God.
Beau.
Kingston.
Please be okay.
I love you… I need you both.
Then everything fades away and I’m suddenly too tired to think of anything at all.
Am I dead, too?
I’m super groggy as I finally wake up. There’s a throb in my head, an ache in my heart, and sickness churning in my gut as I attempt to peel my eyelids open. I’m so confused… how did I get here and where am I? I was drugged. I had to be, it’s the only thing making any sense as the memories begin to flood my mind at an overwhelming rate.
My eyelids eventually crack open, and light assaults my vision, even through the seemingly permanent trail of tears that flow. My thoughts are jumbled up and I can’t stand it. Feeling like shit will only make thinking about everything that much more difficult. I need to get up and figure out how to find a way out of here.
Sitting up, my head swims and I sway before focusing on a bottle of water and an unopened travel-size package of aspirin. The fact that someone is attempting to take care of me doesn’t comfort me in the slightest. If they were a true ally, I wouldn’t be in this place and I sure as hell wouldn’t have gone through the nightmare of last night.
I tear the package open and swallow down two tablets, deciding to ignore the suspicion for the time being. If they wanted me dead, I wouldn’t have lived through last night.
Once the water hits my tongue, I realize how thirsty I truly am and chug it in one go. The liquid helps clear my mind a bit as well as putting something in my stomach. Hopefully, I don't puke it all right back up.
Taking in my surroundings once more, I realize I've never seen this room before. It's definitely old, with a strange scent lingering in the air. It almost smells metallic, but surely I'm wrong.
One thing is glaringly obvious, Kingston and Beau aren't here with me. The thought of one or both of them being dead sends sharp pains straight to my heart again, making me double over. Clenching my hands into fists, I slam them both on the table and welcome the sound of my hoarse scream echoing in the room. Finally, I’m no longer silenced… not that anyone is probably within earshot of hearing me.
I have to be wrong about one of my guys dying; the thought of losing either one of them would be my end, so I push the thoughts away for now. I need to get the hell out of here and make sure they're okay. I love them far too much to immediately give up on them without a fight.
A phone beside me chimes with an incoming message, and I eagerly grab for it. Definitely not mine, but my instincts tell me I need all the clues I can get.Opening the ancient flip phone, I read the text. Then I read it again.
Private
Welcome to the Brotherhood of Darkness. Your survival depends on your cooperation.