Chapter 9
HEAVY IS THE CROWN
Killian
“Want me to go after her?” Axel asked as the girl in red scurried up the stairs like fire nipped at her heels.
A fire would cause less damage than we would.
“No.” I spun and marched down the hall toward the room Bass was in. With a fucking dead girl.
My stepbrother had no control and would, on occasion, royally mess up, but I never imagined he’d kill a woman like this. A bitter laugh echoed from the depths of my mind. Maybe I just didn’t want to believe how demented Bass was.
Then I might have to face my own inner monsters. Just because I’d chained them up didn’t mean they couldn’t break free one day.
Axel’s powerful legs easily caught up with me. “That girl was listening at the door. What if she heard something?”
“She didn’t hear shit.” That was a lie. And I think we both knew it. But some strange urge to protect that girl burned through my veins.
If the brotherhood knew an outsider had even heard something so incriminating about a Lord, that girl might vanish off the face of this earth by tomorrow.
As Axel studied me, his lips pressed together, cutting off any more words of protest. He knew when to back off—preferably before I dropped the perfect facade and let my anger win.
What the hell is wrong with me?
My hand trembled as I reached for the knob, dreading the situation Bass was about to involve me, and yanked the door open to the grandiose room draped in satin and silk.
And death. Bass still loomed over the bed where the naked brunette was sprawled amongst the twisted covers, bruises forming on her neck.
How hard had he choked her? I seriously doubted she had asked for that.
Gage leaned against a wall, watching the girl’s partially dressed friend rocking back and forth in a corner on the floor, sobbing.
His gaze flicked to a leather gag on the nearby table.
He was probably dying to use that thing to shut her up.
Slate stood near the bathroom as if preparing to dart inside and puke.
“You should call Stan,” I said as Axel closed the door behind us and locked it.
Bass’s head snapped toward me, his blue eyes hardening to jagged gemstones. “We’re not calling my father for shit.”
I yanked my black mask off and motioned it toward the bed. “You want to call the cops?”
His boisterous, slightly unhinged laughter grated on my eardrums. “Of course not.” He pushed away from the bed and shortened the distance between us, his sinister expression lifting the hairs on my nape. “You and your friends are going to take care of this.”
My fingers crumpled the mask in my hand. “You want me to cover up a murder?”
Bass snatched my arm and ran his thumb over the tattoo of a serpent coiled around a dagger.
“Our blood is from one cup. Our bones are from one beast. Our soul is from the same shadow. Brothers above all. We enter this world together. And we shall only leave with a dagger pressed against our throat and the serpent’s poison in our veins. ”
“Don’t spout the motto like it’s some sacred law.” I yanked out of his grip, thankful to be free of the stench of bourbon and sex wafting from him like cologne. “You don’t give a shit about any law until it benefits you.”
“We all benefit from the organization.” My stepbrother circled his hand around the lavish room stocked full of liquor, and probably a generous stash of recreational drugs. “You knew what you signed up for. You expect to get the perks of being a Lord of Stonewall without pulling your weight?”
“Pulling our weight is one thing, but doing your dirty work is another, Davenport.” Gage’s sharp words sliced through the choking tension building in the air.
“If you call Stan, I’ll let him know all of you refused to protect your Domnus.” Bass’s smirk sent my pulse soaring. “Just because your fathers are part of the Inner Circle of Ascended doesn’t mean you can always get away with breaking the rules.”
Icicles clawed through my veins, freezing my blood as if winter had descended. The guys and I could get away with bending some rules, but neglecting our Domnus wasn’t something we could do without severe punishment.
Of course, they’d want to know when an unsanctioned murder occurred. We couldn’t just go around killing anyone we wanted without consequences.
Then again, Bass was the leader of all Lords at Stonewall. He was a higher-up.
“Stan would want to know his son committed murder,” I gritted out.
“My father has more important things to worry about than the death of some whore. In fact, he’d be pissed we couldn’t handle things on our own.
I’m his son by blood, while you’re just a little orphan.
” Bass gave a casual shrug. “He might feel the need to reconsider his generosity. I’d hate for you to be stripped of the Davenport name and tossed out of here on your penniless, lower-than-third-class ass.
How would your sweet mommy feel about your fall from grace? ”
My fists curled at my sides, poised to break this fucker’s jaw.
But it would only make the situation worse, and an invisible noose tightened around my neck.
The wicked gleam grew in Bass’s eyes as he witnessed the seeds of fear he planted sprout.
He had me by the balls, and he knew it. There was no escaping this.
“Leave the others out of this. They don’t need to be involved. ”
“You’ll need help.” Bass finally released my arm and stepped back. “They’ll involve themselves anyway because their loyalty to you is unwavering. Isn’t that right, boys?”
Axel flanked my side and folded his thick arms over his barrel chest, the black suit threatening to pop at the seams. “We have your back, Kill.”
Gage rolled his shoulders like he was loosening up for a fight. “Of course we do.” His dark gaze landed on Slate who anxiously chewed his thumbnail.
“Yeah. Whatever.” He slipped a flask out of his pocket and chugged a few gulps. “I’m not a pussy. I can take care of a body.” Slate wiped his mouth with the back of his shaky hand.
I choked down the lump trying to rise in my throat. The shit we’d experienced during initiation freshman year sealed the four of us together, the sacrifice and bloodshed irrevocably changing us.
We never talked about the fucked-up things we’d done, but the memories haunted every single one of us.
Not many people had my back like these three.
At one time, I thought she was my ride or die, but that all shattered when her betrayal hit me like a bulldozer.
“What do you want us to do?” The words burst from my bared teeth.
Bass shrugged and sauntered across the room to a bookshelf where he grabbed the bottle of bourbon. “I don’t care as long as it’s dealt with.”
The lazy asshole couldn’t even bother coming up with a plan. “And her?” I tilted my head toward the sobbing girl.
A predatory smile curled his lips as he filled a glass with liquor. “I’ll take care of Torri. She won’t be a problem when I’m done.”
Arctic air skated down my back as I studied him and then the trembling redhead, her makeup streaking down her pale face, and for just an instant, I saw a different redhead in a red dress—but I quickly shook her away and focused on the monster in front of me. “Can I trust you not to screw this up?”
“I’m a Davenport. I’ll do what needs to be done.” He sipped the bourbon. “You’ll learn that one day.”
I shook my head and swallowed down the insults I wanted to unleash on him.
“Heavy is the crown, little bro.” Bass lifted his drink in the air. “But you don’t have a crown. My boot hovers at your fucking throat instead. Don’t ever forget that.”
I slammed my foot against the shovel and sank it into the ground, tossing dirt out of the hole. Having four determined guys digging a grave with the threat of sunrise in a few hours really sped things up.
“I don’t get why we can’t just toss her off a cliff.” Slate’s eyes were bloodshot and face pale, barely keeping it together. “We could make it look like she was drunk and fell off.”
A trickle of sweat ran down my temple as my gaze lingered on the girl rolled in a fresh sheet that didn’t have Bass’s DNA all over it. After going through her purse, I found her student ID. Alicia Montgomery was her name.
“An autopsy would prove she was dropped in the ocean postmortem,” I said. “Plus, the bruises around her neck would make it obvious she was strangled.”
Slate tossed one hand in the air while he used the other to hold his shovel. “Okay, Dr. Davenport. When did you become a forensic expert?”
Gage rolled his eyes as he chugged a bottle of water. “Any idiot would know that.”
“Not true.” Slate flipped him off and dragged his fingers through his messy black locks. “Not everyone binges murder and serial killer docs like you, Van Horn.”
The huge guy with tats and piercings gave a smile that would make most piss their pants. “I’m just studying to murder you in your sleep, Wentworth.”
Axel cursed and climbed out of the grave. “Someone else tag in. I need a break.”
This wasn’t easy for Axel. Getting rid of a body dredged up memories from sophomore year he’d rather forget.
The lovable protector of the group wasn’t all smiles and charm. Like all of us, darkness twisted inside him, and one night, it exploded in the worst way imaginable.
Gage grabbed his shovel and hopped into the hole with me. “Kill, switch with Slate. You’ve been at this the entire time.”
I shook my head and used the now grimy black button-down shirt to wipe sweat from my forehead. “I’m good.”
It was my fault they were even involved.
“I think Kill’s idea is brilliant.” Axel motioned to the headstone perched behind us. “No one will ever look for Alicia Montgomery in a fresh grave in Copper Cove Cemetery. The ground is already disturbed, and there’s no reason to suspect anything.”
“What if someone needs to exhume Gertrude Farleigh’s body?” Slate jerked his chin toward the headstone.
Gage scoffed as he sank his shovel into the soft dirt. “She was a hundred and died of natural causes. No one would ever need to dig up her body.”
That was precisely why I’d picked this spot. We got lucky they buried the old lady today. Hopefully, she wouldn’t mind sharing her grave with the unfortunate freshman who caught Sebastian Davenport’s eye.
Acid oozed up my throat as I once again pictured what could have happened if he’d pounced on that snarky little lamb in red instead.
Would it be her grave I was digging right now?
My fingers tightened around the shovel’s handle so hard splinters jabbed into my palm. Damn it, what was it about that girl that had me so unhinged? The overwhelming desire to protect her... it made no sense.
Maybe it was because against Bass, she’d have no power. And I knew what it felt like to be powerless in the face of monsters.
“What about that girl who was listening in?” Axel asked, as if he’d plucked her image from my brain.
“What girl?” Slate passed the water to Axel.
The colossal football player took it and twisted the cap off. “The one in red with a butterfly mask who crushed my balls when I caught her spying.”
Every muscle in my body turned as cold and hard as marble. “Like I told you earlier, she didn’t hear or see shit. Nothing to worry about.”
Gage’s relentless stare burned into me as soon as Axel mentioned a girl in red.
I met his gaze, my nostrils flaring, and the monsters behind the cage threatened to burst out.
He arched his eyebrow at my reaction. Since he practically dared me to snatch her before my brother could, Gage knew exactly who Axel spoke of.
“If Kill says she’s not a problem, then drop it.” Gage tossed another shovelful of dirt out.
I breathed a shaky sigh of relief and focused on the task. “After we bury the body, we need to finish the next part of my plan.”
Axel leaned over the grave, his dirty blonde hair falling into his face. “There’s more?”
“While her roommate is still passed out at the Sigma Delta house, we need to sneak into Alicia’s dorm and collect all of her things.” My stomach roiled at resorting to this bullshit to protect Bass. “I want to make it look like she ran away.”
Slate nodded. “Smart. I never would have thought of that.”
Gage gave a humorless laugh. “That’s why you’re not in charge of this.”
And then I had to take care of the last part of this plan alone. As much as I wanted to protect her, I couldn’t have this come out. I’d lose everything.
I had to find my girl in red to ensure she remained quiet—by any means necessary.