Chapter 47
DEVIL IN DISGUISE
Killian
The gun warmed against my skin, tucked away in the back of my jeans as I crept through the castle of a house in search of a monster.
My heart pounded like the strike of thoroughbred hooves in a horse race, my breaths coming in quick pants.
They were quiet, though, as were my footsteps.
I knew how to sneak into a place undetected.
After all, I was taught by the best.
Which made me question my motives for being there in the first place. Could I really kill my stepfather?
My hands curled into fists as images of that video replayed through my mind. The fear in Lexi’s eyes had punched a gaping hole in my chest. I wasn’t sure it would ever close.
Yes, I could kill that motherfucker.
But that was a last resort. Honestly, I had no fucking clue how this would end.
Was I completely delusional to think I could deal with Stan without repercussions from the brotherhood?
Probably.
What choices did I have? I couldn’t let him get away with hurting Lexi. Never again.
The faint melodies of Beethoven drifted down the long, dark stretch of hallway leading to his study. Stan was at his summer home while Bass was probably back at the Sigma Delta house, licking his wounds from the beating I gave him.
Fire ignited in my veins at knowing he’d likely gotten off on watching that horrible moment in Lexi’s life. Bass was as sick as his father.
I tiptoed over the plush carpet runner and slipped into Stan’s study, the roaring fire on the left creating a dim, ominous glow across the slick wood and leather furnishings. The familiar pungent scent of cigars perfumed the air.
Moonlight outlined him as he stood in front of the window, gazing at the view of the dark ocean beyond the cliffs in the distance.
Just the sight of him after witnessing him destroy Lexi’s innocence poured rage through my system.
The desire to beat him to death with my bare hands burned deep within me.
My stepfather didn’t even notice me as I stepped up beside his massive desk, arms crossed over my chest. I held off on reaching for the gun–for now.
“How many girls have you ruined?”
My low, deadly tone must have startled him.
His head jerked around, his brow creasing at my unexpected appearance. “Killian? What are you doing here?” He angled toward me, his expensive Italian suit still perfectly pressed. “After the incident with your brother, you should be taking this time to reflect on your recent choices and—”
“How many girls have you ruined?” I repeated through clenched teeth.
“What are you talking about?” Stan smoothed his hand over his combed blonde hair, the moonlight glinting off the silver strands threading his temples.
He didn’t appear the least bit ruffled, meanwhile I was a completely different story. My heart threatened to burst at any moment, and fine tremors rippled through my tense muscles.
“Are there others like Jocelyn Douglass? Did you assault her and then kill her?”
Stan’s eyes narrowed, the piercing blue orbs hardening to sapphire shards.
“Alexis Vega is already clouding your judgment. She was a bad influence then, and apparently even worse now.” He glided across the room toward the bar on the right, his movements fluid and lazy.
“I told you not to look inside the envelope, Killian. How could you break my trust like this?”
I slammed my fist into his desk, rattling everything on it. “You want to talk about trust when I’m accusing you of murder?”
“I did no such thing.” My stepfather sighed as he poured scotch into a crystal glass. Then another. “I may have been too friendly with Jocelyn, but she developed an obsession with me. When I tried to let her down, she took her own life.”
The lies poured out of his mouth with frightening ease. Had he repeated the story so much that he believed it?
“I felt just awful about the whole situation, so I’ve been paying her mother to make amends.” He gave a dramatic frown I didn’t buy. “It was the least I could do.”
“How generous of you.” I rolled my shoulders, trying to hold on to the last bit of my control. “What about Lexi? What’s your excuse for assaulting her?”
Stan grabbed the two glasses of scotch, sauntered in my direction, and handed me one.
“We’ve already gone over this. Nothing happened.
She made up that ridiculous story because she was jealous and didn’t want you to leave.
Alexis clearly has some mental issues. I’m truly worried for you if you believe the lies coming out of that whore’s mouth. ”
A burst of rage hit my bloodstream like a shot of epinephrine, and I threw the crystal tumbler across the room. The glass shattered against the vintage record player, cutting off Beethoven.
“Call her that again, and I’ll make Bass’s injuries pale in comparison to what I do to you.”
For the first time, an emotion broke through Stan’s calm facade, but that flash of anger was gone too quickly. He slowly placed his drink on the desk.
“I will tell you one last time, and I never want it brought up again.” He turned and rummaged through the cabinets behind his desk. “I did nothing to that girl.”
“If you didn’t want anyone to find out what really happened, you shouldn’t have recorded it.”
As soon as my words hit the air, Stan’s shoulders stiffened, straining against the charcoal-gray blazer. He slowly pivoted in my direction and placed the cigar he’d grabbed on his desk.
“Excuse me?”
“You shouldn’t have recorded the assault.” I pressed my palms against the desk, leaning toward him. “I saw the whole damn thing, Stanford. Did you plan on raping her and then watching it later while you jerked off?”
His nostrils flared as he loosened his tie and then shrugged out of his jacket. Shadows crept into his face as the charming ruse disintegrated to reveal the real man beneath the pretty lies.
“How did you get that video?”
“That’s not important.” Bass probably pissed himself when he realized I stole that file.
His father would castrate him if he found out, and it was really more of a when situation, because where else would the video have come from, if not his son.
“What is important is you getting what you deserve for hurting Lexi, and who knows how many other girls, and rotting in prison for the rest of your life.”
A sinister laugh erupted from his mouth, the sound ominous and grating like old, rusted metal creaking in the wind.
“Do you really think I’d go to prison for attacking some piece of trash?
I’m a United States senator, for fuck’s sake, and the highest-ranking member of the Serpents & Daggers.
I wouldn’t see the inside of a cell for a second, even if you had proof.
” He slammed his fist against the desk, knocking over a picture frame of him and my mother. “I’m fucking untouchable.”
“Then maybe I’ll simply kill you.”
Stan cut the tip of his cigar and lit it, a crooked grin pulling his lips apart. “You don’t have the balls to kill me, boy.”
Those words, nearly identical to the ones my real father spoke before he beat the shit out of me all those years ago, had my chest threatening to cave in. The room bled around the edges, crimson streaks running down the dark walls.
Little did Stan know I had a gun tucked away in my pants, just hoping he gave me a reason to put a bullet in his head.
The sickly sweet cigar smoke curled from his mouth as he smirked.
“You won’t let the public see that video because you know it will hurt your mother and poor, abused Alexis.
It’ll be your word against mine. And just like with her, no one will believe you.
” He sipped his scotch and sat in the oversized leather chair behind his desk.
“If you start talking, I’ll make sure you end up in a padded cell for the rest of your life. ”
“You are the devil in disguise, Stan.”
He gave a lazy shrug. “You and I are the same, son.”
“I am nothing like you,” I spat, the need to make him bleed, to feel his bones crunch, overwhelming.
“We both take what we want.” He rolled the tip of the cigar along the edge of his crystal ashtray. “I bet you fucked Alexis whether she wanted it or not. You might not have been as forceful as me, but you didn’t give her much of a choice, did you?”
My gut twisted, and acid shot up my esophagus. He was right. How many times did I stake my claim on Lexi? And I never gave her a real chance to deny me.
“Tell me, Killian.” Stan puffed the cigar, blowing smoke across the desk and into my face. “Was her pussy as wet for you as it was for me?”
There was no stopping the explosion of fury that detonated inside me. Like he’d pressed the button to release a nuclear missile, his words set off a chain reaction.
I lurched over his desk and ripped him out of the chair.
“Get off me!” he yelled.
I slammed my fist into Stan’s face, warm blood spattering mine. “Say one more fucking word. I dare you!”
My control had evaporated, and I rushed forward, howling at the violence spilling all over my stepfather.
What would I tell my mother after I killed him? Because nothing would stop me from beating the last breath out of him now. I couldn’t stand up against my real father and protect those I loved. I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
Stan grabbed the crystal ashtray and aimed it at my nose, but I turned at the last second and caught it in the cheek.
Pain erupted across the side of my face, stars popping in my vision. Warm blood oozed from the cut.
Ringing echoed through the room.
Was that my head or just my phone?
“Did you forget about your list of victims, Killian?” He aimed a letter opener at my eye. “The vault in the catacombs holds all your secrets. Your betrayal of the order won’t come without a hefty price.”
That hadn’t slipped my mind. The brotherhood held our secrets to keep us in line. Death wasn’t punishment enough for them. Micah Preston would have learned that had I not helped him escape.
If Stan had his way, I would be stripped of my Lord title and all my power.
Marked a traitor.
Humiliated.
All my deepest, darkest secrets would be revealed to the world.
And then, after suffering for however long they saw fit, I’d probably be gutted and then buried somewhere no one would ever find me.
“Maybe it’s a price I’m willing to pay.” I snatched the letter opener out of his hand, tossed it aside, and pulled the gun from my waistband, pressing it to his forehead.
Stan froze, blood dripping down his chin and left eye already swelling. “Killing me will not solve your problems, son. In fact, it’ll create a whole host of new ones.”
“I’m beyond caring.”
“Let’s just calm down.” The fear staining his blue eyes gave me a fleeting moment of satisfaction. “We can compromise.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket as my finger slid back and forth over the trigger. This asshole wanted to compromise?
“Perhaps you should answer that,” Stan said. “It’s been ringing incessantly for the last few minutes. It could be important.”
Obviously, he wanted to stall.
I stepped back, keeping the gun aimed at him. “Try anything, and I’ll shoot you.”
Stan peeled his back off the desk and sat on the edge, wiping his mouth. “It’s not too late to fix this, Killian.”
“Shut the fuck up.” I snatched the phone from my pocket, my heart clenching when Lexi’s number crossed the screen.
How long could I ignore her before she did something reckless? I couldn’t risk her coming here.
I answered the phone and pressed it to my ear. “Sorry, I can’t talk right now. I’ll explain everything—”
“Alexis doesn’t have much time, so you should probably fit me into your schedule. Now.”
Ice swept through every muscle as Bass’s voice flowed over the line. “What the fuck did you do to her?”
“Oh, don’t worry, little bro. I haven’t done much of anything. Yet.” His laughter made the hair on my nape rise. “But I will ruin every part of her if you don’t do exactly as I say. And trust me, Killian, that when I say ‘ruin’, what I really mean is fucking ‘destroy’.”