Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
KANE
My father has groomed me since the day I was born to take his place on the board when he’s gone, but I’d rather burn it all to the ground.
His entire empire.
All of it.
Everything he’s built, down to the very last brick.
And I will one day, but I need to be patient because all good things come to those who wait.
After what feels like fucking hours of standing here, Maverick and Noah finally join us. Of course, they’re late. They’re always fucking late.
Never on time.
There are so many better, more creative ways I could spend my precious time. For one, I could be balls deep in Jessica right now, pounding her greedy cunt until she passes out on me.
That sounds a lot more interesting than dealing with this boring society shit. But I don’t have a choice, unfortunately.
None of us do.
“Where the fuck have you been?” I bark, turning on my heel, ready to head inside.
Let’s get this shit over with.
The sooner we show up and play our part like dutiful soldiers, the sooner I can convince Jessica to let me pick her up and take her back to mine.
Why is she so stubborn?
Why won’t she let me take her home with me so I can bury myself in her warm pussy and forget the fucking world? In fact, I want to spend the rest of my days with my cock in one of her holes because she feels so fucking good and, honestly, tastes even better.
I can’t get enough.
“Caused a little mayhem, brother,” Maverick says with a wink before heading past me and into the crypt. Is it just me, or does he smell of aerosol and motor oil?
I’m frowning when Noah smacks me on the shoulder with the back of his hand as he heads inside. “Come on. Let’s see what boring shit the old men have planned tonight.”
Behind me, Cash grumbles as he waits for me to finally move my feet, his eyes bloodshot from either pills or cocaine. God knows what his poison is tonight.
There used to be a time when I turned to drugs to dull my senses, too, but I rarely do it now because I like to stay in control.
Anything stronger than alcohol or the occasional pill fucks with me too much for my liking.
Besides, I have a stronger drug now, and I fully intend to bury my head between her smooth thighs later.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
We enter the crypt. To the casual observer, it looks nondescript, set among a cluster of fir trees and surrounded by weather-beaten gravestones. This is the older part of the cemetery, and aside from drunk teenagers at night or the occasional dog walker, no one comes here.
At the back of the crypt, a passage leads to the chambers downstairs. This place gave me the creeps when I was a kid, and I guess it still does to some degree.
The staircase spirals downward like an open throat swallowing us whole, little rocks crunching underfoot. No one speaks. No one breathes. We never know what awaits us when we reach the bottom.
The air changes first.
Cooler.
Damper.
Tinged with candle smoke and the faint bite of something metallic.
Maverick pauses at the bottom and tenses, his pulse tapping at his throat. Noah brushes past, grabs one of the cloaks and masks that hang on the wall for himself, then throws another set at Maverick. “Let’s just do this, and then we can head over to Dark Lanes to destroy pussies and egos.”
“Put that shit on a T-shirt.” Maverick’s voice sounds far away as he follows Noah deeper into the darkness.
The last thing I want to do is this, but the stage is lit and the audience is seated.
Mustn’t leave them waiting.
I quickly pull on a robe and a mask before heading down the dark tunnel, Cash close on my heels. The others are already waiting in the large chamber that opens before us.
A cavern of stone and shadow.
Candles line the walls in uneven rows, dripping wax. All of this used to be overwhelming and scary when I was eleven, but now I see it for what it is.
A song and dance.
A fucking performance.
Our robed fathers wait behind the long obsidian table carved with sigils, along with eight other men, their masks glinting in the candlelight as we pass the pillars.
I know the feeling of danger as it whispers in the air. I’ve spoken its language my whole life. It’s something you soon become fluent in when you’re born into our world.
Lining up across from the hooded men, I stare my father in the eyes. Mask or no mask, I could pick him out of a crowd any day.
A member collects everyone’s phones and watches, and a chime sounds, signaling that the show is about to start. Behind us, the chamber door seals shut with a hydraulic hiss, and all twelve men—leaders of the nation, corporations, militaries, and shadow networks—take their seats.
The chairman opens a folder. “Gentlemen, let’s begin. We’ve got too many fires burning at once.”
This is where the snooze fest begins. I can barely contain an eye roll behind my mask.
“Let’s start with the missing official. Ravencourt?”
My father clears his throat. “A deputy intelligence director vanished last night. No ransom note. No messages. Just gone.”
“He knew about the island,” says Maverick’s father in that distinctive voice of his.
A shiver runs through me at the mention of that place.
Top secret.
Classified.
A place you wouldn’t believe existed.
I never want to set foot there.
“He knew everything. That’s why this is a problem.” There’s a strain in my father’s voice as he relays this damning information.
The chairman flips through his folder. “Think the rival society got him?” he asks.
I study my father, who shifts uneasily at the mention of our rival society. “Possibly. Or someone else is poking around in our old secrets.”
“Let’s hope that’s not the case. We need our best men on this. If they’ve got him, they’ll torture information out of him, and we can’t let that happen.”
I let my thoughts drift as they discuss an orchestrated violent event that went wrong and a private bank under investigation.
This shit is fucking tedious.
My mind wanders back to how Jessica slept on my chest last night.
How right it felt.
I’ve never spent the night with a woman before.
Never wanted to.
But it’s different with Jessica, and I find myself thinking of all the ways I can make her bend to my will. God, I love the erotic expression on her face when she’s taking my cock.
The way her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she begs for more.
And more.
Over and over.
A sudden hiss jolts me from my thoughts, and I look over to see four robed men with sacks over their heads being herded to the center of the room. The guards who dragged them into the room shove them to the ground and force them to kneel.
“Gentlemen,” the chairman says, addressing us. “Today is a test of loyalty. Take your places behind the kneeling traitors.”
Here we go. I was waiting for this. That, and the fact that we are never allowed to leave without some calculated act of violence designed to strip away our empathy and humanity.
Goal achieved years ago.
Chairs scrape on the stone floor, and we step behind the kneeling men. The sacks and robes hide their identities, but they’re definitely men, judging by their broad builds.
One of them is choking back frightened sobs, but the others are quiet and resigned.
I take a position behind the sobbing fuck. The guard offers me his gun, and I snatch it from his hand. Let’s get this killing over with so I can find my girl. I don’t have all fucking day to play stupid games with senile men who should check their prostates.
The chairman stands up, and the others follow suit. “Before you are four traitors to the Society.”
Bla, bla, bla.
Yeah, yeah. Just let us put a bullet in their brains already and be done with it. This is almost as bad as when Maverick insists on playing his death song.
“They’ve been confronted with the accusations against them and admitted guilt.”
Noah leans in. “After a nice little visit with The Skinner.”
A dark chuckle rumbles in my chest as the chairman prattles on. We’ve seen The Skinner in action. He’s meticulous about his art and takes great pleasure in torturing people. In other words, he’s a sick fuck, and you’d better pray you don’t end up on his table.
“One of the men in front of you is someone close to one of you.”
That gives me pause.
Someone close?
“After tonight, one of you will live with the knowledge that you sacrificed a loved one.”
A chill seeps through my clothes. Is the room colder?
What the hell kind of fucked-up mind game is this?
I thought we were done with the mental torture after the initiations.
It was supposed to be the ultimate loyalty test, but now this?
Do these old men get off on the power they hold? Does this get them hard?
Fuck this.
“You know the consequences of turning your back on the society,” the chairman drones on. “You know what will happen if you step—”
I lift my arm and fire, the bullet biting into the kneeling stranger’s skull. It’s as anticlimactic as always to see the man topple over dead, especially with the silencer on the gun. It’s done, just like that. Not even a loud bang. All I get is a pool of blood forming around him.
The muted pop sends the other kneeling men whimpering and sobbing as panic sets in. One of them pisses himself, and I cringe as a growing pool of urine threatens to stain my oxfords if I don’t step out of the way. I only had them polished the other day, and I’ll be damned if I dirty them now.
This is why I don’t like guns, knives, or other weapons that leave a disgusting mess. There are cleaner ways to kill.
The chairman jerks his chin at the guard who dragged the fucker in here. He goes to remove the sack, but I’m already walking out of the chamber because I’m done with this and don’t give a shit who I handed to the reaper on a silver platter.
The society overestimates my emotions for those around me.
When are they gonna learn? I don’t have weaknesses.
They could carve me open with a sharpened blade, but they wouldn’t find any.
“You’re lying,” a voice whispers.