59. Time is Ticking
TIME IS TICKING
Axel
I leaned my head against the bars, my fingers curling around the cold steel, waiting for the officer to bring my dinner. If my lawyer didn’t work something out soon, I’d be transferred from the tiny Copper Cove jail to Maine State Prison.
Fuck. Prison.
The itchy orange jumpsuit rubbed against my skin. Not that long ago, Lorelei’s soft hands had been on me instead of this shitty suit.
How had I gotten here?
Brock Haversham, that was how.
My lips curved into a snarl. That son of a bitch was going to pay. And if he tried anything with Lorelei while I was locked up, he was a dead man.
The lanky guard in a black uniform pushed the creaky metal cart with food trays to my cell and placed one in the opened slot. “The mashed potatoes are delicious.”
“Right.” I doubted it. The food so far had been bland and tasteless.
His green gaze flicked down each side of the concrete and steel hallway. “Seriously. They’re just full of surprises.”
My eyebrow quirked, but when I opened my mouth to question his strange words, he quickly shook his head.
“Eat up, Vanderhart.” He shoved the tray at me and then hurried down to the other occupied cell. There were only three other prisoners in this section of the small jail.
I took the tray and sat on the bed, the thin mattress doing a horrible job of concealing the hard bars of the bed frame. The generous helping of mashed potatoes nearly overflowed out of the bowl. I dug through the white fluff with my fork, pulling out a keyring with three keys.
“Definitely full of surprises,” I muttered, using my napkin to wipe off the gunk.
Did one of these unlock my cell? Was I expected to escape?
Then what? I didn’t want to be on the run for the rest of my life. Lorelei didn’t deserve that either.
There had to be some kind of explanation. I searched the rest of the food, a questionable piece of meatloaf, green beans, and a roll. My fork tore apart the meatloaf, finding nothing. There was no hidden note in the roll either.
My lips pursed as I lifted the tray above my head, but that was a bust too.
As I brought it back to my lap, the bowl of mashed potatoes wobbled, and something caught my eye.
I tore off the expertly folded piece of paper taped to the bottom and opened a hand-drawn map of the jail. Arrows pointed me in a specific direction with 11pm scrawled at the bottom.
My heart thudded against my ribs. This was the type of shit the Serpents & Daggers would do. Killian had to be involved. At least, I hoped. He knew I’d never go on the run. Had that twisted mind of his devised a solution to get me out of this mess?
The Copper Cove jail was practically silent by eleven at night. Most occupants were arrested for petty crimes and would be released in a few days, so the guards weren’t overly vigilant. Not much crime happened in this sleepy seaside town.
I was the only murderer.
If I wasn’t from such an affluent family, I probably would have been locked in solitary confinement with a guard posted outside my cell until I was transferred.
Being a Vanderhart definitely had its perks.
So did being a Lord.
The Serpents & Daggers probably had something to do with their leniency on me as well. The guard who slipped me the keys and map could have been an Ascended.
After trying one of the keys without success, I used another and unlocked my cell. The rubber soles of my sneakers barely made a sound on the concrete floor as I tiptoed down the hall. Soft snores came from one of the other detainees as I passed by.
I used a key to open a door at the end and peered into another corridor, my pulse racing. Thankfully, it was empty, so I snuck out and hurried through the jail, clutching the map in one hand to guide me.
My lawyer would have to work even harder to get me out of here if I was caught.
Part of me thought I deserved to be locked up. I did kill Peter. Accident or not. And he was just an innocent kid. His life had ended because of me, so why did I get to be free when he was six feet under?
I might have been more inclined to stay and take my punishment if Lorelei wasn’t in danger. That asshole Brock did this to get me out of his way. I couldn’t protect Lorelei if I was in jail.
I opened another door to a wider hallway that looked less like a jail and more like an office space. The concrete floor was buffed and polished, and instead of white cinderblock walls, gray drywall stretched out.
My shoes squeaked to a stop when I caught sight of a security camera hanging from the ceiling in the corner.
Shit.
The map didn’t give any warning of that.
Maybe the CO manning the security center was the same one who slipped me this note and the keys.
I was already this far. I couldn’t turn back now, at least not until I found out what this was all about.
Another few minutes passed when I finally reached the door marked on the map with an X. I unlocked it and stepped inside a small conference room where someone sat at the chipped wooden table.
My eyebrows slammed down, and my muscles instantly tensed. “You’re not the Davenport I expected.”
A devilish smile curved Bass’s mouth. “But I’m the Davenport you need.”
“I highly doubt that.” Killian’s step-brother was a psychopath and right up there on the same dickhead level as Haversham. He tormented Killian and Lexi last year and fucked with all of us.
But he wasn’t the Domnus anymore and had no power over anyone.
“If you’re involved in this, thanks but no thanks.” When I turned to leave, Bass let out a chilling laugh.
“Come on, Vanderhart, just hear what I have to say.” He motioned his hand around the small room that smelled of old coffee and air freshener. “I worked so hard to arrange all this.”
I scoffed. “You probably paid someone to set this up.”
He reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. “I got this for you. It’s imported chocolate from France.”
The bastard knew food was my weakness, especially chocolate.
“You have five minutes, Bass.” I snatched the bar from his hand and slumped in the hard, wooden chair across from him.
“I’m going to get right to the point, Axel.” He laced his hands in front of him and rested them on the table. “I heard the police received the video of you accidentally pushing poor Peter Dupont off the cliff.”
My teeth ground at his fake sympathetic tone. “Your point?”
“Of course I know all about that video since I was the former Domnus.” He raised his eyebrows, a slow smile curving his mouth. “And I know all about the unfortunate young woman who was dumb enough to record the incriminating scene.”
Dread coiled deep in my gut. Bass knew exactly what happened to Susanna then. And he seemed to find it funny that the blood of yet another person stained my hands.“Did you make it a habit of combing through the archives?”
“I might have studied any secrets my little brother and his friends had just in case I needed to use them. You four are much more interesting than people realize.” His blue eyes twinkled with so much menace it made me shiver. “Susanna Michaels might prove still useful–from beyond the grave.”
My fingers stopped peeling the candy bar wrapper off. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged and pressed his lips together.
I cursed under my breath, knowing damn well he wouldn’t explain his cryptic words. I tore the rest of the wrapper off, letting the pieces of foil flutter onto the desk. Bass could clean them up.
“Time is ticking, Bass.” I bit into the gourmet chocolate, but it didn’t taste as good as the ones from Lorelei. “Get to it already.”
“Did Vaughn slip the video to Brock Haversham?”
I stopped midchew. “What do you know about Brock?”
He laughed and ran his hand over his slicked-back blond hair. “I know plenty about the Texas oil tycoon. He’s the anonymous person who turned the video over to the cops. And his closest connection to the Serpents & Daggers is Vaughn.”
As I suspected, it wouldn’t take long for the brotherhood to put the pieces together, but I never expected Bass to be the first one.
“It was Vaughn,” I admitted. “He’s been on my ass since the moment I more or less stole Lorelei Battenberg from Brock.”
Bass leaned back in his seat. Of course he found a cushy leather chair from somewhere. “That’s a major problem. The Domnus putting a nonmember’s desires ahead of a Lord’s is bad enough, but handing over secrets from our archives to an outsider and the police without just cause is, well, treason.”
I chewed another piece of chocolate and swallowed, studying the scheming, manipulating man. Sebastian Davenport didn’t do shit for free. He had ulterior motives.
“Why do you care?”
“I’m beginning to think choosing Vaughn as my successor was a huge mistake.” Shadows crawled along his face, darkening the hollows of his cheekbones. “I need to rectify that poor decision.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?”
Did I really want to know?
Bass dug into the inside pocket of his navy blazer and pulled out a small scroll, tossing it to me. I caught and unrolled it to find our motto inscribed in decorative writing at the top.
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.
My mouth parted as I read the letter. “You’re officially charging Vaughn with betrayal against the brotherhood and bringing it to the Grand Domnus?”
“Vaughn can’t get away with this.” He reached across the table and tapped his finger on a line. “All you need to do is sign it, and I’ll file this with the Inner Circle.”
I set the remaining candy down as my flesh prickled. “What’s in it for you?”
His smile had ice pouring through my veins. “Don’t you want Vaughn to pay? He’s as much to blame for this as Brock. Besides, I’m sure the brotherhood will be more inclined to help you after they learn the Domnus leaked this.”
Bass was right. I wanted that asshole Radcliffe to pay for his involvement. I’d be on a beach with Lorelei now instead of imprisoned for murder.
As if he sensed my surrender, Bass passed over a fountain pen with Fratres Super Omnia engraved across the slick black surface. “You know the drill for official requests.”
I ignored the warnings screaming in my head, grabbed the pen, and signed my name. And because the Serpents & Daggers love their occult bullshit, I flipped the pen over and tore off the cap on the other end, revealing a sharp blade.
I jabbed the pad of my thumb and let blood drip on the paper next to my signature.
“Why does it feel like I just signed my soul away to the devil?” I asked as I slid the pen and paper back to Bass.
His ominous grin didn’t quell my fears. “Oh, please. I’m not the devil, Axel.”
Could have fooled me.
“I’m just a concerned Lord looking out for the organization.” He rolled the scroll up and dropped it back into his pocket. “So what if this might benefit me somehow?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared. “What are you up to, Bass?”
“That’s for me to know and you to…” He winked and stood. “Well, you know the rest.”
Shit.
Did I just do something incredibly foolish?