30. Chapter 26
Eli
The feeling strikes me that our lives have come full circle.
Except this time… we’re the monsters at the top of the Pact.
“Begin!” Ryker’s booming voice echoes through the sanctuary.
At the signal, the candidates for Pact membership fight a life-and-death battle.
Wearing a mask of indifference, I watch it all.
We talked about this for a long time. Neither of us intended to continue this tradition of slaughter and bloody initiations.
Unfortunately, the other brothers are thirsty for bloodshed, thirsty for new members.
Right now, none of them should question that changing the Pact’s leader is a step for the worse, one that will weaken the entire assembly.
Therefore, we had to take this measure, regardless of what we think about it.
It’s enough to hear the rumors again about further attempts to bribe members. It seems Aiden’s trying to secretly build an army, so we need everyone who will be on our side.
“How lovely that you’ve finally arranged something for us to enjoy.” Speak of the devil. And Aiden’s right here.
I glance at him, but his eyes focus on the gory massacre before us. The sick bastard is grinning from ear to ear. It neither excites nor amuses me.
“What do you want, Aiden? I don’t think this is your place in the ranks,” I say.
“Not yet, but soon. How’s life?”
“Fucking wonderful without you. I hear yours is spent running away, digging sewers under the Pact.”
Aiden laughs at my words. I wish I could wipe that smirk off his face.
The last time I saw him was when he met my father, and I kissed Zoe for the first time. Since then, we’ve heard rumors about him, but he has been invisible to each of us. This worries me more than I want to admit.
Aiden goes on when the laughter dies down. “Are you scared, Eli? Now that you have more to lose than ever before?”
He knows nothing about Zoe. He can’t know.
It’s provocation. I know that, but it’s still fucking hard for me to stay calm and not react.
Luckily, Ryker interrupts. “I received your package.”
Every single detail of Aiden’s face is under my scrutiny.
He looks curious. Amused.
The truth is already clear to me.
He’s clueless.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Unless it’s something nice, you can thank me on your knees.”
“Shut the fuck up or get the hell out,” Ryker hisses, “since you have nothing meaningful to say.”
“Oh, I do.” That sneaky bastard grins. “Aisling sends her regards. And she says she misses you.” He turns on his heel and walks out.
Theo quickly adds, “Don’t react. That’s precisely what he’s waiting for. We’ll get him after the ceremony.”
If we get the chance.
Meanwhile, the gurgling of the last unfortunate soul choking on his own blood brings the trial to a close. Five remain alive. Five new brothers.
“Congratulations!” Ryker calls. “You’re the chosen ones who have made it to the very end. Soon, you’ll take the Pact’s eternal oath. Please bring in the baptismal font.”
The hooded brothers remove the bodies of those who have fallen, while others roll in the blood-filled font.
Ryker sighs but descends the steps to the chosen ones, nonetheless. He stands by the baptismal font, says a few more words, and proceeds with the ritual of oath and cleansing. We’ve seen this dozens of times, but James was always in that spot. Now, unfortunately, it’s Ryker.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, but I only glance briefly at my watch. Zoe.
Sadly, she’ll have to wait a little longer until this whole charade is over.
Except she won’t stop calling. The phone vibrates every few minutes.
Then an icy shiver runs up my spine. All the hairs on my body stand on end. And this feeling comes over me…
“I have to go,” I whisper to Theo, who gives me a disbelieving look. Too bad. Let whatever happens happen; either way, I turn on my heel and walk out.
As soon as the sanctuary’s threshold is behind me and the fresh air hits my face, I pull the hood off my head. Night has already fallen. On the third ring, I answer the phone.
“Zoe? What’s going on?”
“Eli…” Her voice is hard to hear. Heavy breathing in the background. “I need—your help.”
I’m already on my way to the car, but hearing her pleading whisper, I run.
My palms sweat, my mind is racing with frantic scenarios, every shadow a potential danger, every sound a harbinger of doom.
“Hang in there, I’m on my way. Where are you?” Before I even realize it, I’m jumping into the car. My foot slams the gas pedal to the floor.
“Wait, I’ll send you my location.”
Sure enough, the message arrives almost immediately. The location appears on the navigation screen the moment I click the icon.
The phone switches to hands-free mode.
“Sweetheart? Are you there?”
“I’m here,” she whispers. “Eli…” Silence. “I’m sorry.”
There’s something in her words that makes my already racing heart beat even faster. I don’t know where it comes from or why, but something tells me she’s in deep fucking trouble.
“Hang in there a little longer. Are you okay, sweetheart? What happened, Zoe?”
Her voice trembles even more. “I killed him.” For a second, the world stops existing. “Oh God, Eli. I killed him. I didn’t mean to, but—”
A knot of dread tightens in my chest as I picture her all alone.
“Shhh… don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. Just hang in there a little longer. Who did you kill?”
A strange sound escapes her throat, followed by a quiet sob.
Fuck.
“Owen. I killed him. Everything went wrong. He—”
I don’t want her to hear my frustration. But it’s not just that. My feelings are all mixed up. Concern mixed with relief, fear mixed with anger.
She didn’t tell me anything.
She didn’t tell me!
“I’m already here. Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
On my phone, I select a contact and send a message asking for a cleaning crew. Also, I send my location.
In fifteen minutes, twenty at most, someone will be here.
“Jesus, I’m going to jail,” Zoe murmurs into the phone.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I assure her. “You did nothing, okay? You had nothing to do with this, you hear me?”
“I did.”
“No, you didn’t. Say it again, and you’ll keep saying it forever.”
“Eli…”
“Say it, Zoe,” I say firmly. Not to calm her down, but because that’s the truth. And it’s not a lie. She’s not going anywhere. There’s no way I’m losing her to that bastard.
“I had nothing to do with it,” she finally says, though I can tell it’s hard for her.
If she repeats it enough times… she’ll believe it.
“Good girl. I’m here, sweetheart.”
“I’m in the side alley.”
I turn off the engine, jump out of the car, and run to the place she’s talking about.
Turning the corner, I step into the darkness.
At first, I don’t see anyone, and only when my eyes adjust to the darkness do I make out the silhouette of a figure lying a dozen steps away.
Or rather, feet sticking out from behind a dumpster.
One hundred percent sure, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this woman. No one I wouldn’t kill. No line I wouldn’t cross.
“Zoe? Where—?”
And then I see her. She’s sitting huddled against a brick wall, head buried in her arms. The whole of her body is shaking. She’s in shock. But at the sound of my voice, she slowly raises her head.
Blood runs down her face, wild eyes dart about, and her lips tremble.
No, no, no.
Crouching slowly, I touch her shoulders. “Are you hurt?” Her head shakes, but I make sure by looking deep into her eyes. It’s just that she might not even know for sure—she’s in such a big state of shock.
I grab her by the shoulders and lift very slowly. “Is that his blood?” This time she nods, and gratitude fills my heart. “Can you walk, or should I carry you to the car?”
“I can walk,” she says with a weak voice. “But—”
“Don’t worry. The team’s already on their way. I told you I’d take care of everything. We’ll be back home in a bit, and I’ll take care of you. Just need to check on him first.”
“Check on him? How?”
“Leave it to me. Let’s go to the car.”
I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close. Without my support, she would simply collapse.
“I’m a murderer,” she says to herself.
“You’re not. You had nothing to do with it, remember?”
“I didn’t—” she starts but doesn’t finish.
Before we emerge from the alley, I pull the hood over her head. We don’t need anyone to see her like this, covered in blood.
Zoe doesn’t say another word. We reach the car, and I sit her in the front seat, then crouch down beside her.
“I’ll be right back, okay, sweetheart? Just a few more minutes and I’ll be with you, and then we’ll go home.” I speak to her in a gentle voice. Her only response is a nod.
Closing the door, I go back to that damn spot. The place where I could have lost the person who means the most to me. And to the piece of trash I would kill with my bare hands if he were still alive.
He’s lying there with his eyes open. There’s a pool of blood around his head, and his face is all bruised up. It looks pretty bad. I get the vibe that he’s been in a fight today. I remember he’s a ring fighter. Plus, he’s still wearing shorts and a sweatshirt.
But he’s gotta have something on him. At least I hope so.
Who are you, Owen?
“Eli, we’re here.” A man’s voice speaks up behind me.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see three men and nod to them in greeting.
Mason looks down at the ground and leans forward to get a better look at what he’s dealing with. “Ron, bring the car,” he says to the other guy. “Same as always?” he asks me.
“Same as always. No clues,” I say. “I’ll just check him out.”
The body doesn’t faze me or the guys at all. We’ve known each other and worked together for quite a few years now.
Approaching Owen, I crouch down. I check his shorts, but there are no pockets. I reach into the pocket of his sweatshirt.
Bingo.
I turn on the black iPhone and am surprised when it doesn’t even ask for authorization. Who doesn’t secure their phone with a passcode, fingerprint, or face scan these days?
Owen, that’s who.
That’s enough for me, so I step aside to let the guys get to work. My attention is on the phone. The photo gallery offers little content. A few pics in the ring and a few naked girls.
Messages? Also a dead end. Nothing interesting here.
Opening the contacts list knocks the wind out of me. “Fuck,” I curse under my breath.
This can’t be!
“Wait,” I say to Mason and walk over to the open van. Owen’s already lying in the back, ready for transport.
Turning his head to the side, I pull back his hood.
There it is.
Behind his ear.
A small “V.”
“V” for Veirix.