Chapter 33 Dredyn
THIRTY-THREE
DREDYN
The party started fast. Word spread across campus about free alcohol and a legendary OCK rager, and students showed up in droves. The main floor is packed wall-to-wall with bodies.
I’m stationed near the front entrance, red Solo cup in hand, playing the role I’ve perfected over three years.
Dredyn Steele, OCK officer, life of the party.
Talon’s by the kegs, keeping them flowing, making sure everyone stays drunk and distracted. Jasper’s near the sound system, volume cranked.
Just three officers throwing a party.
Not three men about to commit arson and murder.
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
CJ:
All systems green. Accelerants armed. Standing by.
Me:
Copy. 90 minutes to showtime.
Another buzz.
Kade:
All three in position by 9 p.m.
“Dredyn!” Some sophomore I vaguely recognize stumbles over, already wasted. “Dude, this party is insane!”
“Only the best for OCK. Keep drinking, brother,” I say, forcing a grin.
He wanders off, and I check the time.
7:43 p.m.
Forty-seven minutes until DSN crashes the party.
Forty-seven minutes until we burn this place down.
I make my way through the crowd toward Talon. He sees me coming, giving me a subtle nod, acknowledging my presence. When I reach him, I lean in close, speaking directly into his ear to be heard over the music.
“CJ’s ready. Kade confirmed the meeting.”
“Good. How are you holding up?”
“Ask me in three hours.”
He scans the room. “Most of our brothers are here. The ones who know the plan are staying sober, ready to evacuate. The rest … They’re having the time of their lives.”
“Good. Let them. The last party in this house should be memorable.”
There’s a crash from the kitchen—someone knocked over a tower of Solo cups—and laughter erupts.
Jasper appears through the crowd, quickly signing, “Perimeter clear. No unexpected security. Campus PD drove by twice but didn’t stop.”
“They won’t. Not until the fire.”
“Speaking of—” Talon checks his phone. “Eight p.m. Thirty minutes.”
The next thirty minutes crawl by with excruciating slowness. I circulate through the party. A group of juniors challenges me to a drinking game and I accept, lose on purpose, then laugh it off.
All while watching the clock.
8:15
8:20
8:25
At 8:27, my phone buzzes with a text:
Unknown Number:
15 DSN brothers en route. ETA 3 minutes. -S
Sable.
I find Talon and Jasper, showing them the message.
“Get ready to evacuate on my signal.”
They nod and melt back into the crowd.
I move to the front entrance, positioning myself where I can see the street. My brothers who know the plan have already started subtly herding people toward the main exits, creating natural flow patterns for when chaos hits.
8:29
I see headlights, as multiple cars pull up to the curb. The doors open and fifteen guys in DSN Navy Blue emerge. Even from here I can see they’re ready for violence.
8:30
The DSN brothers storm up the front steps, and I let them. The door’s unlocked—we made sure of that. They burst into the main floor, and the music doesn’t even falter at first.
Then someone recognizes the letters on their jackets.
“DSN? The fuck are you doing here?”
“Heard OCK was having a party,” the lead DSN brother says. I don’t recognize him, which is perfect. He’s not one of the officers, not anyone who’d know the real plan. Just an angry kid looking for a fight. “Figured we’d crash it. Show you assholes what real fraternities look like.”
“You’ve got ten seconds to get the fuck out,” someone—one of our sophomores—responds, stepping forward.
“Make us.”
That’s all it takes.
The sophomore throws the first punch. It connects with the DSN brother’s jaw, snapping his head back. For a heartbeat, everything freezes.
Then chaos erupts.
DSN surges forward and OCK meets them. Bodies collide, fists fly, the music still blaring as the fight spreads through the main floor like wildfire. Girls scream and someone tackles someone else through a side table, shattering it.
It’s perfect chaos.
I pull out my phone, and text CJ.
Me:
Now.
Three minutes. He’ll wait three minutes while the fight escalates, while everyone’s attention is focused on the brawl. Then—
I count down in my head. Talon and Jasper are already moving, implementing the evacuation plan. Our brothers who know start pushing people toward exits, making it look panicked but ensuring everyone’s heading the right direction.
“Everyone out!” Talon’s shouting. “Break it up! Campus PD’s gonna shut us down!”
It’s a lie, but it works. Some people start filtering toward doors, but the fight continues—DSN and OCK still throwing punches, exactly as planned.
Two minutes.
I grab a freshman by his shirt, steering him toward the side exit. “Go. Party’s over. Get out before you get arrested.”
He stumbles out and I grab two more, repeating the process. Jasper’s doing the same on the other side of the room, physically herding people like cattle.
One minute.
The fight’s reaching its peak. A DSN brother slams an OCK sophomore against the wall and someone else throws a punch that connects with someone’s nose—blood sprays. It’s brutal, convincing, exactly what we need.
Thirty seconds.
I’m still counting in my head when I smell it.
Smoke.
Someone near the basement stairs screams, “FIRE!”
And just like that, everything changes.
The word ripples through the crowd faster than the flames. People stop fighting, heads turn, and someone points at smoke beginning to curl up from the basement stairwell.
“FIRE! GET OUT!”
Panic replaces violence. The fight dissolves as survival instinct kicks in. DSN and OCK brothers alike surge toward exits, the carefully maintained chaos becoming real chaos.
“EVERYONE OUT! NOW!” I bellow.
The crowd stampedes. Bodies push and shove toward every available exit. I stay near the main door, Jasper at the side, Talon at the back, making sure everyone gets out.
The smoke’s getting thicker. I can see flames now—orange and hungry, licking up the basement stairs, spreading faster than I expected. CJ wasn’t kidding about the accelerants.
Knox grabs my arm. “Dredyn! Everyone’s out. We’re clear!”
“You sure?”
“Did a count. Everyone’s accounted for. All OCK brothers are safe.”
“Then go. Get out of here.”
He runs and I do one last sweep of the main floor—empty except for overturned furniture and spilled drinks. The fire’s spreading up the walls now, consuming everything it touches.
This house where I lived for three years. Where I became who I am. Where I fell in love.
Going up in flames.
I turn and run.
Outside, the lawn is packed with people—students coughing, shouting, filming on their phones. The DSN brothers are already scattering, disappearing into the night like Sable promised they would. In the distance, sirens wail, emergency services responding.
Right on schedule.
I find Talon and Jasper near the edge of the property, both covered in soot but uninjured.
“Everyone out?” Talon asks.
“Everyone.” I pull out my phone, already vibrating with notifications.
CJ:
Fire spreading as planned. Emergency services ETA 2 minutes. You’re clear.
Kade:
Confirmed. Syndicate security detail splitting. Half responding to OCK fire. Meeting proceeding as planned. Three targets, four guards. Window is now.
This is it.
“We need to move. Now.”
We skirt around the crowd, using the chaos as cover. No one pays attention to three more students evacuating, as we make our way to the equipment shed behind the house.
Inside are three duffel bags we placed there earlier.
We strip, changing into dark jeans, black long-sleeves, and gloves. Then we strap on our weapons—handguns in shoulder holsters, knives at our waists, extra magazines in pockets, comms devices in our ears.
“Radio check,” I say quietly.
“Check,” Talon responds.
“Check.” Jasper’s voice crackles through.
“Rally point. We’re moving to target. Stay ready,” I say, knowing Mara’s listening.
Her voice comes through, tight with fear but steady. “Copy. Be safe.”
Rook’s voice joins hers. “We’ve got her. You three focus on the job.”
“Let’s go.”
We slip away from OCK house while it burns behind us. The fire’s fully engulfed it now—flames shooting through windows, the roof beginning to collapse. The street’s in total chaos with campus security trying to control the crowd, while everyone’s phones are out, filming the destruction.
No one notices three figures in dark clothes moving away from the scene.
No one sees us cut through the back lawns of sorority houses, making our way toward Greek Row, where the PTO house is.
No idea what’s about to happen.
The walk takes eight minutes. We move in silence, weapons hidden but ready, constantly scanning for threats. Campus is emptying—everyone’s either at the OCK fire or hiding in their dorms. A campus-wide alert probably went out about the emergency.
Perfect.
We approach the PTO house from the back, using the shadows. The building’s massive—even bigger than OCK. Three stories of Georgian architecture and old money.
The house is eerily quiet after the chaos we just left.
Kade’s directions were perfect. We find the room easily—boilers, electrical panels, and a false wall that looks exactly like every other wall.
Except this one has a hidden door.
Jasper runs his hands along the edges, finding the catch. The wall swings open, revealing a narrow staircase descending into the catacombs.
“This is it. We’re going in.”
CJ responds, “Copy. Emergency services still occupied at OCK. Campus security spread thin. You’ve got maybe thirty minutes before someone notices the split and starts asking questions.”
“That’s all we need.”
I take point, gun raised, flashlight in my other hand, Talon behind me, then Jasper. We descend single file, every sense on high alert.
The stairs are steep, going deeper than I expected. Fifty feet. Seventy-five. A hundred.
Finally, the stairs end at a reinforced door. I press my ear against it. There’s voices, muffled but audible. The meeting’s happening right now, right on the other side of this door.
And there’s four guards outside it, according to Kade.
I look back at Talon and Jasper. They nod—ready.
I key the comm. “Rally point, we’re at the target. Going silent for the approach.”
Mara’s voice is barely a whisper. “I love you. All of you.”
“Love you too, Hellcat.”
I switch off the comm and motion to the others. We move into position—safeties off, knives ready for silent kills.
This is it, the moment we’ve been planning for. The moment everything either works, or we die trying.
I think about Mara. About the life we could have if we survive this. About freedom.
Then, I push the door open.
There’s four guards, just like Kade said. They turn, hands going to weapons—
Too slow.
We move as one. Jasper takes the closest guard out with a knife to the throat. Talon takes the second with two shots, silenced, center mass. I take the third and fourth with the knife for one, bullets for the other.
We step over the bodies and move to the next door—the one that leads to the meeting room.
I can hear them now.
My father’s voice among them.
I key the comm one last time. “We’re breaching. See you on the other side.”
Then I kick open the door.
And come face to face with the three most dangerous men in the country.
James Steele, my father, looks up from the table. His eyes widen in shock, then narrow in understanding.
“Hello, Dad. We need to talk,” I say, gun leveled at his chest.