14. Sebastian
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SEBASTIAN
The next evening, Stevie and I are on our way downtown to the old library. She sits next to me in a sweater, short skirt, and heels. It’s been difficult to take my eyes off of her.
“How was your day?” My question is flat but only because tonight is an important night, and I can only think of her safety.
She straightens her skirt. “It was good. I spent most of the afternoon on the phone with Nevermore, going through financials and upcoming services.”
Stevie worked from the East Wing patio all afternoon, and I spent the same amount of time pretending to be interested in Christian’s relentless chatter about the Society because I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the cameras.
Every so often she’d run her hand through her hair, flinging it to the side where her long curls would fall to one shoulder.
“Oh,” I say. “And everything is good?”
“Yeah?” She nods. “Why are you being weird?”
“I’m not.”
“You kinda are.”
I try to crack a smile because my demeanor is more serious than it normally is. “I’m keeping my head focused on tonight, that’s all.”
“This is what you do, Sebastian. I usually spend my nights around dead bodies, not dangerous serial killers.” She tucks a hair behind her ear. “I’d expect you to be your typical easygoing self.”
“You’re right. Maybe you aren’t up for this after all.” I shoot her a look, baiting her.
Stevie’s hand meets her hip as she turns sideways in the seat. “Excuse me? I can do this. Why else would you have asked me?”
I shrug, taking the off-ramp into the city. “You were my only option.”
She clicks her tongue in annoyance, and it lights me up inside. “You are a billionaire, Sebastian. You’re telling me you didn’t want to pay someone?”
“Maybe that’s why I wanted you. If I had to spend this much time with any other woman, I’d try to fuck her, but I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about that with you.” I glance in her direction, making sure she can see the exaggerated grin on my face.
“Fuck you.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the last part.” I lean in, cupping my ear.
“I said, fuck you.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yes.”
“When? Where?” I deadpan. “What time?”
Stevie rolls her eyes. “It’s sad how desperate you are to have me.”
“That’s definitely not it,” I lie.
“You’re a jerk, you know that?”
I laugh at pissing her off, because god knows, I’d fuck her in a heartbeat if I had the chance.
I pull into the deserted parking lot of the old library, and just as Silas instructed, I park under the tree.
He also sent a simple text a few hours before we were set to leave for the library.
The text was the single letter X. When I messaged him back about what he meant by that, I got no answer, so I’m assuming that’s the password to get us into the dinner party.
I turn to Stevie when the ignition cuts off. “Are you ready?”
She nods. Her fingers pick at the hem of her skirt with nervous energy.
When she was nervous at the masquerade ball, I rested a hand on her back, and it calmed her. I bring my hand over to hers, because that’s the only part of her I feel comfortable touching right now. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”
“I know.” She gives me a weak smile.
“I was joking when I said you were my only option.” Her brown eyes flick to mine. “You are the only one I’d want to do this with. You’re capable of so much, Stevie. And the fire burning within me, what drives me to do what I do, is the same flame I see in yours.”
Her hand slowly turns over, her fingers intertwining through mine. “I want to do this with you, Sebastian. These monsters deserve to be taken out.”
I smile with relief. “That’s my girl.”
She turns away smiling, but I don’t miss the way her cheeks turn a light shade of crimson. Her reaction sends a heat up my neck in response.
“Shall we?” I say, opening the car door.
“Mm-hmm.”
I walk over to her side to let her out. We walk hand in hand toward the back entrance. “Remember what I said about eating and drinking?”
“Yeah. I’m not to drink anything they give me or touch the food, because it could be laced with something. Or, for all we know, human flesh.”
“And if you’re pressured or feel you should, spit it into your napkin or back into your glass,” I remind her.
“I know. Trust me, I won’t.”
We ascend the small stone steps up to the door. “It feels weird without our masks on.”
“But it’s what we have to do to show them our trust.” My hand taps the gun tucked into my back waistband. It’s the same one I use in all my kills, and I’m hoping it can be my offering.
The heavy wooden door swings open to reveal a man dressed as a security guard. Not sure if he’s part of the Society or they hired him for this event, so I tread lightly.
“Hello,” I speak first. “We’re here for—”
“I know who you are.” Does he recognize us? Could he be the figure who led us into the library at the masquerade ball? His weathered skin shows his age and is a window into what he’s seen in his life. “Silas and the others are expecting you in the entertainment room.”
“Great,” I say, stepping inside, but the man blocks me.
“I’ll check you both first.” He whips out a handheld metal detector from his waistband. “Arms up.”
“I brought a gun with me,” I tell him, as he waves it along the length of my body.
The detector goes off when he moves over my back. “Take it out.”
I slip it out and hand it to him. “I brought it for the group.”
He sighs as if he’s annoyed. “The weapon will stay with me until the conclusion of the event.”
Not what I hoped would happen because I wanted to offer it to the group myself, but if he must keep it for security purposes, I can let it go. “Fine.”
“Of course,” he tells me as he finishes patting me down.
He moves toward Stevie, but I keep myself in close proximity. I twist to face Stevie. She will be connected to me through touch for the entire night.
Once we’re cleared, he leads us through the aisles of tall bookshelves.
As we round the corner, we enter a small room lit by candlelight.
A long wooden table is before us, fitted with table settings and with the members enjoying generous pours of red wine.
I hear a brief gasp from Stevie as she witnesses what I am seeing—all six of the men, including one woman who I hadn’t noticed before sitting around the table are without face coverings.
To assume they would isn’t a stretch, but to see what their faces look like comes as a shock to Stevie—because they look like regular people.
Silas is the first to slide from his seat with his glass in the air to greet us. I recognize his voice and overly arrogant demeanor right away, prompting a mental countdown until he is eventually face to face with the barrel of my gun.
“Hello!” Silas exclaims. “Please welcome our guests this evening, the Dark Prince and Annabel Lee.”
The members raise a glass in our honor as Silas gestures for us to take the last seats at the end. I guide Stevie over, keeping one hand firmly placed on the small of her back.
As we get settled into our places, Silas moves to the head of the table and remains standing.
“I’m happy to add more members to our group.
The Dark Prince and Annabel Lee were recruited by our good friend, Andrew Hughes.
The police almost discovered his body the night after he was savagely killed,” Silas continues.
“And part of the many member perks we offer is that we were able to get to him before the police found his body in that cabin and linked him to all the women who went missing during his sex ring. Essentially keeping his desires secret forever.”
How would Silas know that? Is it protection from getting caught that they provide for their other members?
My eyes glance around the room as the other members grumble to themselves for how displeased Andrew’s life ended.
From my side, a person with an elaborate animal mask catches my eyes, causing me to flex and reach for the missing gun in my waistband, but they just lean over the table to fill the wineglasses in front of me and Stevie.
As they continue to fill to the top, my hand covers the bowl. “Enough,” I say. The person with the animal mask that looks like a ram moves toward Stevie’s glass, and I do the same. “That’s enough for her, too.”
“I like a killer who needs control,” Silas comments on my interference with how much Stevie can drink.
“Don’t we all?” the woman sitting across the table adds with a wink.
I ignore them and place my hand on Stevie’s thigh.
As the server rounds the table, Silas continues speaking at the front.
“I would also like to formally welcome everyone back for this year’s killing season.
” He raises his glass into the air above the table.
“I’ve heard that some of you have already gotten started in this lively city…
” A chuckle vibrates around us as the members share an inside joke that me and Stevie should know.
“But I can’t blame you, I already got an old man last week.
Poor guy came in for open-heart surgery… and oops, didn’t make it out.”
Stevie’s muscles tense under my hand, and I wonder why. “Being a surgeon has its perks, doesn’t it, Silas?” one member blurts from my left.
A sinful smile slowly crawls Silas’s face. “A respected member of the community has its advantages in regards to flying under the radar,” he replies. “Now, let’s get back to our toast. Will everyone raise their glasses?”
I grab mine, followed by Stevie lifting hers.
“To an eventful and educational killing season as we will all be surrounded by like-minded individuals. Let’s toast to a safe and nonjudgmental space. May your victims be ripe, may they scream—if that’s what you like—and may it all go well, and feed the inner monster in all of us.”
What the fuck?
A collective “Hear! Hear!” rings in my ears—the sound of their response runs up my spine like a knife grinding against stone. It’s maddening. And how easy it would be to take that knife and slice each one of their necks and be done with this entire charade.
The group takes a drink in celebration. As I bring the rim of the glass to my mouth, my eyes slide to Stevie, where hers meet mine. They lock onto one another, and I watch to make sure she spits the contents back into the glass. She does as I instructed.
Another set of servers dressed in masks shaped as animals enter the room holding trays with platters of food covered by dome metal covers. They once again make their way around the table, placing one platter in front of each member, including Stevie and me.
“Silas, did you remember to leave the Society’s mark on your recent victim?”
The mark? Is she referring to the mark Stevie found on one of her clients this week? Is she right? Is that why she tensed up?
Stevie’s silver fork drops into her lap, causing her to jump in her seat. “Shit, I’m so sorry.”
He pulls out the wooden-backed chair at the head of the table and takes a seat.
“Of course. And thank you for bringing that up.” He smiles and turns to me.
“The Black Veil Society is proud of who we are and makes an effort to commemorate this year’s killing season.
You will mark every victim with an X on their upper thigh. ”
Stevie sucks in a barely audible breath next to me, but her body remains stoic, staying in character.
Forks clatter and hit the china as the members casually enjoy their food.
Silas clears his throat and continues. “The symbol shows the Roman numeral ten, to show we’ve reached our capacity of ten members in this chapter, and for this being the tenth killing season since we had to go into hiding at the beginning of the nineties.”
One of the members sitting across the table from me, with white hair and skin weathered like he’s seen many days in the sun, interjects. “There are only nine of us.”
Silas takes a slow bite of his food. “That is correct. We have not seen one of our other members yet this year, but we know he is alive and in the area.”
“But I thought we’re not allowed to miss any events,” the woman asks.
Silas rests his fork on the plate and clasps his hands underneath his chin. “It will be handled before the final event of the season back at Moore Mansion.”
A younger guy with a mouth full of food speaks up. “What does that m—”
“It is being handled,” Silas repeats, firmer this time. “We will not discuss it further.”
Another member? And one who’s not accounted for? Did he go rogue? Or did the Society dispose of him?
A few minutes later, while I watch Stevie push her food around the decorative plate, I grow curious about what else is to come tonight.
We’ve gleaned some information, but I feel like there’s still much Silas is holding back.
This can’t be it for Stevie and me? They either have to gain our trust for us to continue, or this is all the information we’ll get tonight.
“Now, I’d like to get right into the main event of the evening.”
“My favorite part of adding new members,” someone gleefully says.
The woman with red hair sets her glass on the table, excitement in her voice. “What are you going to make them do?”
Does every member have to do something different?
“I think it’s time we discuss how you two can prove yourselves,” Silas begins, only a seat away from me.
Here it is.
I hold my breath.
“Like an anticipation or to give an offering?” I wish everything wasn’t so fucking confusing.
“Sort of, yes. You and your wonderful girlfriend will need to do what everyone else here has done and show you’re who you say you are,” Silas begins nonchalantly. “You’re a couple, correct?”
“Yes?” My eyes narrow.
A devilish grin transforms his features. “We’re going to need to watch you two fuck.”
And the room falls silent.
I did not see that coming.