33. Sebastian
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
SEBASTIAN
The last couple of days have gone by quicker than usual.
Stevie has been back and forth to the mortuary a few times, and like I do now, I waited for her outside.
Stevie and I have to attend the next Black Veil Society meeting at the old library downtown tomorrow night—well, with what’s left of them.
The afternoon sun spills through a thin crack between the blackout curtains, shining into my eyes.
I thought I got those to block out the sunlight.
My arms are wrapped around Stevie from behind, while her warm, bare back is flush against my chest. We’re curled into a mound of blankets.
My dick has fallen out of her again, like it always does, and despite my urge to get hard, I tuck it back into her warmth.
I remember that Christian, Hayden, and I are meeting in my office soon to discuss how the next event will go, because it won’t be long before the Society realizes they’re missing members.
Even after a quick text exchange with Silas yesterday, it seems he hasn’t noticed any more members have gone.
Because of the unsettled tone in his voice the morning he showed up in our room at the chateau looking for Larry, I know it won’t be long before he starts asking more questions.
And when the rest of us show up to the next meeting and suddenly more members haven’t been accounted for, the alarm bells will sound.
Lowering my head, I bury my nose into her curls, breathing in one more whiff of her before I have to take care of business.
“Hmm,” she coos, her eyes still closed, but a smile appears on her beautiful face.
Gently, I slide my arm from underneath her. She notices the movement and rolls into the other side of the bed, taking the comforters with her. I straighten, placing my feet onto the floor and then flash one more glance sleeping safely in my bed before getting out of bed.
Poe runs into the room, sees me, and meows.
“Hey, buddy,” I whisper, putting on my pants and a T-shirt. He walks a figure eight between my legs, and I lower to pick him up, giving his head a little scratch. “You want to snuggle with Stevie?”
His eyes shoot over to the bed, wriggling out of my arms, so I set him down, and he immediately jumps across the bed and cozies up next to Stevie.
After one more painful look at the naked woman lying peacefully in my bed, I leave the room and close the door behind me.
My office is a short distance down the hall, and as soon as I approach the locked door, I type in the code to unlock it, but I leave it ajar to make sure Hayden and Christian can come in.
While walking over to my desk on the opposite side of the room, I glance to my side at the wall of cameras, where my eyes immediately go to Stevie’s bedroom in the East Wing.
It’s empty, causing a smile because she’s in my bed instead.
I hit the remote on the motorized windows, opening panoramic views of the dense forest making up our property. I wonder if Stevie will want to head out to the cemetery. I hope she does.
Slumping down into my leather chair, I open my laptop to go through some notes Christian and I have made so far with details about the Black Veil Society and their origin. The outline legend appears on the left side of the screen, highlighting each killer.
“You’re glowing!” Christian teases, stepping into my office.
I cock my head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, playing coy.
He drops onto the leather couch, folding one leg over the other, and rests his computer in his lap. “Just that you’ve been in a more chipper mood lately.”
“If you’re referring to Stevie, then yes, I have, and it’s been fucking amazing. We don’t have to all suffer just because you have the hots for a woman who is way out of your league.”
“Fuck you,” he spits out at the mention of the mysterious woman he refuses to tell any of us about. “I’d hoped you would be nicer after being with Stevie, but I guess not.”
Hayden shoves the door open. “You should have seen them in wine country over the weekend.”
“Fuck you both.”
“We’re happy for you.” Hayden lowers to the couch next to Christian.
I push aside their jokes. “Okay, let’s talk about tomorrow. I’d like to go in with more of a fleshed-out plan this time.”
“I agree. They’re going to figure it out real soon that three of their members have vanished,” Christian adds.
Hayden leans forward, resting his elbows on bent knees. “If they haven’t already.”
“If Silas is suspicious of us, then I think Stevie and I need to be prepared to prove ourselves once again,” I say.
“And I don’t think it’ll include getting your dick wet this time,” Christian replies.
Hayden clears his throat. “And if he’s worried about the entire group, he might make everyone take part in something.”
“Like a group killing?” I suggest, thinking aloud.
“Maybe,” Hayden says. “We should be prepared for anything.”
I lean back in my chair, resting one leg over the other with my mind spinning before landing on an idea. “What if we’re able to take out the rest of them in one shot?”
Christian’s eyebrows snap together. “What do you mean?”
“What if we were able to gather all the members in one place? Then take them out sniper-style?” I begin.
Hayden’s eyes light up. “And then burned whatever building they’re in down.”
The three of us are quiet for a few minutes.
I quickly cycle through different ways I could work out this idea. “But we’ll be at that library downtown tomorrow night. Security was tight the last time we were there. And I’m sure if Silas is suspicious, he’ll bump it up once again.”
Christian nods in agreement, his eyes trained on the floor, deep in thought.
Another idea forms. I sit straighter in my chair and lean forward over the desk. “What about Moore Mansion?”
“What about Moore Mansion?” Hayden asks.
A mischievous grin grows across Christian’s face. “That’s where the last event of the killing season will be. It’s remote…”
“And I’m sure we’d be the only group there, since the Society will need secrecy,” I add.
Hayden’s eyes widen. “And it’s on the island. There’s nothing else around there. We could hack into their security systems.”
“It’s basically Hacking 101 with these old buildings. I’ll need enough time to take them out one by one,” Christian boasts.
“With five of us, including me and the night crew—”
“And me,” Christian interjects. “I’m going in on this, too.”
Hayden rolls his eyes at the fact that Christian doesn’t want to play the elusive and cold tech guy anymore. “Fine. We’d easily be able to knock them off one by one. And quietly, too.”
A fire builds inside me with each step of our plan as we lay the groundwork to take out the West Coast chapter of the Black Veil Society.
We’re not a big operation, but despite what ignorant people might think, to pull off large-scale organized crime like this we really don’t need many people. Just the right people.
“This is great,” I say, turning to Hayden. “Hayden, can you spend the next week checking out Moore Mansion? I want you to locate detailed blueprints of the interior, perimeter, any access points to the island, and the mansion.”
Eager to get started, Hayden jumps to his feet. “Fuck yeah.”
I stand and walk around my desk. “Ensure the place is completely cased and confer with Christian regarding everyone’s placement.”
“Of course,” he says.
“Now we need to go back to discussing tomorrow night,” I say.
Christian sighs. “I’d treat the event as you both proving your loyalty to the group, whatever they ask. If you don’t, they might get spooked, and we don’t want them to cancel the last event. If they do, we’d be fucked.”
He verbalizes everything I’m thinking, and it makes the stakes even higher. My heart pounds with excitement and nerves. I need to speak with Stevie about how important it is for us to play our part fully tomorrow night. There is no room for hesitation.
I wipe a hand down my face. “I need to speak with Stevie.”
Hayden and Christian exchange a quick smirk.
“Fuck you both.”
“What are you going to do when all this is over?” Christian asks sincerely.
I shrug. “What do you mean?”
“Are you guys a thing? Like, are you going to bring her into our world completely?” Hayden clarifies for me, but also for himself.
I shake off my annoyance with their questioning, but I know it comes from a concerned place. They have skin in the game as much as I do. “She is mine. That’s it.”
“Does she know that?” Christian presses. “Does she want to live a life like this?”
Suddenly, I get a pang of uncertainty. “She has to.”
Neither one of them responds, and it irks me.
“Okay, get out of my office so I can lock up and speak with her.”
Hayden’s boots pound the floor as he leaves, followed by Christian. On their heels, I quickly set the alarm for my office and head to the left toward my bedroom.
When I enter, I don’t see Stevie right away, but her scent is everywhere, and I love it.
After a quick scan, I spot her sitting outside on the balcony with a computer on her lap.
I step closer, pushing the curtains aside.
Her upbeat voice tells me she’s on the phone.
But from what I can hear, it sounds like she’s wrapping up the call.
I only have to wait a moment before she says goodbye to the person on the other end, and I take this as an opportunity to join her.
“Hi.” I bend to kiss her on top of the head.
She looks up at me, smiling. “You’re back.”
Lowering into the chair next to her, I glance out at the dense forest. “Sorry about that. I had to meet with Hayden and Christian.”
“I was able to get a lot of things done for Nevermore while you were gone. I actually just got off the phone with Kristine. She’s handling everything well.” She closes the computer. “I’m so grateful to have her and Noah while I’ve been away.”
“Good,” I say. My answer is distant, which is not my intention, but with the weight of tomorrow night and the last event of the killing season coming up, the pressure is on for us to close up this project, leaving no loose ends.
I pull a single cigarette from the pack in my back pocket and slide it between my lips.
I know she hates when I smoke, but I need it right now.
Stevie grimaces as I light the end. “Everything okay? How did your meeting with Christian and Hayden go?”
I blow out a puff of smoke while the nicotine wraps around my body like a heavy blanket. “Good news is we came up with a plan for the last event.”
Her eyebrows raise with interest. “Okay?”
“Remember Silas mentioned at the dinner party that the last event of the season would be at Moore Mansion? Christian and the guys are going to spend the next week checking out the place because we’re going to take out the remaining killers, sniper-style.”
Stevie’s eyelashes flutter. She’s processing what that would look like. “And what else?”
“We believe we can take care of all of them at once that way.”
She nods. “What about the bodies?”
I lean forward, putting out the cigarette on the small tray on the table.
“Hayden and the night crew will work it out,” I tell her.
“We’ll talk about it more when Hayden and the guys come back with information they gathered during their casing.
That also means everything must go smoothly tomorrow night. It’s essential we don’t tip them off.”
Stevie leans back in her chair. “What about tomorrow, then?”
My leg bounces uncontrollably. “Well, we don’t know what it’ll be. We took out three of their members. There’s little chance they won’t be suspicious. If not the others, possibly Silas.”
Stevie shakes her head, processing what we could walk into. “So, we don’t know if they’ve caught on?”
I reach across the small table, running my thumb over her trembling hand. “Yeah,” I say softly. “We could be asked to prove ourselves again.”
“But we don’t know what they’ll have us do this time?”
“That’s right.” I smooth my fingers over her skin. “We can speculate, but there’s no use in trying to plan for something that might not happen.”
“Well, that doesn’t make me feel better,” she says.
“Everything will be fine,” I reassure her. “Like always, Hayden, Christian, and the rest of the night crew will be close by.”
Her eyelashes blink rapidly, then she forces a weak smile.
Stevie is worried, and I understand why. Now that we’ve gone over the heavy stuff, I need to lighten the mood. The last thing I need is for her to get too much into her own head.
“Hungry?”
Her big almond eyes light up. “Yes. I am.”
“I’m sure Ben has plenty of things packaged in the fridge that are easy for us to make.” Her hand falls into mine as we both stand.
“I know what you’re doing,” she says.
“What?”
“You’re distracting me with food…and it’s working.”
I laugh.
I have distracted her for now, but my goal is to keep her mind off it until tomorrow night.