Chapter 51 #2
“I wish I knew.” She lowered her voice and leaned forward on her elbows. “The Salvatores guard their secrets.”
“Someone is always with me. I’m not even allowed to paint alone. And Luca… He hasn’t been around for days. I have no way to leave. My phone only allows me to dial programmed numbers without Internet access. I’m completely at their mercy.”
Kali pressed her lips together and glanced over her shoulder and around the crowded restaurant. “I wouldn’t bother trying to run from their estate. It’s more guarded than Fort Knox.”
“How did you get past them when you ran away?”
“You need to get into town,” she said in a hushed tone. “Founders Way has too many cameras. Even The Hills is heavily guarded.”
“How did you hide for so long?”
“Drake hadn’t developed his artificial intelligence technology back then. I’m also not from one of the founding families. No one missed me.”
“Damian and Bastian must have missed you to send Marcello.”
She rolled her shoulders against the booth. “I wish Marcello had left me in France. I was happy there. I begged him to tell his brothers he couldn’t find me, but he’s loyal to his family.”
“I have to tell you something. You might not like it.” Biting my bottom lip, I looked across the table at her. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”
A crooked grin tugged at her mouth. “Damian told me about you and Marcello outside of his bedroom.”
I covered my face with my hands and laughed. “I didn’t know.”
She chuckled, not the least bit embarrassed. “You thought Luca was with another woman.”
“At first, yeah. Damian barely looks at me, let alone speaks. No one told me his bedroom is on the same floor as mine.”
“Bastian’s is across the hall from Damian’s. I’m surprised you haven’t heard us before.” Kali chuckled. “We get pretty loud.”
She acted nonchalant like it didn’t matter that I watched her fuck Luca’s brothers while Marcello fingered me.
No big deal.
Business as usual.
“It was an accident,” I confessed. “I wanted to explore the house. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…”
Watched?
Got off on your moans?
She waved off my concern, a smile in place. “It’s all good, girl. The Salvatore estate makes the Playboy Mansion seem like Disneyland.”
“It’s been chill since I got here.”
“Just wait.” Kali snickered. “Those boys are fucking deviants. The shit that goes on…” She shook her head. “You’ll see.”
“What have you seen in that house?”
She blew out a deep breath. “The Knights have a lot of strange rituals. One night, they picked me up at my house, covered head to toe in blood. Women wearing carnival masks and lingerie arrived at the house shortly after. It was insane. There were at least twenty of the local Knights.”
“How many are in the entire organization?”
She shrugged. “They’re spread throughout the country. It could be hundreds or even thousands. I don’t know. I’m not privy to that kind of information. I shouldn’t even know they exist.”
“So what happened at the house?”
Her gaze swept over the dining room. “The guys passed the women around, one after the other. Didn’t even bother to wipe the blood from their skin.”
“Did you have sex with other guys?”
“Never. Just Damian and Bastian. But some of them touched me.” My eyes widened as she added, “I let them. It was nothing. You’ll see.”
“Luca’s birthday is at the end of this month,” she commented before she sipped from her water bottle. “The Knights usually go all out for the occasion.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Meaning?”
“You’ll get to see them in action.”
I sank back against the leather bench, my heart pounding.
“The Knights don’t have secrets. You’re going to be their queen. That means something to them.”
“Luca hasn’t told me much. I’m starting to remember doing sexual things with them in their temple.”
“There’s a ritual.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this. I’m not supposed to know. Damian told me about it one night. He was so drunk. He called it Legare . Have you heard of it?”
“From what I remember in my dreams, we did a trial run of the ceremony to see if I was comfortable with it. Did Damian tell you anything specific about the ritual?”
“No.” She shook her head, and blonde hair fell into her eyes. “He just said it’s between you, Luca, and the Knights.”
“Did Damian say anything else?”
Unable to meet my gaze, Kali sighed. “He said he was looking forward to it. The rest of the Knights can’t wait to get their hands on you again .”
“Kali,” I choked out. “I…”
Our eyes met, and she forced a smile. “It’s okay. I know it’s a one-time thing.”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I can’t even imagine how you must feel.”
“The Knights need a new queen. That’s why Arlo is forcing Luca to get married.
” She grabbed a cold fry from her plate and chewed, speaking between bites.
She focused on the window where Marcello sat in his car, watching us.
“They will do anything for you. Kill for you. Die for you. Anything. Once you swear the oath, you will become one of them.”
I followed her gaze, staring at Marcello. “I need to know if my brother is alive.”
“If they know something about Aiden, they will tell you when you become one of them.”
“Then, I guess I have no choice. I have to become their queen.”
Whatever it takes, Aiden.
I will find you.
Dead or alive.