Chapter 42
Forty-Two
Brooks
Ididn’t sleep long after returning to campus with Daphne.
We hadn’t arrived at SVU until almost nine, and by a little after ten, I was awake.
Waking up beside her was both heaven and hell.
I loved it but was scared I’d become a miserable man when I no longer had it.
I carefully eased away, not wanting to wake her, but I couldn’t help but laugh when a quiet snore left her.
At least one of us can sleep.
I checked my phone to find endless texts.
The Sons group chat. My father. My mother.
I read the Sons thread first, saving the others for later.
Enzo: Meeting at 10:30. All of you be there.
Cassian: Got it.
Cedric: Quit being fucking bossy. I’ll be there tho.
Emeri: Already down in the tunnels. See you soon.
Nico: THAT FUCKING EARLY? You guys suck.
I replied to them.
Me: In Fawn Quarters now. Headed that way.
I went to the bathroom and stole Daphne’s toothbrush to brush my teeth. She’d bitch if she found that out.
I’ve had my mouth on her pussy.
She could deal with us sharing a toothbrush.
I pulled on yesterday’s clothes, noticing bloodstains, and tossed them aside before grabbing fresh clothes of mine I’d stored in Blair’s closet.
Before leaving her room, I made sure the door was shut behind me. I slipped into the tunnels and headed straight for our meeting room, Conventūs.
The steel door ensured every conversation inside remained private. I had no idea if anyone was in here yet. I scanned my fingerprint and stepped inside to find everyone was already there.
Enzo sat at the head of a long oak table with the university’s crest carved on its surface. The crest depicted a raven, tangled with two serpents, inside a shield. One serpent’s jaw hung open, its fangs bared.
Other than the table and chairs, the room was empty. Conventūs had been built for Son business and nothing else.
I greeted everyone with a nod before spotting Cory at the end of the table. My headache kicked up a notch.
Who the hell invited him? was the question on the tip of my tongue, but I held myself back from asking.
I wasn’t giving Cory the satisfaction of knowing he bothered me.
Then I remembered Enzo had used the main Sons chat. Cory was in it now because every Son was required to be in the chat. I’d been too damn tired to notice.
“You look like hell,” Enzo commented, snapping me back into the present.
Who knew how long I’d stood in the doorway, looking in a daze?
“That’s where I’ve been, so it checks out,” I grumbled, taking the seat to his right, straight across from Cedric, who looked like he was about to become a fucking librarian with his gray turtleneck.
“How’s Daphne?” Cory asked.
I cracked my knuckles, planted my elbows on the table, and glared at him. “Why the hell do you care about how my Fawn is doing?”
“Don’t be a dick,” Cory replied, indifferent to my attitude and looking like he’d had plenty of sleep. “Daphne and I are friends. That’s all.”
“I talked to Philip,” Emeri said, getting straight to business.
“The fuckers who shot and chased you had no identification on them. I met him at the scene and managed to get a few of their teeth, hoping to identify them via dental records, but so far, nothing. The cars were stolen from a parking lot at a FedEx facility. Both were reported stolen a few weeks ago, and the owners appear innocent. One is a teacher who works part-time at the facility. The other is a pastor.”
“So basically we don’t have shit,” Cassian stated flatly.
I ground my teeth. I hadn’t expected a fucking miracle, but I’d hoped for more than that. Realistically, only a few hours had passed.
I’ll let that slide … for now.
“Don’t worry; we’ll find out who they were,” Nico said with full confidence. “Cory and I have been scouring footage on every camera I can.”
I bit back a snarl. Even the sound of his voice pissed me off.
Since when were he and Nico watching-footage-together buddies?
“Whoever planned this covered their tracks well,” Nico added.
“They wanted to make sure no one knew who’d sent them.
There were no messages. Nothing.” He spread out his hands.
“What happened to leaving a head with a note?” He looked over at Cedric.
“I hate how we’re dealing with pussies. In our world, when you try to kill someone, you make damn sure they know who sent you. Every hit is a fucking message.”
“Do we know if you or Daphne was the target?” Cory asked, lifting his chin toward me.
I dug my fingers into the edge of the table. Hearing him say her name scraped against every nerve I had. I wanted to slit open his vocal cords so he’d never say it again.
“No idea,” I replied. “That’s what we need to find out.” To make a scene and be an asshole, I narrowed my eyes at him. “Where were you last night, Cory?”
He jerked his thumb toward Nico. “With Nico.”
Nico nodded to confirm. “We were down in the Devil’s Lair, watching the game.”
“We’ll keep working on that,” Enzo said, turning his attention to me. “You have another problem as well.”
The pounding behind my eyes got worse. “What’s that?”
He pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and slid it over to me.
“Fuck!” I hissed, gripping the phone tight while reading the headline of the news article.
Secret Society Rumors Swirl Around Discreet University Attended by the World’s Richest Heirs
This wasn’t the first time some loser journalist had tried to expose us. I was sure it wouldn’t be the last either. Usually, though, we’d get a heads-up and take care of it before the story was made public. We’d either pay them off or make them disappear.
How did this one make it to the media without our knowledge?
Enzo nodded toward the screen. “Keep reading.”
The news article mentioned me partying at the club, but I wasn’t sure how the stories connected. I knew damn well I’d never told anyone about the Night Sons, yet the article claimed a source had heard me talking about them at the club.
“Never!” I slammed the phone down, shattering the screen, not giving a shit that it wasn’t mine. I pointed the broken phone toward each of them. “All of you know I’d never say a word about the Sons. My family has been involved since the beginning. Someone is setting me up.”
“This doesn’t look good,” Enzo said, eyeing me suspiciously, as if I’d suddenly become someone none of them could trust.
“It’s a fucking lie!”
Cassian sat up straighter. “Please tell us you didn’t get drunk and blab, man.”
“Fuck no!” I shot Cory a suspicious look before focusing on Cassian. “I’m insulted you’d even ask. You’re supposed to be my fucking brother.”
“We know how you get when you drink,” Enzo said cautiously.
He wouldn’t bring up me murdering Cory’s brother because we wanted to keep it a secret, but it did prove his point. Sometimes, I couldn’t control my anger … especially when I drank.
But that night, even though I’d had a few glasses of champagne, I hadn’t drunk anything but water at the club.
“Daphne was there with me,” I said. “She can back up that I didn’t say a word.”
“She’s not a reliable source,” Emeri said. “Fawns lie for their Sons. It’s part of their duty.”
I swallowed, my nerves on fire while trying to keep my cool. The fact that they’d ever think I’d turn on them was fucking laughable.
“I get violent, sure, but not a fucking blabbermouth,” I argued. “Each of you knows that. I don’t just keep the Sons a secret. I keep my entire life one. You think out of the blue, I’d suddenly start disclosing everything I’d kept hidden? Someone is setting me up.”
“Since we mentioned the Fawn, could it be Daphne?” Cedric asked.
“No,” I ground out. “She’s as loyal as every man in this room. It seems like we have another person to track down.”
My chair scraped across the concrete as I scooted it back and stood.
“I’m going to go hunt down that journalist,” I said. “You all stay on who tried to kill me last night. You don’t think it’s a coincidence I get attacked and these articles drop at the same fucking time?” I looked each of them in the eye before storming out.
Footsteps pounded behind me.
I glanced back as Enzo caught up. He grabbed my arm, trying to stop me. I swung on instinct, my fist cutting through empty air.
“You owe me a phone, fucker,” he said, walking alongside me toward the Fawn Quarters.
It wasn’t about the cost of the phone to him. He could easily buy twenty new phones without flinching at the price.
It was about the disrespect of me breaking his shit. If I were any other Son, he’d probably have grabbed my phone and every other device I had and broken it. He was taking it easy on me.
“I’ll make sure you have a new one by the end of the day,” I told him.
“No worries. I have plenty of backups, but you’d better have cash for me to pay for it. No one breaks my shit and gets away with it.”
I nodded, knowing I’d do the same thing. “You can’t really think that I’m the one who leaked whatever bullshit that article said?” I asked him, hating that for the first time, I wasn’t sure I could trust the guys who’d always had my back and knew I’d always have theirs.
“I don’t know, but the Elder Sons are pissed about it.” He drew in a measured breath. “My inbox is full of messages from them. I can only put off giving them answers for so long. The same goes for you.”
“It’s bullshit they could even think I’d ever turn on you.”
“No one thinks you turned on us. They think you let your mouth get the best of you.”
“I’ve done some stupid shit, but I’d never cross that line.”
He nodded, and I couldn’t tell if he believed me or not. “There’s more, but your dad said he wanted to talk to you about it. Go back to your dorm because you’re about to spend the day dealing with all this bullshit.” He clapped me on the back. “Good luck, man.”
I stood there speechless as he turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
I stayed rooted in place, watching Enzo disappear down the tunnel. If I didn’t figure this out soon, losing the Night Sons’ trust would be the least of my problems.
I’d die for it.
I didn’t check the rest of my texts until I was in my dorm room, nor did I return to Daphne in the Fawn Quarters. She’d know something was wrong, and right now, I needed privacy and peace to deal with this.
Just when I’d finally gotten what I wanted—Daphne—my life was becoming a total shit show.
I dropped into my desk chair, found the article Enzo had shown me, and reread it.
According to sources, I’d sat with a group of friends, gotten drunk and high, then told them story upon story about a secret society where we killed people and stole.
I’d never describe the Sons like that.
It went on to say that this secret society involved royals, politicians, and any family worth billions, which was another fucking lie.
Money couldn’t buy you into the Sons. You could be the richest man in the world, and that still wasn’t an easy way in.
You needed the right connections and still had to prove yourself.
I closed the article, returned to my texts, and opened the thread with my father, starting from the bottom.
Dad: WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?
Dad: ANSWER ME, GODDAMN IT.
Dad: Are you ignoring me?
Dad: If we don’t figure this out, we’re fucked.
Dad: Here’s another article to add to your list of fuckups. You’d better call me.
Kicking my feet up on the desk, I opened the article. They immediately fell when I finished the headline.
President Byron’s Son Caught with Daughter of Man Involved in His Attempted Assassination.