17. Plenty of Secrets
PLENTY OF SECRETS
Axel
Vaughn drummed his fingers against the mahogany desk, his dark eyes drilling into me like he wanted to crack my skull open and suck out my brain. He’d called me into his basement office of the Sigma Delta house to rehash the conversation he started after finding Lorelei and me hooking up.
What else was there to say? She was done with Brock.
“I just don’t know what to do with you, Axel.” His perfectly styled chocolate brown waves shone under the lights hanging from the coffered ceiling. “I told you to stay away from Lorelei, and you even assured me nothing was going on. Then I find you two almost fucking at a charity event.”
I folded my arms over my chest and matched his glare. “Who I’m with is none of your concern, and you never gave me an official order to keep away from Lorelei.”
“As your Domnus, I asked you for a favor, and you blatantly ignored it.” He twisted the lavish diamond ring on his pinky, his lips curling in contempt, reminding me too much of Sebastian Davenport.
This was his former office, and Vaughn kept the same ominous dark gray and black décor after it had to be remodeled from Killian’s total meltdown last year.
I poked the serpent and dagger tattoo on my forearm. “Brock isn’t part of this. My needs and desires come before his, so if I wanted to steal Lorelei from him, I have every right to.”
Vaughn gave a dry laugh and stood, strolling to the wet bar on the left. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, thanks.” I’d like to get the fuck out of this dungeon. I had better things to do than argue with him.
He filled two crystal tumblers anyway. “You’ll have one.”
I jammed my fingers through my hair, biting my tongue against the insults I wanted to hurl at Radcliffe. He was still the Domnus and had the power to make my life hell for the next year. If I didn’t show at least a modicum of respect, he wouldn’t think twice about messing with me.
He set a glass of scotch in front of me and then folded back into the oversized black leather chair on the other side of his desk. “We share plenty of secrets in the Serpents & Daggers, don’t we Ax?”
“Yep.” I swirled the scotch before taking a sip.
“It would be a shame if any of those secrets were spilled, wouldn’t it?” He opened his drawer and took out a photo, placing it face-down on the mahogany. “A tragedy really.”
My pulse spiked as I reached across the desk, slid the photo toward me, and flipped it over.
All the blood drained from my body, leaving me ice cold.
My image from sophomore year stared back at me, a maniacal grin stretching my lips as I poured liquor down a freshman pledge’s throat while we partied near the bluffs.
That night had nearly destroyed my life. It had definitely destroyed the pledge’s.
“Such a shame what happened.” Vaughn sipped his scotch. “Peter had his whole life ahead of him until that terrible accident.” He used air quotes around the last word.
My hand shook as it hovered over the photo. “Have you been digging around in the archives now that you have access to everything as the Domnus?”
He gave a lazy shrug. “The police never found any evidence that this was more than a tragic accident, but that was because we covered it all up. For you.” He motioned toward the picture.
“The other Lords and Ascended might think differently if they knew how much alcohol you forced that poor pledge to consume. You have to admit that your hazing went a little overboard.”
My stomach roiled and threatened to purge everything inside as memories of that night inundated my mind. I’d been totally wasted too, but that was no excuse for my behavior. I’d turned into a stereotypical bully, the same kind of assholes who made my life hell as a kid.
But I’d gone further than they ever had.
“And this isn’t all the evidence stored in the archives. We confiscated a few phones with videos of some disturbing behavior. Oh, and of course, there are images from the security cameras around town.”
Vaughn’s words sounded far away—just like our shouts had probably sounded to Peter after he plunged into the ocean.
Was Vaughn attempting to blackmail me? Was he threatening to ruin my life all because I broke up Lorelei’s engagement to Haversham?
My muscles moved before I realized what was happening, and seconds later, my hand wrapped around Vaughn’s throat, strangling him. “Do you really think you have that much power, Radcliffe? You were only crowned Domnus because Killian turned it down. The Inner Circle wanted him.”
His fingers scraped over my flesh as he tried to pry off my relentless grip.
“I’m…only making…a point, Vanderhart,” he wheezed. “Just relax.”
“I don’t think the Grand Domnus or any Ascended would appreciate you using the information in the archives to help someone who’s not even a member.” The adrenaline and fury thundering through my veins tried to mute the rational part of my brain.
If I didn’t let Vaughn go, I’d kill him.
Did I really want more blood on my hands?
I released him and collapsed back into my seat, breaths ragged as every muscle trembled with the effort it took to keep my control.
Vaughn coughed and downed the rest of his drink. “Since I know this is a touchy subject for you, I’ll let this slide, but don’t ever attack me again, Axel. I mean it.”
Even though fear clouded his dark eyes, something evil and twisted still swirled within those brown irises. He might be more like Bass than I’d thought.
“Get to your fucking point, Vaughn.” My hands shook as I lifted the glass and drank the scotch in one gulp, slamming it on the desk.
He grabbed the photo from me and slipped it back into his desk. “I’m not going to out you for dating Lorelei. Just know that I could—if I really wanted to.” His smile sent chills down every vertebra. “But I won’t as long as you do something for me.”
“Honestly, Vaughn, I don’t feel like doing shit for you after this.” I wanted to bash his face into an unrecognizable pile of flesh, blood, and bone.
“I could always ask one of your friends if you’re not up for it.”
My molars ground as I held back the curses that wanted to burst from my lips. When I made the deal with Lorelei, I vowed to keep the guys from feeling the heat of my decision.
“I’ll do it.”
“Fantastic.” Vaughn reached into another drawer, withdrew a large envelope, and pushed it toward me. “I want you to break into this home and steal a laptop. Everything you need is in this packet.”
My brow arched as I studied the floorplan of the massive house, a red circle around the study on the first floor. The address and security codes were on another page. “Whose house is this?”
“No one important.” He grabbed a cigar from the gold box on the edge of his desk and cut the tip. “Just get me the laptop.”
“And then we’re even? You’ll drop this whole Lorelei thing.”
The ominous twist of his lips poured cold trepidation through my bloodstream. “We’ll see.”