Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 7)

by Crystal Perkins

  “You don’t deny stealing the jewels, though, do you? Your bosses need to know who they’re hiring.”

  “We know,” Jane says. “We’ve known it was Darcy all along. Why do you think we recruited her?”

  “What?” I step back like she physically struck me, because it feels like she did.

  “You need to give up the jewels, Darcy. This has gone on too long.”

  Jane is looking like the fierce leader she once was, and my heart is breaking. “Mallory?” I ask, looking to my mentor, the woman who brought me in, promising that she would save me.

  “We’ve given you seven years to tell us the truth, but you’ve continued to lie. Your time with us is over. If you want to save yourself from jail—or worse—you need to tell us where the jewels are.”

  “No. You said you were saving me.”

  “I lied. We all did. You interfered with us all of those years ago, and we don’t accept failure. It’s time to make things right.”

  “I-I thought you cared for me. That you accepted me. I’ve been working with you for seven years.”

  “As I said, we’ve waited patiently, but our patience has worn thin.”

  “My mother has been threatened. I have to go to her. I need your help.”

  Jane gives me another hard look. “Have we not just made it clear to you that there is no help for you from the Society? You are on your own. If you give us the jewels, we will spare you. If not, well, you know what happens to our enemies.”

  I need to get out of here. I look around, and see Reina looking at Jane like she’s an alien. She didn’t know. That gives me some comfort. I meet Nate’s eyes, and he nods twice, using our own special code to tell me the patio doors to my right will be my best bet. I just have to make it to them.

  I grab my skirt in my hands and turn. “Stop her,” Derrick yells.

  “Go,” Nate tells me, jumping in to stop the two palace guards who were coming for me.

  I look back only once, seeing Aiden, Jake, Ellie, and Jade stepping in to keep the rest at bay. I meet Brayden’s eyes and know it’s probably the last time I’ll see him. I mouth “I love you” and he returns the sentiment. I don’t look back again as I join the crowd outside and hurry to the fence. There’s no way I’ll make it out the front gates, which is why it’s a good thing I’ve been practicing with the walls. I’m over and blocks away when I hear the first of the men who are looking for me. I make it up to the roof of the building where I’ve stored some supplies before they see me and lie flat on my stomach as they run past.

  I quickly disable my tracker and change into black clothes, boots, and a beanie I had stored in my messenger bag. There is also a good amount of money, a fake passport that’s mine—not one that the Society gave me—and two guns. I wait until I hear no one below and then slip into the night, making my way to the hiding place I made sure was secure when I got here. It’ll be like hiding in plain sight, but I hope it will be safe for the couple of days it will take me to arrange for transport off the island. That’s all I have left now—hope.

  Chapter 13

  Darcy

  I made it to the apartment I’ve owned for years under a fake name without being spotted. I secure everything and then collapse onto the bed, falling into a fitful sleep. I wake up, knowing that I’m not alone in the apartment. Old instincts die hard, and I reach for my guns. I slowly open the bedroom door to see Reina, Faith, Audrey, Stella, and Ainsley lounging around my living room.

  “I’m not going quietly,” I say as I enter the room, guns drawn.

  “If I was here to take you in, I wouldn’t expect it to be easy,” Reina says.

  “If?”

  “Would we really be hanging out on your couches if we wanted to grab you?”

  I look at the women I’ve come to call friends. They’re all smiling at me, and no one has a weapon out. “Jane said I was the enemy.”

  “Yes, well, Jane is no longer in charge, so she can say what she wants, but that doesn’t mean we’ll listen.”

  “We can’t function without the mentors and their money.”

  “No, but we also can’t abandon our friend—our sister. You are my priority right now. As is your mother.”

  “Matt?”

  Reina looks away, pain clear on her face. “He won’t go against his grandmother.”

  “Thank you, Reina. It means a lot that I have at least one Corrigan on my side.”

  “You have three. I’m not sure what we can do to help, but we’ll do anything we can.”

  I turn to see Alex and Jessica Corrigan walking into the room. Alex is Matt’s sister-in-law, and the receptionist at the Foundation. Jessica is Matt’s stepmother; although, technically, she’s been divorced from his dad for years. He still loves her like a mother, though.

  “Matt and Miles are not going to like you helping me.”

  “You let me worry about my sons,” Jessica tells me.

  “And Reina and I will worry about our husbands.”

  “Now that we’re all here, let’s talk about what we’re going to do,” Reina says.

  “I need to get to my mom.”

  “No. They’ll expect that. You know Isa is still at home, dying to help out. Tegan is also at home right now since Ethan was getting an award at school, and she didn’t want to miss it. I’ve already been in touch with them, and they’re ready to go wherever you need them.”

  “Tucson. My mom is in Tucson.”

  I give them the info, and Ainsley uses a secure channel to pass along the information. It’s decided that Faith and Audrey will meet them there as well. They hug me goodbye, before rushing off to take one of the Corrigan jets while Reina still has control of them. We all know it’s only a matter of time before Jane realizes she’s helping me, and cuts her off.

  “This is going to be bad for you, for all of you. I’m an enemy of the Society, but you’re helping me.”

  “You’re not our enemy, Darce. I don’t care what Jane says, you’re still one of us. We’ll do everything we can to protect you, even if we can’t do it officially. I promise you that.”

  “Thank you,” I say, and then realize something. “Where are Nate, Aiden, Jake, Ellie, and Jade? Are they…are they…” I can’t finish. If my best friends are against me, I don’t think I want to know.

  “They’re in the palace dungeon. That Derrick guy had them arrested.”

  “We’ll get them out,” Ainsley tells me. “I don’t know how yet, but I’m working on it. Zack’s still there, doing intel for me.”

  “Zack’s doing intel?” I ask, trying not to laugh. I love the guy, but he’s not really cut out to be a spy.

  “He’s trying,” she says with a smile.

  “Let’s get down to business and figure out how to untangle this mess. Tell us what you can, and we’ll go from there,” Reina tells me.

  I sit down and take a deep breath. I can’t tell them everything, but I can tell them the basics. “When I was fifteen, I was hired to steal some jewels from the royal family. I was told that they weren’t the most important of the jewels they have, but they held a sentimental value, and the monarchy would do anything to get them back if they were stolen. It was a challenge, and I’ve always loved a challenge, so I did it. Angelo was also hired to steal them, but I got them before he did.”

  “So you stole the jewels and turned them over to the person who hired you?”

  “No. I never turned over the jewels.”

  “Shit, Darce. You still have the jewels? No wonder everyone’s after you,” Stella says.

  Reina’s more direct. “Why do you still have them?”

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “How did I know you were going to say that?”

  “I’m sorry. I would tell you if I could. Hell, I would give them to Brayden if I could. But I took an oath, and I won’t break it.”

  “Your boss made you swear an oath?”

  “He wasn’t exactly my boss, but yes.”

  “There’s no way to
break it? To just give them to Brayden? ”

  “No. If certain things happen, I’ll be free of it and can give them to him if I choose, but until then I’m bound to keep it.”

  “What are the consequences to breaking it?” Ainsley asks.

  “The loss of my honor and the betrayal of people who believed in me and trusted that I would keep my word.”

  “Got it. How likely is it that the things needed to free you will happen?” Reina asks.

  “At this point, I believe that they are very likely. A month ago, I would’ve said it was still a long way off, but now I’m pretty sure we’re close.”

  “In time for the coronation?”

  “That’s my hope.”

  “I’m guessing that you don’t have them here with you.”

  “No. It would’ve been too dangerous for me to bring them here.”

  “Can someone else—one of us—get them for you?”

  “If it was a matter of just getting them, I think Tegan could, but I can’t let anyone else have possession of them.”

  “Your oath?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s not going to be easy to get you off the island, and it’ll be even harder to get you back here, but I think you need to go get them.”

  “I do. I want to be ready.”

  “Then let’s get you out of here.”

  * * *

  Brayden

  “We have to do something,” I tell Noah and Jen as I pace around my study.

  “No shit, but what? It’s not like we have the skills to break people out of prison, and Faith, Ainsley, and Audrey have disappeared right along with Darcy,” Noah says, getting up to pace as well.

  “They wouldn’t have gone far. I think they might be helping her.”

  “Even though she was thrown out of their Society thing?” Jen asks.

  “Which is fucking bullshit, by the way.”

  “Calm down, Noah. I don’t know why you’re so upset, anyway.”

  “I just am. It’s not right. You love her, and I think she’s awesome. They shouldn’t be treating her like this.”

  “She is a thief,” Jen reminds us.

  “Shut it, Jen. Or leave. I mean it. You’re either with us, or not, but you won’t be bashing Darcy in front of me.”

  “I’m with you. Obviously. This whole thing’s just cocked up so badly, I’m not so sure we can find a way to fix it.”

  “We have to. Darcy and her friends need us.”

  There’s a knock at the door, and I open it to find Stella, the guys from Storyside, and Zack Taylor standing there. “Hi,” he says when I let him in.

  “Hello. Is there something I can help you with?”

  No one answers until I close the door. “Darcy says we can trust you,” Stella tells me.

  “We?”

  “I’m part of the Society, or I guess currently, we’re the rogue Society.”

  “Ainsley’s my fiancé,” Zack says.

  “And we’re, you know, with the band,” Kace says with a smirk.

  “You all came here undercover to help keep her safe?” Noah asks.

  “We did. Now we need to figure out how to get our friends out of the dungeon, and make it so that Darcy can safely return,” Stella tells me.

  “She’s gone?” I ask.

  “Yes. It isn’t safe for her to be here right now, and she has to make sure her mother is safe.”

  “Oh yes, of course. Her safety and her mother’s has to take priority.”

  “She’s not going alone to her mother, is she?” Noah asks.

  “No. She’s not going at all. They’ll be looking for her. We have others who will take her mother to safety, and then Darcy can do what she needs to.”

  “What she needs to?” I ask, afraid to hope at what that means. “Is she getting me the jewels?”

  “No. Well, maybe. There’s some oath she took and conditions that have to be met. She couldn’t even tell us everything about it. I do know that she hopes to be able to give them to you in time for your coronation.”

  “I told her if she couldn’t, it was alright. I don’t want her to place herself in unnecessary danger.”

  “From what I gathered, she’s been in unnecessary danger for ten years because she’s too honorable to break her word. It seems like things are coming to a head, and maybe she’ll finally be free.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can to make that happen for her.”

  “The first order of business is to get us into the dungeon. It won’t be a problem to get everyone out, but we have to be able to get in. Five minutes should be enough time to free them from whatever Derrick has them chained to.”

  “He hasn’t been feeding them much, so they’re probably going to be weak. Jake’s mother has been putting pressure on us to release him, so he was offered more food and a nicer cell, but he refused, saying he’d stay with his friends.”

  “Of course he did. He’s not one to take any favors if his friends are suffering.”

  “I can carry at least one of the girls out,” Zack says.

  “I’ll carry the other one,” Noah says.

  “Nate and Aiden will be fine. They’ve been in the desert with low rations before from what they’ve told me. They’ll come out of the cell swinging.”

  “Do you need to be down there with them, or can you help me distract the guards, Stella?” Jen asks.

  “Someone who knows how to work the devices we use has to be there, and it’s too complicated to just train someone on the fly.”

  There’s another knock at the door before anyone else can respond. I open it, and am once again surprised. It’s Matt Corrigan standing before me, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. I don’t let him in right away. “Hello, Matt.”

  “Let me in, Brayden.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not going to stand in the fucking hall discussing it. Move, or I’ll move you.”

  I’m not stupid enough to go up against him, so I step aside and let him in, closing the door behind us. He looks around, and takes in everyone, finally focusing on Stella.

  “I’m here to help.”

  “You’re going against your grandmother?”

  He shakes his head. “No. I can’t do that. But Nate and Aiden are my best friends, and I need to help them.”

  “What about Darcy? She’s one of your best friends, too. Before you got married, and Nate got Jade, the four of you were inseparable. Or did you conveniently forget that? Or forget your wife?”

  “I didn’t forget. My gram is family, though, and I owe her too much to stand against her.”

  “I understand the need to choose family over everything, man, but I almost lost Stella because of it. Are you willing to lose Reina?” Kace asks him.

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  “Yeah, you do,” Stella reminds him. “We all have choices. I’ve made some pretty bad ones, and some awesome ones, too, but they were mine to make. You’re choosing wrong.”

  “Maybe I am, but like you’ve insisted on pointing out, it’s my choice to make. Reina will forgive me, or she won’t. I know my friends will—they’ll understand. Now, what can I do to help?”

  They have a staring contest for at least a full minute before Stella finally nods. “I need to work with Jenysis to distract the guards. While we’re doing that, the rest of you will go to the dungeon. You know how to use Ainsley’s gadgets, so you can get them out.”

  “Who here knows how to shoot a gun?”

  Everyone in the room raises their hands. I’m a little surprised that the band guys know, but then again, if they’re around the women so much, they probably have to be prepared. “We can get guns, if that was going to be your next question,” I offer.

  “Thanks. Now how is this going to go down? I mean, Stella can definitely bombshell herself up, but Jensysis? I mean, no offense, but you come off as a little, well, uptight.”

  “I can be sexy,” she says, her eyes flashing.

  “You’re
already sexy, babe,” Wayne tells her.

  “No one asked you, you tosser.”

  “Time out, you too. Keep it in your pants for once, Wayne. And Jenysis, you need to learn to take a compliment when it’s given.”

  “He’s degrading me.”

  “Nah, he’s just being Wayne. He doesn’t mean any harm,” Stella tells her.

  “Back to business. Stell and Jenysis will distract the guards, but who’s going to distract the Queen, Steven, and Derrick?”

  “Jessica and Alex,” Stella informs him. “They’re going to ask to talk to them about the island and all of the different customs.”

  “They’re in on this, too? Miles is going to freak.”

  “Too bad. Choices, Matt, choices.”

  “I can’t help you with Darcy. Just with this.”

  “Understood. I don’t agree with it, but I know that if Reina isn’t enough to change your mind, nothing I saw will change it either. Now, let’s get this all worked out.”

  I sit back and let them plan, interjecting with pieces of information when they need them. It’s pretty amazing to watch them work. Between Matt and Stella, every possible problem is uncovered and a plan is put in place. Once everything is ironed out, we go our separate ways until tomorrow. Noah is going to slip guns to everyone over the next 24 hours, and Storyside now has a part to play as well. All I can do is hope that this goes off without one of us getting killed.

  Chapter 14

  Darcy

  Being home, but not being able to go home, is a strange situation, even for me. I’m staying with Zack’s sister, Sierra, who recently moved to Las Vegas. I didn’t want to involve her, but everyone thought it would be best. No one would know to look for me with her, and she’s excited that she gets to help.

  “This is so cool. I mean, it would be cooler if it was official Society help, but this is great, too.”

  “I appreciate it, Sierra, I really do.”

  “But you need me to back off a little, right? I know I’m being kind of overwhelming. It’s just that ever since I learned about all of you, I keep hoping they’ll be an opening or something.”