by Huss, JA
I’m the one who will go through with it.
That’s what he’s thinking. They—whoever they are—they must think I’m the one who will rape this girl to save another girl’s life.
That’s just the kind of guy I am.
“Who did you rape, Jack?”
His eyes narrow down into slits. But it’s not a defensive look. It’s not guilt. It’s… conviction. “She didn’t make it so it doesn’t matter.”
“Dane wasn’t killed because he had to pay for what he did to Cadee. He was just an example. That’s why they pass the babies around, isn’t it? Father needed to raise a boy that wasn’t his so that one day…” I stop to take a deep breath. “One day he could use him. Just throw him away like a… sacrifice.”
“Now you’re catching on.”
“And you’re gonna keep it going, aren’t you?”
“We all keep it going Cooper.”
“Why?” It comes desperate. Because I just don’t understand. “Why would you be a part of something like this?”
He sighs. It’s not a frustrated sigh, it’s a sigh of… longing. And I am suddenly reminded of the way Elexa was looking at Valentina last summer. When she was showing off her diamonds and talking about mansions, and boats, and men.
“You can’t even imagine the power, Cooper. You have no idea what you’re in to. This is such a small sacrifice. One stupid girl. Who cares? She is worth nothing in the grand scheme of things. You, on the other hand—Cooper, you could rise. You could really, really rise.”
He looks drunk on delusions. I don’t even recognize him. “Is this why Ax had to grow up with the Judge?” I turn away from Jack. I can’t look at him. “He was nothing to that man. Nothing but a… an offering.”
Jack starts a slow clap. It’s loud, even with the muffled sounds of the party leaking through the walls. “Yes. Very good, brother. An offering. We don’t have much use for mongrel boys like Dane and Ax. They are tools, nothing more. Mistakes. And if Cadee had gone through with it and gave birth to a little baby Dane, well.” I turn back in time to see Jack shrug again. “He’d just be another Ax. Just another Dane.”
“And if she had a girl?”
“Just another Cadee. Just another Mona. Just another Sophie.”
The true evil of this plan finally sinks in. And then my father’s words come back to me. Back when we had that talk on the Old Inn porch.
The oldest did everything he was told. He took the wife he was offered and he was happy. Content. The youngest didn’t want anything to do with the girls at High Court. Not the legitimate ones, anyway. You see, he loved a girl on the edge of things.
I know you think I’m evil. I walk into that tomb every month and condone what happens in there.
But I was you once. I was the youngest brother. The underachiever. I wanted the girl on the edge of things. She was a town girl, not a pretty thing in the woods. And I got her, Cooper. That was your mother. And I still ended up here.
He still ended up here.
Mona’s words come back to me too. They hit me in the chest like a fucking sledgehammer.
Your family are a bunch of psychopaths.
You are a whiny bitch of a boy.
You don’t deserve Cadee or Isabella.
It’s your fault they’re in this mess.
It’s all your fault.
And she was right. Everything that’s happening to Isabella and Cadee is because of me.
They want me in line.
They need me to follow orders.
Everything has consequences.
And she was right about the rope too.
I have a lot of it. And I’m not using it to climb out of the hole. I’m using it to bring them all down with me.
“No.” I say it loud and I say it with conviction.
“What?” Jack is incredulous.
“No. I’m not doing it.”
Jack grins. “I don’t think you understand what will happen next if you say no, Cooper.”
But I do.
I absolutely do.
And I still walk away.
I leave by way of the back stairwell and then make my way around to the front of the building. There are a ton of cars in the parking lot and I’m not in the mood to wait for the valet to bring my car around, so I shove my hands in my pockets and start walking down the highway towards the Old Alumni Inn.
Victor and Ax should have data by now. And I want to see it. I want to take these motherfuckers down. I want to make sure no more girls are fed to the lions just to keep the Kings in line.
This is how they do it. They hold something over you—like Cadee and Isabella—and then they threaten them. Do as we say or these people you love will be dead by morning.
They always give you a way out, though. That’s the only way they can control you.
Rape this girl, Cooper. Rape this girl and Cadee and Isabella will still be alive tomorrow.
And I said no.
I walked out.
What have I done?
I walk faster. I need a fucking plan. I’m starting to panic.
They have them.
Jack has them.
My father. The Judge—I feel sick.
Cadee and Isabella are probably at the tomb right now and these monsters are doing God knows what to them.
I start to jog. My expensive shoes splashing in the slushy snow on the side of the road.
The inn comes into view, the lights on, and I have a wave of hope that Ax will know what to do. He will have a plan. We will figure this out and win—and then a black van pulls up in front of me. The door slides open to reveal men dressed up in black. They grab me, pull me in, slide the door closed, shove a hood over my head, throw me down, zip-tie my hands and feet, and then one of them says, “Tell Lars we got him.”
CHAPTER THIRTY - TWO - CADEE
Leela does not put me in a dress. It’s a school uniform. Not regulation, but it’s definitely a school uniform. Except it’s all in white.
A short, pleated skirt, a crisp button-down shirt, and a sweater vest with the High Court Lions logo embroidered on the left breast.
She does not explain this, nor do I ask about it.
Because I don’t care what I wear to the tomb tonight. I just want my secrets.
My hair is hastily pulled up into pigtails. She makes me sit and then pulls the thigh-high stocking up my legs. But she doesn’t linger. There are no soft touches. She doesn’t kiss me again. It’s like she flipped a switch and now she’s cold, and focused, and businesslike.
Her phone buzzes just as she’s buckling the last black Mary Jane shoe on my foot.
She checks the screen, then fakes a smile in my direction. “One moment, Cadee. I have to take this.” And she steps out of the room, pulling my door closed behind her.
I get up and look in the mirror. It’s a cute outfit, but definitely not something you wear to a secret society party on New Year’s Eve.
Well… not if you’re a guest, that is. A servant. No, not a servant. It’s too branded for a servant. But definitely someone subservient. A… student, right? That’s what this uniform means. I am a student of something.
But what?
I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know the answer to that.
Leela comes back in the room. She pauses in the doorway and just stares at me.
“What?”
She takes a deep breath and smiles. “Jack forgot something at home. He wants me to pick it up and bring it to the tomb.” She glances up and down my body. “You’re ready. Let’s go.” She turns and walks down the hallway. “Come along, Cadee.”
I follow her to the grand foyer. There is a round table underneath a sparkling chandelier and on the table is a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Already filled. They both have satin ribbons tied around the stems. One blue, one gold.
Leela hands me the gold one.
I’m not in the mood to drink—I need to be sober tonight—but she’s already toasting me. “Here’s to our fu
ture, Cadee. It’s going to be rich, it’s going to be long, and it’s going to be fabulous.”
She holds her glass up and I gently touch mine to it. The clink is soft and short. A little anticlimactic. She takes a long sip of her drink and then I do the same.
It’s strawberry-flavored.
She laughs. “It’s kind of a joke. I thought you’d appreciate it.”
“What’s a joke?”
“The strawberry champagne, of course. It’s revenge, right?”
“Um. Sure.”
“Drink up, Cadee. We need to go.” Then she downs her drink, sets her glass down, and slips her coat on.
I debate whether or not I should argue with her about the drink, then decide it’s not worth it. I finish it, set my glass down next to hers, and slip my coat on too.
Leela takes my hand. “Come on. You haven’t been to my house yet. We have to be quick, but I’ll give you a little tour.”
Outside it’s cold and windy and that sucks, because apparently, we are walking. The blacktop road has been cleared of snow, and several limos are parked along the edge of the woods. People who are probably at the tomb already.
We head down the road and when I look to my right, at Mona’s house, I see her peeking out from the front window. She waves at me, then disappears.
If Leela notices, she doesn’t say anything.
She and Jack live only six houses away, but that’s a long walk in the dead of a winter night because the lots are freaking huge. We probably walk at least a half a mile. And by the time she opens her front door and I step inside, I am so freaking cold and tired, I slink down into a straight-backed chair in the foyer.
“Cadee,” she admonishes me. “Get up. We’re in a hurry.”
“I just—” But she pulls me to my feet and starts leading me down a hallway. I lose track of things then. There is a door. And some steps. And another door. And then she says, “Just lie down, Cadee. And close your eyes.”
My head is fuzzy. Like it was that night Mona and I smoked weed. Only it’s much, much worse.
“You drugged me.” It comes out weak and slurred.
She swipes the hair away from my forehead. “I’m sorry, sweets. You would’ve been so much fun. But Cooper failed his test. He’s out, my dear. And that means you’re nobody now.”
“What?”
“But don’t worry.” She kisses me on the lips. “It will all be over soon.”
Then she gets up, clicks off the lights, closes the door, and I am alone.
In the dark.
And I can’t move.
Cooper failed, I’m nobody, she drugged me and…
It will all be over soon.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE - COOPER
“Lars!” I yell it. “You motherfucker!”
Someone kicks me. “Shut up.”
It’s not a voice I recognize. Someone much older than the guys I know from school.
The van is driving fast. Recklessly taking corners so that I have to brace myself to keep from rolling. “Where are you taking me?”
“Shut. Up!”
I know I should shut up. This is a kidnapping. I’ve been here, done that many, many times.
But it’s not that kind of kidnapping. There will be no keg at the end of this ride. No party. No loud music and flashing lights.
Because I walked out and now they’re gonna make me pay.
Lars is gonna make me pay.
For taking away his crown, and his girl, and all those other delusional things he thinks I stole from him.
The van stops abruptly and I roll into someone’s leg. The door whooshes open, someone grabs me, cuts the zip ties on my feet, pulls me out, stands me up, and then the hood is lifted off my head.
“Lars.” I narrow my eyes at him. “What a surprise.”
He puts up a hand. “Don’t get excited, asshole. I’m one of the good guys.” Then he pans his hand to the black ops team who just kidnapped me.
They aren’t black ops.
They are FBI.
I look back at Lars. “What the hell?”
“We found it, Coop. It was right where you said it would be.”
“You found it?” Holy fuck. I want to sit, but there are no chairs, so I just lean against the van. Someone cuts the zip ties on my hands. “What was down there?”
Lars sighs. “It’s way worse than we ever thought. Come on. Dante, Ax, and Victor are inside.”
That’s when I realize where I am. The Rib Shack in Monrovia. The place is obviously closed, but the door opens when we approach it. “What the hell are we doing here?”
Lars pans his hand at the door, telling me to go first. I do, and from behind me he says, “This is Dante’s headquarters. Apparently, some distant relative owns it. We’ve been staging the operation out of here for a week now.”
We go inside, pass the first dining room, and then enter the far one in the back. Ax, Dante, and Victor are sitting at the bar. They all swivel in their seats when Lars and I enter.
I look at Ax first. I want to tell him… things. Not what Jack told me. I never want to tell him those things. I want to tell him he’s more than what they tried to turn him into. He’s more. He’s smart, he’s got a good heart, and he’s loyal. He’s loyal and I don’t have to buy that loyalty with blackmail.
I want to say all of that before this goes any further. I want him to know that I see him.
But just as I open my mouth I realize… he sees me too. So instead I say, “You found it.”
Ax nods. But he’s not smiling.
The project my father gave me for Capstone was a dig at the tomb. Actually, it wasn’t a dig—that’s just what it turned into. It was a well-thought-out plan to use technology to scan the underground area surrounding the tomb. I found all the secret passageways down there. Mapped that shit out good. I figured that’s what my father was after. But when I showed them the scans, they just shook their heads.
Not what they were looking for.
And of course there was nothing at the Glass House. Not even some interesting tunnels.
It was Ax’s idea to use the scanning equipment to check the Old Alumni Inn.
That amphitheater just never looked right. It was actually creepy as fuck. And when Ax said, “It reminds me of an altar,” I knew in my gut that’s what it was.
“What did you find? What were they looking for?”
Ax’s eyes go very sad. “Bones. They were looking for bones.”
“What kind of bones?”
It’s Dante who speaks next. “Babies, Cooper. They were all babies.”
I collapse into a chair. And it takes all my self-control not to throw up. “You found babies down there?”
“It’s old,” someone says. That’s when I remember the FBI brought me here. I look at the man who is speaking. “Our initial reports say they’re at least eighty years old. But they could be much older.”
One of the agents approaches me. “You mind?” He’s pointing at me.
“What?” I look down as he slips my tie clip off my tie.
“It’s a recording device. We gave it to Miss Mona Monroe to give to you. We heard everything your brother said.”
“Ax,” I say. Because I don’t want him to know those things Jack told me.
Ax just shakes his head. A signal that he’s not ready to go there yet.
I let out a long breath. Then I remember what else is happening. “Cadee and Isabella are at the tomb! We need to go get them, right now!”
“Before we get into that, we need to talk about this envelope you sent us.”
I look up at the man who took my tie clip. “What are you talking about? What envelope?”
He sits down at the table across from me and places a glossy blue and gold High Court College envelope in front of me.
I open it. Squint at the stuff inside. “What is all this?”
“You tell us. It’s got your name on that letter.”
I scan the letter, still confused. “I didn’t send yo
u this stuff.”
The man across from me smiles. “We were hoping you’d say that.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - CADEE
I come to coughing and gasping for breath. The smell of smoke fills my lungs and I cough again.
“Wake up!” Someone pulls me up into a sitting position. Slaps my face. “Open your eyes and wake up!”
The command is not as easy as it sounds. My eyelids are so heavy and it’s really hard to breathe.
“The house is on fire, Cadee! Wake up!”
My eyes open and when I look up, I’m staring straight into Chairman Valcourt’s eyes.
He pulls me to my feet. Pushes me into the hallway and I stumble forward.
When I glance to my left, the curtains are on fire in another room. For a minute I don’t know where I am. Then I’m being guided into the foyer and it all comes back to me.
He shakes me again. “Did you hear me?”
“What?”
“Elizabeth is here somewhere! I have to get her out! I need you to run! Now! Into the woods. Find Isabella! They drugged her too!”
“What?” I push some hair out of my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“They’re burning it down, Cadee. The FBI is raiding the tomb as we speak. Find Isabella! I left her in the woods. Find her, and then find the gate!”
And then, without giving me a chance to respond, he pushes me out the front door, closes it behind me, and turns the lock.
I’m just about to start pounding on it, to make him tell me what’s going on, but that’s when I realize the house next door is on fire too.
And when I stumble down the driveway, I count three more mansions ablaze.
The whole street is on fire.
It mesmerizes me for a moment.
And then the sound of a helicopter fills the night. People are in the woods, screaming.
I look down the road, past the burning mansions, in the direction of the tomb.