Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 167819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
My heart accelerates at what I see. My finger scrolls through them so fast that my mind has a hard time keeping up with the images. My hands start to shake, my chest heaving as I try to catch my breath. The blood is rushing in my ears, and I start pulling on my hoodie’s collar.
Glancing up at the balcony, I see her standing outside on it. Her hands hold the railing as she looks out into the dark night. She can’t see me because I’m too far hidden behind the tree line. She didn’t run to get help immediately after I killed James. I know my secret is safe with her. And I know why.
CHAPTER THREE
INITIATION
SIN
COMMITMENT
JUNIOR YEAR AT BARRINGTON UNIVERSITY
I SIT TUCKED back in the corner on the terrace when I hear the glass doors open and close, alerting me that the homeowner has finally arrived.
I wait, sitting perfectly still. I have my cell phone off and tucked into my pocket so no one calls or texts and gives me away.
“Yeah, I’ll call him tomorrow.” I hear his voice travel as he walks over to the wet and dry sauna, removing his black silk robe. “Right, it’s like taking candy from fucking babies,” he goes on, talking on his cell. “He won’t know what fucking hit him after we’re done.”
I smile. Ironic, considering he has no idea I broke into his house over an hour ago and have been waiting out here for him to sit in the sauna as part of his nightly routine.
Remaining still in the darkly lit corner, I watch him say his goodbyes before removing the robe and entering the sauna.
It’s an octagon shape, with benches on each side and a round heating element in the center. Reaching over, he picks up the ladle that’s in the bucket and pours what he thinks is water over the heating element.
Steam rises and a shrill scream comes from his mouth as the steam hits his face and chest.
The man has done something to piss off the Lords. I don’t know the specifics. It doesn’t matter. He’s betrayed his oath and must pay the consequences. I’ve been watching him for a week and his routine never faltered. Idiot.
“Burns, doesn’t it?” I say, coming to stand in front of the glass door, placing my hands in the pockets of my jeans.
“What the fuck?” he barks, looking around aimlessly, eyes tightly shut. “Who … what the…?”
“I replaced the water with acid,” I inform him.
His screams grow louder and he begins to wipe his eyes, once again blinking rapidly as he tries to open them.
He’s gasping, grabbing his neck, his skin already starting to bubble. He’s panicking instead of thinking clearly. He stumbles backward and trips over the heating element in the middle, falling on top of it.
The high-pitched scream that follows makes me smile. He manages to roll over off the side of it and I see the burn marks already on his skin.
“A third-degree chemical burn is no joke,” I add. “You fucked up, Lance.”
“No, no. No,” he rushes out, eyes tightly closed and getting to his feet. He can’t see shit so he walks around aimlessly, running into the walls. His skin bubbling to the point it’s starting to fall off. “I didn’t mean to…”
“What’s done is done. By my oath, you are a brother. But you betrayed us. Therefore, you must be terminated.”
“Noooooo.”
I wrap a zip tie around the wooden door handles to ensure he can’t get out if he manages to find them. I watch through the glass as he very slowly turns to nothing but bones as his skin falls off his body along with his hair.
Another initiation completed.
It’s time to go see my little demon. It’s become a reward. After I finish an initiation, I go and get her off. It’s the best part of becoming a Lord.
CHAPTER FOUR
INITIATION
SIN
ONE OF THEM
SENIOR YEAR AT BARRINGTON UNIVERSITY
I’M ON MY knees, hands cuffed behind my back. I’m kneeling beside fourteen other brothers. There were twenty-five of us during my freshman year, but not all of us made it. A fellow Lord by the name of Ryat kneels to my right. My friend Jayce to my left.
Lincoln stands in front of us, hands behind his back, chest bowed and a smile on his face.
This is it. What we’ve trained for. What we were bred for. A Lord is a machine. He does not fail at any task, no matter how big or small.
I can feel the power that surrounds the room. Men dressed in suits that cost more than most make in a year. It’s like electricity. It excites me more.
My breathing picks up when I hear the singe of Ryat’s skin to my right as he gets his brand. I’m next.
One by one, we will each take our oath and become a Lord tonight. We start our senior year at Barrington in five weeks, and we are all very aware that this is just the beginning. The past three years of initiation are nothing compared to what’s to come.