Page 118

Fred: Oh come on, man, haven’t I shown you all that I can be trusted?
Karter: Girl, your ass tried to run away a few nights ago, or did you forget?
Fred: I was only running to the front door to actually see what it smelt like outside.
I can feel her eyes roll through the text.
Dash: The cameras say otherwise. You outsmarted your caretaker, knocked over two servants, and damn near gave Maeve a heart attack. How does that say you weren’t trying to run?
Wells: Can I kill her?’Several ‘No’s’ chime in as they all answer his question.
Wells: Well screw you guys.
Wyck: Show us that you deserve to be let out of our sight, and then we will see.
Fred: So, fucking you whenever you want isn’t proof?
Wyck: Hardly a start. I haven’t fucked you since the first time, so that’s not directed at me, darlin’.
Fred: Doesn’t matter, give me a task. A challenging one, you’d all expect me to fail at, and I’ll show you. It means nothing that I killed my sister for you, does it?
Wyck: It means something, but we require more.
Fred: Okay, hit me with your best shot.
Wyck: Later, we’ll all come together and present you with a task that will need to be taken care of.
Fred: Fair enough. I have to go, Days of Our Lives just came on. Can someone have Maeve bring me a snack? This episode is gonna be a doozie.
Wells: Ugh, are you sure I can’t just end her?
Wyck: This conversation is over. I’m in the Quad, get your asses here.
I pocket my phone and watch as they all line up in front of me.
“Dash, I need you to gather ten of the top initiates and give them a loyalty task. We’ve been digging into their past since they first showed interest in becoming a Devil. Use what we found to help them prove that they are Devil material. Karter and Onyx, you both will need to get things ready for the new recruits. Has Davis called you back with background checks, a list of their family members, and whether they have a significant other or not?”
“I’m picking up that info after I’m done here for the day.” Dash announced.
“Good. It’s time we stop behaving like teenagers, getting our first taste of pussy and start acting like The Devils of Cliffside that we are. Wells, you are in charge of handling Fred. She will have to perform another unthinkable task to prove her loyalty.”
“What task will that be?” I can already see the gears in his head turning, so I give him what he wants, just as much as he wants to kill her.
“You decide. If she fails, you may kill her.” This brings a sinister smile to his face as he begins to weigh his options.
“Finally.” He claps his hands together in pure joy all because I gave him the go ahead to kill her if she doesn’t deliver.
“Wells, don’t make the job too impossible for her to pass just so you can kill her. You know we don’t kill for fun, only when it’s necessary.” I remind him.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
“Good, everyone has something to do. Meanwhile, I’m gonna go check out all of our distribution centers, set up a front for each one, and figure out who the moles could be.”
“I vote it’s the Demons Guard.” Dash points out, looking around for wandering eyes.
“You assume it’s them because Court was in their group?”
“He wasn’t in their group yet, he was still in training.” Onyx points out.