Page 124

“Seriously?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“He has four friends, the sex is off-the-friggin’-charts amazeballs, and I don’t know what my next move will be. He doesn’t want me having sex with Bash anymore, and I’m sure before it’s all said and done I will sleep with all of them.”
“Oh, but if this isn’t straight out of one of your smutty romance novels, I don’t know what is.” She gushes. “I wanna know who his friends are.”
“So, you’re not going to try and change my mind or even ask about Bash?”
“No, and no, because fuck Bash. It’s time you live a life of your own. You’ve always taken care of everyone else’s needs before your own, it’s time to stop that and ask yourself… What does Athens want?”
She makes a very valid point. When I was younger, I would always be a good girl and listen to Mommy and Daddy, no matter what. Same thing with Aunt Josie, when she came into my life, I always did what was expected of me and nothing more. With Bash, it was his way or suffer the consequences. It only took me this long to realize it for what it was.
“I think I’m in love with him.” I confess.
“With who?”
“Wyck.” I whisper.
“Oh, sweetie, then you know what needs to be done.”
“I really don’t.” I sigh. “G, do you know who those men were that came looking for me?.” Her eyes widen at the mention of that, like she forgot or knows something.
“It’s not the right time to talk about that, we need Aunt Josie.” She says, turning away from me, clearly done with the conversation. I’m not having none of that and grab her by the shoulders and spin her around to face me.
“Don’t do that, tell me what it is.”
“I can’t tell you something I don’t know, but there is so much you don’t know. So much you’ve learned to keep hidden, but it’s not the right time to discuss it, and I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Rain.” I hear Aunt Josie’s angelic voice behind me as she snaps her fingers. Suddenly, my world goes black, and I’m carted off to Never Neverland in search of my Peter Pan.
Chapter Twenty Five
Dash
“Alright,youpiecesofshit, the time has come for you to prove that you are worthy enough to become a Devil of Cliffside. Are you ready for the first of many tasks?” Nobody answers.
Good, because speaking is one of the things they aren’t allowed to do… Yet, anyways.
Since one of our warehouses isn’t ready to be used, I decided to host our little get together here. It’s pretty run-down, with loose wiring, branches, and debris littering the floor, but this isn’t a social call, and it will do just fine for what I have in mind.
“I’m glad we are all on the same accord. Now, step forward on the ‘X’ spray painted in front of you.” This will be a fun task to watch play out because they’ll have no idea what’s at stake, until it’s too late. “Mark, if you will distribute the bags to each member that is stepping on a white ‘X’ please.”
Mark skips over to the table I had set up in the corner with different weapons inside for each initiate. After he collects all ten of the bags, he begins handing them over to their rightful owners. They know opening them before it is time to do so will end with a punishment.
How do they know this? It isn’t easy becoming a Devil, and you have to show us that you are more than worthy to be one.
“Inside this bag, you will find something that suits you, and you would only use it on your worst enemy. In front of you is your so-called best friend, but nobody really has a true best friend unless you’ve done some unforgettable shit together that you’ve vowed to take to your grave.” They each look at their friends, and then at me with a face full of questions. “You see, my job is to uncover things that people wish to stay hidden, but some things were meant to come to light. Mark, if you will.” I motion for him to step up and reveal what we’ve found out.
“Gentleman, as you turn and face your opponent or your best friend, I want you to think of the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, that altered the course of your life.” Each of them looks at each other, whispering as they all try and figure out what he is referring to. Mark gives them a little more time to think about it before he carries on. “Have you all got it?”
“Yes.” Some say in unison.
“Good. Felix, Blake, Gabriel, Gage, Tucker, Declan, Zack, Adam, Conner, and Zeke, we all know that one of your loved ones was murdered some time ago, but the killers have never been found.” Mark says, while I look around and see the confusion on their faces as he continues. “Let The Devils of Cliffside ease your minds, because we have done the job the police failed to do.”
“Felix, in your hand, you hold the knife that slit your sister’s throat as she was being raped. Blake, you hold the gun that was used to blow your father’s brains out, a staged suicide. Gabriel, the brass knuckles used to beat your brother to death, Gage, the rope used to strangle the life from your mother, all because she saw something she shouldn’t have. Tucker, you hold a syringe filled with the same dosage of chloroform that killed your grandmother, Declan, you have the lighter used to set your house on fire with your mother and baby brother still in it. Zack, Adam, Conner, and Zeke, you will see your bags didn’t have anything in them and that’s because the killers used their bare hands. They were all able to escape without a trace, making it near impossible to find out who was behind it all.”