Page 40

Story: Indulgent

“I need to blow off some steam first.” Goddamn Anex. Goddamn him. It’s bad enough that he’s doing this to Imogene. Toourgirl. But to invite Camille? Us? He’s relentless and evil. The absolute worst. And if I know him as well as I think I do, it’s a fucking trap.

That thought lingers and I stop short, turning to face Levi who is still only a few feet away. He stops too, wariness in his narrowed gaze.

“What?”

“You set this up, didn’t you?” I ask, slowly walking toward him. “The invitation?”

“We agreed to use Camille as bait. I just cast the line. Anex bit, just like we thought.”

“Using Camille to get Anex to work with us is one thing. Walking into the lion’s den,” I shake my head, “to witness that—you went too far.”

“I did what I had to do, Elon. You knew it would have to be drastic.”

I search his face. His body language. Look at the way he’s standing. His shoulders and hands. His feet. All the tells I’d been taught to assess someone on the spot. But Levi is also trained, and he gives me nothing. Finally, I go with the truth. “You’ve handled all of this well. Too well, Levi. The Banishment. The Shunning.” I start walking again, to the corner, I wait for the light to change, letting him catch up. “Your entire life was wrapped up in Serendee. In achieving Enlightenment and Anex’s approval. Way more than me and Rex.”

Something’s off and I’ve felt it for days. I was just too preoccupied with my own pain to address it.

The light changes and I cross the road, passing an old boarded up building. People lurk in the old alcoves, men and women—girls—slumped against the walls, in skirts too short for this kind of weather. I keep my eyes open, instincts on point. The last thing we need is to get caught up in trouble down here.

“How many times have you talked to him?” I ask, terrified of the answer.

“Twice,” he answers quickly. “Once at the center, hoping to establish contact. Then again at the apartment. He was waiting for me.”

This time when I stop, my arm snaps out and I grab him by the collar, twisting until my knuckles bear against his throat. “And what? You just offered the three of us up on a platter? Happy witnesses to the abomination of the century?”

He doesn’t fight me, just swallows thickly. “I had to do something. We need a way back in.”

“I don’t want back in!” My fingers twist. I’m hurting him and I don’t care.

“For them,” he wheezes. “Forher.”

My grip loosens. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve gone over it a million times. All night. All day. While you were out beating the shit out of college boys, I was coming up with a plan. A plan that gets us back into Serendee. That’s why we needed Camille—the one thing Anex is willing to compromise for.”

“We take one step on that property, and he’ll never let us go again.” I drop him entirely. Disgusted. “He definitely won’t let Camille leave again. That’s not a compromise, that’s a goddamn trap.”

“It’ll work. I convinced him that this will make him look good—transparent. That there are people investigating him, and he needs to look above board. If he has nothing to hide, then don’t hide it. He’s going to let us walk in, and then when it’s over, we’re walking away with our family.”

I want to think this is a good idea, but I can’t. There are too many obstacles. Too many guards and guns and hidden, secret cells underneath that mansion. But I also know that he’s right. This may be our only chance. Walking in on his terms.

“If you’re lying to me, Levi, I swear I will end you. I don’t care if we’ve been friends for twenty years, or everything we’ve gone through. I will destroy you if this is just another way to fuck with my head.”

His eyes dart over my shoulder. “Elon.”

“Don’t talk to me unless you’re going to tell me every step of your plan. All of it. Up front. No secrets.”

“Elon,” he says again, eyes shifting from mine to behind me. I exhale and turn, prepared to fend off a junkie or a hooker. I’m not wrong. There’s a prostitute in the alley behind us, with a man. His hand is wrapped tight around her arm and she’s fighting him as he drags her farther away from the main road.

“Let go,” she hisses, stumbling over her heels. “I can’t just—”

“You’ll do what I want,” he barks, shoving her against the brick wall. “And if it’s good enough, then I’ll think about paying.”

I don’t get there before he yanks at her top, the strap snapping in two, but I do get a hand around his throat before he takes it farther.

“She said she didn’t want to go with you.”

He fights against me. “Fuck you.”