Page 10

Sebastian

“Status update?”

You would never know Alyssa Vance is waiting for an update on a murder assignment. Leaning into her wingback office chair, she looks every bit the respectable business owner while she waits for my answer.

Mom couldn’t even let me wash the blood off my face first. I don’t know what was so special about this assignment that required me to rush to her study urgently, but I’m about to find out. With my hands clasped behind my back, mimicking the style of a soldier, I try to remain neutral as I deliver her report.

“Both targets are dead, made to look like a murder suicide exactly as instructed. It was messier than I would have liked,” I motion towards the blood splatters on my face, “but no one will suspect we were involved.” It's difficult to get a read on Alyssa as I finish my report, and she leans over her desk to make notes; the pen scratching away on the paper is the only sound in her study. I’ve always found it odd that we leave so muchevidence of our assignments lying around, considering we go out of our way to make sure there is none in a crime scene. But I don’t make the rules; I just follow them.

For years, I pushed myself hard in my Rogue training because I wanted to make Mom proud of me. The innocent boy I once was would have lived and died by her approval, until I learned that I was wasting my time waiting for something that would never happen. I also wanted to be a good Rogue, like our ancestors were, but it was never enough. While Alyssa expected greatness from me, I wasn’t allowed to surpass her greatness. I needed to show just enough to keep her happy, but not too much. Because nothing or no one could be better thanher.

Mom hasn’t changed her study much over the years. It still looks the same from when I was here the last time, and that was a while ago. It's a large space, with a few ugly art pieces on the wall behind Mom’s head. But if you listen to her explain it, they’re“priceless art pieces”.Mom tries to play up the wealth we’re surrounded by with priceless artifacts and furnishings. But she’s not fooling me. Wealth doesn’t cover up the disgusting person she really is inside.

I fucking hate it here. It holds nothing but bad memories for me and reminds me of a dark and gloomy dungeon. Like the time I had to deliver my first status update; I’d been assigned a decapitation, and it was my first assignment on my own. But, I struggled. After hacking away at it, and finally working out how to cut between the vertebrae even though I understood the theory behind it…I threw up right next to the body. Word got back to Mom, so she assigned nothing but decapitation assignments to me for the next month until she was sure I’d got over it, and she wouldn’t face embarrassment like that again. Decapitation is not as easy as the moviesmake it seem, even with our extra strength. Now I’ve done it so much that it’s become a bit of a trademark, and I feel nothing when I do it.

This shit hole is also where Mom confronted me about Jude’s declaration of love, and where I decided I needed to end things. Protecting Jude from Alyssa Vance was more important than what I felt for her at that moment. A knock interrupts us, and Mom beckons for the person to enter. It’s Logan with more of those stupid files in her hands.

Logan’s eyes flick between us quickly, before ignoring me and relaying her message to Mom, “Here are the files you asked for Mrs. Vance. Ryder called. The Human Faction has business to discuss with you. But more urgently, Mr. Vance is looking for you.”

Mom doesn’t look up at Logan as she delivers her message. She continues looking through the files on her desk while holding out her free hand to take the additional files from Logan. “Thank you, Logan, that will be all.”

I don’t move. Mom may have dismissed Logan, but she hasn’t dismissed me. It’s only a quick glimpse from Logan that lets me know how relieved she is to see I’m okay. This assignment was dangerous, so it’s nice to know that someone would have missed me if I didn’t make it. Grabbing her phone, Mom dials and waits for the person on the other end to answer. She doesn’t bother with small talk. “David? Yes. I’m busy with our son. Is this more important–” Dad's deep voice rumbles incoherently on the other end. "Ok. I'll take care of it.”

Mom taps the screen, ending the call, and she takes her glasses off and rubs her temples in annoyance. I’ve seen Alyssa Vance hack a man apart with only a small knife to help her and not be bothered by it. But something in this news has done that instead. Despite this, she still paints apicture of elegance, and if you didn’t know the signs, you would never know something was wrong.

“Earlier this evening, your father was summoned to the Rhodes Estate. We didn’t have much choice, considering it was Eric Rhodes calling himself. Your father was now confirming the reason for the summoning, Lexie Rhodes was murdered. Apparently, while we were all at Autumn Rhodes’ wedding and were none the wiser about it.”

Mom just casually talks about Lexie’s murder like aninconvenience, and it’s getting harder to maintain my neutral stance, especially when anything to do with Jude gets mentioned. Mom inspects me with that unnerving gaze of hers again. “You’ve done well for yourself, Sebastian, and you’re the very definition of what it means to be an excellent Rogue. Though, really, I expect nothing less from a son of mine.”

When other children were scraping their knees and getting a kiss to make it better, my mom was teaching me to be tough. Her definition included all the ways to murder someone, in the quickest and most efficient manner possible. To withstand physical pain and not run from it. And most importantly, to let nothing stop me from taking out my targets. According to Alyssa Vance, love is a weakness, and she wanted to stamp it out of me from a young age. So I learned to hide any signs of compassion. Nodding feels safe so that’s the only acknowledgement I give for her praise, even if it was linked to hersuperiority.

Mom purses her lips before she continues. “Your father thinks it’s a good idea that you focus on getting close to Judith again.”

“Jude, Mom, we’ve been through this. You know she prefers that.” I reply through gritted teeth. Raising her eyebrow at my cutting in, Mom gives me a look to let me know she thinks I’ve lost my damn mind forinterrupting her. She has a point; nobody else would ever dare, and being her son gives me no special privileges, and I know that.

She ignores me and carries on with her order, “Judeis coming back to Chicago permanently to take her spot in the family business. Your job is to use your…history and get close to her again. Keep an eye on things for us, and give us a heads up if Eric is going to come for the Rogues. I’m sure you can understand how dangerous things could get for our family if we are blind in a situation like this.”

I don’t bother explaining to my mom that Jude never wanted to see me again, and she threatened to kill me if she did. A threat I fully expect her to see through. But I know there is no point in mentioning this because Mom would only see that as an excuse, and we all know she won’t tolerate that. An excuse is a weakness, and she won’t tolerate that either. It’s convenient how Mom has forgotten about Jude’s declaration of love for me in this moment, especially considering we’re not allowed to fall in love with someone from another family. Or maybe that’s exactly what she’s counting on.

Looking thoughtful, Mom shares with me, “While it’s not public knowledge, Eric has always alluded to the fact that Jude was powerful, possibly the most of his children, but he said Lexie was more vicious. Lexie was apparently willing to do what it took to get the job done. An enviable trait in an heir. I was always surprised he let Jude go to that school. If it were me, I would have kept her close. Still, with Lexie now dead, all the families will be investigated until the culprit is found.”

A horrible thought occurs to me, and I brace myself for the blow back asking this will get me. “I have to ask Mom, just so I understand the situation I’m walking into.Didwe have something to do with it?”

Disappointment washes over her face, and in a rare moment of explaining things to me, she answers my question. “I wish I had thought about it. If I wanted to weaken the Rhodes, yes, I would have done it. But I would have had the good sense to have taken out Jude first and left Eric with Brooklyn as his only heir. Jude’s always been the bigger threat. But no, Sebastian, we had nothing to do with it.”

Relief floods my veins, but I don’t let her see how much I doubted her. Her voice is quieter, but no less irritated with the situation we’re in. “While this drastic change in plan is unfortunate, we need to adapt. I will not assign you to any more targets for the foreseeable future, so you can focus on getting closer to Jude again. You are still expected to keep up with your training, though. Since your brother is still overseas, it’s in our family's best interests that you monitor the situation for us. I will expect regular updates on your progress, so don’t let me down.”

Clark’s still in Europe? That’s something. I knew little about his assignment, but it must be serious if he’s gone for this long. Still, that’s not important right now. I dip my head respectfully, “Yes, ma’am.”

Turning to walk out of her study, Mom calls out for me again before I reach the door. “Oh, and Sebastian, the reason I called you in tonight was to discuss your duty to the Rogues before this news about the Rhodes derailed my plan. I’m evaluating potential fiancees for you with Ryder, and while he will be disappointed to hear about the delay, he’s a business man and will understand. Once this business with Jude is sorted, you will marry and further our line.”

My heart sinking, I give a brief nod before I leave the hellhole known as her study. Determined to not let her see my inner turmoil, I struggle to figure out what to focus on first. Grabbing a cigarette, I light up in thehouse, waiting for Logan to shout at me because she hates it when I smoke inside.

I’m the one that ended things between Jude and me. I don’t know why it hurts that I didn’t know she was coming back, or why I didn’t do a good enough job to make her stay away. They say time and distance help get over heartbreak, and they’re talking bullshit. I still love her after all this time. None of that matters, though. I didn’t miss the undertone of Mom’s threat. If I don’t do this, she’ll go for Jude again. Getting my phone out, I shoot out a text to Jude asking if I can come see her, and immediately, the response is I’m still blocked. Looks like I’m showing up at her family's place uninvited tomorrow.

Chapter 6 | The Rogues

Sebastian