Page 16 of Love to Defy You (The Dark Love #2)

“There’s no way I’m bringing you with me.” Alek pulls his phone out of his coat pocket. “I’m going to kill Mikhail.”

“Why?” I grab his wrist to catch his attention. “Does this have to do with the tattoo on his arm?”

“He’s part of it.” He wrestles out of my grasp and sets his phone on the counter. “He knows what the trials are because he’s been through it before.”

“Wait, does that mean he was there when you got beat up? And he didn’t stop it?”

He shakes his head. “He can’t intervene. Not unless...”

When he doesn’t elaborate, I probe him. “Unless what?”

Alek lifts his chin to meet my gaze, and an expression crosses his face I’ve only seen once before—when he warned me about his father. Fear. “This organization is dangerous.”

“Okay, then we won’t go.”

He rakes his fingers through his hair. “I don’t have a choice. You, on the other hand, do not need to get dragged into this.”

“Hey, look at me.” I reach for his face and cup his cheeks. “You promised to let me in on this hazing stuff. Something happened at the last ritual, didn’t it? Something that scared you.”

“It’s safer if you don’t know—“

“I don’t care. Tell me.”

He holds my gaze for a moment, then drops his hands to his sides. When he exhales, his shoulders slump. “They… murdered someone.”

“What?” I’m not sure I heard that right, and I release his face to step back.

“Yeah.” He slumps into one of the barstools at the kitchen counter. “Slit his throat for refusing to participate.”

I blink. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I wish I were.”

Murder? This fraternity murdered someone? This doesn’t sound like one of those college hazing rituals gone wrong that you hear about on the news. College freshmen getting alcohol poisoning and dying is negligent on the fraternity’s part, but accidental.

Slitting someone’s throat? That’s intentional.

“Alek, if that’s true, we have to call the police.”

“No.” He vehemently shakes his head. “No, I think they control the police. They’ve been getting away with this for decades. Possibly centuries.”

“Oh, my God. That’s… insane.” I stare down at my shaking hands in disbelief. It can’t be true, can it?

What the fuck did Alek get himself involved in? If his life is in danger, we can’t just sit around and wait for something bad to happen. We need to act.

I’m just not sure what to do.

Alek dials Mikhail on his phone. He puts it on speakerphone and sets it on the counter between us.

Mikhail picks up after three rings. “ Alo .”

Alek responds in English. “This isn’t a social call. You’re on speaker with Willow, by the way.”

“Oh, hi, Willow. Is he grouchy right now?”

I lean closer to the phone. “We both are. What the hell is this feast about?”

“And why is Willow’s name on the invitation?” Alek demands.

There’s a long pause on the other end, and when he finally answers, his tone is somber. “You know I can’t tell you that.”

“Damn you.” Alek clenches his fist on the countertop. “At least tell me if Willow is in danger. I don’t want her involved in this.”

Mikhail lets out an audible sigh. “She’s already involved, whether you want her to be or not.”

“Why? What does that mean?” Alek asks.

“Because she’s in a relationship with you. Bringing her to the feast or not won’t change anything. But her life isn’t in danger as long as she keeps the brotherhood a secret.”

Alek and I share a look. Now I understand why he didn’t want to tell me what he’s been going through. Because once you learn about the brotherhood, you can never unlearn it.

Knowing who they are puts you in their crosshairs.

“That’s all I can say,” Mikhail adds. “You may as well bring her to the feast. Josie will be there, too.”

Alek clenches and unclenches his hand. “Why are you so calm about this?”

“Well, vodka helps.” Mikhail lets out a hollow laugh that quickly dies.

“Look, this isn’t a test. It’s just a social event for the members to get to know the initiates.

Try to make friends with some of them. When you make it through to the end—and you will, I’ll make sure of it—these guys will be your brothers for life whether or not you like it.

” He sighs. “Might as well make the most of it.”

The call ends.

Alek lets out a long breath and stares at the phone. Almost as if he’s resigning himself to his fate.

Which means I need to come to grips with it, too.

“I guess I should pick out a dress for the dinner,” I say. It sounds frivolous when we’re talking about a secret cult murdering students at the school, but I’m not sure what else to do.

Alek grabs my wrist. “No. You’re not coming.”

“Yes, I am.” I step closer to him. “I’m already involved.”

His gaze narrows, but when he opens his mouth to argue, I don’t give him a chance to speak.

“We’re a team, Alek.” I press my forehead against his and close my eyes. “So, we do everything together from now on, understand?”

Alek stiffens, but after a moment, he relaxes into me and wraps his arms around my waist. “You just love to disobey me, don’t you?”

I manage to force a small smile. Now that I know why Alek’s been struggling, I can help shoulder his burden. The secrets that caused him to distance himself are no longer his to bear alone.

We’ve overcome one hurdle, but what about what’s to come? How far will we have to go to survive?

I stand in front of the mirror in the closet, attempting to zip my dress in the back, but my arms won’t reach.

“Need some help?”

I meet Alek’s gaze in the mirror. He’s leaning against the door of the closet, arms folded across his snug black-on-black suit, which hugs his chest in all the right places.

His eyes dip down my body as he lets out a low growl. “I can see your underwear. I thought I disposed of every pair of panties you owned.”

“It’s a sheer dress. You’re supposed to see the undergarments.” I drop my arms to my sides. “But if you disapprove, I’ll go naked instead.”

He enters the closet and crosses over to where I stand.

As Alek steps behind me, his gaze holds mine in the reflection of the mirror, and his dark suit contrasts with my gold, sequined dress.

It’s a full-length sheath gown that starts as solid fabric at the top, but as it tapers down my body, it grows more opaque.

I have to wear champagne-toned ballet briefs beneath it, otherwise it will show everything .

His hands linger on the swell of my ass before pulling the hidden zipper up my back.

My silver dagger necklace is framed by the plunging neckline, and Alek runs his fingers over the chain, brushing against my chest. It doesn’t quite match my dress, but there’s no way I’m taking it off.

After one last touchup of my burgundy lipstick, I meet Alek’s gaze in the mirror. “Ready?”

His eyes dip down my body. “We’re trying to blend in tonight, not draw attention.”

“Mikhail said this wasn’t a test, right? So, let’s treat it like a fact-finding mission.” I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around his neck. “I might need to use my feminine wiles to get some information.”

He lets out a low growl and grabs my ass. “You’re going to drive me crazy tonight, and I need to keep my wits about me in the lion’s den.”

At least I know the dress has the intended effect on men. I need to play the part of the charming girlfriend, even though I’m scared to death of walking into a stranger’s house with a murderous cult inside. But Alek and I need to understand who we’re dealing with, and tonight, I intend to find out.

Alek and I head downstairs to the lobby of our building, where Mikhail and Josie are waiting for us. As we approach, Mikhail whistles, and Josie claps her hands together.

“Bravo,” she says. “You look stunning.”

“So do you.” I admire her spaghetti-strap sheath dress made of black velvet, which is just high enough to reveal her Doc Martins. A part of me is jealous that she can pull off such an effortless, cool style and still look like British royalty.

She approaches and links her arm in mine, and I get a whiff of weed and alcohol.

“Did you pre-game already?” I ask.

Josie wobbles as she leads me outside to a black Escalade idling on the curb. “Believe me, it’s the only way to get through these Order events.”

The driver greets us with a polite bow and opens the door for us to climb inside.

Mikhail and Alek take the seats in the middle row in front of us, but when Mikhail tries to engage him in conversation, Alek gives him short, curt answers.

“Don’t be mad at me,” Mikhail says, pulling out a flask from his pocket. “Willow, you’ve forgiven me, haven’t you?”

I fold my arms. “That depends.”

“On what?” he asks.

“On how tonight goes.”

He leans back against the headrest and knocks the flask back. “I told you, this is just a party. You two can relax.”

“Are you sure?” Alek asks. “Because if anything happens to Willow—”

Mikhail waves his hand. “You don’t have to worry about Willow. She’ll be fine.”

“Trust me,” Josie chimes in, “Willow is the perfect pythia.”

I crinkle my nose. “The perfect what? ”

A growl rumbles in Mikhail’s throat. “Josie, zip it.”

Josie rolls her eyes, but when the car pulls onto the street, her breezy facade wilts as she stares at the back of Mikhail’s head.

If Josie’s involved, she’s beholden to keeping the brotherhood’s secret as well. I have so many questions for her. What does she mean by pythia , and what can Alek and I expect in the coming trials?

But if her life is on the line, I can’t risk it.

The driver takes us out of the city, past idyllic farmlands and rivers, until we reach the town of Lenzburg.

He turns off the road into a forest and follows a winding lane up the hill.

There aren’t many streetlamps out here, and at night, the dense, ominous forest surrounds us in dark shadows.

Maybe it’s because I’m on edge, but anytime one of the shadows moves, I wonder if it’s a predator lying in wait for us.

Is this the correct route for the party? It’s an ideal place to commit murder and get away with it.