Page 102 of Merciless Prince

“Most likely, yeah. So Joe went free.”

“Free to keep defending the Vandenbergs if and when they got into trouble, you mean,” I said.

Killian nodded. “I think that’s why they saved him. They didn’t care that he liked to touch little girls. All they cared about was having a good lawyer who was willing to help them out.”

“Wow. So he actually got away with it scot-free.”

“Yeah, until we found out about him.” He paused to clear his throat. Then he glanced at me again. “It takes a lot to get initiated into the Hellfire Club. If you make it far enough, you get to the final trial.”

“And that involves participating in one of the killings, I presume?”

“Yes. That’s what you saw that night in the grotto. It was an initiation ritual for six of our new members.”

“I see.” I pressed my lips into a thin line as I mulled everything over. “How did you get Joe down there? It seemed like he was actually happy to be there at first.”

“He didn’t know what was going on. When we looked into him, we discovered he was an amateur actor in his free time, and he actually used an acting class as one of his tactics to groom that little girl,” he said, upper lip curling. “So we approached him. Told him we’d seen his work in a play and wanted to hire him for a student film. He was excited to finally have a starring role in something.”

“Until he realized it was all real,” I muttered, recalling his panicked screams as the knives flashed over him.

Killian flattened his lips. “Yup.”

“Do you do that with all of the people you go after? Pretend you’re making a movie with them?”

“No. We can’t lure them all the same way because they’re different people, so they don’t share the same interests and hobbies,” he said. “We research every one of them carefully for months beforehand. Tailor an individual plan for them.”

“But you film all of them when they die, right?”

He nodded. “That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Insurance. If we ever need to kick a member out for some reason—like Derrick—they won’t turn on us because they know we can take them down if they try.”

“That makes sense, I guess.” I let out a sigh and knitted my hands on my lap. “Can I ask another question?”

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you just explain all of this stuff to me from the start? I would’ve been okay with it.”

Killian scoffed. “That’s bullshit, Shay, and we both know it. You made your position very clear at the initiation when you made that big speech about not wanting to be judge, jury, and executioner. You said you would never kill anyone under any circumstances, no matter how much you thought they deserved it.”

My cheeks flushed hot. “Well… I was kind of high because of that spiked drink. The one in the skull chalice.”

“We put a mixture of scopolamine and amobarbital in it. It compels you to speak your mind, and it’s almost impossible to lie when you’re under its influence.”

I threw my hands up. “Okay, fine. You’re right. I wouldn’t want to do any of that revenge-killing stuff myself,” I said. “But when other people do it… I get it. So you really should’ve told me the whole truth from the very start. I wouldn’t have considered turning you guys in for killing that man if I knew what a monster he was.”

“I don’t know if I can believe that,” Killian said quietly, brows furrowing. “It’s too big of a risk for us to take.”

I let out another sigh and scrubbed a hand across my face. “Well, at least I know the truth now, I guess,” I murmured, looking out the window. “You guys are plain old revenge killers. Not a sex cult or thrill-killing Satan worshippers like all the rumors say.”

“Killing shitty people isn’t the whole point of the society,” Killian said. “There are other benefits of joining.”

My brows rose. “Like what?”

“Our members are selected very carefully. They come from certain backgrounds and have access to certain resources.”

“You can just sayrich, you know,” I cut in, rolling my eyes upward.