Page 9

“Like this.” Tasha shows me a tattoo on her upper arm. It’s a pair of Eagle Wings, but unlike Zane’s tattoo which has red streaks on the feathers, this one has none. “Show me yours.”
I’m at a loss for words. How can I show her if I don’t even have a tattoo?
When she finally gets the idea, she mutters, “You can’t be serious. You couldn’t just sneak here without even preparing your tattoo.”
Nico snorts. “Even if she did, we would notice that it’s fake, so it doesn’t matter.”
Tasha nods, agreeing with her boyfriend. “Right. Every Eagle Wings tattoo is specially made by our artists, with special inks. Only two people in this world can make our tattoos. It’s sickening how some people still think that they can fake it. At least, you’re not one of them.”
Nico chuckles. “Your lies have been caught, Emily.”
Their accusation makes me feel offended. “I’m not lying. I didn’t say that I was one of you. I’m not interested in joining your gang, the Eagle Wings, or whatever it is. I’m here because I was hired by Ethan Carter. Zane brought me here–”
“Whoa whoa whoa.” Tasha raises her hands, staring at me in utter disbelief. “You’re going too far right there.”
“I don’t have time to deal with people who don’t even want to believe me,” I say firmly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me–”
“Wait.” Nico grabs my arm before I can escape. Now, he looks slightly furious. “What you were trying to say didn’t make f*****g sense. We were about to let you slip without harm, but now you’re being feisty and thinking about leaving just like that?” The threat in his voice makes me shudder.
“Aw, easy, babe. You’re scaring her,” Tasha whispers to him, giving him a sweet smile. “She’s doing her best to survive. I like that spirit in her. Who knows? We might convince Victor to make her one of us. She might be useful.” She turns her head toward me. “Now, where were we? Ah, you said that you were hired by Ethan.”
The three of us turn silent. I’m waiting for her to say more, trying to block the noises from the party.
I hate parties.
But then, Tasha laughs boisterously. Nico chuckles again, shaking his head. “You can do better, little liar.”
“I’m not lying,” I say, raising my tone.
“That’s impossible,” Tasha says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Ethan couldn’t have hired you. If he had, you would have had your Eagle Wings tattoo with red streaks on it. There are only three people in this f*****g world who have it. So far, you have none.” She pauses, raising her eyebrows. “Unless you can show me.”
“Dream on.” Nico smirks. “That’s why little liars like you never survive this place. They always come here with zero clues about how things work here.”
“I’m a caregiver–”
“Your lies have been exposed, Emily.” Tasha corners me again, and my back is pushed against the wall. “Did you actually think that it would make sense to create that kind of story so that you could step into this place?” She then urges her boyfriend, “Show her yours, babe.”
Nico flips his left arm, showing me a tattoo of Eagle Wings on the inside of his upper arm.
“This is mine,” he says. “My identity. You can’t be here without it. The punishment is death. You can’t fake it either. Same punishment — death. I wonder how the f**k you could pass the guards outside. I’ll make a note to tell Victor about that. The guys have been pretty lazy nowadays.”
I don’t have any idea about this man named Victor. It seems like he’s one of their leaders.
Now that I’m staring closely at Nico’s tattoo, it indeed has the same effect as the one I saw on Zane’s wrist. It’s hypnotizing. The tattoo is very detailed and well-crafted, it makes me feel like I’m seeing the real thing — a pair of Eagle Wings.
Panic starts to build up inside me. Zane didn’t tell me anything about the tattoo. He only warned me to stay close to Liam so that everything would be alright.
What am I supposed to do?
“The Eagle Wings tattoo is the identity for all the regular members,” Tasha says matter-of-factly. “You just stepped into our base. Not only you didn’t have your identity, but you were trying to fool us with some ridiculous made-up story.”
I’m about to open my mouth again, but Tasha drags me along the hidden wall under the staircase before I can utter another word. When she halts, my eyes land on the four polaroid photos attached to the wall.
“Fortunately, we have the photos of our leaders down here so you can have a better idea about how f****d up your lies were,” she says.
“Fangirls,” Nico retorts while Tasha rolls her eyes at him.
The first photo is of Zane in a black leather jacket, smoking a cigarette. He’s not looking at the camera. It’s a candid picture. He looks good, just as he
does in real life, but the monochrome photo doesn’t do any justice to his captivating blue eyes.
“That’s Zane, and I doubt you’ve ever met him. He’s in France fighting our enemies,” Tasha says. “He’s one of the Knights, which means that he has a Eagle Wings tattoo with red streaks. Kings choose Knights, and Knights choose regular members. If you were recruited by a Knight, you would have a regular Eagle Wings tattoo like what I have. Unfortunately, Zane never recruits. He couldn’t have hired you.”
My fist curls into a fist. “I never said he did.” I’m itching to tell her that I did meet this man, but she’ll never believe me anyway.
“But you did say that he brought you here. That’s impossible too,” she hums. “Now the second picture. His name is Dante. One of the Knights as well. He’s our King’s most trusted right-hand man, other than Zane, of course.”
My gaze darts on the second photo. The man is sitting on his motorcycle, not looking at the camera. Again, another candid photo. He has dark hair, but I can’t see his eyes clearly because he’s looking at his phone. Nothing can hide how attractive he is, though.
“Dante rarely talks. He doesn’t do people,” Tasha blabbers. “The only things he’s interested in are weapons and blood. He’s not even interested in women, or men, if you know what I mean. He’s a killing machine. If you told us that Dante ever talked to you, we would know in an instant that you were lying.”
That’s enough for me to learn how scary this guy is. “I don’t know him.” I shrug, telling the truth.
We move to the third photo, which shows a man dressed in all black walking from a limo. Although it’s just a piece of photo, the way the man carries himself sends shivers down my spine. His expression can make any people cower. His aura speaks of danger.
“That’s Ethan,” Tasha says with pride and excitement. “He’s our King, the heir of the Carter family who creates this place. His father was the founder of Eagle Wings.”
I look closer, studying Ethan’s face.
“Rumors spread,” Tasha says. “People might have heard his name, but they never know his face. Only the members of Eagle Wings have seen him in person, and just a few of them. Personally, I haven’t even met him.”
“Now you know why we wouldn’t believe you,” Nico adds. “There’s no way that Ethan suddenly recruited a girl like you. He only hired people like Zane and Dante.”
“More like his personal bodyguards.” Tasha chuckles and points at me. “Are we clear?”
I want to counter her argument, but curiosity makes me pop a question instead. “How old is Ethan?”
“24,” Tasha says. “Same age as Zane. Dante is younger. He’s 20, the same age as Liam, Ethan’s brother. He’s next.”
My heart thumps. Liam. I want to know more about this person I’m going to take care of.
I haven’t met him, but now I can finally see his face in the picture.
My eyes land on the last picture attached to the wall, and my breath catches in my throat. The photo shows a man standing inside a boxing ring. He’s shirtless, full of sweat and panting. I can see his toned abs and how well-built he is, but that’s not the only thing catching my attention.
His expression is something that one wouldn’t miss. He looks angry. Like, really angry. He’s seething.
“What a beautiful sight, huh?” Tasha points out, and I know from her voice that she can’t help the smile on her face. “This candid picture is a masterpiece. Some girls get off imagining that.”
I wish she could keep that information to herself.
“Liam is our king too, but sadly, he’s blind,” Nico says, making me swallow.