Chapter 9

Unknown Location

Lee

This whole time… This whole fucking time it was Kali. I'm in shock. I'm disgusted. I'm–I'm fucking numb. How many more bombs are going to be dropped? All the betrayal and lies coming to light. My mind is past mental exhaustion.

Everyone else, I halfway expected their deceitfulness. They're members of The Illicit after all. But this–Kali was one of us… she's Taylor's best friend.

Taylor.

This is going to break her when she learns the truth. Taylor gave so much of herself to Kali, she trusted her and loved her. A cold chill runs through me as I realize Taylor had been living with the killer this whole time. Every death Kali was there right under our nose. We were too blind to see it. I keep retracing the entire year for clues and signs that I missed. Some of it seems so obvious—too obvious. Others still don't add up or make sense.

One question that I can't fathom a connection to is Taylor. Where does she fit in? Was she simply a pawn to gain access to us? But she roomed with Taylor before she was with Steffan and Soren…

"Why Taylor?" I ask.

Chanda releases a humorless chuckle. "Of course you're worried about her. Gosh. We're trapped with a serial killer, and you're worried about your communal girlfriend."

I grit my teeth. "I don't understand how she fits into the equation. What's her connection? There's no history of her family with The Illicit."

Kali stares down at us with a bored expression. It's unsettling how unfazed she is holding a knife covered in blood while a man bleeds out a foot away from her. She saunters back toward me, but it's her smile that unsettles me. Her eyes never leave mine and her smirk doesn't falter as she wipes the blood from the knife on the collar of my shirt.

"Your little mouse," she begins in an alarmingly soothing voice, "well, she was luck. A most fortunate opportunity. I've been monitoring you, our sister, the brothers, elders, everyone for years. I was at the Halloween party. I saw everything. Two windows of opportunity happened that night. Bryce Van Doren being exiled made him a possible ally. Soren, of all people, taking an interest in that mousy girl." Kali slowly shakes her head and her smile widens. "I'd been slowly building an alliance, but I never would have imagined I'd be fortunate enough to find bait, a weakness, distraction, and a source all in one."

"I killed her roommate. Enrolled in her class. Befriended her. Became her roommate. It was all too easy." She chuckles to herself.

The tip of the blade grazes along my jawline. She bends at the knees until we're eye level. Then I feel a sharp prick followed by warmth. Kali pulls the knife back and brings it to her lips. I watch in disgust as she examines it.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to lick it. No telling what I'd catch."

"What are you examining for?" I ask.

Chanda decides to chime in with her sarcasm. "Surprised to see it's actually red?"

"I was half expecting black." Is she seriously trying to joke? This is insane. I've got to figure out how I'm going to get free from these binds so I can break her neck. I stare at her slender, pale neck as her auburn hair is piled on top of her head, a few strands hang loose and wild. When I first met her, I thought she was pretty, but now I see her for what she truly is—a deadly, beautiful predator.

And we've all been the prey.

Taylor isn't the only little mouse. The entire Illicit Brotherhood have been mice, and Kali has been the cat. She's been stalking us, readying her pounce, toying with us, and then she ambushes us. Like a fucking cat that's been batting us around, tiring us out before going in for the kill. Graceful and indifferent she stands before us, holding all the power. With one swipe of her knife she could kill us now, but she'd rather torture us longer.

"Why keep this up? Why not go ahead and end it all now?" I ask her. I'm exhausted and fucking done with all of this.

For the first time she looks surprised. Her thin arched brows rise, and those red lips form an O. "I am ending it now."

"Then kill me already," I beg.

"Oh Lee," she coos. "I think you're dehydrated. Bless your heart, you're delirious. Here. Let's go get you cleaned up, hydrated, and some proper rest. All I need to know is," she lowers herself back down to stare into my eyes, "are we moving forward as family? I want what was stolen from me. I want my family. My brother and sister. My place in The Illicit."

Chanda scoffs. "Why have any part of that bunch of assholes? You know how they treat women. They're the reason your mother is dead, and they wanted you dead."

"Sister. That ends today. We will move forward as The Illicit. We will be the head, as we always should have been. My mother's family was wrongfully murdered, and their name ruined. Your mother was wrongfully murdered, and her life was ruined because of your father. Why keep allowing shitty people to get away with destroying everyone and everything?"

"Going on a killing spree isn't the answer either," I deadpan.

Kali laughs, and the sweet sound is such a contrast to how menacing this whole thing is. "The Illicit has been on a killing spree since it began. You're but one section of the society, and how many lives have you and your brothers ended in this year alone? Think of all the branches combined? My numbers aren't even a drop in the bucket."

Chanda whispers in a somber tone, "You've only gone after deaths that would make a difference. Drive your purpose."

"The students? Really, sis? What purpose were they?" I seethe.

"It sent a message, didn't it? There were reasons, Lee. Behind all of them. And then she went after the ones that nobody else had the balls to go after."

Kali clears her throat. "To be fair, some of them, Alex and Bryce, had a hand in. I did give them some free rein. After all, I needed their help because they too had been wronged. Unfortunately, they couldn't handle it and did get captured, and well, the rest is history."

She clasps her hands together and smiles at us. "Well, this has been nice. It's all out there. Good talk. I'm feeling a little ick and need to shower. Kind of getting the munchies, too. Are we moving forward together? Or… are you two going to be bait for the Carmichael twins?"

Steffan? She better not touch a single blond strand on his head. I was ready to give up, but not if she's going to kill Steffan. I'm dehydrated and weak, but I can't let her hurt him. "Steffan?" She tilts her head and studies me. I lick my dry lips and force a swallow. "He isn't like his father. He's good, Kali. You know this."

"Are you asking me to spare him as a brother of my family, or a brother of The Illicit."

Do I betray all the oaths I made, all my beliefs, go against everything I'd ever known and been raised—born to be—to pledge my loyalty to her in order to save him?