Chapter 17

I’m relieved.Relieved that Roman isn’t angry about the possibly-maybe-not-sure pregnancy, but more relieved that he’s willing to figure it out with me. It’s a huge weight lifted, knowing I don’t have to navigate this all alone…

Roman pulls back and places a kiss on my forehead. “I have some society business to tend to, so I won’t be back until tonight. But I’ll see if I can get you in to see another doctor later today.”

I sniff and nod, wiping the tears off my cheeks. I’m still terrified by what this all might mean, but at least Roman is by my side. “Thanks,” I say, flashing him a faint smile.

“Get some sleep, baby. I’ll make sure no one disturbs you.”

As soon as Roman leaves, I crawl back into bed and burrow under the covers. But every time I feel like I’m starting to nod off, a thought about Bree pops into my head, and I’m wide awake again.

What was Bree doing out on the beach? Was she killed somewhere else, and then brought to the beach? In my interview at the police station, the detective confessed that they weren’t sure why she was out there, but because her phone was buried in the sand, a few miles west of where she was discovered, they think she was killed there, and then dumped in the water. Based on the weather information, the current would have pulled her east, and deposited her exactly where she ended up…

Also, there were accounts of her arguing with someone on the beach. A guy with a tattoo on his arm, and a knife with the initials W.H. engraved on it.

None of this is new information, and unless I get something fresh, I’m not going to get any closer to who killed Bree. I need witnesses, tidbits of information. Something. And the only way I’m going to get that is if the members of the society trust me.

But if Roman won’t allow me to take part in the initiation ritual, what other option is there? Members won’t divulge society business to a non-member. Full stop.

I’m not a religious person, but I close my eyes and send a prayer up to the universe. “Bree, help me. Tell me what to do.”

For a long time, I just lay in bed, trying to think of another way to get the information I need, but I keep coming up against a wall. Finally, I can’t stand it anymore, and I get out of bed. I need something to distract me, so I pull out my laptop and start watching random dog videos, but event that isn’t satisfying the restlessness I feel.

Blowing out a breath, I set my laptop aside, and glance around Roman’s bedroom. He’s got about a thousand books in this room, all leatherbound, and really old, sitting on built-in bookcases that line three of his four walls. It’s like sleeping in a library. I guess one of his predecessors liked books because there’s a ton more in the study downstairs.

Standing, I scan the bookshelves, running the tip of my finger across the leather and gold foil spines. He has a lot of old books on minerals and geography, but also poetry and world history. As I’m browsing, though, I notice a piece of decorative wood that joins the bookcases together is loose. It looks like a hidden door that hadn’t been shut properly, and when I pull on it gently, it opens to reveal a hidden compartment, about half a foot wide, and as tall as the bookcase. Sitting on a dusty shelf is an old leather-bound book.

Excitement bubbles up inside me. Obviously, this is something secret, and damn, but I’m nosey. It doesn’t even cross my mind to put the wood column back and leave the book alone. Carefully, I reach in and pull the book out. It’s obviously really old, bound in faded red leather with no title etched into the cover, or on the spine. Slowly, and gingerly, I open the cover, and the second I see the handwritten title, I gasp.

The Society of the Burning Crown

Bylaws

Holy shit.

Oh, my God.

I sift quickly through the book and realize these are, indeed, the bylaws of the society, written in several different hands over the years. Some bylaws are crossed out, and corrected, and as the years progress, it looks like more laws are added, the last one added less than a year ago.

My focus is immediately drawn to the initiation ritual, so I carefully leaf through the confusing language, until I get to something that mentions initiation. The handwriting is faded, and the cursive so ornate that it’s difficult to read, but most words are legible.

Disappointingly, it doesn’t say what the initiation ritual is, just that “all duly anointed Sacred Sons of the Society of the Burning Crown must vote unanimously in favor of the initiate unless a son should be recused on the basis of unfair bias.”

I swallow another gasp. That’s it. There it is. If Roman is recused from voting, then I could possibly get voted in by the other three.

Recused on the basis of unfair bias.

His personal relationship with me would qualify as unfair bias, right? I could make a case for that. The question is, though, would the other three dare go against Roman and vote me in?

It’s a long shot, really long, but if I can find an angle, a benefit in it for them, then it might work.

Grabbing my phone quickly, I take a photo of the passage I need, then shut the book, and put it back in its little hidey-hole, making sure the column is securely shut this time.

With my nerves buzzing, I throw some clothes on—jeans and a plain black baby-t with flip-flops—and head downstairs to see who is around.

Walking into the living room, I see several people, but I immediately lock eyes on Christian, who is laughing hysterically at something. As I get closer, I see both Jackson and him are bent over Lucas, who is fast asleep on the couch. They’re placing a fanned-out hand of cards in his limp hand, then backing away to pretend like they’re all in the middle of a card game.

“Yo, dude,” Christian says loudly, shoving Lucas’ shoulder. “It’s your turn.”

No response, so Christian shoves him harder. “Lucas. Your turn.”

That rouses a very confused Lucas, who lifts his head and looks around, finally noticing the cards in his hand. He drops them like they just bit him. “What? What the fuck?” Once he realizes what’s happening, he lunges at his brother. “You guys are fucking idiots.”

Both Jackson and Christian burst out laughing.

“Oh, my God, did you see his face?” Christian is holding his stomach, beside himself.

Jackson mimics Lucas with a dorky voice. “Uh, uh. What the fuck?”

I lean against the doorway. “You guys are so fucking bizarre,” I say, shaking my head. “Listen, guys, I need to talk to the three of you.” Everyone looks in my direction, now seeing me for the first time since I entered the room. “Privately,” I add for clarification.

All three guys look at each other, clearly confused by my out-of-the-blue request.

“Uh, where’s Roman?” Lucas asks, still looking tired and confused.

“This isn’t about Roman,” I say firmly. If I’m going to convince them to help me, then I need to exude confidence. I need to be certain. “I have something to discuss with the three of you.”

They all glance at each other, as though looking to each other for permission.

“Fine, fuck it,” Lucas says, getting up from the couch. “We might as well hear her out. Let’s take this in the study.”

Pushing out a shallow breath, I follow them down the hall to the study. Everyone in the living room–and there were probably about ten people—heard what I said about this not involving Roman, and I’m 100% sure that’s going to get back to him somehow. But if I manage to pull this off, then hopefully the decision is made before Roman can burst in and put a stop to things.

I’m risking Roman’s wrath, though. He’s going to be livid when he finds out I’ve gone over his head. But that’s a risk I’m going to have to take. Nothing is more important than getting justice for Bree. Nothing. I should have been there when she needed me on that beach, and I wasn’t. But I can be here for her now.It’s all I can give her.

There are a few people hanging out in the study, and Lucas addresses them as we walk in. “We need the room,” he says with a sweeping motion, indicating the door.

There’s a guy with two girls on his lap, and another couple making out on the leather sofa. They pop up immediately, and scatter, leaving the room.

Jackson closes the door, and locks it, then crosses his arms over his broad chest. He’s the largest of all four guys, muscular, and more handsome than he has any right to be. But his expression is always fixed in a frown, and if I’m being honest, I’m more than a little intimidated by him.

“What’s this about?” Christian asks, sitting on the arm of the sofa.

I just stand in the middle of the huge room awkwardly. I should probably sit down while I lay out my plan, but I’m feeling nervous, so it’s better if I stand. “I want to go through the initiation ritual,” I say in a rush, just getting straight to the point.

Again, all three guys look confused by my sudden declaration.

“Uh, yeah, I don’t think Roman’s going to go for that,” Lucas says, grabbing a marble sphere off the mantel, and tossing it in the air, then catching it again, over and over.

“Yeah, if you somehow managed to get nominated, we’d need his vote,” Christian says. “And I can tell you, there’s no way he’d agree.”

I swallow and shift from one foot to the other. “I know. That’s why I’m asking you to recuse him on the basis of unfair bias.”

There’s a long stretch of silence before Jackson speaks. “We can’t do that. The rules are clear. We need all four votes to proceed with an initiation.”

I take my phone out of my back pocket, unlock it, and pull up the photo I took earlier. I show my screen to Christian, who is closest to me. “According to this, if I can prove unfair bias, then I can request Roman be recused from voting. And I am.”

Pinching his brows together, Christian’s eyes quickly scan the image. “Fucking-A. Where’d you get this?”

Jackson and Lucas walk over, and glance at the image as well, both pulling back, shocked. I’ve managed to surprise them, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Jackson grabs the phone from my hand to look at the image more closely. “This is from the bylaws.” He looks at me with alarm. “Where’d you get this?”

I snatch my phone back. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Where’d you get that, Lux?” Christian asks, taking a step toward me. His usual smile has melted into a scowl. “This is serious. That book is for member”s eyes only. If there’s a security breach, then we need to know about it.”

I can tell they’re not going to let this go until I tell them. “There’s a hidden compartment in Roman’s bookcase. I wasn’t snooping,” I hasten to add. “The panel wasn’t secured properly….” I shrug. “And I found the book.”

By sheer luck. Almost like the universe wanted me to find it, or if I believed in heaven, maybe it was Bree showing it to me.

Christian releases a breath, and starts pacing. Jackson groans, and Lucas looks slightly panicked. I didn’t really see much of the bylaws, to be honest. I was mainly focused on finding anything related to initiation, and once I found that I put the book back. But they don’t need to know that, right?

Lucas blows out a breath and addresses Jackson and Christian. “We can’t initiate her without Roman’s vote. He’d have our heads.”

Christian gestures to me. “You just heard what she said, dude. She saw the book. We have no choice but to initiate her now.”

Oh, damn. I guess I didn’t realize that just seeing the book was that serious. But hey, if it works in my favor, then whatever.

“If we don’t,” Jackson says, “Then we put the entire society at risk. But if she goes through initiation, then she’s sworn to silence.”

“Roman won’t like it,” Lucas says firmly. “He’s going to raise fucking hell.”

“Then maybe he shouldn’t have left his book where Lux could fucking get to it,” Jackson yells.

“Jackson has a point, Lucas,” Christian says calmly. “The rules are clear. The protection of the society comes before our personal feelings. And Lux is right, if Roman has a bias against her joining—which he clearly does—then we can vote without him…”