Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

Wyn

Two days later, it's evening and I'm back in my apartment. I talked to the building manager and she had sturdier locks installed that same day. I think she was spooked by the police presence from a couple of days ago.

I also get a couple of cheap cameras, placing one above my front door, and a couple pointing out my windows, with very visible signs that say, "You're on camera."

"You doing okay?" Alexis asks, her soft voice traveling through the phone.

"Yeah, I'm hanging in there," I say.

I didn't end up telling her about the voice memo from the masked man, because…I don't know why, exactly. And I never reported it to the police, which I know will be a mistake in the end. If I bring it up later, there will be questions about why I didn't report it right away.

I guess I just want to pretend none of this ever happened. Just ignore it and move on. The last few months have been absolute shit, and this is just one more thing I have to deal with. So what if I just…don't?

"My professors gave me a couple of days off, but I think I'll go back to classes tomorrow," I tell Alexis.

Just bumbling around my apartment isn't good for my mental health. I've only taken a couple of days off school and already I'm feeling a bit of cabin fever. I'm used to being active. I'm used to being around people, and being alone with my thoughts isn't helping.

"I think that'll be good for you," she says. "You want me to pick you up in the morning?"

"Nah, thanks," I say. "I'm good. I'll see you on campus."

"Lunch tomorrow?"

I nod, even though she can't see it. "I could do lunch."

We're about to hang up, when she says, "Oh, shit, I almost forgot. There's an initiation tomorrow. Rush Beach. I think it's at eight. We can go together."

I pause at the mention of another Burning Crown event happening so soon. I hadn't prepared myself emotionally for that. But I'm dying to confront Kai. He told the police that he just drank too much and passed out, which is why I'm assuming they don't believe my version of the story. His is a lot more plausible. But it's also bullshit, and Kai knows it.

Would he look me in the eye and dare to say the same thing? He hasn't texted me since the incident, but if he's out of the hospital, then I know he'll be at the ceremony tomorrow.

"Ah, yeah, sounds good," I say.

When we hang up, I pull up my texts to Kai. I asked him how he was doing two days ago. No response. He's deliberately ignoring me. Is he embarrassed? Or…wild thought, maybe he's working with my stalker, and that whole scene at my apartment was orchestrated? Why would he do that, though? What's in it for Kai?

Ugh, see, this is why I can't stay home alone. My thoughts start spiraling in all kinds of crazy directions.

Pulling out my laptop, I start watching something online, but eventually, I get bored with that. I could really use some coffee right now. But glancing up at my kitchen, I realize coffee isn't happening. I had to clear everything out of my cupboards the other day in case my food was laced. The tea was drugged, for sure, but what else had my stalker gotten into? Did he drug several things, and the tea is just what I happened to drink that night?

Ugh, I can't be here right now.

Blowing out a breath, I get up and throw on some leggings, then toss my long hair up into a messy bun. Sliding some flip-flops on, I grab my purse and my phone and head out the door.

I'm betting Rush House has coffee. Ever since Lucas' consort, Ava, took over as queen, there's been food in the cupboards. The girl knows what she wants, and I have to admit, I like her. Her relationship with Lucas is strange, though, and I'm not sure what to make of it. She's really into him, but every time I see him, he has a new chick crawling all over him. And the wild thing is that Ava knows. Open relationship, maybe?

I mean, everyone knows the Sacred Sons are man whores. Water is wet. The sky is blue. The Sacred Sons will fuck anything with tits. It's a fact of life. Maybe Ava has survived this long as queen consort because she's willing to accept that fact.

It's just getting dark when I pull up to Rush House. The gothic Victorian mansion is all lit up, and there are several random Burning Crown members dancing drunkenly on the front lawn.

Oh, right. I'd almost forgotten. Shit always gets wild right before an initiation ritual. If it's a guy being initiated then there's usually an unofficial party the night before. I was told it's because initiation is so brutal for the guys that there's always a chance he could die in the process, so the night-before-revelry became a tradition.

With a deep breath, I pop out of my car and walk past the gargoyles flanking the gate, and up the walkway to the huge house. It's at least a hundred years old, and it's on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. At night, the place looks creepy, haunted by the ghosts of dumb rich boys from centuries past.

Austin isn't at the door to collect our phones, because the party isn't an official Burning Crown event, though most members are encouraged to attend out of respect.

I walk in, and it's a fucking mad house. It's only seven in the evening, but already people are stumbling around drunk. Techno music is being pumped out from the ballroom, the heavy bass rattling the ancient windows. With this kind of treatment, it's a miracle this house has remained standing for the last hundred-plus years.

I don't see any of the Sacred Sons, or the man of the hour, Dominic, but he's probably in the ballroom, getting a blow job while he does vodka shots or something. You know, the usual.

Several people look me over with disgust as I make my way into the kitchen. Everyone is dressed up, and I'm in leggings, but whatever. Anyone judging me can suck my dick. For real.

There's pizza in the kitchen, and I consider taking a slice, but I've been so stressed out lately that I've lost my appetite. But coffee…I don't care how upset I am, coffee is life. Pushing past a tight group of people, I open the cupboards and hunt for those magical beans.

"Wyn!" A voice from behind makes me whip around. It's Ava. I smile and inwardly cringe. Okay, now I'm judging myself. Ava is so effortlessly beautiful. She's thin, but busty with long brown hair, tanned skin, and almond-shaped eyes that sparkle. She always looks put together, no matter what.

"Hey, girl," I say. "Do you have coffee here? I need some."

She digs deep into the pantry, emerging with a small bag of coffee. She must have hidden it in the back. She hands it to me. "I have to keep it hidden or the guys drink it all, then there's none left for our consort mastermind meetings on Tuesdays."

Consort mastermind meetings? Oy. She might be taking this queen consort thing a little too seriously. Consorts were originally conceived as fuck toys for the Sacred Sons. Nowadays, the Sacred Sons just fuck anyone they want anyway, so the consort title is more of a status thing. But Ava is an idealist, and I'm sure she thinks she can do some good as queen. So…more power to her, I guess.

"Thanks, I owe you," I say. "So, have you officially moved in yet?"

I know she was angling for that once she became queen consort.

She shrugs one shoulder. "Not officially. You know Lucas. He's allergic to commitment. But I'm here most nights, anyway, so it's kinda the same thing."

With a nod, I shove the coffee into my purse. "Well, I've shown my face, so I'm out."

"No, no, no." She pulls my purse off my shoulder and slings it over hers, then hands me the drink in her hand. "You should stay a while. I'll put this up in Lucas' bedroom."

She seems oddly insistent, and I wonder if she's heard about the incident from a couple of days ago. Word gets around fast in the Burning Crown and if Kai said something to just one person, then the news has already spread like wildfire.

I shrug. "Maybe just a couple of drinks, but I have class tomorrow, so I can't stay too late."

"Perfect," she chirps, grabbing a canned cocktail from the fridge and handing it to me. "You'll be at the initiation tomorrow?"

"Yup, I'll be there," I say cheerfully, even though my stomach churns at the thought. I hate the initiations. They're always so brutal. But members are required to attend, so there's no way out of it.

"Have fun," she says, disappearing up the back staircase to put my purse away.

Blowing out a breath, I open my can and take a sip, then glance at the label. It's a mojito, and it's strong. Thank God.

I wander out into the main part of the house, and the ballroom looks like a fucking nightclub, so I head to the living room, where I know it'll be more chill.

The living room is a cloud of pot smoke, and I cough as I walk in, my lungs burning. Everyone is sitting around, smoking, drinking, playing pool. I see two of the three Sacred Sons as soon as I walk in—Christian and Jackson are standing at the pool table. Jackson sees me walk in and he flicks his chin at me, which is his way of saying hello, but in a low-key way. I shift my gaze away from him quickly without acknowledging the olive branch he's throwing out—if that's even what that was. Where was he when I needed him? I'm not interested in fake friends.

"Hey, girl," Lindsay says. She's another Deb, and she's always been friendly to me. She scooches over on the couch, opening a square inch space for me to shimmy into. "Come, sit over here."

I make my way over to her, stepping over a couple of people who are sitting on the floor. I shove my ass into the tiny sliver of space she opened up for me.

"Thanks," I say, sucking my entire drink down in one, desperate gulp. Being around people is fucking with my head, and I need the alcohol to hit quickly .

Lindsay is sitting with a bunch of other people, and now I'm in the center of that group, wedged between her and some guy. I've seen him before, but I don't know his name. The larger circle of the Burning Crown is far too big for me to remember everyone's name.

Lindsay leans toward me. "We heard Kai passed out at your place and had to go to the hospital. Is he okay? Is he coming tonight?"

"Um, I'm not sure," I answer, skirting the fact that I haven't spoken to him since the incident. Not that it really matters, but I don't want people reading into it. God knows they'll twist anything I say into complete fiction, then pass it off as truth.

"Fuck, first Gabriel, and now this," she says, and I can tell she's just trying to be nice, but ugh. This is not a topic I want to tackle in front of a group of people.

"Yeah," I say vaguely. "It's a lot."

Everyone in the group is focused on me, leaning in, hanging on my every word. They want all the dirty details of what happened, like whether or not I was choking Kai out during sex or something. I wish.

Oy, I suddenly regret sitting down. But I'm trapped now. Leaving would be a whole production. I'd have to pick my way back through at least a dozen who are sitting on the floor, around the couch.

"So, what happened, exactly?" she asks conspiratorially.

This is my chance to correct the narrative. I could tell everyone exactly what happened. But something stops me. Maybe it's embarrassment or fear of judgment, I don't know, but I find myself shrugging. "It was just a freak thing, I guess."

If I thought that was going to satisfy her, I'm an idiot. My vague response just encourages her to double down. "Kai said he drank too much, and things got heavy back at your place. When he passed out, you got pissed, called the police, and tried to pin some shit on him."

Wow. The blood drains from my face and my cheeks heat in embarrassment. Is this the bullshit he's telling people? And why? To spare his precious-fucking-ego? People already think I had something to do with Gabriel taking his own life, so I'm sure they're more than willing to believe this, too.

"That's not what happened," I say, stumbling over the words, because I'm floored that Kai, of all people, would be spreading lies like that. I thought he was cool. Jezus , can anyone be trusted in this fucking town?

The guy next to me puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me against his chest awkwardly. A thick cloud of tequila breath hits me in the face. "How did it happen, baby?" He slurs his words, and his head flops forward, nearly colliding with mine. "Why don't we find a dark corner so you can tell me all about how you knocked that loser out? Or did you choke him? I might be into that."

Ugh , as if.

"No thanks, asshole." I remove his arm and shove him away. We're squished together on the couch, though, so shoving him only nets me about half an inch of space.

I'm about to stand up and excuse myself when the room suddenly erupts into cheers. Everyone's attention is drawn to the center of the room and my gaze follows.

It's Kai.

He waltzes into the room with a bandage on his head and a smirk on his face. He looks like a hero triumphantly returning from the battlefield. The asshole.

Standing abruptly, I trample over the dozen people surrounding the couch, so I can confront him about the shit he's been saying about me. But just as I'm about to yell out, "Hey, asshole," I feel a hand on my arm.

I don't know where on earth he came from, but Lucas is standing next to me, his strong grip holding me in place. He gives me a dark look that silences me, then he turns his focus on Kai.

"Yo, Kai," he calls out, releasing me so he can step forward. "Come with me."

The cheers suddenly die, and the entire room goes silent.

Oh, shit. Being called out by a Sacred Son in front of everyone could either be good, or very, very bad…