I sank my hands into my pockets and rushed toward the exit, only to stop as a guy, roughly my age, dressed in a suit, entered the graveyard.
He was tall, muscular, and he had a mean look in his eye. “Sian Roberts?” he asked.
At first, I didn’t make a sound or a move, or a noise.
He didn’t say anything and then I nodded. “It’s me.”
I tensed up as he reached into his jacket, but it was stupid of me to do that as he pulled out a single white envelope. “This is for you.”
He held it out to me, and for a few seconds, I stared at it, scared it might bite me.
“Take it!”
I jumped at his rough voice and did as I was told. I took it. “Do you work for my dad?”
“No.”
My mouth was so dry, and I wanted to ask him a million questions, but I stayed perfectly still, watching him. He turned on his heel and was about to leave, but I couldn’t let him go. I grabbed his arm. “Wait.”
I didn’t know if I’d made a great big fuck-up or not.
“Don’t touch me!” The glare he sent my way had me instantly recoiling. He pulled up the sleeve of his jacket, exposing a crest from another school. I didn’t recognize it, but I did catch the sight of The Society across the banner. “We have a common friend.”
I stared down at the white envelope. “What is this?” I held it up.
“I don’t know.”
“I’ve never seen you before.”
This made him smile. “I’m guessing you’re new to The Society.” He took a couple of steps forward. “As I was warned, I will warn you. We are everywhere and nowhere. You will not know us until we tell you to. You will not see us until we want you to. Keep our secret to your grave.” He nodded at me and then he left.
I didn’t try to stop him.
Holding the envelope in my hand did not feel like a good thing. I felt a little sick. This wasn’t good. What they wanted from me wasn’t good. This was all bad.
I tore into the envelope. Inside was a single white sheet of paper and a set of keys.
Frowning, I looked around to see if anyone watched.
I picked them out of the envelope, and I recognized them as a set of hotel keys. The small keychain marked the name of the hotel.
Opening up the letter, I read a date, three days from now, a time, noon, and the instruction to let myself into the room and to wait. That was all.
I held the keys in my fist, feeling the weight of them within my grasp. As I folded the letter up, I saw on the back there was another instruction. Take only Gideon.
That was all.
Did this mean I could only tell Gideon? I didn’t like the secrecy.
My stomach was in knots. It was like I couldn’t focus.
With one last look around the cemetery, I left. I was walking down the street when someone stopped the car and let down a window.
“Sian Roberts?”
Okay, now this was getting to be a little scary.
“Yes.” I spoke up rather hesitantly.
“This is for you.” He held out a package.
I didn’t ignore him.
I took it from him and he smiled at me, offering me a good day. There was nothing about today that was a good day. It was all very, very wrong.
Closing my eyes, I took another deep breath, and then I tore into the box to find a cell phone. Much like the one my mom had given me.
The moment I touched it, it started to ring. I jumped back, dropping it to the ground. It was an old phone, one with keys on it rather than a main screen.
I bent down, picking it up, and saw a number on the screen I didn’t recognize.
“Why me?” I groaned and clicked the accept button. I hated cell phones. It was why I didn’t bother having one. “Hello.” I placed the phone against my ear and waited.
No sound. Nothing at first.
“Hello, daughter,” Alexander said.
I’d been warned he’d try to be in touch, but I figured it would be in Gideon’s house, not while I visited my best friend. The same friend he’d murdered, which was the reason why I visited.
“Have we forgotten our manners?” he asked.
As I gritted my teeth, the temptation to hang up was strong, but I wasn’t going to let him get to me. “Who are you?” I asked.
He tutted. “Sian, don’t disappoint me like you have so many times before. You know who I am.”
“I know you’re a wanted criminal. They’re out hunting you.” I held the set of keys within my fist. Had The Society given me his hotel room number? The key to bringing him in?
I hoped so. I wanted to see him pay for what he did.
“You don’t know what you’re fucking talking about.” He all but snarled at me.
This made me smile. “What? Did you expect to spend the time mocking me? Forcing me to go through with that only so you could put it out for the world to see?” I asked.
“I see you’ve grown a backbone. I wonder if you’ll still have it when I kill your boys.”
I laughed even as fear raced down my spine. I didn’t want anyone to hurt them. They were the only real family I had left. “Nice try, Dad, but how do you think you’re going to be able to accomplish that? They know who you are. They know what you’ve done.”
“They will all pay.”
“For what? For your sins? The only person who is going to pay is you.” I glanced around at the houses, wondering if he could see me. I wasn’t sure and to be honest, I didn’t care. “You know, I figured it out about Chloe. Why you used her. She was easy cash. You’re a man who has always lived outside of his means. First you went to All Saints, tagged along with the Saintly Devils, and then, you decided to take their selected from them. Did you have a crush on Mom, or did you just want to feel the kind of power you’d never had before? To take it away from the real men?”
I didn’t know why I was saying these things. Maybe I felt brave from visiting Heather’s graveside and now that I was talking to the man responsible for her being there, I had grown a spine.
“You little bitch.”
“But you’re not a real man, are you, Dad? A real man wouldn’t hide behind women. They wouldn’t drug her for years on end just to keep her in some kind of control. You’re not a man. You’re a worthless piece of shit, and when The Society finally gets a hold of you, you’re going to wish you stayed in your place, constantly fifth best. Constantly hoping for a better life.” I hated the words spilling from my mouth. They sounded cruel even to my ears, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. I wanted him to pay. I wanted him to feel fear and to be trapped.
“You’re going to pay, Sian. I’m going to watch you burn.”
“Then I’ll see you in hell.” I hung up the phone, tossing it into the nearest trash can. I couldn’t wait to finally have it out with the monster and to see him get what he deserved. It was worth giving myself to The Society for that.
Chapter Fourteen
Gideon
I knew of the hotel Sian told me about. She showed me the letter along with the key. It was an hour from my dad’s place.
When I told him I had to go out, at first, he’d tried to stop me. I had no choice but to give him a hint of why I was leaving. It certainly wasn’t willingly, not until we caught Alexander.