AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Devan and Micah exchanged a quick glance, then Devan cleared his throat.
“So, do you remember when we were walking in the woods and you asked me about Drew’s family history? About the secret society that was founded here on campus?”
I nodded, relieved that someone was finally saying something. “Yes, the…something with eagles?”
“Fallen Eagles,” Devan confirmed with a nod.
“You already told her this stuff?” Micah asked, looking a little surprised.
“Only the basics. Honestly,” he went on, turning his attention back to me, “the basics is about all there is to know. There were ten students in the original Fallen Eagles society. When the students graduated and married and had children, the group grew, and as the founders got involved in more and more dubious shit, it started to morph from a silly private school secret society into the crime syndicates they are today. When it split, four families stayed with the Fallen Eagles and six split off to form the Shattered Sun. Membership to the two societies is basically passed down through family generations.”
“How long ago did all this start?” I asked.
“Two hundred years or so, I think.” He glanced at Micah, who nodded.
“About two hundred and thirty,” Micah confirmed.
I blinked. “Holy shit. So they’re pretty big now, huh?”
“Much larger,” Devan said with a nod. “With different branches and offshoots as families grew and changed. But the bulk of the power is still handed down through the main family lines.”
“Huh. And what exactly does any of this have to do with me?” I asked, shifting on the bed to stretch my legs out between them.
There was another pause, and the two guys exchanged glances again. Then Devan said, “One of the founding members of the Fallen Eagles was named Walter Zoellner—Drew’s great-something grandfather.”
My brow creased. I already knew that; was I missing something? “And?”
Micah spoke next, his voice low. “One of the founding members of the Shattered Sun was Charles Moretti.”
It actually took me a moment to make sense of his implication. “Wait, Moretti, like my aunt?”
38
I couldn’t help myself, I burst into gales of laughter. “Oh my God,” I choked out between wheezing laughs. “You’re not serious. Are you implying that my aunt is involved in a, a…an organized crime syndicate?”
The guys weren’t laughing with me. “Not just your aunt, but your whole family,” Micah said gently. “For generations. Your mother’s maiden name is Moretti, right?”
That only made me laugh harder. “Well yes, but come on. I think I’d know if my relatives were part of the freaking mafia. Are you honestly suggesting that my parents…” The smile slid off my face as my laughter cut off abruptly.
A memory surfaced. My aunt’s voice, when she’d announced that she was sending me to Lost Lake. This is where your grandfather went to school, and his father before him. I think it’s time to resurrect a family tradition.
I’d only ever spoken to my mother’s parents twice in my life. I’d barely even known my aunt existed before I’d been foisted on her after my parents’ deaths. I’d always assumed my mom’s family just didn’t approve of her decision to marry my dad. That or the fact that she’d become a tattoo artist. But could there have been another reason?
The gears spun in my head. Could it really be possible?
It would explain why we’d had next to no contact with my mom’s family my entire life. It would explain why we’d moved away to L.A. when I was a baby. It would…could it really explain why someone had attacked me in an alley?
I voiced the thought aloud. “You think the man in the alley was searching for me because I’m part of some…crime family?”
“That’s the theory, yes,” Devan said, watching me carefully.
“Which means what—my parents were in hiding?”
“Most likely.”
I was quiet for a long moment, taking it in, turning it all over in my head. The idea was ridiculous, but also…suspiciously plausible.
“How could they have kept something like that from me?” I said, so quietly I could barely hear my own words.
