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22
WALKER
As we entered the mansion, Montgomery was the first to meet me. He was wearing a tuxedo, and I knew he was here for the next Trial. I could see worry in his eyes as he approached.
“Listen, man,” he began as he placed a calming hand on my upper arm. “Tonight’s going to be fucking hard. Really fucking hard for the both of you. I wanted to find you first to get you both mentally prepared for what they are going to expect in tonight’s Trial.”
I was about to tell him that the Elders could go fuck themselves, and Jasmine and I wouldn’t be doing another Trial, but he was quick to continue on. “It’s the night of the branding. They plan to brand Jasmine and you with the sign of The Order of the Silver Ghost.”
“What?” I heard Jasmine ask on an exhale. “Like they do to cattle?”
“Which is why I’m here to warn you first,” Montgomery said. “There’s no way of getting around it, but I want you both to wrap your heads around the idea first.”
Ignoring Montgomery’s warning, I turned to Jasmine and held onto both of her arms. “Listen to me. Remember when we went into the secret passageways?”
Jasmine slowly nodded her head.
“I want you to go there and stay until I find you.” Still holding onto Jasmine, I turned my head to Montgomery. “Can you go get Beau, Emmett, and Rafe? Meet me in the billiards room. It’s important.”
Montgomery’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t ask why or even hesitate. He did as I asked and turned to leave.
I redirected my attention to Jasmine. “I know I promised you we’d finish this until the end. But I can’t stand here and allow this fucked up situation to continue. I can’t. We can’t.”
She nodded, even as she countered, “But you know what these men have the power to do.”
“I do. But I also know that I, along with my friends, have our own fucking power as well. And it’s damn time we use it.” I leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. “I need you to trust in me right now. I need you to go hide in the passageway so they can’t find you and force your hand before the Trial. Just stay there for a little while. Okay?”
Jasmine nodded again. “I trust you, Walker. I’ve trusted no one like I trust you.”
I hated turning down the hall and leaving Jasmine, but I needed to go talk with my friends and let them know what Mrs. H confessed. They had the right to know what truly was happening in these Trials. And I needed them by my side if we were going to stop this once and for all.
I was the first to enter the Billiards room and walked directly to the bottle of bourbon and poured myself a glass. The fact my hand shook as I brought the tumbler to my lips was telling.
“What’s going on?” I heard Rafe ask as my friends entered the room.
I held up my drink. “Get a drink, fellas. You’re all going to need it after I tell you what Mrs. H just confessed to me.”
Not waiting for them to all get their drinks like I suggested because I felt as if I’d explode if I held this information inside me any longer, I blurted, “Cindy is dead.”
“Cindy?” Emmett blinked as he took a seat in a leather high-back chair. “Your first belle?”
“So she did have an accident, like we suspected,” Montgomery said as he filled his crystal tumbler to the brim.
“Not an accident,” I corrected. “They killed her.”
When everyone’s eyes shot up to mine, I added, “And she isn’t the first belle to die. I found Mrs. H standing over the grave of Cindy and all the other belles in full confession. They used her to be the clean-up crew, and the old lady simply snapped.” Everyone’s stunned silence had me continuing on. “These sick fucks have killed belles.”
“Like Trials that have gone wrong?” Rafe asked, but it came out as if he was trying to defend the Order because no way could the information I was giving not be explained away. How was it possible for something like this to happen in a place we grew up in?
“No. Not accidents. And even if some of them were, these poor girls were buried in secret graves on the property. Everything was covered up and hidden.”
I rattled off word for word what Mrs. H had said in between her sobs, and it was interesting to see the shock morph to rage on each of the men’s faces as I did so.
“This place is so fucked,” Montgomery said, being the first to do so after I finally stopped speaking. And then his face went even paler. “Jesus, what if it had been Grace?”
