AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shit like that didn’t bug me anymore. Once upon a time it might have, but now? Now I did whatever I had to in order to keep Gemmasafe. I had long since learned my lesson.
By the time they had arrived, I was drenched in sweat, the boxing bag swaying violently beside me. But, more importantly, I was exactly the O’Grady they had come to expect.
I halted my workout, standing to attention like the stellar soldier I was. I may not like him - may not evenrespecthim, but when a General stood before you, you pulled yourself to attention.
He was dressed in a collared shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and I didn’t miss the sneer he offered me as he scanned me over - head to fucking toe. As if he found my sweat-drenched appearance lacking in some way or form.
It was ludicrous, really, because where other General’s may have nodded, may have praised, may have simply ignored their soldiers, Paul May onlysneered. He didn’t deserve the title that his daddy’s money bought him.
But I wasn’t about to tell him that.
I didn’t have to see her to know that she was there - behind him. I could hear it in the clip of her footsteps - the way her heel hit the ground with a sharpclackwith each measured step she took. It was the sound that haunted my dreams - the one that emerged in almost every nightmare I had.
Sarah fucking Lipson.
It didn't take long for the petite woman of my nightmares to step forward, positioning herself neatly next to Paul Mae. Next to him, she looked almost harmless, but then that had always been her modus of operandi. Appear harmless - docile - friendly -feminine- and then prey on the weak, the lonely, the isolated, and the desperate. Never girls, though - Sarah didn't like the girls, they challenged her too much, or perhaps she saw them as competition. But if you were a pretty boy caught in the cogs of The Society, chances are that Sarah Lipson would sink her claws into you. Almost every man here bore her mark. You could see it in the way they held themselves - the faraway look in their eyes, but I refused to be avictim. Not since she sent me to the military. It was as if some unspoken ground rules were laid down when I returned - she no longertouchedme, and I didn't kill her. Because if Sarah Lipson so much as laid one more finger on me, not even the threat to Gemma's existence would be enough to keep me from reacting.
She knew that.And so did I.
It didn't stop her grotesque perusal of my body as she stood before me, taking in mysweat-soaked clothing and slight panting. I cocked my head to the side and smirked at the aging woman before me, even when I wanted nothing more than to cover up and stab out her innards.
It was a neat skill I had picked up during one of my missions - one I was certain The Society had documented and filed away, adding it to my skill set.
I waited to be addressed - waited to betoldthat I could commence in laying out the plan - intelling GeneralPaul Mae what the fuck he should do with these new members over the next couple of weeks. It was a ludicrous dance, really, because if he were a true general, he wouldn't need me to map out the entire plan for him, and I wouldn't have to pretend he was worth his title. But here we both were, playing a game of pretend. The only difference was that if I slipped up, Gemma's life was on the line - ifheslipped up, he had to call Daddy Dearest.
The smallest reminder flickered through my memory: hushed conversations, tattooed wrists and ankles, and the promise of somethingmore.
But I couldn't think about that now - not as I stood before General Paul Mae and Sarah Lipson, where every tick and twitch was being watched and scrutinized.
I calmed my demeanor, stoic and smug as ever. Even when her gaze clashed with mine, unlocking a dozen memories:the way her musky scent clawed its way into my nostrils; the feel of her skin against mine as she goaded me - demeaned me - and demanded me to fuck her harder; the feel of those cuffs on my wrists when Istarted resisting; the taste of cotton candy in my mouth, leaving me dazed and confused, only to wake with her on top of me.
I shut those memories down as my palms grew damp, and the muscles in my thighs grew rigid. Still, I gave nothing away. I simply blinked and smirked at her, refusing to show her the extent of the damage she inflicted.
"Let's get this over with," the General's voice sounded bored and petulant, like a goddamnchild."I don't have all day." He barked the words, throwing some weight behind his bought title.
Not once did Sarah Lipson tear her gaze from mine, and that look alone had the ability to set dread coursing through my veins, cooling me down with each passing moment.
I nodded once at the General before allowing him to lead us to the center of the gymnasium, where a table and four chairs sat unoccupied - the same table and chairs I had positioned there for this exact meeting.
Paul Mae made a show of pulling his Mont Blanc pen from the breast pocket of his dress shirt before opening up a file before him.
"How many men, and how many women do you have for this year's season?"
I asked the question as if we were discussing a goddamn summer camp - it was the only way to get through such things - the only way to separate myself from the knowledge of what we were truly doing - of whatIwashelpingthem achieve.
"I don't see how that has any impact on the programyou'vebeen tasked to create." Paul was dismissive and arrogant, and I wanted nothing more than to gut him and show him exactly what I thought of him and his piece of shit Society.
Instead, Ismiled. It was a smile filled with cocksure arrogance. There were only a handful of times I could get away with it, and what do you know? Today was one of them.
"Most of your new members are untrained and have no former knowledge of hand-to-hand combat or self defense, let alone how to use a firearm. While that needs to be taken into account, I also have to separate males and females for certain tasks, simply because of the weight differences,andthe fact that some may be pregnant under yourbreeding program." I fought not to sneer at him as I spat out the last words. These people were absolutely abhorrent, and the only thing worse than The Society itself was the fact that they were actively trying to createmoremembers for their precious movement.
Paul Mae glowered at me while I waited.
CHAPTER FOUR: HOME
MADILYN
The apartment was crisp and clean. A template for creation - a place to callmy own, even if it was only for three months.
