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Sitting back at my desk, I say, “Yes, I just locked up my office, since I’m doing office hours while I finish some work.”
My father chuckles, and I know he can hear the distaste in my voice.
“You’re doing a great job, Levi. I know you’d rather be on a more exciting field project, but this is the best place for you right now. Though… that Bridget girl’s parents may be calling the Academy to complain that she’s cleaning the bathrooms with a toothbrush,” he chuckles.
I swear, the most random things travel to his ears, while he’s clueless on others. “She pinched my ass,” I mutter as my father howls with laughter. “Dad! It’s really not funny.”
“She’s a hormone-ridden, nineteen-year-old girl looking for a husband,” he snickers. “Though she’s barking up the wrong tree now that you’re married. I wonder if she got the memo.”
“I’m sure they did. It’s all that people are talking about today,” I sigh. “Other than calling me to make fun of me, was there something else you wanted?”
I’m trying to get him to change the subject and he knows it. Still chuckling, he says, “Of course there is. This was just an added bonus. The last trial will be next week, and the guys did very well in their second trial. We learned a lot about Isabella and Maxen’s involvement in the sex trafficking world, and I honestly believe they’re going to become an issue. I’ll have them tell you about it.”
Smiling widely, I’m incredibly proud of the guys. “I’m having dinner with them later, so I’ll be sure to have them fill me in,” I tell him.
“We met them at the diner they went to after and debriefed them, but please make sure Ash and Bast tell you about how they got stuck in the wall.”Dad chuckles.
Confused, I frown. “Did the panel get stuck or something? Those passages are well-maintained, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. They got stuck because Maxen decided to fuck his wife in the tunnel, blocking their way out,” my father says, roaring with laughter.
Snorting, I shake my head. “Oh my God, that’s awful. Yeah, I need that full story. So tell me about the final trial. The third one is meant to lock their souls to The Society. It's usually illegal, and a test of their loyalty. So who are they killing, Dad?”
I’m not mincing words, but I doubt it’ll be easy. Almost every time, the initiates are tasked with killing someone whose death the Society will benefit from. Sometimes it’s judges, other times it's someone who has gotten on the wrong side of The Society. Either way, I need to know how I’ll be allowed to prepare them.
“Jonas will be tasked with killing his father,” Dad intones, and I nod because I figured he would be, since his father has been bringing the wrong attention to The Society with his debts and who he’s gotten into bed with. “Bastian will be killing someone from his past who hurt him.”
I know who he’s talking about and chew on my lip. There’s not a secret these guys have that I don’t know about. I don’t think Ash and Jonas even know, and I would never betray Bast’s confidence. I found him crying in a corner of the Chapel, rocking, and discovered why it’s such a trigger for him. The priest who hurt him needs to die, and I’m glad that Bastian will be able to take back some of his life this way.
“And Ash?” I ask, slightly worried about who they’ll pick. I’m at a loss for who they would choose for him.
“There’s an elusive mark that’s been making things difficult for us, so Ash will be disposing of him,”my father says cryptically.
“You’re really not going to tell me?” I groan.
“I can’t. My hands are tied,” Dad sighs. “Their trial will be happening next week, so you can tell them that. You can also tell them that blood will be shed, but that’s all. It’s always been hinted that the last trial will bind their souls to us forever, without telling the Adams. They’ll receive a photo and where they need to go the day of the trial, and they will be given six hours to complete their task. At the end of that time, they’ll need to check in with the code word they’re given with their burner phones.”
It’s all very cloak and dagger, but what else would you expect from a secret Society?
“After they complete their trial, they’ll have their initiation the following night, Levi,” he cautions.
“Why the accelerated schedule?” I ask.
Usually, after their trial, their induction is at the end of the week. It’s only a few days, but I still notice the difference.
“We have rescheduled their first trial so many times, the Elders want to reward the Adams for their commitment and patience,” Dad says. There’s an odd tone in his voice, and I can tell he’s keeping something from me.
Dad wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t necessary, and he was told not to tell me.
Pursing my lips, I decide to not make a big deal of it. Checking the clock, it’s time for dinner and for me to end this call.
“Yes, Sir,” I murmur instead of arguing, and my father blows out a breath.
A few years ago, I was sent on constant missions for the Society, to straighten myself out, and we were less close during that time. Now, however, he knows me almost as well as I do.
“I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but trust that there are reasons for it. I’ll speak to you later. Oh, and Levi?"
“Yes, Dad?” I sigh, knowing I shouldn’t be as annoyed as I am with him right now.
