HIM
Iwaited thirty minutes before quietly going back up the stairs. She was sound asleep, looking more peaceful than I’d ever seen. She thought that getting the book would be the end.
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was in even more danger now.
That book wasn’t the only one. There were many others. That book only had information about the people who lived in this area. Each area had its own. Sage and Kiara would be able to bring down one chapter of the society, but never the whole thing. It was too big. But I had thought of a way to possibly change that.
I sighed when I realized the book was under her arm. If I woke her, this wouldn’t work. I crouched near the bed and very slowly slid the book away from her arm. Freezing when she moved, I waited to make sure her breathing was still even. After a few moments, I pulled the book from her and went back downstairs.
I sat back on the loveseat, my eyes glued to the book that sealed my fate. Alex’s. My dad’s. And everyone I had known while growing up. Instinct screamed to burn it. But I wouldn’t. She needed to do this.
Opening the book, I flipped through until I found the page I was looking for. My gaze trailed down the names scrawled from top to bottom. At the bottom of the page was my name, both printed and signed. Every man who helped in ceremonies would sign the book when they turned eighteen.
I had questioned my dad about why everyone had to sign it and was told it was tradition. But in the years after, I learned what it really was. Insurance. That if any man decided to talk about what they’d done, they were just as guilty as the rest. It was just another way to make sure the group was kept a secret. There were over seventy names signed in this book from all the previous years. There were the names of all the victims and the dates they were sacrificed. In further pages were the sites of where they were all buried. It had everything Sage needed to start an investigation.
I hesitated for a second before I ripped out the bottom of the page, tearing the small area out that had my name. And Geo’s. I didn’t need anyone to be searching for him either. I flipped a few more pages and tore out another full page. Folding them up, I put them in my wallet before sneaking the book back upstairs.
Going back downstairs, I quietly opened the garage door and slipped out. I rested against the brick on the front of the house and pulled out Sage’s old phone that had been in my room. I took a deep breath, mentally preparing for this conversation. I punched in the number I’d memorized years ago and put the phone to my ear.
“I was wondering when you’d call. Your brother beat you to it.”
“Samual, we need to talk,” I said, my voice cold.
“Where did you take the girl? This can all be fixed, Niko. Go home. See your father,” Samual ordered softly.
“No.”
“No? What else are you going to do? You can’t turn your back on us,” His voice went from concerned to angry in a matter of seconds.
“She found something. Something that is going to take down at least part of the group.”
“Then get it from her,” Samual hissed.
“I can’t. It’s too late. But I managed to take the paper that implicated you. And the other elders. As of right now, you are safe. Unless you don’t do exactly what I’m about to say next,” I drawled, trying to stay calm as nerves pierced me.
“You can’t threaten me—"
“I can. I have the evidence to do it. The Midwest chapter is about to get ripped wide open. Nothing you or I can do about it. Your best bet is to start distancing yourself. But like I said, I took the paper that named you. You can still stay in the shadows if you listen to me.”
There was a long moment of silence.
“I’m listening,” he finally snapped.
“Sage Taylor is no longer going to be in danger. The group will not touch her. She will live her life as she chooses. If she even has an accident, this paper goes straight to the cops. And they’ll come straight for you. Everybody in the group needs to know that she is not a target. You understand?”
I waited for an answer but was met with another long silence. I could only imagine what Samual’s face looked like at that moment.
“I’m going to need you to answer,” I said, enjoying the power I now held over him.
“Nikolas, you aren’t thinking straight. Spend some time before you do anything rash,” he implored, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
“Believe me, I’m thinking more clearly than I have in years.”
“This is your life. Your family’s life. You can’t turn your back on us.”
“Your chance of saving your own ass is running out,” I snapped, losing patience. “Agree or don’t. But I want an answer. Now.”
He paused. “It’ll be done. I’ll start informing everyone tomorrow—”
“No. You start when we get off the phone,” I interrupted sharply.