The Initiation (Darkness Within Duet 1)

“I didn’t even know who he was.”

“He was a loser, trying to take something that didn’t belong to him.”

“I … how can it happen?”

“It happens a lot, Harper. Don’t think about it. There are a lot of assholes in this world. Sick perverts as well. We wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

She laughed. “I didn’t think it was safe hanging out on the school bench. The school gives me the creeps.”

“So instead you walk past a creepy woods that can have anyone and anything inside. Makes total sense.”

“I was walking toward the good part of town. You know, where all the money is.”

“Let me give you some advice, Harper. Just because someone has wealth and prestige, doesn’t make them good. It only means they can pay to hide their true self. Nowhere is safe.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but then she heard the door.

“I’ll go and check and see who it is.”

With him gone, she climbed out of the bath, replacing the jacket with a robe.

Jett came back seconds later and didn’t look impressed. “Your dad and Hannah are back.”

Great.

****

Draven parked his car near the wood and found Axel and Buck waiting. Both of them were playing games on their phones.

“You recognize him?” Draven asked.

“Didn’t he work for your dad?” Axel asked.

“Yes. He did.”

“And he gave you a warning today?” Buck asked.

“Yep.”

The man who’d been attacking Harper was dead. Draven didn’t know who dealt the killing blow, but he had a feeling it was Jett. The blood coated the ground.

“What do you want us to do?” Axel asked.

Heading to the trunk of his car, Draven grabbed out the tools he’d need.

Laying the sheet on the ground, they all rolled the dead body onto the blanket. Carrying it back to his car, he tossed it in the trunk.

Closing and locking his car, he walked back into the woods and picked up a shovel.

“Dig the blood in. We don’t want anyone to see this.”

“Got it,” Axel said.

“Where are you going?” Buck asked.

“I’ve got to pay the old man a visit.”

“I don’t think that’s wise.” This came from Axel.

“Why?”

“He’s given you a warning, and you’re about to go and shit on all of that. It’s not good.”

“I know it’s not, but I’m also not going to let him get away with thinking I’ll allow him to hurt our girl. He can give warnings all he wants, but this is our decision, not his. You good with this?”

“Yep,” Axel said.

Leaving his friends there, he got behind the wheel and took off home. There was a fancy party at his home.

No one there was a law-abiding citizen. All of them had secrets.

Rage flooded Draven as he got to the trunk and stared down into the lifeless face of the asshole who’d been trying to hurt Harper.

If he’d not heard that scream, he wouldn’t have found her.

He imagined the instructions were pretty simple. Find Harper, rape her, kill her, and be done with it. His father didn’t want the mess of dealing with a civilian in their world. If she went missing after being seen with them for so long, it would open up questions that he really didn’t want to deal with. Tough shit. Draven had no intention of following his father’s rules. This was his life, and he wanted Harper. Besides, the damage had already been done, and he wasn’t about to leave her alone. He was his father’s son and wouldn’t let anything get in his way of what he wanted.

He needed to protect Harper. These kinds of instructions only came from his dad, and now he was so pissed.

Axel and Buck were digging the blood into the mud and checking the area so there was no lingering evidence they were there. Picking up the dead body, he ignored the crushing weight and entered his home. The man on the door looked like he was going to shit himself.

It was all good fun. The sound of music and laughter filled the air from the dining room. That was fine.

One glance into the room, and Draven recognized most of the people there. Some of the women were whores, others mistresses. His mother wasn’t there though.

Walking into the room, he went right up to his father and dumped the body on the table.

Silence rang out at his challenge as he stared at the man whose blood ran in his veins.

Alan Barries was an asshole, a monster.

Draven had seen all that he had done, and had ignored it. It was what he did, turned the other way.

“What is the meaning of this?” one of the guests demanded.

Draven picked up his dad’s glass of wine and took a sip. The woman closest to him, he shoved her out of a chair and sat down.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Draven said.

“This kind of business is done in private. Forgive my son, he doesn’t know how to be polite.”