Page 141 of Scars Run Deep

I knew they’d come back to me.

20

~Killian~

The public face of Monroe Enterprises and the Carmichael Foundation was out in all its high-profile partnered glory tonight.

The ridiculous extravagance paid for in blood saturated the atrium and even spilled out onto the street.

Six-foot high faux trees with golden branches and trunks and crystal ornaments were positioned every few feet throughout the space. Lights and expensive streamers were hung from the ceilings. There were even golden runners all over the floor. The servers were wearing gold crowns or tiaras with ties or cravats as part of their uniforms. There were champagne fountains interspersed throughout too. The last part was kind of on the nose.

A champagne gala in the name of raising a shitload of funds for endangered animals, the goal to rebuild lost habitats. It was all bullshit. And the animal focus was a dig to me from Samuel. He knew I had a soft spot for animals and this was his way of giving me the middle finger, because the money would never reach them. It was pretend. A well-crafted smokescreen. Just like it always was.

It was never about helping those in need, just helping the Infidels to get richer and grow in power and influence from the press of all these high-profile, high-society events.

I mean, there were It Girls here tonight, TV celebrities, the major players of the society pages, and even a couple of movie stars.

They’d all been taken in by the bullshit.

It made me fucking sick to my stomach.

I was expecting to see the height of the luxurious pretense once we made our way into the banquet hall of this hoity toity place.

The auction would be a sharp contrast to all this.

Jonah had been called away by his father, Reed. I hadn’t seen it, I’d been posing for fucking pictures at the time, but Asher had relayed that J had gotten a text summons.

Asher had been able to confirm that there was a sub-level beneath this gala area where the auction was being set up. I had no idea how he’d gotten that intel and I hadn’t been able to ask with all the schmoozing we’d had to do. Likely, he had contacts in the guards, or maybe even one of two of the other faction leaders. Either way, at least we had confirmation and Asher had been able to send it along to Caleb.

Things were underway.

Just slowly.

Too slowly for my liking.

I sipped at the sickly sweet champagne, the glass of which I was trying not to shatter under the duress of my brutal grip. I hated champagne, but it was the first thing I’d been offered when I’d walked into this fake-as-shit gala and I’d needed something to take the edge off.

Being here had me on edge for so many reasons.

For one, I hated this public notoriety shit. After being free in Hexwood to drop the façade after all these years, here I was faking it again, having to play the golden boy role.

And then there was the prospect of running into my father. The last time I’d seen him, he’d beaten on me and threatened me within an inch of my life. Not to mention, the detailed threats he'd made via that now infamous text message. None of that had come to pass, but the old bastard was known for biding his time and waiting for the precise moment to strike against his enemies to make it as painful and as debilitating as possible for them.

There was also the fact that Aurora was back in Hexwood alone. Well, not alone, Bryce and the entire security team were with her. But she wasn’t with us. I mean, it was good that she didn’t have to walk amongst these monsters here, but even so, being apart right now while all this was going on, was making me antsy.

At least tonight’s fakery had a purpose this time, something to endure for.

We were going to stop that auction and then go for the throat. Asher was gonna do what he’d been waiting on for years—end the motherfuckers who’d subjugated us.

And then the other bright spot was that I’d also get to see my mom.

It had been months since I’d been able to communicate with her in any way. Samuel didn’t like it. He didn’t want us close and he ensured that wasn’t the case. Going around him had been too risky before, not just to me, but to Asher and Jonah too.

Soon all barriers would be down and she and I could restore what was lost, what he’d tried to break between us.

I leaned against the wall, watching Asher smiling and putting on the show that was expected of him as the revered heir to the goliath that was Monroe Enterprises.

Damn, he could fake it with the best.

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