Page 74 of Isabela

“Not bad,” someone mutters, making me huff out a laugh.

“Isabela is in a unique position, because her uncle fucked her over and stole all of her money,” Gael says. “She’s not a rich asshole who has had everything handed to her. Her ability to find the holes in data will help us trace money discrepancies that we so often have people come to us with.”

“I need a money girl in my life,” someone says. I glance over my shoulder and the girl smiles at me. “I’m Madison, and one of the hackers for the Society. You’re going to help make my job easier.”

Returning her smile, I turn back to face Gael.

“Everyone we recruit has a unique talent or skill. We look forward to working with you, Isabela. Please take this knife for the blood oath, which binds you to each of us. Failure to take this oath seriously and breaking it will result in death,” he says. I remember Lily who is in one of the rooms in this warehouse and press my lips together in understanding.

“I understand,” I tell Gael, taking the letter opener from him.

His eyes feel like balls of fire as he stares at me. “Score enough across your palm to bleed into the bowl and no more,” he growls. His words are low enough for only me to hear, making me roll my lips in to suppress my smile. A giggle bubbles up that I also press down, because it’s wildly inappropriate for me to want to tease him over his possessive and overbearing words.

I carefully slice my palm with the knife, wincing as it stings. Fuck, that hurts. Fisting my hand over the bowl, I watch as the blood drips down into it.

“Isabela is now an initiate in the Society and an official recruit. She’ll become a full blooded member as soon as she completes her first three tasks, one of them which will take place tonight,” he says. “Tonight, she will be saying goodbye to someone who holds her to her past.”

The group around me claps and whoops, making me relax as I smile.

Gael comes around the table with a cloth, taking my hand to put pressure on the cut. “You’ll never be alone again,” he says in my ear. “You’re officially home.”

The words mean more somehow as they caress my skin, his motions careful as he tends to the cut and takes the knife to set it aside.

“Please make sure that Lily is ready for interrogation,” he calls out over the people in the room celebrating. “People to kill, and only so many hours in the night as it is.”

Madison snorts as she shakes her head and people start to leave the room. “Welcome to our world, girl. There’s never a dull moment around here,” she says.

Gael looks dangerously close to rolling his eyes, making me giggle as everyone goes back to what they were doing. He bandages my hand after disinfecting it and then washes out the bowl and knife in the attached bathroom. I watch as he pours a bit of bleach over both before cleaning them again with my brows raised.

“There’s too many things people can do with a person’s blood,” he grunts. “I may not have to follow this practice, but I’m not taking any chances.”

Well then. My growly man is also a touch paranoid too.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he groans as he puts everything away. “Aria thinks I’m paranoid too, but the last thing I need is for your blood to show up at a crime scene or something. While I trust the people in this building for the most part, I still need to overhaul the Society over the next two weeks. It’s going to take time.”

It sounds like extra work he doesn’t need, and I feel bad. Stepping closer to him, I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him. Gael relaxes a bit and squeezes me tightly back.

“Ready to talk to Lily?” he asks.

“Can I punch her? Pretty please?”

Gael tilts my head back, slanting his lips over mine as he kisses me hard. “As long as she’s alive long enough to get my answers, you can do whatever you want,” he promises.

Holding my hand, as if to remind me that he doesn’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks, he leads me to where Lily is being held. No matter what happens from here on out, I doubt this man will judge me for my actions.

It’s nice to know there’s nothing wrong with the anger I feel rolling in my gut, when I think about Lily and how she nonchalantly handed me over to Mayor Markship. The bitch is definitely going to feel a bit of karma coming her way, and I’m happy to be doling it out.

Chapter Eighteen

GAEL

Iwatch out of the corner of my eye, as Isa starts to walk taller beside me, as she sinks deep into thoughts. The initiation went beautifully, even though I threw her into the deep end with what she brings to the table for the Society. I am showing a lot of favor toward her, and I need to be careful it doesn’t cause unrest in our organization. Everyone rises or falls on their own merit, without any special privileges.

Isa looks determined and fierce as I nod to the guard outside of Lily’s room. He opens the door for us, and we walk inside. I didn’t bother to prepare her for how she may look, I didn’t see any need to.

Still, Isa’s feet stumble for a moment before she rights herself. Lily is hanging from her bound wrists on a hook attached to the low ceiling. The rooms on this hallway have lower ceilings, with some having drains for easier clean up.

They’re interrogation and kill rooms.

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