Page 35 of Breaking the Code

I fucking hate this part. The door swishes open, and we step in. I insert my finger in the scanner, feeling the prick. Popping my poor, abused finger into my mouth before I smell or see the blood, I remove my glasses and lean forward. The glass of light glows brightly in the dim area where the elevator is.

The door swooshes closed, but Draven grabs hold of it before it closes completely

“Where’s it go?” he asks.

“The basement,” I say.

“What’s down there?”

I sigh as the door opens fully again. “Shit. Now my finger is getting stuck again. In the basement are all the things you want to see, to know.”

“How do you know what I want?”

Okay. He’s pissing me off. I know it’s only natural that he is wary, but I hate being questioned. It happens all the time because people mistake size with intelligence and ability.

Taking a deep breath, I say, “It’s one thing we have in common.”

I step toward the scanner again. He grabs me, holding me in place, staring down at me.

“Second thoughts?” I ask.

His mouth opens to respond, but he’s interrupted by the buzzing in my pocket.

“Shit.”

I pull my phone and the comms unit out of my pocket. Looking at them, you can’t tell the difference between them. They both look like ordinary cell phones, but one of them I’ve redesigned for the Society.

“Listen, I’ve gotta get downstairs. There are some scary fuckers down there, and I don’t want to piss them off by showing up late. So, if you want to see the show, you must let the elevator door close.”

His jaw pops and twitches like he’s grinding his teeth. “Go on, then,” he says.

Going through the scanning process again, we watch the door slide closed. I glance at him. He looks poised to strike, like a coiled-up snake. I lay a hand on his folded arms.

“When the doors open, we’ll be in an open area. Damon will be waiting. He’s one of the three in charge. He will explain things, and then he’ll give you the options. Depending on your choice, any questions you have once everything is over with, I’ll answer them.”

“The choice is death or death, but one means I won’t die?” he asked.

His expression fillets me to my soul. He looks almost hopeful. I’m not sure which option he’s hoping for. I knew about his family. He lost his sister, parents, and his husband to the Order of Death. He isn’t any different from so many others. I only hope his desire to save Maeve will keep him focused on staying alive.

The elevator stops, and the doors slide open. Damon stands in front of a group of people, all of them lined up and kneeling in front of him as if he were a God. I’m sure Everly thinks so, but he’s not my type. Not that I have a type. The only man I’ve willingly been with was out of desperation.

That’s not willing.

I clear my throat to dislodge that runaway train from the tracks. It is difficult, but I managed to tuck nearly eight years of abuse away. I did what I had to, and I didn’t regret it.

Much.

“Join them,” I whisper to Draven.

He looks down at me, hesitating for a moment before marching his fine ass over to the line. He’s beautiful and lethal, all smushed together in a sexy package. My dick is still twitching from him shoving me up against…

The loud crack of Damon’s gun startles me, pulling me from my perusal of the man I’ve been watching, and reminds me of why this portion of the ceremony is being done down here and not upstairs, as I suggested. I pray the small gasp I made wasn’t loud enough for anyone else to hear.

Some assassin I’d make. I cannot even be in the same room with a bloody corpse.

It’s a damn good thing I’m not needed for wet work.

I glance at them to see and catch sight of the mess the woman Damon shot is making on the floor. I swallow, forcing the bile climbing my throat back to my belly. The smell of the blood and the sight of it has me shaken.

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