Page 58 of Beautiful Dark Temptation

“How are you feeling?”

Kieran’s voice almost forced a yelp out ofme. I snapped my mouth shut and clung to the sink. “Like I’ve beenrun over by a truck,” I managed to say. My throat hurt, my voicestill dry.

Kieran gave me a look from head to toe. “Youshould shower. Just don’t touch the back of your head too hard.River had to give you four stitches.”

With that, he walked out of thebathroom.

I quickly touched the back of my head, onlyfeeling dried blood. Another scar. Marvelous.

I jumped in the shower and scrubbed my bodyraw. My ribs were bruised and tender, but the back of my head hurtworse. I washed around it. I tried to ignore the new tattoo on myhand. Small enough not to look too intimidating but in a spot Icouldn’t readily hide. I knew what it was the moment I saw it.Kieran’s brand. His mark.

After I washed, I dressed in a pair ofjoggers and t-shirt left for me on the bed. My socks and shoes hadgotten wet from the snow, but I found a clean pair of socks in adrawer.

I headed to the kitchen where River handedme some painkillers and antibiotics. I swallowed them with a tallglass of water. The house smelled of food. Bacon and eggs. Thegreasy protein made my stomach revolt, so I just took a couple ofwaffles from the toaster and ate it with my hands, not botheringwith a plate. It cleared my head some. Everyone but Henry wassitting at the breakfast nook eating when I walked in. The placewas small, but warm. Cozy even. River kicked out a chair forme.

“Sit,” he ordered.

I took a bottle of juice and sat. Kierandialed a number on his phone and Henry’s face lit up the smallscreen before his voice came through. “You fuckers are lucky Riceis more afraid of your fathers than you. I got him to extend yourleave another twenty-four hours,” Henry said.

“Before we begin,” Kieran started, eyesburning into me. I couldn’t look away from them. “I need you toknow that this is a circle of trust. Through blood we have all madevows to the Ark Brotherhood. Something tighter than family. What isspoken within this circle, stays within this circle. Do youunderstand?”

My dad never let me sit in one of hismeetings, but I assumed this must’ve been what it felt like.Leaving the outside world out. My heart burned inside my chest, myhands turned sweaty. I swallowed and felt as if they all heard theslight click in my throat.

“It means if you break the circle of trust,if you tell anyone, anyone,” Fox said. “You die. Do youunderstand?”

I didn’t miss Kieran’s slight tremor.

“I haven’t taken a vow,” I managed to getout.

Kieran stiffened. “I’ve branded you,” hesaid as calm as shit. I moved my hand on the table, the tattoostaring me down. “It means I vouch for you. It means you and I aretethered. If you break the vow, we both will be punished for it. Doyou understand?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat anddropped the rest of the waffle on the table no longer having anappetite. “I didn’t ask you to do this.”

Kieran gave an irritable sigh. “Do youunderstand?”

“Yeah, I get it.”

Kieran turned his attention back to thephone. “Henry, what’d you got for us?”

“Jackson Templeton, age twenty. Mother DianaTempleton. Father George Templeton. Father was gunned down whenJack was eleven. Word has it that it’d been a Brennan sanctionedhit.” Henry’s voice was monotone. Stating simple facts. As if heweren’t talking about a person. “His school records are sporadic.He attended Beaumont Elementary in Albany NY through sixth grade.After his father was killed, his mother fell into drugs. A fewcalls into the foster care system for abuse and neglect. Then hewas taken out of school. I have a record of schooling for year sixand eight. Again, most of his schooling sporadic and online. Hetook the recommended standardized tests to graduate high school. Hecame to Arcadia as a scholarship student sponsored by Eagle Corp, ashell corporation linked to Maddox Brennan. He had free roamprivileges. Kept his nose pretty much clean as far as violencegoes, but we all know he sold drugs at the school, and around town.That’s all I got.”

“Who is your sponsor, Tomás?” Kieran askedme.

“Who’s yours?” I shot back.

Fox chuckled, but it wasn’t funny.

“We know it’s Maddox Brennan,” Kieran said.“We also know, you don’t have any blood ties to any of us, so whydid he put you with us?”

I shrugged. “Ask him.”

Fox made a frustrated noise. “Let’s juststate the facts. You left willingly with Jackson. We got that muchon video. Why?”

I opened and closed my mouth. They alreadyknew. They had to already know. I didn’t look at Kieran but kept myeyes on the phone. “Jack and I had a plan to leave Arcadia forgood,” I said. “We weren’t going to come back.”

“Well,” Fox said sarcastically, “Youweren’t coming back. What was this plan?”

“He knew you guys had free reign, coming andgoing, and he wanted me to go with you to learn how you did it. Whoyou paid. How much. That sort of thing.” Kieran clamped his hand infront of him so tight, his hands turned white. “I made a drop ofdrugs for him at the bar.”

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