Page 102 of Sinful Palace

‘Some people actually rejected the tap on the first night,’ he’d said as we made our way through those creepy dark tunnels. ‘You know your mom’s Chief of Staff? Apparently he was one of the ones who straight-up rejected membership that year. Said no way and walked out.’

I turned to Jamie. “Can I ask you something?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

“You know about the Order, don’t you?” I whispered. “Is it true you reje—”

His eyes bulged, and he shook his head wildly. “The lunch order?” he said loudly, cutting me off. “I don’t know where it is, but I’m getting hungry. Let’s go and find out what’s taking so long.”

Before I could respond to that, he motioned for me to zip my lips and follow him out of the waiting area. He directed me into a small office a few yards down the hall, and then he slammed the door shut.

“What the hell are you doing?” he said, eyes flashing as he whirled around to look at me. “This is the fucking White House, Willow. There’s recording devices all over the place.”

“I thought it would be safe outside Mom’s office.”

He shook his head. “That’s the most bugged spot,” he said. He gestured to the room around us. “Don’t worry, we’re safe in here. Now what were you trying to ask me out there?”

“I want to know if it’s true that you rejected membership in the Order.”

“How the hell did you hear about that?”

“Someone told me. I can’t remember who,” I said. I didn’t want to give him a name, just in case.

“Right,” he muttered.

“Is it true?”

He let out a sigh and looked at the floor. “Yes. They tried to recruit me when I was your age. I refused to do it.”

My eyes widened. “So you just said no and walked out, and it was totally fine?”

“Yes. They didn’t bother me after that,” he said. He took a step closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “You know you aren’t supposed to talk about them, right?”

“Yes, but I figured it would be safe to talk to you, because you rejected them, so it’s not like you’re going to run off and tell them,” I said. “Why did you reject them, anyway?”

“Because I heard all sorts of rumors about them. None of them good.”

“Like what?”

“It’s probably better if I don’t tell you.” He crossed his arms, setting his lips in a thin line. “Why are you asking about them, anyway?”

“I want to—”

Before I could get more than a few words out, his eyes widened, and he cut me off. “Oh, no…. You joined them, didn’t you?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“Why would you do that? Do you have any idea how dangerous they can be?”

“I didn’t know that when they recruited me,” I said, shaking my head. “They made it sound so good. I thought it would be like having a second family.”

“Has it been like that for you so far? A second family?”

“No. Being a low-level member is useless. They don’t tell us anything. They just use us for whatever they can get and throw lavish parties to distract us.”

Jamie’s forehead creased. “No surprises there,” he muttered.

“The thing is….” I stopped and hesitated, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “I think there’s something really bad going on in the upper levels.”

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