Page 54 of Devil's Riches

“Yeah, it sounds like that’s probably the way to go,” Nate replied. “Anyway, thanks for your help, man.”

“No problem.”

Nate ended the call and put his phone away, lips pressing into a tight line. He looked as surprised and disappointed as I felt.

“That can’t be real, can it?” I said, staring at him with wide eyes. “Making people film sex tapes just to get in?”

“It’s like Ben said. It’s to keep you quiet and prove you’re up for anything. If you aren’t, they don’t want you as a member.”

“But it’s so unfair. The invited members don’t have to do anything like that,” I said hotly.

“That’s because they’re in-demand,” he said. “They’re rich, influential, and old enough to have real power in this world. They don’t need to debase themselves to have every door open up to them.”

“I guess,” I muttered.

Nate leaned back in his seat and sighed heavily. “Looks like we’re back to square one. We’ll have to figure out another way to find the other eight families.”

“But you said it yourself—the Devil’s Playhouse is our best bet to find them fast, because the richest of the rich on Avalon hang out there,” I said. “This Saturday night, they’ll probably all be there at the same time with their signet rings and pins. That’s exactly what we need to see.”

“I know, but we can’t do all that shit Ben talked about.”

“Well… we might have to,” I said in a small voice.

Nate turned to look at me. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.”

“Do you really want to fuck your way into a club, Alexis?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

I lowered my gaze to the table, twisting my hands in front of me. “No,” I said. “Not in an ideal world. But this isn’t an ideal world, and our time is running out. We need to identify the rest of the Golden Circle families and stop them before they hurt more innocent people. And we can’t trust the police with anything we know, so really, it’s up to us to figure it all out.”

He slowly shook his head. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Yes. As crazy as it is, I think we have to do it.”

“Alexis…” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I saw what that deepfake sex tape did to you before everyone found out it was fake. If we do this, there’ll be a real sex tape of you out there.”

My stomach lurched at the memory of all those judgmental gazes at Blackthorne. “I know,” I murmured.

“And you’re okay with the risk that it might come out one day?”

I bit my bottom lip as I considered my response. “In normal circumstances I wouldn’t be okay with it at all. But this isn’t just about finding the Golden Circle. It’s about finding the truth and making sure everyone knows what really happened to my father,” I said. I lifted my chin high and squared my shoulders. “For that, I’m willing to do anything it takes.”

Nate stared at me, tilting his head slightly to one side. He clearly thought I’d lost my mind. “I think you should take some time to think about this.”

I shook my head. “It’s just a few minutes in the grand scheme of things, right? So as long as we’re careful, what’s the worst that could happen?”

He set his jaw and looked toward the window. Then he let out a deep breath and looked back at me. “If we’re going to do it, we’ll do it together.”

“What?”

“Ben said that’s an option, so we can do that,” he said. The deep, commanding tone of his voice let me know it wasn’t up for debate. “You can pick the third person. That way I’m there with you. I can make sure nothing happens, and I can get you out if you change your mind and don’t want to do it anymore.”

“I won’t change my mind,” I said stubbornly, folding my arms.

Nate lifted his brows. “So we’re really doing this?”

I gritted my teeth and nodded. “We’re doing this.”

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