Page 31 of Don't Look Away

“Wow, that’s rough,” I say, taking another shot. I miss the shot again. Wow, I’m really bad at this. “Do you know why his brother is in jail?”

Again, Nathan hesitates, so I offer a little morsel of information—just enough to make him believe I’min the know,and that I’m one of them. “I heard something about assault,” I add.

Nathan presses his lips together and nods. “He’s always been more impulsive than Roman, even when we were younger.”

Oh.“You’ve known Roman since you were young?” I honestly didn’t get that impression at all. I thought Nathan was just another member of the circle.

He nods, one side of his mouth curling up. “We went all through school together.”

“Huh, I had no idea you guys were so close,” I say.

“Yeah, we’re pretty tight,” he says with pride. He sinks another ball. “I actually got into Berkley, but I chose ExU because Roman and the other guys were here.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.” I’m pandering a bit, but I want to keep him talking. “So…Roman’s brother….he’s a bit of a loose cannon, eh?” Let’s see how much I can get him to tell me about Roman and his brother since Roman isn’t willing to tell me anything at all.

Nathan just glances at me before taking his shot. “I didn’t say that,” he replies defensively. “He’s a good guy, and he doesn’t deserve what happened.”

Oh, damn. I’ve stepped in it somehow. “Oh, right, yeah. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I’m just…trying to figure Roman and his brother out.”

Nathan straightens and leans against his cue stick, his gaze turning hard. Critical, even. “You should learn to leave well enough alone. Roman and his brother aren’t topics of discussion around here.” There’s a millisecond of silence before he smiles again, cutting through the tension. “Unless you’re a member, of course.”

I purse my lips and nod. Nathan has always been nice, and helpful, but the second I touch the topic of Roman or his brother, that wall goes up. The same wall Roman hides behind.

But why? What are they hiding?

I can only guess it’s because these rich bastards don’t want people to know their business. But I’m part of their circle now, right? I mean, peripherally. I guess that’s not enough. And all because I haven’t gone through the motions of some dumb ritual? But if that dumb ritual would get me all the inside information, then…

“How does one become a member?” I ask. “I mean, what’s the process?”

He looks at me dead-on, and I don’t know why, exactly, but the look in his eyes makes me uneasy. “You have to go through initiation.”

I nod. “And what does that entail, exactly? No one will tell me.”

“That’s the point, though, isn’t it?” He leans in, his expression dead-serious. “You have to be willing to give everything to the society. Unequivocal trust and loyalty. If you had that, you wouldn’t even need to ask what the initiation ritual is. You would be willing to submit yourself to whatever the society requires of you.”

Uhhh.Damn.“Are you sure this isn’t a cult?” I laugh, but the joke falls flat, and Nathan just blinks at me. “Sorry,” I say quickly. “That was a bad joke.” I clear my throat and decide to change the topic. “It’s just that people here seem really loyal to the Rush family.”

Nathan’s hard gaze doesn’t leave my face. “Not just the Rush family. All of the founding families.”

“Is your family a founding family?”

That smile returns. “On my mom’s side. My grandmother was a Rush.”

“Oh!”huh.“Small world. So why aren’t you one of the Sacred Sons?”

He laughs a little under his breath, like, he finds my ignorance amusing. “My last name is Herschel.”

I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him. That last name sounds really familiar. “Isn’t there a HerschelCastlearound here somewhere?”

Herschel was a very well-known name in California in the early 1900’s. The main dude was some kind of newspaper guy, and worth millions, which back then, was a shit-ton of money. He had a huge-ass mansion built that was dubbed “Herschel Castle.” It’s a museum now.

“Yeah, it’s about 3 hours north.” He doesn’t confirm or deny his relation totheMr. Herschel. “But it doesn’t matter how much money you have. That’s not the point. Anyone attending ExU is either wealthy or supported by someone wealthy. What matters here is the name. And the names that matter are Rush, Walker, McKnight or Ashford. You have one of those last names, and you’re automatically eligible to be a Sacred Son.”

I nod slowly, then gather up the courage to ask the one question I really want to know. “So, um, do you know if the Burning Crown has ever had anyone killed?”

Nathan looks at me sharply, and I’m suddenly reminded that Wyn warned me about digging around in Burning Crown business. And, yet, here I am, asking the hard questions right out of the gate. But I don’t have time to fuck around. Bree’s killer is out there somewhere, and if the Burning Crown has a habit of killing people, then this seems like a good place to start asking questions.

“You should be careful,” Nathan says, glancing around us to make sure no one is listening. “You might be queen around here, but you’re not a member, and questions like that’ll get you in trouble.”

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