Page 45 of Deceit

“No, we’ve spent a little time together and we didn’t have much to talk about, we don’t share much in common.”

“Consider yourself lucky,” Will Stroughton laughs, causing several other members to chime in with their agreement.

That vein in the side of my brother’s head throbs and his jaw tenses in visible irritation. He doesn’t like losing the attention of a room. Our father practically beat it into his brain that if youhave their attention, you have their respect. If you have their respect, you have power and if you have power…you can rule this earthly world.

“You will,” Christopher says easily, claiming the spotlight once more as he levels a heavy look around the long table. “That’s the point of a union. It’s to grow, strengthen bonds and unite two families into one.”

All hope of attempting to talk him out of this decision dies with those words. Like the others, I can read between the lines. I’m not marrying Annie because she is a good match for me. I’m marrying her because Will has something that my brother wants, whether for himself or the Brethren is inconsequential. We’re all merely pawns and it’s this game that he is playing.

I nod once and dip my head, an obvious sign of respect and defeat. That has his smile growing as he settles back into his chair comfortably.

“Excellent. After Asher’s ceremony would be perfect. Maybe July? Enough time for us to get everything in alignment,” Christopher says, though he isn’t talking to me. He’s looking straight at Will who nods his agreement.

My brother nods happily to himself before he goes down the table addressing a few more issues with other Elders, which I promptly tune out. Once business seems to be addressed for the day, Christopher looks at me.

“Bring them in.”

I nod, standing up from my plush leather chair at the slate stone table, as I make my way to the door. When I pop it open, I find Asher and Liam standing in the waiting area pressed, polished and ready. If only they knew they’d never be ready.

They both nod at me, stepping in and depositing their phones into the box before standing beside my brother at the head of the table. Simultaneously, they bow their heads in respect and I watch the table carefully to see several nods of approval.

“Thank you for being here today,” Christopher says to Asher, before his eyes dart to Liam. “As you have both been made aware, someone has been tampering with the school’s security cameras. Obviously, this is not only a threat to our children but to our very foundation. So, I’m tasking you two with the job of finding who this is and finishing them.”

Their faces are stoic, though even I can see the hesitancy in Liam’s eyes from here. I know Christopher is testing them, mainly Asher. If he really was concerned about finding the person responsible for the outages, he could get anyone from the Hutchinson family to look into it. They are all tech geniuses, and their Legacy is still at the University.

If he wanted to have someone taken out, then Griggs would have been a much better fit. It’s what his family lived and died doing; it’s his destiny, to follow their footsteps in their role of the Brethren.

I’ll be disappointed when they do trace it back and figure out who has been behind the outages, though I think we all know the obvious answer. I’ve been using them as a perfect excuse to shut down the cameras in the pool and surrounding areas when Skyla and I meet. We’ve been sneaking around in the Brethren’s blind spots, which I know is a strategy that won’t last forever. It’s the best we can do, at least for now, though.

“Of course,” Asher says.

Christopher nods approvingly. “Excellent, Alexander will send you the information on what we know so far. You’re both dismissed. Ronan, please escort them back to their dorm.”

I frown, uncomfortable with the fact that my brother is making plans or discussions and intentionally wants me out of the room for them. Still, it’s not like I could refuse. So, I stand from my seat, moving over to the box where I retrieve my phone along with Liam and Asher’s before we all file out of the room, through the holding room and into the tunnel.

Once we make it to the stairs and are inside the church, we all seem to exhale a sigh of relief. That’s how life in this world feels, like you’re always holding your breath, always waiting to see what happens next. A life on edge keeps you alert, but fuck it’s exhausting.

“Man, this is bullshit. Why the fuck were we selected for this? This isn’t in either of our skill sets,” Liam says with a shake of his head, as we move through the three-hundred-and-fifty-year-old church.

“Because he said so,” Asher shrugs, pushing open the doors before stepping out into the moonlit cemetery.

“Since when is that enough for you?” Liam challenges. “Ash, he wants us to find this person and kill them. I can’t kill someone, can you?”

“If I have to,” he snaps sharply, sending his best friend a withering glance before he starts typing quickly on his phone. “Your birthday isn’t too far behind my own, Liam. Did you really expect to enter the Brethren without a single drop of blood on your hands?”

He pauses, looking at me as I quickly avert my gaze.

“Is that part of initiation? We have to kill for them?” he asks.

“It varies,” I answer cryptically, forcing Asher to let out a derisive snort.

“Which means, yes.”

Liam looks sick as he shakes his head, seemingly pushing whatever thoughts or conflictions he’s feeling aside before he speaks.

“Whatever, I just want to go home. You coming?” he asks, as he begins veering right towards his dorm, while Asher is heading left.

“No, gonna go get my dick sucked real quick.”

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