I swiped my finger across the pad and pushed open the front door. “Busy. Why has Uncle dearest summoned us?”
She was stewing beside me as we walked through the building. “I have no idea. Malachi is away on business, so he’s handling this meeting, that’s all I know.”
“I’m disappointed in you, Red.”
She huffed. “The convoluted things you do just to not be surprised is absolutely insane.”
I twirled my cane. “You don’t know the meaning of the word.” I noted the emptiness of the halls as we made our way to our uncle’s office, located right next to the crime lord’s. It was March. Graduation was still four months away, so the fact that there wasn’t a soul to be seen was strange.
A few moments later, we stepped into his office, smaller than his brother’s, more humble of his beginnings. Our uncle hadn’tcreated this business by his brother’s side. His past was a little more mysterious than that.
In fact, he and father dearest were estranged until a year into the crime lord’s beginnings. Father dearest had only brought our uncle on because he needed help and advice. Our uncle was the smart one, younger, more willing to do the dirty work. He reminded me, in his earlier days, of Havoc.
Uncle dearest was leaning back in his chair, waiting for us, his blue eyes, softer than his brother’s, watching us steadily.
Red shut the door behind us as I stepped up to the chair and lifted a brow. “We’re here.”
He set his pen down and straightened. “Where is Everett in his planning?”
“I’ve encouraged him to push the start of the school to Fall,” I answered easily. “Building should begin in the next week or two, despite our father dearest’s clear disapproval.”
He hadn’t yet said anything about the start of the build, but I could see in his eyes the clear disdain. Ever since the mountains first brought this idea up, our father, while his words were supportive, made it clear with his expressions and clear avoidance of the subject, that he didn’t like the idea.
“Good. In these last two weeks, he’s been less than…” His words trailed off, his eyes trailing aimlessly across the desk. He inhaled sharply and found my eyes. “We’re going hunting. It’s a big project, killing off any and all Initiates that we feel aren’t up to par with how we run things.”
A smile touched my lips. They’re finally doing what I suggested all those years ago. Clear-cutting the forest and starting from scratch. What better time than months before the school opens. “Congratulations, Uncle, you’re a serial killer.”
He frowned. “We have to go about this delicately, kill as many of them as we can before they start talking,” he went on. “We’re not killing them all—”
My smile fell. A mistake, truly.
“—just the ones we believe are most likely to use their power for evil.”
“An evil we don’t condone,” I said easily. “And those in higher positions?”
He sighed. “Untouchable, for now.”
“Okay, why bring us?” Red asked.
“Because we need everyone. Delicate means not moving in groups. The others have already been informed, and while I suggested Rae and Jack, Everett and Olivia, and Grey and Emily split up, they all made their case why they should stay together. Evelyn and Zo are already off on their own, now it’s your turn. I already have your assignments.”
“No,” Red replied before I could even get a word out. “I’m not leaving him.”
Our Uncle sighed. “While your loyalty is unmatched, we don’t have a choice.”
“Don’t mistake obsession for loyalty, Uncle,” I hummed distantly, my mind on my toy. I wasn’t going to leave my mission, not this close to the end, and my doll? Well, I certainly wasn’t going to leave her alone to please herself as she saw fit. That would be against the unspoken rules.
“Fuck loyalty,” Red responded. “This isn’t about loyalty. He’s a fucking psychopath, Becks, we can’t leave him alone for a second without—”
“He can handlekilling peoplewithout you. It’s what he does best,” he said dismissively.
He wasn’t wrong, going on a spree was in my wheelhouse, the only problem? I wasn’t leaving Seattle any time soon. So he was just going to have to accept that or not bother asking for my help at all.
“He has a girl, Beckett,” she responded, a little too loudly for my liking. “He took her last Sunday and disappeared. She’s going to die if I can’t find where he’s kept her.”
His eyes shifted to mine. “A Claim?”
“No,” I answered evenly.
