One thousand dollars.
The number settled in my mind like it held actual weight, and I wondered if it was too good to be true. Just as I started weighing the possibility of it being a scam, my phone lit up. Without even checking, I knew it had to be from Kyrin. To my surprise, he had sent two different texts. The first was a link to a secured drive, showing three different forms to sign.He hadn’t been kidding. The second text gave a time and place.
Ruined. 7 p.m.
Well, an address would have been nice. Now, I had to figure out exactlywhereI was supposed to be at seven.
“Are you really not gonna help me?”
Uh-oh.My eyes shifted away from the screen and moved to Atlas. He was no longer being playful. Resting his elbow on the shelf, his fingers were hidden in his short brown hair, and it was clear he was actually agitated. I gave him a small smile and stood, shoving my phone into my jacket pocket. “Coming!”
Jogging to his side, I reached for the books he was holding. “Why don’t I,”—I said, sliding the pile into my arms—“just take these.”
Atlas gave a stern look as I quickly walked away from him to sort the books. For the next little while, we worked with only the sound of music surrounding us. As I went on to replacing the stock and organizing, Atlas mumbled something about having to set up his camera and headed to his office. The only time he went in there was when he was meeting with someone about the store, so I wished him luck as he walked away. Following him with my eyes, I let them flicker to the small clock mounted above the doorway.
2:27 p.m.
I couldn't help the spark of excitement that followed. In four hours, I’d have the chance to earn a shit ton of money by having fun and taking some cool pictures. With that reminder, I double-checked that Atlas was gone and pulled my phone back out. Opening maps, I typed inRuined. It wasn’t far—about a twenty-minute drive.
That was doable.
Snapping a screenshot of the directions, I tossed it back into my open bag and returned to my responsibilities.
3
Silas
My first mistake had been letting my brother stay.
My second had been entering a playroom I thoughthad been taped off to clean, only to walk in and find him sucking on someone's toes.
I wanted to burn my fucking retinas.
For a second, I tried to convince my brain it was someone else,anyoneelse. Lucky for me, my line of sight picked up on the stupid puzzle piece scarred into his chest—the jagged symbol that marked us as family. How ironic that ink that small was responsible for part of my sanity being destroyed.
For the next few hours, I threw myself into work, hoping I could forget the image, but nothing worked. Walking to my office, I shook my head and convinced myself he needed to find another place to experiment. Once inside, I went straight to my desk, taking a seat in front of the monitor. Pulling off my white mask, I placed my hand on the mouse and clicked twice to turn on the club’s surveillance system. Small squares flickered across my screen in neat, obedient rows. As they focused, each square displayed a different room in the building. I hate security, but having a club like this meant I could never be too careful. Notonly did I need eyes roaming the main floor, I needed to be able to see all the rooms that were interconnected or within hidden spaces. To aid with this, security cameras had been installed in almost every corner.
Right now, I could see that room three was occupied by at least four people. Room seven was being used for an orgy, and room five was where I’d been absolutely blindsided by Kyrin. Moving my cursor over that square, I briefly disconnected it.They would be fine for ten minutes... knowing him, it would probably be over in five.
I watched over the other feeds for a few minutes longer than necessary. Seeing members in different positions finally allowed my brain to replace the mental image of my asshole brother. Some would probably call this anabuseof my power, but each member had granted me this freedom. By signing my contract, they agreed I could watch them as much as I wanted.
Did I ever actuallywantto? No.
The feeds from the rooms were never something I indulged in. I either did so out of habit or to keep my mind moving—like right now, when I needed to close my eyes and see something other than toes crammed into a mouth.
Once the image faded, I switched mental tabs and dove into the preparations for my masquerade. I had very few tasks left to complete before the event. I prided myself on not letting a single detail slip through the cracks. My mind didn’t allow things like that to happen anyway, not when I was constantly analyzing everything. That's why the biggest decisions werealways handled by me and my brothers.
Flipping through the stack, it seemed like those were the only types of things left to do.Good, we could handle that easily. Still, a familiar tension settled across my shoulders—the kind that never truly went away, no matter how prepared I felt. A ping from my desktop only tightened those muscles, and I looked over to see an email notification from Taya, my receptionist. I opened it, pushing the papers aside and clicked on the message. A file containing our finalized contract filled my screen.
I had requested she make some amendments to the original before the masquerade. After a few misunderstandings involving pompous dickheads, I needed a few things simplified. I’d only asked her to do this two days ago, so seeing it had been done already made me smile. This was now one thing I could push to the back of my mind—or try to at least, becausethatwas a place that never seemed to rest.
Being idle was never my thing. I was always moving or thinking of the next thing to do. My brain was just that type, one that ran on stimulation and dopamine. If I didn’t have something to take care of, I felt useless, and I hated that feeling. Taya understood that, which made things easier. She never questioned agendas I would send or how late I would stay. Running a business kept me in motion, and I liked it that way.
If I thought about it, that was the reason Ruined worked so well. I understood people, just like Taya understood me. There was never the need to explain things. Whether your mind wasbusy like mine or life had a way of suffocating you, my club gave everyone a chance to breathe, to feel.
A small smile formed at the corner of my mouth as I sifted through different sections of the forms she’d sent. On the side of the screen were her notes, outlining each change. The first piece that had been altered involved our actual application process for a membership. In order to gain entry, you would have to present your IDandhave it verified through a new identification system. Due to this new protocol, we could easily check names against past convictions or any type of red flags that person might be associated with. If your name was put on the restricted list, you were denied entry.
It was that simple.
