Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Ignoring Mrs. H’s rage, Montgomery asked, “I didn’t hear any sirens. Did she get taken to the hospital? What’s her condition?”
“Why don’t you just worry about yourself,” Mrs. H snapped, her scowl growing even more pronounced as she looked at Montgomery. “You always do. You all always do.”
“Is she going to be okay?” I pressed, not caring to counter Mrs. H’s accusations. All I cared about right now was Cindy and her condition. “Can I see her?”
“The Order of the Silver Ghost has everything under control. They always do, and nothing you boys do will change that.” She shook her head and her anger morphed to one that looked like sadness. “Tradition and history is not a bad thing. It’s not.”
We never said it was, and her random comments seemed odd. Also the fact that she seemed to refuse to tell us anything about Cindy or what happened to her. But before I could press on, Mrs. H spun on her heels and left us with no more answers than we started with.
“This is fucked up,” I said as I ran my fingers through my hair and tried to take a calming breath. “No one feels the need to tell me what is going on? She’s my fucking belle!”
“You find this surprising?” Montgomery asked. “Nothing about the Oleander and this damn Order is—”
“Dad!” I said, noticing my father walking by us. “What’s going on? Where’s Cindy?”
My father approached us, his silver cloak marking him as an Elder still on, and said, “There was an incident and the Elders have it handled. But it appears that Cindy might not be able to continue on with the Trials. Don’t worry, though, this was no fault of yours, so the Elders are in discussion about how to proceed next with your Initiation. This isn’t going to harm your chances of becoming a member. I’ll make sure of it.”
I couldn’t give a fuck about the membership or my Trials at this point. All I cared about was Cindy and what happened to her. Why was everyone giving me the runaround?
“Where’s Cindy?” My voice boomed, and I could see that it bothered my father that I was on the verge of making a scene.
He reached out and patted my upper arm as more of a warning than comfort. “Her medical bills will be handled, and she’ll be taken care of afterwards. You don’t need to worry about that woman any longer. Let’s look ahead toward the future, son.”
Medical bills? What the fuck had happened to her?
And let’s look ahead to the future? For fucking real? That was his campaign slogan when he ran for State Senate. He was using a damn political bullshit line on his own son rather than giving a clear answer. As Montgomery just asked… should I be surprised?
6
JASMINE
“Where have you been?”
I froze as I closed the front door of my house, my mother’s shrill voice echoing from the living room into the foyer where I was standing. What the hell was she doing awake at this hour?
I looked down at myself, sure some evidence of the debauched night I just spent getting my brains fucked out at the Oleander Manor would be apparent on me. I mean, I took off the pearls and veil and everything and changed back into my own clothes when I hightailed it the hell out of there as soon as Walker and I finished. The other girls were leaving and it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Temporary insanity had officially passed soon after the haze of the best orgasm of my life passed and I realized that, oh shit, I’d just had sex with my teenage crush in one of the most forbidden places on the planet for a girl like me. And if anyone besides Walker ever found out, I could be ruined.
“Well?” my mother asked, appearing in the foyer and startling the crap out of me. She was in her nightgown and what she ostentatiously called her dressing gown—a silk robe tied stiffly over top. “Where on earth have you been at such an hour?”
“Oh, I was just out for a walk.” I was aiming for breezy but to my ears it came off as choked and panicky. Had she picked up on that? At least it was dim in here since it was nighttime and there were barely any lights on. “What are you still doing up?” Yes. That was good. Deflect.
“Well, I was asleep but then I had a hot flash and went upstairs to ask you if you could run to the 24-hour pharmacy to get me some more of those herbs I like. And I found your bed empty! Then you wouldn’t answer your phone and I got worried.”
They’d confiscated our phones at the door of the Oleander and returned them when we left. “My phone must’ve died. But God, Mom, just try to go back to sleep, I’ll go to the pharmacy in the morning.”