Page 55 of Pretty Little Fears

He'sthe youngest of the group at twenty, skipping a grade due to his intelligence.Hewent straight from seventh grade, into high school.OnethingI'velearned aboutEliis that he’s the type of unhinged that sneaks up on you.Thekind you wouldn't see coming until it's too late.Hewould likely sit there and watch as the life leaves your eyes for the fun of it.

AndBlairthinksI’minsane, ha.

Whenit comes to the brotherhood,Grimm’sfather knows about the society due to his friendship with my dad.Eli’snot too close with his family so they have no knowledge of anything he’s doing here atBlackwood.Jaden’sfamily, on the other hand,tries to pry into his life, but he keeps his walls up, and for good reason.Ourdynamic works for the brotherhood assignments based on our different abilities.

Eliis the smart one, the one who can hack into systems.Grimmis the muscled maniac who likes a good fight, especially when there’s torture involved.Jadenknows just the right things to say to trip people up and get them to spill their dirtiest, darkest secrets.AndImake sure all of these fuckers remember the bigger picture.Myfather raised me to be a leader soIguess you could say that’s whatIam.

Theleader of the pack.Thealpha.Theone who calls the shots.

Wereceived our envelope this morning with the name.

TravisYoung

Ourlatest victim,Mr.TravisYounghas valuable information for the brotherhood and tonight,Iwill be meeting the boys atSinner’sChildto discuss our game plan.

I’mdressed in all black.Mydress shirt is buttoned, but the remaining few buttons at the top are open, and the sleeves are folded up to my elbows, exposing my forearms and tattoos.Crispblack slacks and midnightItalianleather shoes complete my outfit.

Arrivingat the club,Iwalk past security and head inside.Beingthe dean’s son, my status follows me whereverIgo.Sincethis place is strictly forBlackwoodUniversitystudents, noIDcheck is needed.Theyknow me.Oneof the only perks of being the spawn ofSatanhimself.

Ourusual table is on the second level, away from people and the pounding music.Isit and wait for the others to arrive.Theatmosphere is similar to downstairs, blacked out walls with neon signs and lowlight single, black shades that hang from the ceiling, providing a dim ambiance.

JadenandEliarrive together, dressed similarly to me.Wegreet each other with claps on the back and they join me in our booth.Eventually,Grimmdecides to make an appearance, running late as usual.

“Heyfuckers, who are we killing tonight?”Hegreets the table.

Ilet out a laugh and shake my head. “Sitdown shithead, you’re late.Tenmore minutes and we wouldn’t be targeting anyone tonight.”Grimmshrugs and slides into the booth next to me.

Elidoesn’t waste another minute.Hepulls out the envelopes and flips open the flap.Tuggingout the paper, he quickly unfolds it and places it on the table.

“TravisYoung, thirty-five years old.Apparently, he has a gambling problem and stays inEdmoreto lay low, away from his wife and kids.Notto mention the amount of hookers and whores he’s got on speed dial.”Eliexplains to the table.

Abrunette waitress comes over and takes our drink orders.Herinterruption has rubbedElithe wrong way, you can see the annoyance covering his features.Sheleaves to prepare our drinks andElicontinues to share the information he snagged onTravis.

“He’stheCEOof a big corporation based inNewYork, but his family didn’t want to leaveNorthDakota, so he flies out frequently.Despiterunning a successful business, his gambling problem has landed him in some hot water withyourfather.Heborrowed three million dollars under the pretense that it was a business loan.OnceJamesfound out what the money was actually for, he gave him a timeline of six months to pay back the loan, and long story short, he has not.”Inod, following along.

“So, where is he now?”Iquestion, my brows furrowed.

Eligives a quick nod and continues, “He’smeeting us at a warehouse inEdmore, it's about forty miles out fromDevil’sLake, but his permanent residence is inRosetown.Afterwe received the letter this morning,Ispent most of the day going through his text messages, security camera footage, andIhave been tracking his car all day.”

“Whatthe hell, you weirdo.Remindme to never get on your bad side.”Grimmchimes in. “Howdid you find all of that out so fast?”

“Maybepick up a book instead of beers and blunts once in a while and you’d be the brains of the group.Noone is questioning your place as the maniac.”Eliquips back.

Grimmlets out a chuckle, “Touché.Doyour thing, cyber nerd.”Elirolls his eyes in annoyance.

Justas he’s about to continue, the brunette arrives back at the table, holding a tray with our drinks.Eliis bouncing his leg underneath the table with so much force that the table shakes, sloshing some of the alcohol out ofJaden’sglass and onto the table.Thewaitress takes out a rag to clean it up, butIquickly scoop a napkin from the dispenser and wipe it, thanking her, and giving her the hint that she’s free to go.

Elilets out a frustrated sigh, “AsIwas saying,Travisis currently staying inEdmore, which isn’t too far from us.Wecould meet up with him under the pretense that we want to do a deal and be out in a couple of hours.There’salready a pre-dug grave with his name on it.”Hefinishes.

“Alright, so when do we want to go pay him a visit?”Jadenasks, throwing back his drink.

“Weare going tonight, just need to be prepared.Hebelieves we’re securing him with another loan and a shipment of coke.I’mknown because of who my father is, so he’ll have a false sense of security.Oncewe’re inside, we’ll ask our questions.Weneed him alive long enough to give us the answers we’re looking for, got it?”Isay to the table, but focus my stare onGrimm.

“Whycan’tIjust have a little fun with him?Youguys are boring.”Grimmpouts.

“Youcan have your fun once we get what we need.Alright?”Icompromise.

“Alright, fine.”Grimmaccepts.Hethrows back his drink and drums on the table. “Sonow that the plan is figured out, are we setting it in motion?Orcan we party tonight?”Heasks.

---