Page 85 of Redeemed

Oh my god, what have I done?

Frantically, I pull my phone from my pocket, but all I do is stare at it. What would happen if I called Colton? Could he get to the briefcase before Mark does? What would happen if he did?

With shaking fingers, I unlock it and pull up Colton’s contact, but I don’t press the call button. I’m pretending I will, pretending I want to, wishing I had the strength to do it.

But I can’t.

No matter how much the thought of hurting Colton breaks me, it’s better than being the cause of his death.

I stay leaning against the tree for hours, unable to move. Athelia calls me multiple times and then texts, but I can’t answer. I can’t do anything.

So I sit in silence as light rain begins to fall, sealing my fate by doing absolutely nothing.

Xander

Freshman year - Halloween night

‎

I stare at Colton in disbelief. “She didwhat?”

His jaw is tight, and he hasn’t looked me or Lucas in the eye since he showed up at my dorm. “I wasn’t expecting it, either.”

“Why the hell would she do that?” Lucas demands. Tension riddles his broad shoulders, and he looks like he doesn’t know whether he should be shocked or angry.

Both. It’s definitely both.

“We’re about to find out. I asked her to meet us here.”

Unable to stop myself, I start pacing. I need to release this energy somehow. “You’re sure it was her?”

“Haven is the only other person who knew where we hid the briefcase. I saw my dad go into the pool house this morning, and when I went to check the closet, it was gone.”

“So maybe he saw us,” Lucas says weakly. “Or… maybe someone on his staff? The gardener? A maid?”

“No. He wasn’t in town when we stashed it, and I dismissed everyone the day we hid it and didn’t even call you two until I’d watched them all leave.”

“Cameras?” I ask. “We all know how careful Mark is with his security. He’s got cameras pointed every direction outside the mansion.”

But Colton shakes his head. “I looped the footage.”

My heart sinks.

This was supposed to be my way into the Glass Rooks. The organization—or, if you ask me, the secret society—was started by Colton’s father, and Lucas’s stepdad was one of the founding members. It explains the amount of power they both hold in this town. They’ve spent decades working with others in the organization to get to the top.

Lucas automatically gets in because he’s family. I don’t.

Hell, I’m not even supposed to know about the Glass Rooks. Only those on the inside are aware of what the Rooks really are, and it’s their most-valued secret. But Lucas couldn’t keep it from me.

We don’t keepanythingfrom each other.

So we set up a plan to get me inside. Well, Colton did, really. It’s simple: we stole something Mark wanted—something that wasn’t easy for him to get his hands on. Not only does pulling off the heist showcase my abilities, but it gives us leverage.

He want the information inside the briefcase? Then to get it, he has to let me join their ranks.

It sounded foolproof on paper, especially given the specific info we stole. Supposedly, it’s a whole bunch of company secrets from a competitor of one of the businesses Mark owns. According to Colton, it’d be an irresistible deal.

But Haven spoiled it.

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