Page 39 of The Prom

I say nothing as he shares the intelligence he is gathering daily.

“I’m guessing it’s because she exposed their operation in getting fired and has left a hole in his recruitment campaign.”

I sense Flash’s eyes on me and squirm a little inside. It’s as if my interest in his daughter is written in blood on my forehead and he will be an unforgiving slayer of my soul.

“Their relationship goes way back to high school, and she is a volatile problem, liable to cause him concern.”

“Do you believe she is in danger?” I reply thoughtfully and he nods, a faint smile ghosting his lips.

“From him, undoubtedly. She is a loose end that needs tying up before the entire operation unravels.”

“That does us a favor, right?”

“In a way, but she’s a known operative we now have eyes on. If we lose her, we are unaware of her replacement, which could be a huge problem.”

“Is there anyone in Rockwell who has raised your suspicion? Could there be another recruitment officer already in place?” Flash asks, a deep frown on his usual jovial face.

“Not that I’m aware of.” I shrug. “The only person I know who is connected to that society is Jesse Anderson. He is currently undergoing initiation.”

Flash grinds his fist into the wooden step that shatters under it.

“Imogen’s fucking boyfriend.”

The anguish on his face is a bitter pill to swallow and yet we are aware that was the reason I was drafted in the first place. I must choose my words if I’m going to survive this encounter and temper my words carefully.

“Imogen is aware of the situation.”

Ryder nods and Flash breathes a sigh of relief. It was under Ryder’s instruction that I brought her in and this meeting is to educate them on how that went.

“Imogen wants to help, more Jesse than anything, because she is worried about him.”

Flash sighs. “She was always too caring for her own good. Unless she has caught actual feelings for the creep. Then I seek permission to take him out myself.”

Flash’s statement isn’t surprising because God forbid any future daughter of mine was in danger. I doubt I would be so accepting of the situation.

Ryder adds, “Imogen’s safety is the priority here. All of their safety.”

The fact we are here at all is largely because of Cassie. When Ryder heard his daughter was involved with Frankie Majerio,I thought her days at Rockwell were numbered. Nothing gets past Ryder and knowing his daughter is involved with the son of a fucking mafia dynasty can’t have been easy, and I suppose Cassie has her mom and Jack to thank for his acceptance of the situation.

When they returned for the holidays, Ryder grilled Jack on Cassie’s movements at Rockwell. Despite being a loyal friend to Cassie, Jack isn’t dumb enough not to voice his concerns with the president of our club. He was right to and assured Ryder he was close enough to step in should Cassie be in any danger. Ryder, so I’ve heard, erupted like a fucking volcano and only Ashton possesses the power to calm him the fuck down. All credit must go to her for diffusing the situation and channeling Ryder’s mind in a different way to help his daughter. If Cassie discovered his involvement in this shit, they are too alike for it to go down well.

So, Jack has been tasked with keeping Cassie safe and my involvement was to enlist the help of Imogen and search for any possible leads within the academy itself. It backfired big time though and unbeknown to Cassie, she now has three guardian angels watching her back, none of who are aware of the others involvement.

Ryder is thoughtful and I ask him a burning question that has confounded me since I learned of the mission.

“Why don’t you take Christian Duprey out? You want to extinguish The Serpent Society. Surely the best way to do that is to cut the head off the snake.”

Ryder shakes his head. “First, you must locate the snake for that to be an option.”

“But you know where Christian operates from.”

I’m aware that Ryder has every pin in the map concerning that shit show and I still don’t understand why the Reapers haven’t moved in already.

Ryder exhales sharply. “If it was that easy, we wouldn’t be sitting here now. You see, Drake–”

He fixes me with his usual dark, enigmatic glare. “It has come to my attention that Christian Duprey is merely a figurehead. The real snake is so far underground, even I can’t flush him out.”

As I process this new information, I see his dilemma.

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