Page 83 of The Prom

I imagine Drake is now holding me. We are dancing among the clouds, his hand stroking my back, dusting the skin, sending shivers through me as I imagine him in the place of Jesse right now. I am intoxicated by the music, the mystery and the man holding me as if I am the most valuable piece of china and as the song ends, I shake myself as he grasps my hand and leads me through the open door onto the terrace outside.

“Jesse, I–” I glance over my shoulder because I’m not permitted to leave with him. Drake was firm on that, and we are alone out here.

He says nothing and pulls me into his arms and as I make to resist, he raises his hand and presses a soft cloth over my mouth. My eyes widen as a low voice that I don’t recognize growls, “Don’t fight this baby. Welcome to your final act.”

I struggle but the door slams on the music as he pushes me hard against the wall and hisses, “Such an innocent soul to corrupt. Jesse has chosen well and will be rewarded.”

My mind is hazy and my eyes unfocused and as his voice fades slowly away, the last words I hear are, “Welcome to The Serpent Society, angel. You’re in for the night of your life, and your death will be my pleasure.”

FORTY-ONE

CASSIE

The Final Act

It doesn’t take long to find Frankie. I could sniff him out from another room.

I slide up behind him and kiss his cheek and as he spins around, the sight of him in all his gladiator glory causes my breath to hitch.

“You took your time.” He raises my hand to his lips and rather than kiss it, he drags a leisurely tongue the length of it and then, taking each of my fingers in turn, he sucks them long and slow.

“Fuck, Frankie.” I am so turned on and his eyes gleam behind his mask as he whispers huskily, “I can’t wait to fuck a Greek goddess.”

“Oh, God.”

I am almost panting and his husky, “Not God, baby, you just kissed the devil and now your soul is his.” is enough to make me gasp, “When can we leave?”

His soft chuckle makes me smile and as he pulls me close, he whispers, “Later. There is business to take care of first.”

My heart jumps as I detect the serious tone of his voice and as I glance over his shoulder, I notice Luca and Summer by the door.

Siri and Jack are heading their way and I say fearfully, “You had better be kidding me.”

“I’m not.”

Desire is quickly replaced by fear and I growl, “If he hurts her, I’ll–”

“You’ll join the line, baby girl.” Frankie’s tone is pure venom and as we race to the exit, he snaps, “How long?”

“Five minutes.” Luca’s tone is even, with no urgency at all. It’s as if he is calm when inside I am raging. My eyes find Jack’s and the helplessness in them causes me to snap, “Why are we still here?”

We head outside and as we run at speed toward the parking lot, I tug off my mask and my heart bashes against my ribcage as I face the fact we messed up big time.

As we pile into the SUV, I almost don’t have time to fasten my belt before Luca squeals out of the academy like a formula one driver hot off the grid.

“Did anyone see her leave?” I ask anxiously and Jack growls, “I saw her. She appeared to be out cold.”

“And you didn’t stop him?” I yell and Frankie says in a calm voice.

“That wasn’t the plan, Cass. Calm the fuck down, we talked about this.”

I am not thinking straight and swallow my fear, my mind working overtime as I attempt to remember the plan.

We have been working on this for the entire semester and when Jesse finally confessed, Frankie unleashed his creative mind.

Jesse informed us that he was to kidnap Imogen from the prom and take her to the final act. The house they use once amonth in their sick games, where he would rape her in front of the other members before killing her in cold blood. Frankie almost had to beat it out of him, and Jesse spent a long time locked in the dungeon cell before he confessed. Frankie and Luca were determined to break the society’s hold on Jesse and yet when he confessed the plan, Frankie thought Luca was going to end him on the spot.

Instead, they devised a counter plan, and Jesse slowly came back to us. The drugs they fed him left his system, and he agreed to help us bring the society down.

---