Page 52 of Anathema
“He what? Are we talking about the same Adrian?” Madison laughed, “ Adrian isn’t capable of killing a fucking fly, let alone handling dirty jobs for money.”
“So you know about Anathema?” I tilted my head. How did she know who they were?
“Of course, I know who they are. They were Charlotte's biggest pain in the ass. They were always taking her clients when she wasn’t looking. But I didn’t know they had established themselves here and that Adrian was leading them. When did this all happen?” Madison looked between Dean and me for answers.
“They moved to Minneapolis about three years ago, maybe three and a half.” Eli inserted himself into our discussion.
“Three—but that was around the time we ended things. How did I not know this?” She gasped.
“Maybe he took over their leadership as soon as you two broke up.” Eli shrugged.
“Okay, regardless of the timeline… What do you need with him?” She pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh before returning her bright green eyes to mine. I stood straight, stepping around my desk and resting against it.
“We need to figure out what he is planning; apparently, it’s something devastating, but we have no information about what it could be. And if it is as bad as it seems, we need to stop him from going through with it—whatever it is.” I knew we were running out of time.
Anathema acted fast on plans, and if there was even a rumor that they were planning something, you could bet your ass they were close to achieving that goal by now.
Eli stood with a dark chuckle that caught my attention.
“What’s so fucking funny, Eli? Care to share?” I snapped, sick of his shit already.
“I know you’ve been following—stalking—Alexis for a while. Have you not caught on to what she’s been doing as of late? Not a very observant boyfriend, are you?” I wanted to punch the smug grin off his fucking face. What was he talking about? What did Alexis have to do with Anathema?
“I haven’t been stalking her.” I ground out, clenching my teeth; my eyes darted from Dean back to Eli. “Enlighten me. What has she been up to?” I asked, trying my hardest to remain calm.
Dean stepped towards me, knowing I was on the verge of snapping. Eli and I never saw eye to eye, and I was still beyond pissed off at catching him with Alexis.
“She’s been working for them. Completing her tasks to become a full member of Anathema.” And if that wasn’t the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I launched myself at him, gripping his shirt in my fist and slamming him against the wall.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Eli?” My words were coated in venom. “What the fuck did you do?”
“It was all her; she asked me about them but had already received the invitation for initiation, and she accepted it.” Eli rushed out.
“Fuck.” I growled, dropping him and grabbing my phone off the desk. The sun had already started setting. We waited for several hours before Madison finally decided to show up. I made a beeline for the door to leave.
“Derek, where are you going?” Dean shouted into the hall.
“To get the truth from Lex,” I yelled over my shoulder before exiting the floor and descending the stairwell.
I needed to know if Eli's claims were valid and if she had really sold her soul to someone worse than the devil: Adrian Valtores.
IranuptoAlexis’s apartment, panicking, my breathing becoming erratic as I banged on the door, waiting for an answer that never came.
“Alexis!” I shouted; no answer. This was the last location that she was pinged at with the tracking app I had installed on her phone. She had to be here. There was nowhere else.
Fuck.I cursed, running my hands through my hair and tugging the strands before decidingto hell with it. I stepped back and kicked open her apartment door, busting the lock from the frame, wood particles flying across the floor.
“Lex,” I called out, looking through the dark, quiet room. She wasn’t here. I searched her entire apartment before stopping in her bedroom doorway. Something caught my attention in the kitchen, and I approached the island counter.
A vase of roses, an opened red envelope, and a card were sitting on the counter. My heart sank as I approached and picked up the card, my hands trembling as I turned it over to read what was written on the back.
I ran a hand up and down my face as I got to the end of the note and the name of the person it was from.Adrian Valtores.
“God-fucking-damnit!”I yelled, ripping the card in half before slamming my fists on the counter.
Eli was telling the truth; Alexis had been working with Anathema. I didn't know how long she had been working for them, but long enough to have met with Adrian and been in contact with him. The strain of how tight my fists were balled began turning my knuckles white.
