Page 56 of Pretty Lethal
I’d assumed he and the others got changed in a private room somewhere near the cavern so as not to raise questions. The only reason I’m wearing my robes is because I don’t give a fuck about keeping the King’s Elite a secret.
Although, no doubt, if other students did see us dressed like this, they’d probably assume we were into cosplay or part of the Dungeons and Dragons club.
“Waiting for you,” Robbie responds, making me frown.
He texted while I was putting on this stupid fucking cloak, telling me to meet him here. No explanation or anything, just a blanket order that I’m supposed to obey like the mindless soldier he and the other Elites apparently want me to be.
“I don’t need a chaperone.”
“Did I say you do?” he bites back. “I want to show you a different entrance tonight.”
Staring at him in confusion, I ask, “Why?”
“Since you’re no longer an initiate, you’re entitled to access beyond our ceremonial chamber.”
“There’s more?” I ask in surprise, earning a smug smirk from him.
“A lot more. You’ve barely scratched the surface, and trust me, the higher you climb, the more that will be offered to you.”
Okayyy, but I still don’t want any of it.
“Alright, so where are we going?” I ask as he leads me around the side of the building and toward the trees lining the back of the frat house.
I pause at the treeline when he still hasn’t answered my question, awareness raising the fine hairs along the back of my neck.
He glances back at me over his shoulder, that incessant smirk still in place. “You’ll see.”
Well, fuck, if that isn’t ominous.
“So, you don’t all use the secret doorway in the library?” I ask, making conversation after we’ve been moving through the trees for several minutes. I’ve been trying to get my bearings while we walk. Fraternity row is at the back of campus, on the opposite side of town, and behind it is just miles and miles of uninhabited forest that pretty much extends until you reach the ocean. I vaguely recall being told that the forest was out of bounds to students when I first enrolled at Ridgeway and being warned that if we ventured out here, we could end up lost for days or weeks, possibly never to be heard from again.
That notion only serves to make me more keenly aware of the danger I’m in. While I can appreciate it makes out here the perfect hiding place for a secret society, as a self-diagnosed sociopath, I also acknowledge that it makes out here in the wilderness a perfect place to bury dead bodies you never want to be found.
When Robbie laughs, it cuts through the otherwise still night, the sudden burst of noise sending birds overhead shooting into the sky. “Hell no. That entrance is only for initiates.”
We continue in silence for another half hour or so until I spot lights up ahead through the trees. A few moments later, we reach a dirt-lined driveway that cuts through the forest, and my eyebrows raise in surprise when I notice cars parked in front of a worn, stone building.
I guess it makes sense since not all King’s Elite members are college students. They need a way for those not associated with the college to get to society events without having to traipse across the school campus every time.
“It was built by the founder of the King’s Elite,” Robbie explains when he catches me staring up at the large stone structure. Ivy covers a lot of it, making it feel as though the building is a natural part of the forest—as though nature itself created it instead of man. It’s eerily beautiful and absolutely the perfect place for a secret society to call home. “Of course, as we’ve grown, we’ve had to extend, and the building now houses the primary meeting room, an event room, a bar, private rooms that can be hired out, and bedrooms members can avail of when they are here.”
“Sounds like a hotel,” I muse as we climb the front steps to the door.
Robbie chuckles. “I don’t know of any hotels where you can doanythingyou please without some idiot sticking their nose in your business.”
The emphasis he puts onanythingmakes me think he literally meansanything, and instead of being impressed—like he no doubt expects—I’m disgusted. What sort of sick shit do these people get up to that they have to come all the way out here to do it? If it turns out participation in monthly orgies is a requirement, I’m going to be out that door so fucking quickly.
I have no issues getting naked with Hawk and Kai—assuming Emilia is in the mix—but I sure as fuck do not need to see shriveled old man dick, or the empty space between Robbie’s thighs where his balls should be if he hadn’t handed them over to our grandfather as a keepsake.
We step into the dim interior. Everywhere I look is dark wood paneling and screams of big dick energy. It’s definitely men in charge around here, of course, being an old-school, elitist society, I had already figured women likely didn’t play a prominent role.
People mill about everywhere, a cacophony of noise filling the room as people mingle and chat. Unlike any previous time I’ve been around the Elites, everyone’s hood is down, and for the first time, I get a clear look at the other members.
I try my best to imprint people’s faces in my mind without staring too long at any one individual as Robbie leads me through the crowd. I spot my uncle—Robbie’s father—on the other side of the room, talking to someone I vaguely recognize from TV, and it takes me a minute to realize he’s talking to the director of the freaking F.B.I.!Holy shit!
Robbie nudges my shoulder, and I tear my gaze away from his father to stare down at the box he’s holding in front of me. “Your phone goes in it,” he explains. “You can get it back when you leave.”
Pursing my lips, I hide my distaste as I pull my phone from my pocket and reluctantly drop it into the box. Robbie nods before setting it back on the table beside him, and I make a solid point to ensure I don’t leave without it.
