Page 67 of Wicked Lord

I pushed him.

And then laughed.

I was a fucking murderer, and if Micah was right, Susanna’s blood was on my hands too.

“What really happened to Peter, Axel?”

His voice was far away, drowned out by the sounds from that night. Laughter. Pleading. More laughter. And then screams.

“You were there. Was it really an accident?”

I spun around to find Micah only a few feet away, too close for his own safety. Before I tapped into the rational part of my brain, I gripped his shirt collar, jerking him into me so hard his glasses fell off.

“Whatever you think you know about that night, forget it. And forget your friend. You’ll never uncover the truth, and if you do, you’ll find yourself in a hole six feet deep.”

The color drained from his cheeks. Even his lips turned white. “Is that a threat?”

A wild laugh slipped out. “Not from me. From the brotherhood.” I released his shirt and allowed him to stumble back. “They like to keep their secrets on a need-to-know basis. And the only thing you need to know right now is to watch your back. You’re already being followed.”

His eyes widened, and the picture fluttered from his fingers, landing on the floor. “Are you serious?”

My phone buzzed with a text, and my heart nearly stopped when Vaughn’s number popped up.

Vaughn: You’re summoned to the catacombs immediately.

A string of curses burst from my mouth, and I stormed out of Micah’s room without another word. There was no telling what Vaughn wanted now.

As it turned out, it was worse than I thought.

By the time I arrived in the secret atrium below the house, my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. Vaughn sat at a plain wooden table from another room, dark maroon spots littering the dull surface. They reminded me of Susanna’s wallet.

Despite the heat from the candles on the altar and the gas lanterns hanging from the rough-hewn walls, frost crackled across my back at seeing the old blood staining the table. Torture devices had probably been laid on it at one time.

The Lords were no stranger to horrific acts in the name of money and power.

To make matters worse, three cloaked and masked members also stood in the shadows, watching. Were they current Lords or Ascended here to punish me?

“I’ll make this short, Axel.” Vaughn picked up an iPad on the edge of the table and pressed play on a video. “We have a serious problem.”

My heart dropped at the grainy image of a male with golden blond hair and glasses snooping around the archives. The fucking idiot probably disarmed the cameras on the outside but not the oneinside.

“I knew he was up to something when I found you three in my office, but I had no idea he’d be stupid enough to pry into other members’ secrets.” Vaughn tsked. “Such a shame.”

Tremors ran up my legs as I forced myself to remain still and not deck him. Maybe that was why he’d invited three masked members to this meeting.

“Micah stole a wallet.” He grabbed a crystal glass of amber liquor from the table, casually sipping it.

I licked my top lip and tasted salt from the tiny beads of sweat. “Why are you telling me this?”

The flames around the gothic room danced in his dark eyes like hellfire. “I would think that was obvious.”

He retrieved a slick black gun from his lap, placing it on the table.

My blood iced over, solidifying in my veins. “I’m not killing him.”

Vaughn gave a lazy shrug. “Then someone else will,andyou’ll be dealt with.”

A string of curses burst out of my mouth, and as I stormed toward Vaughn, the other three members moved forward, prepared to intervene.