Page 35 of Disobedient Pawn

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November 8 – Monday 1:00 am

I was the first to arrive at our cottage. We’d pooled our money together and purchased it. Any one of us could’ve afforded this spot, but we didn’t want our parents to know about it. This was the one place off-limits to chicks or anyone else not being initiated into the group. Our numbers were slowly growing, and soon there would be enough of us to pull back on the strings that bound us. We may only be pawns right now, but we would be The Last Rank.

I shut off the headlights, and the entire area was plunged into darkness. The tall, old trees surrounding the cottage loomed over the place as if purposely blocking out the light. The additions I’d been slowly making would one day make this hideout impenetrable from any attack. My father didn’t think I thought ahead or wanted to be prepared. In that, he was very wrong. I was preparing to take over, just not the way he envisioned.

As I got out of my car, the cold night air made it look like I was breathing fire. It was quiet enough that you could almost hear the sound of rushing water. The Columbia River flowed to the north of the property. This spot was perfect for so many reasons. It had come with almost six hundred acres of land. We had no neighbors, and anyone hiking in the national forest would be used to gunshots around here. We had a few canoes in a shed closer to the water if we ever needed to escape. It sounded stupid until you realized that the last hundred acres of this property were on the other side of the Columbia River with an old shed that we’d been fixing up and a pair of trucks ready to go. My father may think I’m stupid, but that would be his downfall.

I stepped up onto the cabin’s porch just as multiple headlights flashed, announcing the guys’ arrival. Liam pulled up and opened the driver’s side door, allowing me to see the boy in the passenger seat with a black hood on his head.

His name was Rory O’Hea, and he’d just arrived with his family from Arizona. His father wanted to kiss my father’s ass, a regular occurrence for some families that were not as large or had lost favor at some point. From the little bit I knew from Liam and my father’s conversations with other council members, they thought this family was too small and their dry cleaning businesses were a joke. I saw value in every member. No matter how influential, the one thing I needed was loyalty and dedication. Even the hands that others ignored I put to use.

If he made it through tonight, he would become one of my moles. He’d already told Liam that he was great at getting in and out of tricky situations and had a memory like an elephant. I already had three spies constantly collecting and relaying information from the other influential families in the school. It was amusing that they believed they were the only ones with a secret group. The difference between theirs and mine was that I didn’t treat it like a fraternity. I treated the Order like my father handled the mob.

“Bring him up,” I said, waving Liam forward.

Liam and Theo guided Rory up the steps to the top of the deck and then let him go.

“Hello, Rory,” I said, smirking as he took a tiny step back. “I wouldn’t go back much further, or you’ll end up tumbling off the stairs to your death. If I decide to push you, you’ll be equally dead.” Rory didn’t say anything, which I liked. “So tell me why you want to be part of The Last Rank?”

“It’s time for change. The snake’s head needs to be removed,” he said a little too perfectly like he’d been coached.

“Is that the real reason, Rory? I will shoot you right now and leave you for the animals to eat if you don’t tell me the whole truth.” I didn’t need to see his face to hear him swallow as his body shivered.

The last set of lights pulled into the driveway, and Myles jumped out, giving me a thumbs up before he walked to the trunk of the car.

“So let’s have it, Rory, what’s the real reason you want to join? After all, I am the King’s son.”

“Can I speak freely?”

My brow arched. I’d never had anyone ask that before and my interest was piqued. “Yes, say what you want.”

Rory stood as still as a statue. His head was bowed like in prayer. I had no idea what was happening and looked to Liam, who shrugged. Only as his head lifted and he began to speak did I realize he was collecting himself and had been crying. The cracked voice and emotion were as physical as the late fall breeze biting into my skin.

“Your father is the reason. He is a plague set upon us and needs to be beheaded.” My eyes went wide, and I hated that I felt a tiny bit of conflicted emotion. My father was all that and more, but he was still my father. There was a level of respect and love that just naturally happened with family. If and when the time came, I would be the only one to take his life.

My fist clenched, not because I wanted to hit Rory, but because I wanted to rip out the damaged piece that had marred my heart and kept me tied to the man that had destroyed the good in me.

“My parents didn’t have much money when they arrived in this country, but they had a dream for me and my sister and needed to move here. My da knew someone who knew how to reach the King of Kings, and your father made it possible for us to move, but he didn’t do it without a price.” Rory was shaking, and I could feel the intense rage coming off his body. “My sister was his price. Every time he had business out in our area, he…used her in horrific ways. The last time was so bad that she was hospitalized for over a week, and we didn’t know if she would live.”

“Then why move closer? Why bring your sister closer to him?” I crossed my arms.

I knew what my father was. I also knew that his desire to punish didn’t stop with me or those that wronged him. I’d been forced to watch him do far worse, and the council members had become versions of him. The last meeting I attended had been nothing more than a reason to have an insane sex party. The night had started with twelve girls, but it ended with only five still breathing. As was my father’s way, I was the one that needed to remove the dead bodies and dispose of them. I was better at hiding and destroying evidence than baking a cake. That was sad and said a lot about my home.

“My sister took off. She checked out of the hospital and left without a trace other than to leave me a note. My parents don’t have anything else to offer so your father demanded we move closer and my father work off his debt in other ways. I don’t know what that means, but it can only be something evil.” He put his hand in his pocket and produced a square piece of paper that he held out in my general direction. I plucked the square from his fingers and unfolded it like it was a death sentence.

Ro

I can’t do it again. I’m sorry. We came to this country for a chance at a better

life, but this is not better. I feel like I’ve been plucked from the emerald gem that

we called home and dropped into a fiery hell. Ma and Da are in too deep,

but there is still time for you. Don’t become a puppet like them. You still have time to

get out. Do it, run, and never stop running from the monsters that seek to turn