Fiendish Play (26 page)

I was almost back at my apartment when a black Audi pulled out in front of my bike. It nearly caused me to come off, but instead I was able to swerve and screech to a stop. My hands shaking out of rage for the person who just endangered my life.

Once I braked and was able to turn around, I saw Byron standing up against the car, arms crossed. He looked unfazed. A callous look on his face not hiding the fact he wasn’t remorseful for almost running me off the road.

“Sorry,” he simply said as I slowly drove up and stopped next to him. I knew that’s all I would get. Byron wasn’t about to apologize for his actions and his detachment to human life.

“What do you want now?” I said sounding agitated. The guy just kept appearing out of nowhere like some magic trick. But I knew the more realistic explanation was that the Lappell were probably watching and waiting for me. I shouldn’t have been shocked by his sudden presence.

“Plans have changed,” he said pushing himself off his car. “We’re kidnapping you before you’re sworn in tomorrow.” He laughed, making a point that he wasn’t being serious. Then he stopped his laughter instantly like he pushed a button to halt. His mood shift was that fast. “I mean you’re coming with me right now. It’s tradition to spend the night with us before initiation.”

I didn’t want to argue with the guy, but I had much more pressing problems. Namely the girl-who-grew-in-my-heart’s location, feelings, and what she heard in the tent. I needed to see her before tomorrow.

“But I’m trying to find Anais. It’s important. Can’t I just meet you later?”

My cell phone started ringing as if on cue. Byron didn’t look surprised. Instead he leaned back on his car, crossing his arms again. “Ah…speak of the devil.” Byron looked impressed, eyebrows raised, waiting for me to answer.

I took my cell out of my jacket pocket and saw that it was indeed Anais’ name flashing up on the screen. In true Lappell form —
the fiends were at play
.

“Anais?” I asked, feeling as if this timed call was a big set-up. I could already hear how nervous she was through her short breaths.

“James? I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Are you alright?” She sounded flustered. Panicked. Desperate.

“I’m okay. I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know where I went and what I did. I can’t remember anything.”

“That’s fine. I understand...” She still sounded urgent. “But are you okay...right
now
I mean?” She knew. She must have known what was happening and where I was. The real question I heard in her words was, “
Are you safe?”

“I don’t know.” I looked pessimistically at Byron, not sure what his plans were. “But I can take care of myself. I’m more worried about you. Where are you right now?”

“I’m...uhhh...” she coughed. “I’m busy.”

She couldn’t tell me. Why? Was someone stopping her from telling me? If not Byron...then Deacon perhaps?

“Can I come see you?” My eyes flicked up to Byron again, who looked like he was getting impatient with the length of our call. He even glanced at his Rolex to check the time.

“No, I can’t see you,” Anais said rather rushed. “Not at the moment. I have some errands to run. And besides, isn’t Byron taking you out?”

“How did you know that?”

Silence. Something muffled covered her cell before I could hear her clearly again.

“Anais?”

“It’s tradition right?” Her voice cracking. I knew right then and there, they had Anais and they were stopping us from seeing each other. She knew something. Whatever happened last night in that tent was the reason. There was something Byron and his crew didn’t want me to know.

“But I need to see you.” I pleaded with her again, knowing it was futile. But I wanted her to hear the urgency in the sound of my voice. My need to be with her. To give her comfort that I wasn’t going to do this without her.

“I...uhhh...we can see each other tomorrow at the ceremony. I’ll be there...waiting for you. I promise.”

Silence filled the line between our cells. Unspoken words of precaution and safety. Warnings to watch my back and for her to watch hers. We didn’t need to say any of those things to know it was in our heads through the forced quiet of our conversation. I knew right away I had to be careful. Everything rested on my compliance and tomorrow.

“James...” she whispered, like she was trying to have a private moment with me.

“Yes Anais?”

“I love you.”

I felt such relief hearing those words. They gave me strength, courage and most of all, determination to see this through until we were together again. I held onto those words, allowing them to repeat over and over in my head like fuel to the fire lit beneath me, igniting my spirit, and keeping me on this crazy ride.

“I love you too,” I said back, hoping she could hear the same message through those three simple yet meaningful words.

More muffling sounds covered her cell. “I’ve gotta go,” she quickly said and hung up.

I stared at my cell wanting to crush it in my fist. I didn’t know where Anais was or what was happening, but I wanted her with me. I wanted my arms around her. Protecting her and holding her tight. I couldn’t be her hero if they were keeping us apart. The only way I could keep her safe was by following instructions. Something that wasn’t a part of who I really was, but something I was learning fast to do.

Byron’s impatience rumbled in my ear. “C’mon Riley. Let’s get going.”

“What about my bike? I’m not going to just leave it here on the side of the road.”

“I’ll make sure it’s taken back to your apartment safely. Now get in the car. We’ve got a long night ahead.”

I pushed my bike even further off the road and set it up near one of the trees. I was shaking my head as I did it, not at all happy with my new plans.

“Don’t look so worried James. If you just do what I say, you’ll see Anais tomorrow at the ceremony. Just don’t make this harder than it needs to be. And besides, you should feel lucky. What we are giving you, is more than you’ve ever hoped for. Believe me.”

I scoffed at what he said. “A club that has to practically force their members to join doesn’t sound like it has our best interests at heart.”

“I think you’ll be surprised how much you’ll feel like you belong. But if tonight isn’t enough to convince you, then I’m sure knowing that Anais can’t be yours without us, is enough.”

At least that much was true. Anais was my reason for all my actions. And she was most certainly enough. I climbed into the Audi and stared out at the woods as Byron started the car and began driving. Even though my head was still stuffy from the flashback, there was part of it that could still analyze and potentially source information I could use to my advantage. I needed to use this opportunity to learn more about Byron. Look for hints of weakness. Something I could use against him. I needed more artillery than just my fists and a fractured mind if I was to somehow come out on top in the end. Something told me that once I was in the Lappell, I would be looking for a way out. And I would be taking Anais with me.

“So you’re a legacy...right?” I asked Byron after we had been driving for a while. I wondered how much personal information he’d be willing to give someone like me. Was his past a secret or did he wear it proudly?

Byron’s head turned in a way that showed he didn’t expect me to ask him any questions at all. “Yeah...my Dad’s a member. Why do you ask?”

“Just trying to understand why a smart guy like you is interested in all this. You don’t seem like the type of guy who needs a secret society to give you power and money. I mean, you could get it all on your own, without being carried. Riding their coat-tails...so to speak.”

Byron didn’t say anything for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I had offended him or if he’d thought about those types of statements before. I wasn’t even sure he was going to give me a response. Then after what felt like hours, but was only a few long drawn-out minutes, Byron started speaking. He didn’t sound like an authoritative figure. He sounded childlike. An innocence in the way he his eyes ghosted over and kept staring at the wheel.

“Let me tell you a story James,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road. “When I was fourteen years old, my father took me deer hunting in the woods behind our estate. Back then, I was a scared piss-weak little boy. I’d never held a gun before. Never taken the life of anything. And to be honest, hunting didn’t even appeal to me.” I could see Byron’s knuckles get whiter as he gripped the steering wheel with more force. “I remember it was one of the coldest winters we’d had in years that particular year. You know...the kind of winter that makes you wish for summer to come sooner so you can watch it all melt away. And somehow I found myself in those woods, with a rifle in my hands and instructions from my father that I couldn’t come home unless I shot a deer. There were a lot of deer that used to come around those woods. I often played there. It wasn’t too far from my house. And one year I got so close, I almost pet one.” Byron shook his head. “My Dad only gave me one bottle of water and a few biscuits in a small backpack. Fuck...I remember it was so cold, that I could barely feel my fingers when I held that gun.”

“Your father told you that you couldn’t come home until you killed a deer?” It was hard to believe such a story. And if what he just said was true, it was a shocking piece of the Byron Fraylock puzzle. Byron gritted his teeth, saying nothing but giving me an answer all the same. Saying yes is sometimes harder to say than no.

“So he just left you out there in the freezing cold?”

It was then I saw Byron’s expression change. Whatever he had to do...whatever he had to learn, it had changed him. “My father was teaching me not to be scared of what might happen if I didn’t do it. He was teaching me the power of determination. Of what I’d get if I pushed myself to succeed against all odds. I had to respect him for his methods. I had to accept why he put my life on the line. He was turning me into a man, just like himself.” Byron stared out at the woods that flew past our car windows for a second before his gaze shifted back to the road in front of us. “I didn’t understand it then. But I understand it now. A father’s love doesn’t have to make sense. You just have to believe that what they do — is for your own good.”

I watched Byron carefully during his tale. I didn’t know if he was trying to open up to me or help me understand what he was capable of. But the way he told me the story, there was real pain in his voice. Maybe there was a time when Byron saw the world much differently. Maybe in the back of Byron’s imagination, he had pet that deer.

“Did you do it?” I asked. He wanted me to ask. He wanted me to know what happened. He wouldn’t have just put it out there if he didn’t want me to know.

“I couldn’t return home if I didn’t,” he stated.

And there it was written all over his face. Regret. Byron was just as human as the rest of us. And I now had a flicker of understanding for some of his monstrous behavior. Byron must have seen the pity I felt for him in my eyes because his expression was quick to change into a snarl. He didn’t want my pity. Wouldn’t accept it. A son of a Lappell member wouldn’t dare be pitied.

“James, I didn’t shoot that deer because I was scared I would die out in the freezing cold. I shot that deer because I didn’t want to disappoint my father.” He smirked, shaking his head at himself. “It’s funny. The unspoken bond between a father and son. You know, I thought I’d never be like him, but turns out, I’m exactly like him.” Byron’s eyes then met mine. “You can’t escape that part of you, no matter what you do and where you go. So why fight against it?”

“That’s sad that you believe that. No one has to turn out like their parents. You can always make different choices. Choose different paths. You don’t have to let your father define you...or your actions.”

“That’s the thing with fathers James. No matter how much you think you’re not like them…history has a way of repeating itself.”

It was then I felt truly sorry for Byron. He had given up on himself a long time ago and gone down the same path as his Dad. That was probably why he embraced the Lappell the way he had. It was a way for him to keep his father proud of him. Something he obviously needed and craved. I never knew my real Dad, but my mother had always told me he would have definitely encouraged whatever I wanted to do with my life. And my step-dad is one of the best people I know. If I was anything like my step-dad or my real Dad, it was a blessing, not a hindrance. There is always an exception to the rule.

Byron took me to a road I hadn’t been on yet. It was south of the town. At least an hour’s drive from my apartment. We arrived at another grand house that was heavily surrounded by security outside the gates. It was yet another mansion. Another party. Just another night with the Lappell.

I didn’t ask questions. I just followed Byron up to a room where he informed me we were spending the night. There were tuxedos and shoes all laid out waiting for us in the room. Everything was the right size. All fit perfectly.

After we both dressed, I followed Byron to an elevator. The buttons showed the three top levels of the house but there was also a special gold button under the buttons that said: 1, 2 and 3. I tried to look closer at the gold button. It kind of looked like it had the same image that my lucky coin had. But after Byron pushed it, he stood in front of the buttons, stopping my investigation as we descended the three house levels to another level that was underneath the house.

“There are a lot of people who want to meet you tonight,” Byron said turning to me now. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. “James Riley,” Byron’s hands went out wide in presentation. “Welcome to our world.”

We walked out, side by side, to a room filled with suits and sparkly dresses. Older men and beautiful women. Then I saw the tables and the dealers. Blackjack, roulette and poker. A layer of smoke towering above the heads of everyone in the room coming from a corner filled with older men drinking and smoking cigars. The soft sound of jazz music coming from tiny speakers in every corner of the room.

“What is this?” I asked as I tried to take in as many details of the set-up as I could. Storing all the mental images like I would need them later.