Revenant (The Midnight Society #3) (22 page)

My body eventually ran out of gas and I collapsed on the bed, drenched in sweat, my erection still at full strength. My endurance, however, was spent. We must have been at it for a solid hour and a half.

“Why Lincoln, you’re giving up already?”

“My cardio hasn’t been trained as well as my dick,” I said in between heavy breaths.

Isadora licked her lips and climbed up over me. “I suppose I shouldn’t leave you hanging, should I?”

“No, you shouldn’t.”

She positioned herself over me in a sixty-nine position, giving me a stunning view of her glistening mound.

Isadora’s mouth formed a tight seal over my cock, her tongue swirling around the head of the shaft. She pushed her throat down the whole length of my erection, her lips touching the base of my balls.

Holy shit, this girl was incredible.

The wet sounds of her throat, swallowing my cock whole, in combination with her pussy and ass, thrusting in my face, was more than I could handle.

I exploded in her mouth, shooting wave after wave of hot cum down her throat.

In the end, she swallowed it all, every last drop.

A few minutes later, we were both underneath the covers, her head resting against my shoulder.

We were both quiet, the only audible sounds in the room being our breathing.

Finally, I decided to speak.

“So…”

“You’re not going to say something awkward, are you?” Isadora asked.

I shook my head. “No, of course not.”

“Good,” she replied. “What we did was straight up fucking—nothing more nothing less.”

I nodded in agreement. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t do something stupid like fall in love me with.”

Isadora chuckled. “Someone thinks highly of themselves.” She lifted her head off my shoulders.

“I’m just saying, after giving you the best sex of your life.”

Now Isadora was laughing.

“Now you’re delusional. No one can ever top the experiences I’ve had with Delilah. It’s impossible.”

I raised a brow. “Oh?”

“When we had sex, we’re completely absorbed by one another. It’s as if we merged into one single entity—bound by the magic of our love. Our sessions often lasted from sunset to sunrise, hours upon hours of bliss and unspeakable pleasures.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I figure I have to be within top five of dance partners though, right?”

She shook her head. “Not even.”

What? Was she for real? I personally felt I had just put on the performance of a lifetime. My confidence was taking a serious blow.

“Cheer up princess, it was still enjoyable,” Isadora said. “I came, you came. It was fun for all.”

“What would have made it better?” I was curious to know.

She smiled and traced her fingers at the scratch marks on my chest. “Oh, a little more blood here and there doesn’t hurt. Of course, I’m afraid that’d be a little too much for you to handle.”

“Blood,” I whispered aloud.

I’ve seen more than enough blood to last a lifetime.  

#

Chapter Thirty-Two

Aria

It was Shadow’s kiss that woke me from my dreams—a thick fog of surrealism that disappeared the second I awoke.

“You fell asleep reading,” he said.

I lifted the book of my chest and placed it on my lap.

“I wasn’t drooling, was I? I felt like I was.”

Shadow laughed. “No, you weren’t drooling,” he reassured me. “If you were, I wouldn’t have kissed you.”

“Glad to see your affections towards me are unconditional,” I teased.

He pointed to his copy of ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ resting on my lap. “Find anything?”

I shook my head. “I took a big chunk out of it,” I said as I flipped through the pages. “I even made a couple of post it notes regarding certain passages but I really feel like I’m reaching here. I doubt that I’ll be able to find anything.”

“You’re doing your best. That’s all I can ask,” he replied. “We’re moving out tomorrow and abandoning this place. It’s only a matter of time before Yuen Xi sends another death squad here to search for Lincoln. You should get your things ready.”

“I don’t have much to pack,” I replied, “Should take all of five minutes.”

“You’re a woman. You’ll have a ton of things to pack.”

“I’m a woman on the run. Having my life threatened constantly doesn’t allow me much time to build up my personal inventory.”

He frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You’re not the one I’m running from.”

“Because I dragged you into all of this,” Shadow replied. “If I hadn’t chosen you that night on my birthday, you’d have your life back.”

I took his strong hands in mine and peered into his dark, brooding eyes.

“It was fate that you chose me.”

“Actually, it was Calisto,” he pointed out.

“Fuck her.  I’m rewriting our story the way I see it. No whores allowed in this version.”

He smiled. “Okay.”

I cleared my throat. “As I was saying, it was fate that you chose me. Do I have my regrets? Sure. But none of them involve you. I love you. If this is the life I need to live to be with you, then bring it on. My old one was getting boring, anyway.”

Shadow leaned down and kissed me again, crushing his mouth against mine.

His kiss always had a way of lifting my spirits as well as igniting the heat in between my legs. God, what I wouldn’t have done to have his hard, throbbing cock fill me while his fingers pinched my nipples and his mouth intertwined with my own.

Eventually, we pulled apart and I found myself wanting more—needing more.

“I don’t want to leave you hanging but I still have a ton to do on my end before we leave,” he stated. I could hear the sounds of regret in his voice. He was down to fuck.

I certainly was.

“What’s the female version of cock tease?” I asked.

“Pussy provoker?” he suggested.

I smiled. “Good enough. You, Shadow, are a pussy provoker.”

He laughed as he made his way back into the mansion. “I’ll hit that soon enough, don’t you worry.”

I picked up the book and flipped it to the page where I had left off. “You better,” I hollered out to Shadow just before throwing my attention back into Alice and her tripped out adventure.

I was determined to solve this mystery. Shadow needed my help and I had no intentions of failing him.

Secretly, I also wanted to figure out what was messing up Shadow’s head before Lincoln did. It was an attempt to prove to everyone here that I could carry my weight when it came to intellectual prowess.

A few minutes later the words on the page began to blur and I realized I was falling asleep again.

I certainly could use a quick pick me up. I rose from the lounge chair and decided to head inside and make myself some coffee.

For the first time since coming to Shadow’s mansion, the kitchen was empty. Usually I’d find someone here cooking a meal or fixing a snack, or just hanging out.

Our numbers had declined. I thought of Reiko and Cairo and felt my stomach spin into knots.

Just when we got Lincoln back, we lost two more of our own. Our group—the Midnight Society—would never be whole.

I only hoped that Shadow had a plan for saving them as well, though at what cost?

I put on a pot of coffee and took a seat at the island kitchen table, turning my attention back to the book.

“How’s the reading coming along?”

I looked up to see Beau, stretching.

I shrugged. “Not a bad book.”

Beau grinned. “On the contrary, Alice in Wonderland—in my opinion—is a fantastic book. The imagination Lewis Caroll had; hell you’d be convinced he was on acid trip the entire time he wrote the story. 

“You all packed up and ready to go?” I asked. “We’re moving out first thing tomorrow.”

“Just missing one or two things,” he replied. “Otherwise my car is all ready to go.” Beau’s eyes found the pot of coffee brewing. “Darling, you practically read my mind. You mind if I have a cup?”

“Go ahead, I made plenty of it,” I replied.

Beau opened up the cupboards and pulled out two mugs. He poured the rich brown liquid into both, and then walked towards the refrigerator.

“Milk or sugar?” he asked.

“Neither. I take it as black as they come.”

“That’s what she said,” Beau smirked.

I wasn’t impressed. “Seriously?”

“Don’t worry there, sweetheart. Just keep your nose in the book and ignore ol’ Beau, like you always do.”

“Sounds like a great plan.”

I managed to fit in a couple of more paragraphs, just as Beau placed a steaming cup of java in front of me.

“So, I have to ask, out of all the books you could have chosen, why this particular one?”

I shrugged. “Why not? You said it yourself, it’s a classic.”

“Oh, I dunno. You don’t seem like the classic literature type of person,” he commented while he took a deep drink from his mug. “I see you more as a lady who enjoys her slut books.”

“Well yes, there’s that too,” I said. “But I have a pretty diverse reading list. And I’m finding Alice quite enjoyable, thank you very much. That is as soon as you leave me alone to finish this book.” I drank from the cup and let the warmth of the coffee flow down my dry throat.

“Alright, alright. I can see you want to be left alone.”

“Yes,” I said, taking another sip.

“Have you gotten to the good part yet?” Beau asked.

I raised a brow. “What’s the good part?”

Beau grabbed the book on the table, and began flipping through the pages.

“Help yourself,” I sighed.

“Ah, here it is,” Beau said eventually, satisfied with a certain passage. “Here, read it.” He pointed to a sentence with his index finger.

I took the book back, took a deep breath, and read it aloud. “It would be so nice if things made sense for a change.”

He nodded. “Sound familiar?”

And that was when the light exploded in my head. While Shadow and Lincoln were fighting, Beau had said those exact words.

I swear, I’m living in a looney world. It would be so nice if things made sense for a change.

It was Beau.

The traitor was Beau.

Immediately I leapt out of my seat but found my legs had turned into liquid.

“Sorry sweetheart. Running ain’t going to work. I slipped a little something in that coffee of yours. It’s potent stuff really.”

I looked at him helplessly. I tried to scream but found that no words could come out.

“Now don’t you worry, what I gave you was a tranquilizer; nothing life threatening and nothing permanent. I know it sucks being drugged twice in a day. You have to believe me when I say I’m sorry.”

You bastard. You fucking bastard.

I prayed for someone to come—anyone, please.

Beau lifted me by the arms and then tossed me over his shoulder, fireman carry.

“When you grabbed Alice in Wonderland, I wondered what the chances were that you had deduced there was something in that book that had set Shadow off. And then, I thought to myself, that Aria is a pretty smart girl. If anyone could connect the dots together, it’d definitely be her.”

He pushed open the side door leading outside.

Please, help me.

Suddenly I felt my eyelids go heavy. I had to resist. Find a way to fight.

That’s what I did, right? That’s what Isadora had taught me to do—fight.

It was just so hard when the rest of your body wasn’t cooperating.

“So, Aria Valencia, hats off to you. You figured out the mystery of the Midnight Society’s traitor. Well, not really, actually. I decided to reveal myself to you before you figured it out, but I still give you full marks on that front. Not to worry.”

I felt my body relax and my mind soften.

Beau had opened up the trunk of his car. “Oh, and what’s the prize for figuring me out? I guess the truth is always a good one. Here’s one truth—one of many that you don’t know yet. My name’s not really Beau. I killed the real Beau—Donald’s bastard—a long time ago.”

He laid me gently down into the trunk. It was funny how for a split second, while in a semi-conscience state, my mind failed to differentiate the between the trunk of his car and a coffin.

“I was blessed with the last name of Rose,” he said.

Rose…why did that name sound so familiar?

Oh yes, I remember now…

#

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lincoln

I put the book down for a moment and listened to Isadora’s gentle breaths as she slept naked next to me.

It would be easy to fall in love with a woman like Isadora—the perfect physical specimen of sexy, danger, and mysterious all rolled into one beautiful package.

But love was something I’ve failed at repeatedly. To be honest, I was done with love. When it came to women, it was back to good ol’ no-strings-attached, one night only mind blowing sex.

Isadora rolled over, shifting the thin white sheet that was draped over her body, exposing a single perfect breast.

She was quite the sight to behold. I felt myself go hard again and had to restrain myself from taking her nipple in my mouth.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Delilah’s ghost was actually real. Was it possible that Isadora created her as a way to cope with her grief?

I hoped so. It was creepy imagining a restless spirit watching me ravage her past lover. I couldn’t restrain myself from looking around the room, peering deep into the shadows to see if anything was staring back at me.

I was creeping myself out and I needed to stop.

“Ridiculous,” I muttered aloud as I turned my attention back to the digital version of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ on my phone. I wondered how far along Aria was in the book.

I had planned on finishing it earlier tonight but my extended fuck session with Isadora had sidetracked me.

It was well worth it though.

My eyes scanned the pixelated ink on the screen, drifting through words while simultaneously forming images in my head.

And then I came to a single line.

“It would be so nice if things made sense for a change,” I read aloud.

It didn’t take me long to put two and two together.

“Beau, you son of a bitch,” I announced as I leapt out of the bed.

Isadora opened her eyes and sat up.

“Lincoln?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

“The traitor’s Beau,” he said. “It’s been that bastard all along.”

“You sure?” Isadora asked.

“Trust me on this one.”

She nodded. “That’s good enough for me. Let’s go find him then.”

It took us all of thirty seconds to get dressed and bolt out the bedroom door. Shadow greeted us out in the hallway, a duffle bag in his hand.

His eyes shifted from me, to Isadora, and back to me again before shrugging.

“We’re leaving in an hour,” he said. “You two finished packing?”

“The traitor is Beau,” I announced. “I know the exact phrase that sets off your trigger as well.”

Shadow frowned. “Beau?”

I nodded.

“Shit. Alright, gather everyone else. Meanwhile I’m going to find that bastard myself,” he said as he tossed the duffle bag aside.

While Isadora sought out Braydon and Leah, I bee-lined it to Aria’s room.

It was empty.

I checked the rest of the rooms before heading to the main floor. It took about five full minutes of dedicated canvassing before I accepted the truth.

Aria was gone.

Meanwhile, Isadora was caught in an argument with Braydon.

“You’re shitting me,” Braydon said. “Yeah, he’s an asshole sandwich but come on, the traitor?”

“Aria’s gone, Braydon,” I announced. “Beau took her. Do you know where he planned on going?”

Braydon shook his head. “I’m still surprised by your accusations.”

Shadow joined us in the room. “Beau’s car is gone. The motherfucker fled.”

Leah, who had been sitting on the couch quietly with a grim look on her face, spoke.

“Beau was the mole for the CIA,” she announced. “He was the person we had on the inside of Calisto’s organization.”

What the fuck? It was just a circus from this point on.

“What did you say?” Shadow said more of a demand than a question.

Leah rose from her seat and frowned.

“Beau was the mole we had planted in the Revenant’s. He was working for the CIA.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Shadow said. “If he was working for the CIA, then what’s he doing here? Why did he sabotage us?”

Abel, who had been standing by the doorway, arms folded across his chest, spoke. “Perhaps he’s turned,” Abel suggested. “It’s not a stretch of the imagination for some undercover operatives to defect. I imagine the payout working for the Revenants is far more lucrative than a government’s salary.”

“It still doesn’t add up,” Shadow said. “Is it possible he was the one who put out the hit on Elena Zhao?”

It was then that Shadow’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out.

“Fucking cocksucker,” he muttered under his breath.

“What is it?” I asked.

Shadow showed me the text message on his phone.

My heart sank to my stomach as I read it aloud. “Yes, I’m responsible for Elena.”

“Beau has this place bugged,” Shadow said as he glanced around the room. “We’ve got to get out of here. Everyone, grab your essentials. We’re gone.”

#