Treachery

Making the left, I follow the road with gas flame streetlamps and try to remember the last two men besides Ta

Seventh Circle: Violence. That would be Ezra Cross, Damon’s twin brother, an enforcer for the group if there ever was one. I never had much to do with him, thankfully, because, in truth, he scared me. It didn’t take much to set the guy off. Normally, Damon, Ezra and Shane were attached at the hip, each of them doing their best to start a fight somewhere.

And the last two slots were Eighth Circle: Fraud, also known as Gabriel Dane. The boy was born with a silver tongue and can talk the panties off a nun. If he’s on your side, you’re mostly safe, but if he hates you, it’s a bad idea to believe him. A smooth talker, Gabriel is the one who’d convinced Yale not to expel the group every time their activities went too far.

And finally, Ninth Circle: Treachery. Ta

Praying he forgot about tonight, I pull up to the main entrance gate of the neighborhood, lowering my window to speak to the guard with the hope my name isn’t on the guest list. The hope is quickly dashed when he checks off the paper on his clipboard and enters a code on a keypad to open the gates.

“Sixth house on the right.”

“Thanks,” I answer, my foot tapping the gas as I resist the urge to jerk the wheel and haul ass in the opposite direction.

Each house is a quarter mile apart down the long, gently curving road, and when Ta

Of course.

Of fucking course his house would look like a damn castle. He’s always thought of himself as a king, and now he has the residence to prove it.

From what I can tell, it’s three stories high with a turret on either side, and stone walls gently lit by the gas-flamed lanterns lighting the sloped driveway.

The windows are large enough for Ta

I wonder what I’d find if I follow the driveway to the right and around to the back instead of curving left to park in front of the large entryway with semi-circle steps leading up to a set of massive, imposing front doors.

He hadn’t spared a dime on this property, jealousy flickering just a tiny bit that Clayton never lived up to his potential to afford a home as beautiful as this.

I won’t let his obvious success in life lure me. Ta

Except for the men who make up his i

You can call Ta

I take a deep breath to settle my nerves.

Leaving the safety of my car, I climb the steps to the front doors, half expecting a butler to appear to open them for me.

My finger presses the doorbell, the seconds ticking by as my heart rate climbs higher.

By the time the door swings open, I’m close to passing out.