Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
They are already mid-conversation, and I stare at the salt and pepper on the table. My mind is still on Haidyn and what we did last night. He used my laptop against me and then took it with him when he left. He deleted the email he threatened me with, but now what?
I was supposed to be saving myself for marriage, and he just took it. My mother promised my virginity to a Lord. What does that mean for me now? Should I have taken my chances with the Lords at the cathedral? They would have just lined up to fuck me too.
They did tell me to give Haidyn whatever he wanted. So maybe my mother will understand that my assignment is more important than my future husband. I mean, I’m supposed to be high up. Not just because I marry someone who is important but because I am important.
“Earth to Anna?”
I blink, looking up at Hannah, and she’s rubbing her huge belly. They didn’t know I was going out of town. When I woke up this morning, I needed to get out of my house, so I called both of them up because it had been too long since I saw them. “What?” I ask.
She laughs softly. “Where have you been?”
I don’t have an answer to that. Haidyn has kept my mind occupied, so I didn’t think to come up with answers to questions they may ask me. “What do you all know about the Spade brothers?” I decide on.
They both go silent, and Hannah’s smile drops off her face. She leans forward, lowering her voice as if someone is listening to our conversation. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised. “Stay away from them.”
It just makes me more interested in what she knows. “I don’t know them.” I shrug, playing it off. “I overheard my mother talking about them the other day, and it got me curious,” I lie.
“Do you remember those women who went missing like four years ago?” Margaret asks.
I frown but vaguely remember. “Not really.”
“Not this again.” Hannah rolls her eyes.
“What about them?” I ask.
Margaret looks over at me. “Well, the rumor was that one of the Spade brothers was the one kidnapping and killing them.”
I get a sickening feeling in my gut. “Which one?”
“Adam,” she answers.
I frown. “Who is Adam?” All I know of is Saint, Kashton, and Haidyn.
“They say that’s why he ran.” She takes a sip of her drink, ignoring my previous question.
Hannah picks up her cell to read a text when it beeps, alerting her of an incoming text. “Lords don’t run because they kill someone.” She snorts. “Otherwise, he would have never made it as far as he did in our world.”
“He ran because he fucked up, and the police were on to him,” Margaret argues.
“The Lords are above the law.” Hannah laughs, typing away a response. “Trust me, he didn’t run.” She places her cell down and looks at Margaret. “He was killed by another Lord, and they made up some shit story to cover it up because he was a Spade brother.”
“Maybe his brothers fucked him over, and he’s at Carnage but as a prisoner,” Margaret offers.
“Who is Adam?” I ask again, needing to know who the fuck this missing Spade brother is.
Hannah looks at me. “Adam Price. His sister was Saint’s chosen.”
“Ashtyn?” I question. “She had a brother?” There were four guys in that one picture that the Lords sent me before I started my initiation. I didn’t pay that much attention to it, though. Maybe he’s the fourth guy. I don’t remember finding anything about her having a brother while doing research on Haidyn, but then again, if the Lords took care of him, they could have wiped his existence.
“A twin,” Hannah corrects me.
“I think he killed her too.” Margaret nods. “He was going down for kidnapping and killing all those women, and his sister caught him, so he got rid of her and their mother. That’s why I think Adam is a prisoner at Carnage.” Hannah snorts, thinking Margaret’s theory is absurd. “Because the brothers were obsessed with Ashtyn. Especially Saint. When Adam got rid of her, they took him prisoner.”
I sit back and nibble on my inner cheek. Well, I know their theories are not true because I’ve seen Ashtyn alive and well. Not sure about the Adam part, but he sure as fuck didn’t kill his sister.
“Do you remember Sierra Ronan?” Margaret looks at me.
“The name sounds familiar,” I say, but I can’t place it.
“She was Haidyn’s chosen their senior year. The word was she hated Ashtyn because she was sleeping with both Haidyn and Kashton, and when Haidyn found out, he shared his chosen with another Lord.”
Now I remember where I heard it from-the email the Lords sent me with Haidyn’s information.
“Hooke,” Hannah offers, nodding. “It all went down one night at the house of Lords.”
I was never allowed to go to the house of Lords, but rumors traveled all over Barrington about what went on there. My mother said it was no place for someone like me to hang out. I never really understood what she meant, considering we were part of that world. I just figured she wanted me to stay away from temptation. All they ever said went down at the house of Lords were orgies. Lords passing girls around like joints at a party. What she doesn’t understand is that happens anywhere you go these days. But it wouldn’t have mattered if I was able to go there or not, I wasn’t in the same grade as the Spade brothers.
“Hooke fucked her mouth right there in front of everyone while he sat on the couch,” Margaret adds.
“What ever happened to her?” Hannah wonders.
Margaret shrugs. “No clue.”
I sit back in my seat and let out a huff. That doesn’t really answer anything that I was wondering about, but it does tell me that Ashtyn being alive is not public knowledge, and she has a twin brother who is still MIA.
“Mom?” I call out, entering my childhood home. “Mother?”
“I’m in here, darling,” she answers faintly down the hall. I enter Bill’s office to see her going through some papers on his desk. Her best friend is standing next to her, but I ignore Anne. I came here for a reason. “I’d love to chat, dear, but me and Bill have plans with friends.” She pauses and looks up at me frowning. “When did you get back from your vacation?”
“Why am I not married yet?” I get to the point, ignoring her question.
I forgot I’m supposed to still be away. Which also reminds me that I need to touch base with Wesley. He has a key to my house. Wouldn’t that be humiliating if he walked in, and I was on all fours while Haidyn fucked my ass?
She drops the papers and stands to her full height. “Anna??”
“I want to know.” I interrupt her. I’m not a child anymore. I deserve to know where my life is going that she is planning for me.
Anne clears her throat, and my mom looks at her. It’s as if they’ve had this conversation and her friend warned her, I’d one day have questions.
My mother sighs. “It’s not black and white. It never is with the Lords. When I feel you’re ready, I’ll let you know.”
Her answer pisses me off. I’ve proven to her over the past few years that I can make it in our world. Why keep my future a secret from me? “I had sex,” I tell her. She’s going to find out eventually when I’m handed to my Lord, and he expects me to be a virgin.
“What do you mean you had sex?” she asks slowly.
“Haidyn fucked me??”
She slaps me across the face, cutting me off. My head whips to the side, and I gasp at the sting on my cheek. She’s never hit me before. “Do you understand what you’ve done?” she screeches.
“The Lords told me to do whatever he wants,” I rush out, the tears stinging my eyes from the lingering pain.
“They did?” she asks skeptically.
“Yes,” I say through gritted teeth, rubbing my cheek.
“Interesting. I’ll call Dr. Lennon and have you put on birth control immediately. In the meantime, I’ll have Sally get you the morning after pill.” She picks up my stepfather’s phone on his desk and begins to dial when I speak.