Judicium (Devil's Playground Book 3) Read online

  I envied them for their ability to do that so freely. Hookups were a foreign notion for me and anyone I dated had to be put through the metaphorical ringer. My parents were old-fashioned as hell.

  They wanted all ‘unions’ to lead to marriage yet were hypocritical about the act itself. Getting into an Ivy League would be easier than putting a ring on my finger. The one and only boyfriend I had decided to dump me completely out of the blue a few months ago, pissing off my entire family.

  They were more upset than I was. I knew Brian was never going to be my end game, but that did nothing for his fate. If he had a lick of common sense, he’d lay low for a good twelve months if he didn’t want the men in my family to annihilate him.

  Thinking of my failed relationship reminded me of the reasons why they weren’t worth the effort, no matter who it was. I would never have the final say and I really didn’t want to go through the process of trial and error all over again. My sister’s situation was a great deterrent. Like her, I didn’t want my partner to be hand-picked by my parents.

  I knew there was a certain way things were done, but I wanted no parts in that. Being single was definitely for the best. I could always try out some sordid one-night stands—live life on the edge.

  Shaking off my momentary melancholy, I reached the second level of the house and paused. More than half of the doors were closed. How did I go about checking the rooms?

  I knew for a fact that some of these had been open earlier.

  I could listen outside each one for signs of fucking or conversation but with the music being so loud I’d have to press my ear to the wood like some kind of perverted creeper.

  Deciding the best way to deal with this was to wing it, I headed down the hall. The first door I stopped in front of was utterly silent. I strained to hear any movement or sound. When nothing came from the other side, I kept going.

  As I was passing by the entrance to the semi-enclosed balcony, the panoramic view had me pausing again. I’d seen this earlier and hadn’t stopped to look.

  I couldn’t make myself pass it up a second time despite needing to find my sister as soon as humanly possible. The backyard oasis was surrounded by a sprawling lawn touched by autumn and tall trees, blanketed with a dark overhead sky full of stars.

  Time seemed to slow as I got lost in the serenity of it. The party raging below became nothing but background noise. I’m not sure how long I stood there staring into the night, wasting precious seconds.

  “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

  His husky voice nearly sent me jumping out of my skin. Quickly realizing who was right beside me, I turned so that we were facing one another.

  “It would be strange if you were expecting anything from me at all,” I replied slowly. Why was he up here?

  I took a leisurely scan of his body, noting as many details as possible. He was wearing all black, from his shirt to his boots. The color suited him well. His top was fitted to his body and left little to the imagination. The matching sweats should’ve been outlawed. The outline of his dick was impossible to miss. Have mercy, that was on soft?

  Of all the rumors spread about him, his sexual trysts were extra hush-hush. Judging by the glimpse I just got, if he knew what he was doing then I imagined there was very little to complain about. I fought the temptation to take a better look and said the first thing that popped into my head, needing to get my mind out of the gutter.

  “Did you abandon your friends?”

  “You could say that,” he replied with a blatant note of amusement. “How did you end up here?”

  I straightened to my full height, which wasn’t much compared to his, “I’m looking for my sister, actually. Have you seen her?”

  “Not recently.”

  Did that mean he’d seen her some other time somehow? I wasn’t sure how that would be possible given she was supposed to be laying low and he was the last person she needed to be involved with.

  He took a slow, open perusal of my body, going from my head of nearly waist-length dark hair, journeying to the swell of my hips and then down to the heels I was deeply regretting having worn.

  It wasn’t sexual, yet I felt something stir. His studious regard was predatory like he was sizing me up. I didn’t feel repulsed by the attention. His eyes swept back towards my face and paused on my lips for three whole seconds before his brilliant blues met my brown.

  I wished I knew what he was thinking right then. I held his stare refusing to shrink beneath the weight of it. Just like there were rumors about him and his friends the same went for me and mine. I wasn’t sure which ones he believed or didn’t, but something told me he could easily figure out the truths from the lies.

  “Every time I see you, I’m reminded that pictures never do you any justice. Every time,” he repeated quietly.

  I faltered at his unexpected compliment. It wasn’t a major phenomenon to see photos of me. Anyone active on social media could but I doubted he found my profiles through our rare pool of mutual friends. Ciaran was two or three years older than me.

  He suddenly smiled, showing off teeth so ridiculously perfect that a dentist would weep tears of joy at the sight of them. “I’m not stalking you online.”

  “I know…”

  “I’m inclined to keep up with the news of the company and sometimes you’re included, although it has been rarer the last few years.”

  Of course, that’s how he saw pictures of me. I felt like an idiot for not assuming that was the case straight away.

  The reason for me not being pictured alongside my family as of late was because they felt the need to keep me more sheltered than usual from the happenings of our screwed-up little world.

  Standing here talking to him was an unexpected turn of events I wouldn’t forget anytime soon. Ciaran was someone I spent more time avoiding than anything. Him approaching me would never be something he'd do out of sheer friendliness or curiosity.

  “So, did you come all the way upstairs to tell me I’m pretty?”

  “When did I say you were pretty?”

  It donned on me then that he’d never said such a word officially. My face heated with embarrassment for possibly the fourth time in my life. It was irritating. I wasn’t a girl who blushed or fluttered her lashes because of a pretty boy.

  He grinned and gave a slight shake of his head “I was joking, Liliana.”

  “No need to backtrack on my behalf.”

  Taking notice of the obvious discomfort I was failing to mask, his smile faded, and he stepped a fraction closer. Fragranced notes of cinnamon and mint danced in the space left between us, his cologne overpowering the scent of my coco butter and Chanel.

  “I’m not a person that gives unnecessary flattery. I didn’t call you pretty because the word is too weak of an adjective. You’re much more than that.”

  The sincerity in his voice floored me. “Okay, did someone dare you to do this?” I looked around him to see if anyone was lurking nearby.

  “I’m beyond the party version of truth or dare,” he replied with a touch of amusement. “I really did want to know why you’re here.”

  “I already told—.” I stopped myself short, deciding against mentioning Lamia a second time. “I was invited. Is that okay with you?”

  “I’m not in a position to have any say in what you do or don’t do yet.”

  “Yet?” I eyed him with slightly narrowed eyes. “Did you by chance do drugs tonight?”

  His lips twitched as if he were trying not to laugh. “I thought you liked having my undivided attention.”

  The tempo of my heart picked up speed. I made sure to breathe evenly as I replied. “I wasn’t aware that I did.”

  “Weren’t you?”

  Was he was being playful? I couldn’t get a good enough read on him to say for sure.

  I wasn’t prepared to deal with him right now. My cell vibrated against my hip, giving me a valid reason to break the weird connection between us. I opened the new group chat notifi
cation and saw Grace had dropped a text with her pinned location.

  Found her. Need your help.

  Okay, that didn’t exactly warrant any feelings of relief.

  What would they need help for? Was Lamia wasted? No, she would never drink while pregnant. Unless… Nope, wasn’t going there. Maybe she was having a moment that required emotional intervention?

  They wouldn’t need my assistance for that. Grace was far better at handling those kinds of situations. Shit. Mel was there too, though. She’d only make it worse. She never softened the edges of her dagger-like tongue for anyone. I read the message twice more before clicking the location link.

  Realizing who was still right in front of me watching this all happen without saying a word, I left the map pulled up, and slid my cell back into my pocket.

  “So…this little chat has been super random. Next time we speak let’s pretend it never happened.”

  I went to step around him and immediately found my path blocked. Now even closer than before, I had to tilt my head back so that I could still see his face. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “I didn’t come up here to scare you.”

  Laughing lightly, I took a step away from him. “I’m not scared of you.”

  “Good. Remember that.”

  “I just said we shouldn’t remember this.”

  His head tilted slightly to the side. “So, you still won’t be talking to me then?”

  “Okay, I’m really…” Oh.

  My sluggish brain finally understood his question. That undivided attention comment didn’t seem so far out of left field now. The knowing glint in his eyes clued me in that he was aware it’d all just clicked for me.

  He and I encountered each other multiple times at various events alongside our families, but we’d never officially met.

  There were no grand introductions but more of a hand gesture with muttered honorifics. My parents were good at making nice with people they didn’t like, but over the past year or so tension between his family and those closest to them family had gotten so bad they didn’t even try anymore.

  What they didn’t know was that Ciaran and I had an unnerving magnetic pull to one another we refused to act on. Neither of us had ever allowed ourselves to be drawn in too close.

  Ciaran would occasionally watch me from afar and I sometimes watched him back.

  It was a subtle game of cat and mouse. There wasn’t an opportunity to speak freely. We both did a good job of making sure there wasn’t a situation where we’d be tempted to. Too many eyes watched our every move as if anticipating the day our dynamic would change.

  We always wound up doing the same song and dance, two sharks making figure eights in blood-infested waters, purposely remaining out of reach from one another. It was a dangerously unorthodox relationship we’d developed, but neither seemed inclined to end it.

  Whatever his reason was for speaking to me all of a sudden and breaching a barrier I thought we’d established would have to remain a mystery. I couldn’t stand around playing twenty-one questions to figure it out. I peered up at him and ignored the voice in my head telling me to get closer.

  “I guess I’ll keep this in mind then,” I responded with a pep I didn’t feel.

  He stepped out of the way to let me pass, throwing one last curveball at me. “You’ll say goodbye before you go?”

  “Maybe.” I tossed him a smile and walked away. I swear he laughed, but I refused to look back.

  I needed to find Lamia and leave. I kept my pace natural and confident, eyes trained straight ahead. I felt his stare on my back the entire way down the hall.

  Only when I reached the bottom of the staircase did I feel like I could breathe freely again. All the sounds that had faded into the background surrounded me once more now that I’d escaped the dark orbit, he’d pulled me into. The delayed sensations now spiraling through my chest had nothing to do with me being afraid. I’d been telling the truth about that.

  Though, in this scenario that might do me some good.

  Sometimes fear wasn’t a bad thing. It was natural and under the right circumstances kept people alive. What I was feeling now was much worse. I was far too curious for my own good, captivated by someone that was not only bad for me but off-limits.

  I was on a path I had to carefully navigate if I had any chance in hell of being free of the chains my family had me in. I needed to stay focused and away from everything that tempted me to stray. Ciaran Belair was at the top of my list.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Despite the path between the trees being mostly clear of leaves and lit by softly glowing lights, I didn’t think we were supposed to go into the woods. No-one stopped me or asked what I was doing when I came this way, though.

  The party was in full swing a few yards behind me while straight ahead was nothing, but a trail of dancing shadows wrapped in silence. If the circumstances were different, I would have found this as serene as the upstairs view. Who didn’t love a good evening stroll through nature?

  According to my phone's GPS, Grace and Mel had definitely come this way and wherever they’d gone was somewhere along this trail.

  I hit the call button and listened to the sound of ringing until I was greeted by an automated voicemail.

  This was weird.

  Grace’s pin remaining stationary was enough to kick my ass into gear, moving at a pace that was sustainable in heels. The air grew cooler the further I went into the woods, carrying a tincture of earthiness. Loose leaves gathered at my feet, a few twigs peppered among them.

  I rounded a small bend, crossing my arms while keeping my cell’s flashlight aimed in front of me. The outline of two people began to take shape in the distance, coming from the opposite direction. As we grew closer to one another I was able to see the way they were dressed.

  I slowed, muttering, “What the fuck?”

  “Don’t be afraid,” the girl called to me softly.

  Said like a true serial killer, I thought bemusedly. The guy with her resembled Twisty the clown and the dark-haired girl at his side was some kind of jester. This made three people now that were wearing costumes when Halloween was nearly four months away.

  Seeing they lacked concern or panic made me feel marginally better. If something serious was wrong, I assumed they’d know. Once we were practically shoulder to shoulder, I stopped so that I could ask if they had seen my friends

  The jester eyed my outfit with a pout. “You’re not in the right clothes.”

  She sounded legitimately disappointed I wasn’t wearing a costume like she was. Instead of pointing out the obvious, I pretended I forgot. “Oh, I wasn’t planning to come. It was a last-minute thing. Did either of you happen to see a group of girls back there?”

  A grin that came off more sly than friendly split her face in two. “They’ve been waiting for you.”

  What the fuck? I shifted my gaze from her to the clown whose unsettling stare was burning holes into my face. “Are they okay?”

  Her toothy grin melted into a closed-mouth smile. With the slightest shrug of her shoulders, she replied with a carefree, “Sure.”

  She and the clown walked away then, leaving me to stare at their retreating forms.

  “Thanks for your help.”

  “Have fun,” she sang softly in return.

  What was going on with the people at this party? I turned away and resumed my trek. After three or four more minutes I spotted an opening in the trees a few feet ahead. Grace’s dot still remained in the same location while mine continued to grow closer.

  My signal was steadily depleting, but at least I knew that this was the right direction. I reached the end of the path and came to a dead stop, double-checking my phone to confirm what I already knew would be the case.

  “Oh, fuck no.”

  I hit call on Grace’s number and got voicemail again. I tried Mel next, but her line rang until I got the same thing. Lamia’s phone was still off. Grace had texted me and I c
ould still her location. She would need to be in range for that. So why wasn’t she answering the damn phone? I was beginning to have a bad feeling about this.

  I eyed the gated wooden arch that served as an entrance to a cornfield I wasn’t aware existed. Lantern lights had been wrapped around the thick wooden pillars that connected to a tall mesh fence. A large scarecrow with a glowing head was to the immediate right of the entryway.

  This field wasn’t visible from the upper level of Sainte’s home. I wasn’t really sure why this was here at all. Did his parents grow corn as a hobby? I scanned the stalks, straining to hear voices, and picked up on a steady stream of music coming from somewhere beyond what I could see.

  “Have to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered. Were they partying back here too? At this point, I wanted to say the night couldn’t get any more bizarre and off track, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath on that.

  My common sense was screaming not to go into this goddamn field, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Absolute worst-case scenario I’d run into some masked assholes trying to play Children of The Corn. I could handle that.

  I stepped through the wooden arch, adding the sole inscription at the very top to memory so I could decipher it later.

  Making my way through the field itself wasn’t too bad, wearing the wrong footwear aside. The cornstalks were taller than me and cut my view off from everything else, but the path between them was wide and clear-cut.

  I was pleasantly surprised at how good they smelled. They had a lush and rich aroma, with a hint of honey and something floral. After I took a few more predetermined turns a building began to take shape and the sound of music grew louder, the voice of my man Ozzy becoming clearer. Finally, another arch signified the exit point I needed to cross through.

  That gut instinct to go back was twice as strong now. Intuition began to hit me with warning signals demanding I turn my ass around. Continuing went against every bit of common sense I possessed, a giant middle finger to everything I’d been taught growing up.

  I couldn’t stop now. I was damn near on top of where Grace and Mel should be. I passed through the exit and found myself staring up at a large wooden barn where the music was coming from at a near-deafening volume. I officially felt like those infuriatingly idiotic girls that made all the wrong choices in horror movies, except this was real.