Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,156

doors and I noticed a huge man in the same robes as Kyan waiting to one side of the entrance hall, the number 230 gleaming on his chest. He strode forward at the beckon of our escort and clasped Kyan’s hand in greeting.

“Uncle,” Kyan said curtly and I realised this must be Niall. He glanced my way and I recognised the ruddy brown colour of his eyes beneath his skull mask. I was surprised when he reached for me next, squeezing my arm.

“Hello, lass,” he purred.

“Please remember not to use each other’s names or titles,” the escort said with an edge to his voice. “We all go by a single name here.”

“And what’s that?” I asked, lifting my chin.

“Master,” he breathed, the word sending a chill through me. “For we are all the masters of our own destiny at Royaume D’élite. Here we are free to become our truest selves. We shed our skins at the door and step into a realm where anything is possible.”

“Great, lad,” Niall said. “Now where can my truest self get a stiff drink?”

“Down the hall and to your left,” he answered, bowing his head to us. “Have an exhilarating evening.” He swept away with that freaky statement, heading back out the front door and leaving us there on the bone white floor.

Niall nodded to us then led the way down the hall and Kyan’s grip on my hand only tightened.

“I assume you’ve arrived?” Saint drawled in my ear suddenly and I nearly leapt out of my skin. Jesus Christ.

“Yeah,” Kyan answered in a murmur.

“Good. Keep your eyes peeled. Watch the staff’s movements and look out for no access areas.”

“Okay, over and out,” Kyan muttered with a breath of laughter and Saint cursed him.

Niall turned left into a room under a stone archway and I took in the huge, dark hall spreading out before us. One whole wall at the far end was built of nothing but cages and bile rose in my throat as I saw the men and women inside them, dressed in leather underwear, some of them screaming for help while others curled in on themselves or had haunted expressions on their faces. I realised I wasn’t moving, my feet glued to the floor and Kyan was suddenly yanking me along towards a bar, his mouth falling to my ear.

“Don’t stare, baby,” he reminded me and I jerked my head sideways, my pulse pounding furiously in my head as I tried to calm down.

I noted the people at the bar were drinking through straws, a hole between the teeth in their skull masks allowing them to do so. I had the urge to tear their masks off and throw my fists into their exposed faces and we’d barely even been here a moment.

A shriek caught my ear and I couldn’t stop myself from looking as two men in black masks hauled a young girl from one of the cages before injecting her with something. She fell limp and they handed her over to two men who pawed greedily at her skin before they carried her through a black veil out of the room. I found myself moving in that direction, unsure what I could do for her but knowing I needed to try. Kyan yanked me back to his side, fixing me in his gaze and squeezing my wrist hard enough to cut through the fog in my mind.

He didn’t say anything, but I knew what he meant. I couldn’t go. Even the thought of it now seemed foolish. I couldn’t save anyone here. Not tonight anyway. We had to find a way to bring them down. I had to stomach this awful place and not fuck up this chance.

I realised Niall was doing shots through the hole in his mask, throwing them in without the supplied straw on the bar. I held out my hand for one and he placed a clear shot in my palm. I tossed it through the hole in my mask, swallowing thickly and letting the burn of whiskey wash through me, blocking out everything else for a moment.

Then I focused on the movements of the staff as they headed in and out of rooms around the hall. It looked like a lot of them were heading under that black veil.

I nudged Kyan, nodding to it and he sighed like he already knew we’d have to go that way.

“You might want another shot, baby,” he murmured, but I shook my head, tugging him along as Niall followed.