I was stronger, faster, and smarter. Hiding behind my science nerd exterior was a force to be reckoned with. One thing I used my parent’s money on in the years that followed that nightmare, was self-defense and combat training. I became a master of control and strength in every possible form of combat and self-defense art I could get my hands on. My body was a weapon all on its own. I had vowed to never be put into a situation again where those Red boys, or anyone for that matter, could ever hurt me like that again. I knew how to take down a grown man in a dozen different ways with my bare hands in just under four seconds.
Though it pained my parents, I had stayed away from this place, and subsequently, them as well. I never called and they didn't push for anything more. Their guilt ate at them like a festering wound, and despite that I had told them before I left that I didn’t blame them, they still tore themselves up about it. I told them I was going to make the Order pay for what they did to me.
My parent’s ‘accident’ only solidified that claim.
Closing out the deed transferal document, I double clicked on the untitled document below it and what popped up had my mood souring even more. More transferal of assets from my parents to me. This time, it was their bank accounts, including their secret offshore accounts. I was now the sole heir to the Locke family fortune, and Jesus Christ was it a fortune that rivaled that of a goddamned royal.
The next three documents I opened were about the same. Slips for other properties in and around Crimson Valley that now belonged to me, including a fifth of the local university. Each of the five ruling families owned a portion of all the educational institutions and major businesses here in Crimson Valley. It was what made them so powerful, untouchable. The Order built this town from the ground up.
I wonder if that could be a cover for me while I investigate more into my parents’ untimely demise? I thought to myself, especially seeing’s how it was fast coming up to the ten-year anniversary of that dreadful night.
I could get a job teaching physics at either the local high school or University, even though the school year had just begun, while I dug around in the Orders businesses, while also trying to come up with a sure-fire plan to take them down once and for all.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when the phone on my dad's office desk began to ring, loud and shrill, startling me so much I tried to bolt upright and end up banging my knee on the underside of the solid desk. It takes me so long to recover from the startling, that the phone stops ringing before I can reach over to answer it.
Glancing at the clock at the bottom right-hand side on the laptop in front of me, I raise my brows when the phone rings again, not even a solid fifteen seconds later. It was almost two in the morning now, a time that didn’t really bother me anymore because my body was conditioned to go long periods of time without sleep, food, or water. Reaching a hand over, I pick up the corded phone and bring it to my ear without speaking.
“Miss Locke, the Order would like to formally invite you to the fall annual mixer tomorrow evening at seven sharp. Attendance is mandatory as a sitting member on the Order’s council. We look forward to seeing you again after all these years. Order be blessed.”
A high, melodic voice belonging to a woman, surprisingly, rings over the phone line and before I even have a chance to react to the summons, the line goes dead and I am left in silence again as the dial tone rings out. Gritting my teeth, I slam the phone onto the receiver and snarl down at it like it was the faces of all the vile and evil people who had stood by and ordered their thirteen-year-old sons to kidnap, beat, and torture me.
The last thing I wanted to do on my first day back in this town was attend a social event where I would have to face all the Crimson Valley elites at once. I know for a fact those vapid Red boys would be there, catering to their mothers and fathers every whim and demand like they always have, never having a goddamned brain of their own to make their own choices.
Shutting the lid on the laptop, I decided to try and get a few hours of sleep before I would have to face the shit storm I knew I was coming.
A knock sounds on the open door to my papa’s office and I look up from the pile of paperwork from the will I was going through to see Sam standing at attention, back ramrod straight and hands clasped behind his back looking like a sentinel.
“What is it?” I ask, my voice gruff with emotions I didn’t want to be forced to feel right now. This pile of documents was further proof my parents had known something had been coming for them. It, too, had been updated right before their supposed ‘accident’ nearly a week ago now. I haven’t even gotten around to organizing their damn funerals and I know that would be the next thing on my list of fucked up shit to do after I make it through this damn Order function.
“A few things, Miss Locke.” He began, eyeing me warily and I gestured for him to come further into the office. He does, stopping a good three feet from the front of my father’s desk. “I guess I should get right to the point, Miss, what are you planning on doing with Locke Manor?” This makes me pause. Originally I had planned to sell the place and get the hell out of here, but I knew I couldn’t do that. Not because this home held any sentimental value, but because the Order would never let me leave again. I needed to fill my seat on the council and take on the responsibilities passed down to me after my parents were taken from this world.
“Your jobs are secure, Sam. No need to fret. I wouldn’t be able to leave this place anyway, even if I wanted to.” And he knew I didn’t just mean Locke Manor. I meant the whole of Crimson Valley. I was here to stay until I could take down that miserable fucking organization and any and everyone who followed them.
“Very well, Miss Locke. Another thing, the stylists you ordered for tonight's event are here along with a guest who says he’s been trying to reach you all day.” I glance at the large grandfather clock, one of my papa’s most prized possessions handed down to him from generation to generation, and curse when I realize what time it is. It’s nearly five in the evening and I needed all the time I could get to look the part of the reigning Locke Order leader for tonight.
“What other guest, Sam?” I asked hesitantly and the old butler just shrugged.
“He claimed he was your boyfriend. Said his name was Finley and you would know.” What the fuck was he doing here? Rising to my feet I stride around the desk and head past the old man who scurries to follow me as I made my way down the hall and into the marble foyer where two stylists, one male and one female, were waiting and my on again off again lover Finley James was waiting.
“Ah! There she is! You haven’t been answering any of my calls and texts, Honey. I got worried and thought I would surprise you.” Finn beamed at me and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I’ve been a bit busy, Finley. I told you I would be away for a while before I left. Just because we have some amazing sex every once in a while doesn’t give you the right to show up here in my home uninvited.” I eye him with an icy cold expression and he just laughs nervously at me. I’ve known Finely since my freshman year of college from a statistics class we took together and we kind of had this on and off fling going on ever since. He was the guy I called upon when I had an itch I needed it scratched.
He knows better than to push me.
“I’m sorry, Honey I just thought me being here would help you feel better. I can’t imagine what you are going through right now and I want to help in any way I can.” He just tries to sweet talk me but he should also know that would never work on me.
“Excuse us, Miss Locke, but we only have a short time to get you ready for tonight and the look you wanted is going to take every available second we have until you need to leave.” My eyes flick over to the stylists then and the female steps forward with a kind smile on her face.
“What are you doing tonight that involves the need for professional makeup and wardrobe stylists?” Finley blurted in before I could respond to the woman and I rounded my eyes on him again. An idea suddenly crosses my mind as I appraise
him with a shrewd gaze and he fidgets nervously from foot to foot.
“Would you happen to have any suits you could fit my date in here and ready him as well?” I turn back to them and they exchange looks with each other in silent communication before nodding slowly.
“We could manage.” The female replied and I nod.
“Sam, up the amount on their pay by ten thousand. Finley follow the male. He will get you situated for tonight. I must get ready. I will explain everything later before we leave for the event.” Finley spluttered something but I didn't hear it before I turned on my heel and strode down the opposite hall of the grand staircase to where the bedroom I had set up in was, the female stylist following swiftly behind me.
Exactly one hour and twenty minutes later, I found myself planted in front of Finley who was looking surprisingly delicious in his sharp black suit with a charcoal grey undershirt with shiny black Oxfords and a black tie. He gapes at me in my shimmering soft grey satin floor length cocktail dress that was a halter top style but had a slit all the way from the collared fabric around my throat down to my belly button. It showed off my impressive ink, Numquam Obliviscar, meaning ‘never forget’ in Latin was mostly visible.
I wore silver six-inch heeled Galativi Louboutin’s that made my legs look even more long and shapely than they already were. Paired with glittering diamond stud earrings, a diamond bracelet of my mommas, and my makeup was a hint of smoky but with silver accents throughout with light heather grey painted lips.
It surprisingly made my freckles more pronounced on my cheeks and brought out the exquisite auburn color in my hair which was swept back in a mass of curls and pinned so none of it would fall in my face. Slipping on a light silver shawl that draped over my shoulders, I eyed Finley critically.
“Listen Finley, I don’t have a lot of time to debrief you on this so just do what you’re told tonight and I’ll reward you later with a blowy.” Finley blushes at my bluntness and Sam makes a choked noise at the crude words spilling out of my mouth from his position at the front door which he had wide open to reveal a black limo waiting outside for us. “I am now a sitting council member on the Order of Red here in Crimson Valley and certain things are expected of me, including attending functions put on by the Order like this one tonight.” I pause making sure he is following what I am saying. He gives me a brief and hesitant nod.
“Your being here has presented me with an opportunity I cannot pass up. The four other remaining heirs for the seats on the council will undoubtedly be there and I need you as a shield against them. Please don’t ask me to explain why, just know they are unbelievably bad men who once hurt me very badly and deserve immediate death in my eyes, but unfortunately they are virtually untouchable. Understand, Finley?”
I wait until he nods before gesturing for him to walk out of the Manor and to the limo. He obliges me, acting ever the gentleman, and he goes to open the back door for me. I slip inside and he follows me a moment later before we are moving.
It was six-thirty on the dot and it was about a fifteen-minute drive to the town hall where the party will be held in the grand ballroom. Finley stays silent for all of three minutes as I gaze out at the passing scenery through the outwardly tinted windows and I groan inwardly at his first question.
“So, you are some rich heiress now?” He seems like he is teasing, but there is a note of tenseness, especially in his expression.
“I’ve always been an heiress. I just did my best to run from that life as much as I could. I have no choice to step into the role now. With my parent’s death, I am the only Locke left to take the position.”
“Can’t they vote for another family to take your place and put a member on the council? What happened to a town having one Mayor?” Turning my eyes on him, I study him with a detached expression.
“There is a Mayor, but the five families in the Order of Red are the true leaders of this town. The Mayor is only there for outward appearances to the state. The Order doesn’t like state officials sniffing around Crimson Valley business.” I explain and this causes him to frown.
“What business? Are you all like crime lords or something?” He asks as if it would be a funny joke and I raise an auburn brow at him, my expression lax and completely unimpressed. He had absolutely no idea, and I wasn’t about to explain it to him.
“Or something.” I answer vaguely and now it is his turn for both his brows to shoot up and he appraises me again with interest, as if he can see right through me to all my secrets as well as this town's secrets deep inside. “Tell me, Finley, are you really here willing to help me in any way you can?” I ask and he is nodding before I even finish my sentence.
“Of course. Anything you need Honey; I want to help. I have a lot of vacation saved and I can stick around for a few weeks if you need.” I didn’t care for how eager he sounded, but I was seriously considering recruiting him in helping me investigate my parent’s death as well as try and find a solid plan to take down the Order of Red. I’ll have to think about it more tonight before I agree with myself to let him in to help. Letting him in would mean I would have to divulge details of my past to him in order for him to fully understand my motivation for trying to destroy this town and everyone in it.
“Do well for me this evening and we will discuss it. Play the part of my doting boyfriend to the public eye of Crimson Valley. I need the Red boys to believe I am unattainable to any of them.” I say, though I was only ever interested in one of them, and he nods after a pause, looking like he wants me to elaborate the end of my statement, but knows better than to push me. If I allowed him to help me with this, he would find out soon enough anyway why I despised those boys so much.
Ten minutes later, the limo pulls in front of the main entrance to the town hall and I take a few calming breaths to mentally prepare myself to suffer through this. I had no idea what to expect tonight, and that’s why I was kind of glad Finley was here with me to help soften the blows that I know are going to come at me tonight. There is only so much self-control I was taught during my self-defense training. I didn’t need this night ending in blood shed like I feared it would.
Before I knew it, one of the doormen that usually manned the main entrance of the town hall on event nights was opening the limo door for us to exit. I motion for Finley to go first, protocol he had no idea about, and I take his hand when he straightens and reaches in for me.
I slip out of the car in regal elegance, trying to outwardly radiate confidence and cool indifference that I really didn’t feel deep down. My heart was pounding a mile a minute in my chest as Finley let me slip my hand into the crook of his arm and we began to climb the stairs up to the open front doors of the town hall.
A few top-ranking families I hardly recognize anymore are milling about in the grand foyer when we enter and as I expected, it only took a millisecond for anyone to notice, and apparently, recognize me. I had those distinct Locke genes after all, I looked a clone to my beautiful mother with a fair mixture of my father.
People openly gape at me as I sweep by with Finley, and it takes everything in me not to snarl at anyone close enough to me to shut their goddamned mouths, and that looking like something akin to a trout was, under no circumstance, flattering. I was a lady tonight. Everything about me needed to be well behaved, meaning I was going to have to keep my temper in check around these people. I didn’t need to give them any ammunition to use against me.
“People are disgraceful pigs.” Finley murmurs to me as we follow the crowds further into the town hall to the back of the building where I know the ballroom is located. I don’t bother to respond to him. Too many prying ears along with the eyes. We don’t even make it to the open doors of the ballroom before a woman in her early fifties with her husband in tow is stepping in my path, eyes laser focused on me and she looks like she swallowed a lemon drop. Coming to an abrupt halt in front of them, I recognize them a second later as she looks down her nose at me with familiar eyes I would never be able to forget.
“Honey Locke.” She says, a slight sneer to her voice and her face twists into a slight scowl before her features smooth out and she gives me such an overly fake saccharine smile, internally my eyes rolled out of my actual head. Disgusting. The Order never wanted anyone to know when trouble was brewing in their midst.
“Mrs. King.” I bare my teeth at her in a toothy smile that resembled that of a lioness on the hunt and she briefly flicked her gaze to Finley before she turns her crystal blue eyes back on me.
“This wasn’t a plus one event, Miss Locke. And to bring a commoner no less. The audacity!” She said the word like she was an actual fucking queen and it took everything in me not to snarl at her and rip out her throat with my bare hands, pretty dress and impeccably manicured fingernails be damned.
“Finley meet Rebecca King. I assume you and your husband still hold the seats on the council? Silas hasn’t lived up to your expectations yet?” I subtly remind her in the best way I can that I am in fact the one holding the Locke seat now and she has no right to challenge me about a petty and archaic rule about not being able to bring guests to private Order events. Her mouth barely flickers in a sneer before it is gone and she is narrowing her dark eyes at me. The biggest tell of Rebecca King, is always her eyes. A true kaleidoscopic range of a glacier. The darkness lingering there, a true sign of the rage beneath. Eyes that look so hauntingly close to a boy I had once loved as a young girl once upon a time. Back before I realized he was just as heartless as the owner of the womb he grew in.
“Silas will be taking his seat on the council at our retirement party at the first of the year. He is very eager to begin and has many big changes planned for the Order.” She grins down at me like she is privy to secrets that would damage me and I just give her the most apathetic look I can muster, not letting what her words, and even her presence is doing to me, show on my face.
Whiskey & Honey: Crimes of Crimson Valley: Book One Page 2
