“Burns, doesn’t it?” I say, coming to stand in front of the glass door, placing my hands in the pockets of my jeans.
“What the fuck?” he barks, looking around aimlessly, eyes tightly shut. “Who … what the…?”
“I replaced the water with acid,” I inform him.
His screams grow louder and he begins to wipe his eyes, once again blinking rapidly as he tries to open them.
He’s gasping, grabbing his neck, his skin already starting to bubble. He’s panicking instead of thinking clearly. He stumbles backward and trips over the heating element in the middle, falling on top of it.
The high-pitched scream that follows makes me smile. He manages to roll over off the side of it and I see the burn marks already on his skin.
“A third-degree chemical burn is no joke,” I add. “You fucked up, Lance.”
“No, no. No,” he rushes out, eyes tightly closed and getting to his feet. He can’t see shit so he walks around aimlessly, running into the walls. His skin bubbling to the point it’s starting to fall off. “I didn’t mean to…”
“What’s done is done. By my oath, you are a brother. But you betrayed us. Therefore, you must be terminated.”
“Noooooo.”
I wrap a zip tie around the wooden door handles to ensure he can’t get out if he manages to find them. I watch through the glass as he very slowly turns to nothing but bones as his skin falls off his body along with his hair.
Another initiation completed.
It’s time to go see my little demon. It’s become a reward. After I finish an initiation, I go and get her off. It’s the best part of becoming a Lord.
CHAPTER FOUR
INITIATION
SIN
ONE OF THEM
SENIOR YEAR AT BARRINGTON UNIVERSITY
I’M ON MY knees, hands cuffed behind my back. I’m kneeling beside fourteen other brothers. There were twenty-five of us during my freshman year, but not all of us made it. A fellow Lord by the name of Ryat kneels to my right. My friend Jayce to my left.
Lincoln stands in front of us, hands behind his back, chest bowed and a smile on his face.
This is it. What we’ve trained for. What we were bred for. A Lord is a machine. He does not fail at any task, no matter how big or small.
I can feel the power that surrounds the room. Men dressed in suits that cost more than most make in a year. It’s like electricity. It excites me more.
My breathing picks up when I hear the singe of Ryat’s skin to my right as he gets his brand. I’m next.
One by one, we will each take our oath and become a Lord tonight. We start our senior year at Barrington in five weeks, and we are all very aware that this is just the beginning. The past three years of initiation are nothing compared to what’s to come.
Lincoln comes to stand in front of me, and I look up at him through my lashes. “Easton Bradley Sinnett, you have completed all trials of initiation. Do you wish to proceed?” he asks me.
“Yes, sir.” Without a doubt in my mind. This is just another step toward getting who I want—a gorgeous blonde who has no idea who I really am. I can’t wait to show her.
“Remove his shirt,” he orders someone behind me.
The fabric is yanked behind my head, exposing my chest and stomach to the room. I take in a deep breath, knowing what’s to come. The next second, the chain wraps around my neck from behind. A boot presses into my back, pulling it tight to restrict my air but not suffocate me. It’s so we can’t fight them. No matter how much we are willing to go through to get to this point, a man’s fight or flight will kick in during situations like this.
“A Lord must be willing to go above and beyond for his title. He must show strength and have what it takes.” He dips the end of the hot iron into the fire at his feet, slowly turning it over. I try to fight the chain wrapped around my neck, my cuffed hands clenching and unclenching. “If you shall fail your position as a Lord, we will take what was earned.” He looks at the guy who stands next to him. “Silence him.”
The chain is pulled tighter, taking away what little breath I had left while the guy shoves a cloth into my mouth. I fight harder, but the guy with the chain shoves his boot into my back, holding me in place.