I glanced over at the stageand observed our initiation panel. We only had four on the panel-three men and one woman-all thirty years of age or nearing it. That was one of the initiation rituals. Every member of the organization was only committed until the age of thirty. After that, you were free to do whatever you pleased with your life. The tradition was born out of the idea that the ‘retiring’ members should be the ones to initiate the newest members. However, don’t mistake me. Just because you were no longer beholden to the organization as far as the ‘dues’ were concerned, that didn’t mean you were entirely free from what they did and have done for you. Unless you got to where you were going all on your own, you’d always owe someone something.
The way the organization worked was as simple asa spider’s web. After graduation, the organization would do whatever it could to help you get to where you needed to be in order to further benefit the organization. Then, depending on your chosen career, you may be asked to ‘vote’ a certain way or ‘donate’ monies to a certain group or association. Since my career choice was finance, I might be called upon to open a Swiss bank account for someone one day. However, my plans were to come out on top of all this and becomeno one’spuppet.
There were also the ‘dues’ paid to the organization.
The favor of all favors.
Fromthe day of graduation until our thirtieth birthday, we had one favor we could ask of any member of our initiating class, and the person chosen was obligated to grant it, no matter what. If he refused, his entire existence would be shattered in an unrecoverable scandal that would include his friends and family. No one would be safe from his betrayal to the organization.
The plusside was that you only had to grant one favor, and you only had to grant it once. So, if Saxton Voss called me for the favor, and I granted it, I was done. None of the other guys could call on me to cash in on my obligatory favor. However, there was no limit to the size of the favor. If Saxton needed me to help him counterfeit money, I’d have to do it, and that was the downside to this all. Luckily, every recruited member already came from wealth and prestige, so the favors were mostly of the greasing hands variety. Some of it might be criminal, but it wasn’t anything that our families couldn’t buy us out of.
The only thing these assholes held sacred was marriage. If you married your supporter, she was off-limits to all favors and implications of such. As much as these men screwed around on their regular wives, if your wife was also your supporter, she was off-limits to everything.
That was the only reason I was bringing Rylee in.
“So, I guess you picked a girl after all,” August said, coming to stand next to me.
I turned towards him. “Does it matter?” I knew it did. I couldn’t be sure, but with Laney being his supporter, it was possible he already knew that I’d chosen Rylee. If Rylee had told Laney anything about my texts, she could have told August.
August threwhis hands up, presuming innocence, and chuckled. “Nah, man. Just…making conversation.”
I glanced at my watch. “Well, they should be here any moment,” I replied, then looked over at him. “You’ll get to see her then.”
He smirked. “I suppose I will.” I didn’tsay anything further as he wandered towards the stage. The head of our panel was Alexander George, and having done my homework, I knew August’s father and Alexander have worked together in the past.
“I don’ttrust that guy.” I turned my head, and Fox Harrington was coming up behind me.
I stuck my hands in my pockets. At six-foot-two, Fox was about an inch shorter than me, but not any less imposing. “Really?”
Hishazel eyes were focused on the stage as he replied, “Just…vibes.”
My eyes glanced backtowards the stage before settling back on Fox. “Same.”
Fox finally looked atme as he stuck his hand out. “Good seeing you here, Stone,” he said.
I shook his hand. “You, too.”
We releasedhands. “Did you know who was going to be here?”
“Yep,” I answered. “Did you?”
Fox smirked. “Yep.”
Before I could say anything more, Saxton Voss and Ross Carmichael walked up to join us. We all knew each other, and have even spoken a few times, but this was different. We’d no longer be acquaintances after tonight. We’d be bonded for damn near life.
Ross jerked his head towards the stage. “That’sthe only guy here who I can’t vouch for,” he said, surprising me. I wasn’t one to show my cards easily, so it threw me off to hear Ross just throw his shit out there like that. While Fox and I were being reserved in our distrust of August, Ross wasn’t.
“He talks too much,” Saxton added, and that’s when I knew.
“He try to get you totell your business?” I asked.
Saxton nodded. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “Talking all out in the open and shit.”
“Same here,” I told him.
“Do any of you know anything about his supporter?” Fox asked the group.
Saxton and Ross shook their heads as I replied, “She’s roommates with mine.”