Hers To Keep (Servite Academy #2)

Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

SCARLETT

“ S hots, shots, shots!”

Shot after shot, drink after drink. Two-hundred-dollar bottle of champagne after two-hundred-bottle of champagne. One to drink, one to spray. The opulence of being able to shower in a bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne is on another level.

Jade and Ruby are dancing on the table in front of us, Jax and Drake off sulking in the corner smoking a joint. Stella and some other girl I don’t recognize, are practically grinding against Kai as they drunkenly dance. Kai’s fucking high, his red hooded eyes giving him away, although Stella has had more than her fair share of drinks tonight, I can still see the unease in her eyes. Her crush seems to intensify daily while his demeanor has shifted from harmless flirt to serial man whore.

Bass would surely burst a blood vessel if he saw the way Kai’s hands roamed Stella’s body, her ass rubbing against his groin, but his eyes remain glued to Jade’s tantalizing dance to the beat of Britney Spears Toxic for what feels like hours. He’s sitting back against the couch, his arms at his sides, his legs spread wide open, a drunken, lustful haze covering his eyes as he watches her intently. Alek and Beck sit on his right and left sides both watching her as well. Like hungry animals on the prowl.

Ace wraps his arms around my stomach, his feverish hands lying flat against the exposed flesh. The temperature here instantly rises to what I imagine the temperature in hell runs at, so my jacket has come off, our bodies now glistening with sweat.

“It’s almost time, baby,” he whispers against my temple, our bodies slowly moving to the beat of the music vibrating through us. My body sways with his, my mind losing itself in the feel of his warmth on me. How can someone who’s caused me so much pain, also be the only one who can soothe the ache inside me? It’s some sadistic shit to feel so much pleasure and pain simultaneously. My head falls back against his chest, as I close my eyes inhaling the irresistible scent of him. Musk, sweat, and something entirely him. It’s intoxicating. His fingers trace circles around my navel, slowly moving lower, and lower down my waist, past my hips, reaching under my skirt and gripping my ass. “You want to come here for me, with everyone watching as you come apart on my fingers. Does that turn you on, baby?” he growls harshly in my ear as his hand moves to squeeze my inner thigh roughly.

“No,” I grumble, my eyes rolling back at the sensation. Fucking liar.

“Good, because I want to be the only one who ever gets to see that look of ecstasy.”

I open my eyes, chuckling lightly at the audacity of this man, and how instead of irritating me and making me cringe at the idea of him being so arrogantly sure of himself, I’m dripping wet.

Of course our moment is cut short when out of the corner of my eye I see the condescending queens strutting toward us. Carrington’s eyes quickly find mine in the crowd, a look of shock clear in her gaze, as she watches Ace and I dance sensually, his hands roaming my body eagerly.

Instead of approaching us, she stops beside Jax and Drake, twirling her hair as she stands before them, her back curved forward purposefully sticking her ass out in her short dress. She knows the only thing that irks me more than her closeness to Ace, is when she comes around any of my guys. Yes, my guys, and I say that selfishly. Jax’s eyes stay focused on Carrington, while Drake’s looks everywhere but directly at her. Kinsley and Drea stand off to the side, chatting with some other kids from school, and Wynter walks directly over to Ace and me.

“Happy Birthday, dear brother,” she says as she stands before us. Her frosty blue eyes glare at me for a second, the hatred in them colder than ice. I guess this isn’t solely Ace’s party since Wynter and he are twins, making this birthday party every bit hers as well. And the outfit she wears surely screams she’s the woman of the night. A short, white, strapless, bandage dress, fitting every single one of her curves perfectly. Her perky breasts, real—unlike Carrington’s, sitting on her chest like perfectly round balloons draped in a ridiculously expensive looking diamond necklace, shaped like teardrops around her neck.

“Wyn, you look not a day over eighteen,” Ace jokes, releasing his hold on me and embracing his sister in a hug.

“Can’t say the same for you brother, you look like shit.” Her stare moves from him to me, once again her eyebrows crease, a deep scowl taking over her flawless face. Ace may look like a fucking God, but his sister is the epitome of ethereal beauty. Her hair is so blond it’s practically white, her eyes an icy, clear blue, and her features thin, defined, and perfectly symmetrical. Her round, doll-like eyes take up most of her perfectly sculpted face with an impeccably shaped nose that would make a plastic surgeon jealous, and lips Angelina Jolie could never contest.

“Thanks, sis, nice to know what you really think of me,” Ace answers back at her .

“Maybe it’s just the company you keep.” There it is--the insult she meant for me. I don’t know what it is about Wynter Servite, but she rubs me the wrong way, and it’s nice to see the feeling’s mutual.

Maybe it’s the spoiled rich bitch in her, maybe it’s the condescending queen in her, and just maybe it’s how she feebly hides behind the Carrington persona, when in reality it’s she who is in charge. People cower down to Carrington because they want to be her, but they cower down to Wynter because she’s a Servite. She holds the actual power here, and they respect her, something Carrington will never understand.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s because in her, I see the angry little girl I used to be.

Ace and I finally sneak away from the party, Carrington following closely behind us, much to my dismay, as we descend the staircase leading to the bottom floor of the club—the only floor Ace wasn’t able to secure for tonight. He was told there was an ongoing event being held there they couldn’t cancel, and we immediately knew this is where she’d be. They are the only ones who’d be able to request such and get away with it. The only person with more power here than Ace, is his uncle and his colleagues.

When we reach the bottom of the staircase, we find a small hallway with a security guard shielding a metal door. Ace moves to hook his arm in mine, then turns to Carrington and does the same. I’m about to berate him for putting his hand on her when he shuts me up with a soft kiss.

He whispers against my lips, as he kisses me answering my unspoken thoughts. “Trust me and follow along.” He turns to Carrington, and she nods in agreement, as we move to approach the guard who stands with his arms crossed glaring directly at us, waiting for us to speak.

“This is a restricted area,” he says in a deep, intimidating voice. “There is a private event happening, you need to walk away and go back the way you entered.” Ace doesn’t move, staring back at the guard with an equally menacing stare.

“I’m Wallace Servite, and they’re with me,” he says, giving no further explanation than his name.

The man stands his guard, making no move to let us through. “I have strict orders to…” he says but Ace is quick to interrupt him.

“To deny entry to a Servite?” he asks, in a commanding tone I’ve never heard. I turn to glance at him and see a stance of authority as he speaks to a man at least twenty years older than him. “Need I speak to your boss and let him know you’ve denied his blood entry?”

The guard’s attitude changes instantly, as he apologizes, moving out of our way. “No sir, my apologies, please enter. But they need to wear this,” he adds, holding out two purple wristbands.

Ace’s body stiffens beside me. “They won’t be taking part, they’re off the cards tonight. Which means they’re off limits.”

He smirks at Ace, nodding in agreement. “As you wish.”

Upon entering, we’re hit with an enormous cloud of smoke that nearly suffocates me. The smoke hovers around the room, hindering our view. All I can make out are shadows of people sitting on couches and tables spread out across the sizable area, much bigger than I first expected. Ace guides us toward the right side of the room where the smoke has slightly cleared, giving us room to breathe. I don’t know what I was expecting when I first walked in, but this is definitely not it.

Men of all ages, shapes, and sizes, dressed in expensive suits sit around the room with cigars in their hands, draped in practically naked women wearing nothing but red thongs and stiletto heels. The girls are wearing black lace blindfolds as they sit beside the men caressing them in all areas, while they drink, talk, and play card games at the tables. Like an underground casino with topless escorts.

“What is this place?” I ask, taking in the scene before me now that the smoke has slightly cleared.

Before either of them can answer me, I see her.

There she is just like Carrington said she would be, leaning against a stage at the far end of the room speaking to a man I don’t recognize. She’s dressed in a long red silk nightgown, her hair pinned back, a black lace veil embroidered with red roses draped atop her head.

I turn to look at Carrington who’s still standing beside us, her arm wrapped in Ace’s looking too smug for my liking. Ace notices and moves away from her, letting go as he moves to stand in front of me blocking my view of my mother. Carrington glares at us, clearly upset by his dismissal. He looks worriedly at me as I stand in shock at everything happening around us.

One of the topless girls walks over to where we stand, offering us a drink, but Ace quickly turns her away as I turn back to face my mother, who’s yet to see me.

“Please tell me these girls…”

“They’re of legal age,” he says, answering my unspoken question. “They’re not the same girls from The Gallows. Once they graduate from there, meaning they turn eighteen, they’re brought here, or to one of the other clubs around town, where they can take part in more illicit activities. These are The Calypsos.” I turn to him confused by his response. “Hidden, underground sex clubs spread out in the neighboring affluent towns. Located in the basements of hotels, office buildings, city halls, casinos, the possibilities are endless. Where the girls of The Gallows can choose to move once they’re old enough, and work for higher wages and engage in more intricate activities.” My mouth drops, my eyes widening at his response.

“The girls of The Gallows, they’re never forced to do anything with any of the clients. It’s more of a come see, don’t touch. The perverted men go to see the young girls dance, strip down to their lingerie, but may make no form of physical contact with them.”

“But Macallan,” I say, remembering the way he put his hands and lips on me without my consent after he drugged me.

“He crossed a line, he’s gone now, but I will make sure he pays for that. He should have never touched you the way he did. It isn’t supposed to be allowed.”

“What are you two whispering about?” asks Carrington, grabbing a drink from the tray of another girl as she passes by.

“Don’t drink that,” I scowl, taking the drink out of her hand and setting it on the table beside us. She scoffs, rolling her eyes, and crosses her arms at her chest, pushing up the cleavage of her lace bodysuit. “You know about all of this?” I ask her, looking around and finding the men standing around eyeing us sickly.

It’s absolutely disgusting, the depravity that lurks within one of the richest towns in the United States. The way the rich find it necessary to entertain themselves is deplorable.

“My brother works at The Gallows, but I’ve found out some other things, not because they’ve told me, but because I’m observant. Daddy isn’t as slick as he thinks he is,” she says proudly.

“You’re going to get your ass in a lot of trouble, Carrie. You don’t have the slightest idea of what those around you are capable of.”

“Oh please, Ace, I’m not as stupid as I may look. Besides, my father will always make sure his little girl is untouched.” Both Ace and I laugh at her naivety.

“Oh, Carrie, darling, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ace says, wrapping his arm around my waist. “You forget who your father works for, you forget who he has sworn his loyalty to.”

I move to stand in front of Carrington, placing my hands upon her shoulders. “You aren’t safe, Carrington, not even God himself could protect you from the devils who lurk in these parts of the world.” I turn away from her before she can respond and head toward the woman I’m here to see. My mother.

As a little girl I loved her blindly. She’d read me bedtime stories, she worked day and night, and I assumed it was to provide the best life she could for us. She was my mother, the only person I had. The only being who should instinctively love me. But that is definitely not what she felt.

Then over the years, as I grew and became more aware of her disdain toward me, I battled daily with my internal feelings and emotions. Should I save a woman who thinks nothing of me? Should I continue to blindly love someone who wants nothing to do with me?

I did. Over and over again, day in and day out, I made excuses for her. I justified her actions, her ire with the fact that she’d been dealt a hard life. Alone in this world with no one to guide her down the right path, she had no other option. I continued to foolishly believe that deep down, under all the pain and anguish, under all the alcohol, drugs, and anger, she cared for me too.

Now I know she feels nothing. I would go as far as saying she doesn’t even hate me, or resent me, or is at all jealous, because that would require her to feel any kind of emotion, and I’ve concluded that my mother is empty inside. Nothing but a rotted husk, beautiful on the outside, but inside crawling with maggots and vermin, a putrid scent emanating from her empty corpse as she goes about the earth.

I can see it in her eyes as she blankly stares at me. She knows what I think of her, how I feel about her, and she doesn’t have a care in the world.

Lilith Steele is the only person Lilith Steele cares about.

My blood is boiling inside me as I approach her, my hands sweating, my body trembling with anger, and my eyes burning from the smoky haze that envelops the room. The man beside her turns to face me as I arrive where they stand, but my eyes never once leave my mother. She smirks wickedly at me knowing exactly why I’m here .

Grabbing a cigar out of the hand of the man beside her, she brings it to her lips and blows out a cloud of smoke before she speaks. “My darling daughter, so nice of you to join mummy here tonight,” she coos, all the while the man beside her looks back and forth between the two of us, clearly looking for the resemblance. I look up to him, my gaze leaving my mother for a moment and take in his somewhat familiar face.

His hair is a dark blond almost brown, his eyes a bright, unique shade of blue, and his suit suggests elegance without being overly pretentious. He reeks of privilege, but unlike the other men I’ve met so far, he has a softness in his eyes. Well, besides the fact that he’s at some illicit sex club speaking to my mother, but to be fair, I guess so am I.

He stares at me impassively like he’s seen a ghost of sorts. Maybe he’s just wondering why someone so young is in a place like this. Hmm, not only kind, but seems to have a conscience as well.

“Ahh, yes,” Lilith says, and we both turn our attention back to her. “This is…”

“Maxwell Smoak,” Ace says, interrupting her, as he comes to stand behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist. Great, another Smoak.

I cringe at the memory of finding out my mother and Chaz were responsible for the death of Silas Smoak, Alek and Drea’s grandfather. I close my eyes and can still see the look of betrayal in Mayor Malcolm Smoak’s eyes when my mother confessed and put all the blame on Chaz, once again causing another’s death.

“The mayor’s brother?” I ask, turning my attention to Maxwell. He suddenly looks standoffish, his gaze flickering between my mother and me. He must be aware he’s standing next to his father’s killer. Well, I guess she’s now exonerated of her crimes.

“Younger brother,” Lilith says, taking Maxwell’s arm in hers. He nervously steps away from her, seemingly uncomfortable with the situation before him .

“Yes, Malcolm is my older brother.” He stares at me, making me slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation. Who would have thought that today at my boyfriend’s eighteenth birthday party, I’d be in a sex club, speaking with my mother and her murder victim’s son?

“So you’re Alek and Drea’s uncle?” I ask, trying to lighten up the awkward mood.

“Yes, although…”

“Maxwell’s been out of town for years now,” Ace answers brashly, tightening his grip on me. Weird .

“Yes, I’ve been away from home for many years now. Hillcrest Hills is not a place I’m very fond of,” he says rather anxiously.

“So what brings you back?” I ask, “Well other than the obvious,” I add looking around the room.

“We had some catching up to do.”

“Familial affairs.”

Lilith says, at the same time Maxwell answers.

“Well, whatever the reason may be, welcome home, Mr. Smoak. If it wouldn’t be too much to ask, I’d like a moment alone with Lil, I mean my mother.” I turn to Ace, silently asking him to step in.

“Maxwell, why don’t we go get you a refill, single malt Johnny Walker, just like your brother?” he asks, as Maxwell reluctantly looks between us but moves to leave with Ace, leaving my mother and I alone.

I turn and watch them walk off not noticing my mother is trying to do the same.

“Not so fast, mummy dearest. We need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you, little girl,” she sneers, eying me harshly as her eyes roam over me. “Well, it looks like you’re not a little girl anymore, are you? Is your little toy treating you right?” she asks snidely.

“Like you’d care,” I sneer, my blood boiling within me at her blatant indifference.

“Or are you upset because you just found out that you’re just his plaything? ”

I’m livid now, my hands fisted at my side. She brings the worst out of me, the part of me I suppress deep down. “You know nothing about Ace and me!” I shout, causing a few glances to come our way.

She moves toward me draping her arm around my shoulder, guiding me further into the room to a more private area. “Oh my darling daughter, you’re a fool,” she whispers against my ear as I shrug out of her hold. “After what you saw him do, what you know he’s capable of, where he comes from, you’re still by his side. I guess we might have something in common after all.”

“I am nothing like you.”

“Oh but you are, more than you’d like and definitely more than you’d ever care to admit. You’ll soon come to realize that these men in this world, they see us as nothing more than a pastime. You’ll never get your happily ever after with him,” she looks behind me to where Carrington stands beside Ace talking to Maxwell Smoak. “Unlike girls like her, who are bred for men like him.” Her words cut deep like a knife scraping at the corners of my heart. I’m not sure if it’s because of the hatred I see in her eyes as she looks at me, or the realization that what she says may be true. Everything between Ace and I has thus far been a struggle. The obstacles we’ve had to cross, the challenges we face, the evil we need to overcome. It almost feels impossible to have a happy ending after all that’s happened.

“Why are you here?” I ask, choosing to not further contemplate the idea of losing Ace. “What is this place to you, your connection to Wesley Servite?”

“Things are not as simple as you hope.”

“Why are you answering my every question with one of your own? Evading me won’t be any easier. I won’t stop until I have answers. Do you know how it feels to know absolutely nothing of your life, about who you are? That everything I thought I was, I’m not. That the life I thought I was punished with, is nothing like the hell I am now living? ”

“I understand more than you’d ever believe. I may not have been honest about where I come from, about what I’ve done, but it doesn’t mean that you’d understand what I’ve lived through. You think yourself all high and mighty now that you have him at your side, you think yourself a saint because you’ve not seen the horrors of what real life is like. But you’re no angel, my darling daughter, you’re a na?ve fool who thinks because she’s been dealt some tough shit, you’re the poster child for pain and sorrow. You have no idea what I’ve lived through, what I’ve had to endure because of you. Now you’re here demanding more from me. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, dear, but I have nothing else to give to you. Not now, not ever.”

Tears burn at my eyes as I watch this woman, my mother, look at me with a hateful look. “Then answer me just this one question. If you ever for a second cared for me, if you’ve ever felt for me anything other than hatred and utter disdain, answer me this one thing. Why is he after me?”

“I don’t have the answers you’re looking for, but you’ll find out soon enough. You’re getting dangerously close to uncovering the truth. If I were a decent mother, if I cared, I’d warn you off. This is perilous territory you’re approaching, my dear. But I’m not and I don’t; but I will tell you this.” She moves closer to me, taking my hands in hers. Her eyes turn solemn for a moment as she gazes intently at me, looking deep into my eyes. “Don’t trust him. Whatever it is he tells you, you’re better off believing it’s all a lie.” She walks away, toward a hidden door in the back of the room, disappearing from sight.

Her words heed a genuine warning, the most honest thing I think she’s ever said to me. But as I turn back around and find Ace staring back at me, a look of confusion upon his face as he stands beside Maxwell Smoak and Carrington, I’m not sure who she’s warning me away from.

Should I not trust Wesley Servite, or Ace?