AllFreeNovel
Share Us
DeSante’s lip twitches. A smile, or annoyance? “Is that all?”
“No. I want to know more. About whatever the …Sinful is.” He flinches. I could tell when he said it before that it was a slip. “Who or what is the Sinful?” I hope I haven’t pushed too hard.
“Sign the contract. Then I’ll tell you.” He slides it across to me.
Shit. I wanted time to read it.
The point is moot when I look it over. It’s absurdly simple.
It’s my name, and a statement. The strange symbol from his card adorns the top of the page.
I, Hellena Michaels, do so swear and commit to the terms laid out between myself and the Herald of the organization, to be fulfilled in full to the absolution of debt and heretofore the vow inherent to citizenship in Sanctum of Safe Harbor, the pledge of silence and safekeeping.
Consecrated on this day, the 1st of May.
My brain is spinning.
“What does this mean?” I mutter, looking up at DeSante, sensing the shift in the room. It’s notably colder, or I’m just chilled. His demeanor has shifted, too. He’s practically glaring at me, more intense than before.
“It means you make a choice. Right this instant. Sign. Or walk out that door.”
A sinking sensation swells in my gut. This is… insane.
And knowing what I already do, will he really let me leave?
Memories race through my head as I grapple with making a sudden choice. Pieces of a puzzle that I’ve seen hints of since I moved here. It was too easy to write them off as coincidences, and I was too worried about making it, surviving and making a life, trying to forget about my past.
But Sanctum Harbor is more than a little strange.
First in the way it stays so insular. Families stay for generations. New people rarely move here.
Then it’s the way people act. I just thought it was a West Coast thing, maybe? The stares. Knowing glances, more than just small city gossip, like they know who you are.
Despite that, everyone stays in their own lane to a degree.
Like businesses, the police, even crime.
Something like what I think DeSante is hinting at would make a lot of sense, even if it sounds ridiculous.
It’s all balanced.
Like a game.
And just like that, something else clicks about the way DeSante has rigged this whole meeting.
He’s making moves. He wants me to play. Oh, I can play on a whole other level.
I need to stop letting him get a rise out of me. If this is a game, despite the fact that I'm at a huge disadvantage and that I will always be on the losing end of this relationship, I need to do everything I can to take away his game pieces. To control the board.
Maybe that way, I can get a leg up, figure out what's going on in this town and see how I can use this to my advantage. I just have to bide my time and be patient.
Just like that, my mission, my goal settles back on my shoulders like armor.
Nothing has changed except the stakes.
A small smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth as he sees me clearly still myself again. He squints for a second like he misread me, then hands me a pen. Instead of an ink tip, it only has a needle.
It’s ridiculous. It’s melodramatic.
