Page 66 of A Wild Darkness

Her eyes glance at the empty plates on the counter. “And I see Sebastian fed you? Good.”

Sebastian shoots her a side-eye. “Of course I did.”

Mae turns to me, ignoring her nephew’s flippant comment. “How is the mortuary? Business is good?”

“It’s going well,” I say. “Two of my amazing employees are actually managing their first funeral service this evening.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, it’s a big night for them. But since my phone hasn’t been going off, I assume it’s going well.” I’m not too surprised, they’re both qualified and understand how the operations at Nevermore are run.

“That’s great,” Aunt Mae replies.

I nod, smiling at her. “Yeah. They’ll do fine.”

“How are you feeling about it?” Sebastian adds, his expression softens. “Nevermore is your baby.”

“I’m okay.” I shrug—a warm flush creeps up my neck.

The three of us are silent for a moment.

“Well,” Mae starts, and I’m sure she can sense the tension between Sebastian and me. “I have work to do, so I’ll see you both soon.”

“Nice to see you,” I say.

“Bye, Aunt Mae,” Sebastian says as she strolls away.

Again, there’s a heavy silence between us.

“I’ll have everything packed and ready to go by tomorrow afternoon,” I tell him.

I want to believe that Sebastian is giving me all the details, but a part of me believes he’s keeping some of them private. Maybe to protect me, or that he doesn’t fully trust me yet.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SEBASTIAN

Ilean against the large bay window in the formal living space and look toward the west end of the property where the old graveyard is located. I get excited imagining how happy Stevie would be to do her grave rubbing out there. Maybe I’ll show her sometime.

I didn’t see Stevie again after dinner last night—I figured I’d give her some space before we’ll have to spend the weekend together sharing the same room.

This morning, Christian and I talked through a few scenarios about how we could kill off one member without causing too much alarm. The ideas we had ranged from pulling one into a closet, shooting them with the silencer on and making it look like a suicide, to poisoning, and then pushing one off a cliff. If there are any cliffs…

With how secretive the Black Veil Society is, I doubt there will be cameras at the location. A level of anonymity is essential enough for them to forgo their own safety—and I guess if they’re surrounded by like-minded individuals, then there would be a lower security threat once at the chateau itself. But there are a couple of things I’m expecting, and for those, I grabbed a couple of TI’s gadgets for protection.

Even though Christian and I talked through the major things to consider, there remains much unknown which I’m starting to realize is common with the Society. I’ve decided to attempt to plan as much as my personality will allow, since Stevie has been pressing me for my details. So I’ve instructed Hayden and the night crew to travel down to Dupara County a day early to stake out the town and be prepared for when I receive the location from Silas. Which I’m expecting sometime today. Having backup from my team adds another layer of confidence to the uncertainty of this project.

“Ready.” A sweet voice from behind pulls me from my mental spiral.

I turn around to see Stevie rolling her suitcase toward me as she makes her way down the long hallway from the East Wing.

“Me too.” I smile. The scent of her shampoo fills my nostrils the closer she gets.

“Where’s your stuff?” she asks, glancing at the space beside me.

I bend to grab the handle on her suitcase. “I already loaded it onto the plane.”

“Oh?” Her lips pout. “You weren’t waiting long for me, were you? I hope I’m not late.”