Page 2 of The Honor Society

His gaze darted wildly around the empty warehouse before suddenly lighting with inspiration. "I have a daughter."

Silence. Wow. He’s serious.

"You can have her."

I blinked once. Twice. He was even more of an asshole than I figured.

"She's not even mine."

Silence stretched between us. He had to know that was a bad sign and yet he still kept on talking like he was somehow convincing me not to end his worthless life.

"I heard she's still a virgin." His grin widened, blood staining every tooth. "How much do those go for these days? Hell, I'll even⁠—"

My fist connected before I realized I'd moved. Bone cracked on impact as pain shot up my arm. Worth it.

His head whipped sideways, and three teeth skidded across the concrete as he collapsed to the ground choking on his own blood.

I flexed my aching hand. My knuckles would swell making it difficult to pull my gloves off. How irritating. “For that.” I knelt beside him. “Your debt just doubled.”

He stared at me through one rapidly swelling eye. "W-why?"

I leaned close enough that only he could hear me. "Because now I have to save her."

His face finally registered something that had been missing all night.

Fear.

Real fear.

I rose, straightened my cuffs, and pulled a small leather ledger from inside my jacket.

With practiced strokes, I uncapped my fountain pen and wrote.

Account: William Schmidt

Balance: Outstanding.

Penalty: Immediate collection.

Dependent: Daughter.

Status: Protected.

The ink dried almost instantly. I closed the book with a quiet snap. Every debt gets paid.

The Honor Society had forgotten that. They thought they owned The Ledger.

They forgot.

I was the one keeping the books.

1

Nineteen Days Until The Convocation

AXEL

“He’s awake!” Someone yells above the annoying beeps.