Page 151 of Wicked Lord

My father turned to the crowd. “This woman will be able to clear my son’s name.” He whispered something to her and then slowly pulled the bag off her head.

I nearly dropped to my knees. I had to blink multiple times to ensure I wasn’t hallucinating the familiar brunette with blue eyes.

“Susanna!” Micah ripped off his mask and shoved his way to the front, his face frozen in shock. “I-I thought you were dead.”

Her brow furrowed. “Micah? What are you doing here?”

Blood thundered in my ears as I tried to make sense of everything. Susanna Michaels wasn’t dead? I hadn’t caused a second death that night?

“Mr. Preston, please step back,” the Grand Domnus commanded. “Keep quiet while we deal with this matter.”

Micah clamped his mouth shut but didn’t return to his spot in the back. He’d only joined the Serpents & Daggers to uncover what had happened to his friend.

But… she was alive and well.

Susanna wrung her hands and shifted her feet as she nervously studied all the masked and cloaked men within the archaic catacombs. It couldn’t have been a pleasant sight, especially to an outsider.

“It’s okay, dear.” My father gently patted her arm. “You’re safe. I promise.” His kind eyes and easy smile must have soothed some of her panic because her muscles relaxed.

Susanna sucked in a deep breath before speaking. “I filmed the video that was handed over to the police, implicating Axel Vanderhart in the murder of Peter Dupont.”

Micah’s head snapped in my direction, and as he quickly connected the dots, his jaw clenched. Fire ignited in his gaze. She might have been alive, but I was the reason his friend had vanished. And I’d lied right to his face on multiple occasions.

Jasper lifted his mask and spoke quietly to my father. “I assumed Ms. Michaels had been dealt with back then.”

“She was paid off for her silence and forced to vanish.” My father gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I thought removing her from her life instead of ending it was a better solution at the time. We, of course, kept tabs on her to ensure her compliance.”

I removed my mask and wiped a dribble of sweat from my forehead. My father had let Susanna live to spare me the guilt of taking another innocent life. There was no doubt in my mind.

Knowing that would have prevented a lot of heartache, though.

“In exchange for signing an affidavit admitting the video was faked, I get my life back,” Susanna said. “I’ll claim I wanted to punish the frat brother in charge of Peter that night so I fabricated the whole thing with AI.” Her gaze shifted toward me, narrowing.

But we knew the images on that video were real. Ididpush Peter off the cliff. And she would never forget it.

After several moments of internal debate, the Grand Domnus nodded.

“Very well. This seems like a beneficial deal for both parties.” He turned his attention to Susanna, his amber eyes darkening. “We will be watching you, Ms. Michaels, more closely than you might deem appropriate.”

Some of the color drained from her face. “Understood.”

Vaughn shifted in the chair as he tried to break out of Bass’s hold.

“Since the charges will be dropped, I don’t see why death is still a fitting punishment.” A bead of sweat ran down Vaughn’s temple and dropped onto the collar of his shirt.

Jasper pulled the ram skull back on his face. “You knew the consequences of disloyalty when you swore an oath to us, Mr. Radcliffe.”

“This is bullshit!” Vaughn bolted from the chair, but Bass was on him in seconds, throwing him to the ground.

Killian’s stepbrother shoved his knee into Vaughn’s chest to hold him down. “Our blood is from one cup. Our bones are from one beast. Our soul is from the same shadow. Brothers above all. We enter this world together.”

Vaughn barely had time to suck in a startled breath. The blade kissed his throat.

“And we shall only leave,” he said, voice low and merciless, “with a dagger pressed against our throat…” Steel flashed. He yanked the knife across Vaughn’s neck as he finished the oath. “And the serpent’s poison in our veins.”

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Vaughn’s eyes went wide, his body going eerily still as if even he couldn’t believe someone had dared to touch him. Then the wound opened, a dark, brutal smile carved across his throat, and crimson poured over the front of his robe.