Black Butterfly

Chapter 18

As soon as the words were out of his mouth I felt it. Silence draped over the house like the world had stopped moving, like the wind had stopped blowing. 

"And Nick? Ivy?" My voice was quiet.

"Nick is the original, The Cards. And Ivy is Heat Stroke, the second one to follow." 

I sat there for a minute. Processing what Mason just told me. "If you guys are the biggest mob, then, why have I been in two gun fights in the past couple of days?" 

"There is one gang who still refuses to take their place. The Ark. The leaders before us. They were the only ones to pose an actual threat to us, but we shut them down. When we killed the head, my father thought it was over, until his son took over." 

"Caden." I said.

"Yes. He retaliated," He paused and swallowed, "He retaliated by killing my mother." 

I sucked in a breath. "Mason I'm so sorry." I put my hand over his and held it there. 

"That day I came to school drunk? That was the day my mother died." He whispered, silver lining his eyes. 

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't imagine the pain he felt. I opened my mouth to say something but Mason spoke first, pulling his hand out of mine. 

"The reason you've been sought after recently is because in our family, we value our women above all else. The men might run the trades or lead battles, but the women teach us. Where the men have to be cruel and cold, women are soft and kind." 

"Mason, what-" 

"Calsy, you're in danger because I put you in danger." 

"What do you mean?"

"I made my reputation what it is. To throw off any enemies, but when we started hanging out..." He trailed off.

"The Denny's guy?" 

"Someone who works for Caden." 

"Why did you come in bleeding?" 

"Before we were scheduled to meet, I was sent out to deal with some," He struggled for the word, "Deserters if you will. They'd been selling out information to Caden." 

"That doesn't explain why you almost had a stab wound in your stomach." 

"One of them had a knife."

"That's a piss poor explanation."

He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. 

"Did you go alone?" I ask.

"No. I had my Circle of Six."

I raised a brow. 

"Another one of our grand traditions is having a Circle of Six. It's a squad comprised of six of the best fighters in the mob, or your closest friends depending, sometimes its both. All leaders have them." 

That's who Nick was with. "Wait- You're a leader?" 

"My father hasn't relinquished full power yet. I get total control when- Well it's not important." 

"So, this is you life?"

"Told you. My life is complicated. The family business isn't exactly family-friendly." 

I smiled. "Was does this mean for us?"

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean when we go back to school tomorrow. Do we talk to each other? Do we ignore each other? What happens?" 

"The Ark already knows my connection to you. We proved it today when Nick saved you from them. We continue on as normal, but one of my Six and Nick's Six will be watching you. Making sure nothing happens. And if it does, well, you can see how skilled they are." Mason replied.

"Wait. If your part of the mob left first, why are you the Ace?" 

"Caught onto that did you? Our part of the family created the Cards, we're the founding members, we just split into smaller sections. My great-something was the Ace, so every male in our family is the Ace." 

"Nick isn't." I pointed out.

"Nick is the son of the brother to my ancestor. He's my cousin, which makes him the King. The same goes for Ivy."

I nodded. "If one of your guys shows up dead, how do you identify him, and how to the police not connect you to them?"

"When our men are first initiated, their hair is shaved and we tattoo the base of their heads with a small, black butterfly. As for any other identification it's up to facial recognition. We keep a record, but only to a point." 

"Can I see yours?" I asked. 

Heat crept up his neck and I realized that what I just asked might have been personal. 

"I'm sorry, that was a stupid question." I stammered.

"No, it's okay." He waved me over and I stood behind him, suddenly aware of what I was about to do. He reached a hand back and took one of mine, guiding it to the base of his skull. Mason pressed my hand down and I lifted a small patch of hair to reveal a small black butterfly. I ran a thumb over it and I heard Mason take a breath. I blushed and moved my thumb. That's when I noticed the tattoo behind his ear. 

"What's the one behind your ear?"

"It's an A. For Ace." 

Indeed it was. It was small, probably very hard to do. "Do Nick and Ivy have these?"

"I've never looked for them, I don't know. It's tradition but it would suck like hell if I was the only one who had to follow tradition." 

I chuckled. "What was the test about?" 

A frown instantly settled on Mason's face. "My father, being the cruel man he is, decided to see if you were worth helping."

"Am I?" 

He turned to look at me, brown eyes sparkling, "I think you are." 

I looked away as a blush crept up my cheeks. 

"Mason, what was that about a new record?"

"You're not the first to be locked in that room. We mostly do it as an initiation thing, we see how long you last, if you escape or if you follow instructions. We usually know what they are in the first ten minutes. You, on the other hand, decided the second you were dragged up those stairs. Ten minutes is the fastest anyone's ever gotten out, for those who choose to escape." 

"Anyone ever break down the door before?"

"You are the first. Everyone else picks the lock."

"Oh." 

"It just proves how far you're willing to go to get what you want. That's a good thing." Mason puts his hand over mine and I silently suck in a breath. "Calsy, I-" 

The moment is shattered when the door bursts open and Ivy walks in. 

"Mason I really hope that you've kissed her already." Her voice is nothing like I thought it would be. Smooth like silk and midnight rich.  

"You ruin everything cousin." Mason shoots back calmly, taking his hand from mine. 

"It's what I do best." She flips her red hair back and says, "He wants you down stairs." Ivy looks at me, "Both of you." 

After climbing over the door again, and walking down the stairs we make it to the official dining room. Mason's father is at the head of the table, Olivia on his right, and Nick next to her. Mason leads me to my seat, right next to his on his fathers left. 

"So, Ms. Bringer. What do you think?"

"I'm sorry sir, I don't understand the question." 

"Of us. Of our lifestyle."

"I think it's none of my business to judge."

He smiles at that. "Good. Because we have a plan." 

I blink, "I'm sorry?"

"You, Calsy Bringer, are going to help us bring down The Ark once and for all."