Isle of Sin: A Standalone Dark Romance

I stared at Julian. “You say your organization is about honesty.”

“It is,” he replied, narrowing his gaze.

“Then tell me, why did Nathan Spencer videotape my playtime with Adalyn Rose?” I demanded. “Because it certainly felt like blackmail to me when I found evidence of it on his drive. Along with those hundreds of other videos he had of previous encounters.” I glanced at Mitchell. “Including several of your dates with Adalyn.” I looked at Quinton next. “Yours, too.” Geoff was the final one I looked at, driving home my point that I knew all three of them had fucked Adalyn. “And yours.”

Julian’s eyebrows shot upward. “What?”

“Oh, you mean that’s not normal? Because I was livid when I found it. Why do you think I’ve been so fucking offended, Julian?”

We could have heard a pin drop after that statement.

“So yeah, when I found the video of me strangling Adalyn earlier that day while I fucked her, I decided it was in my best interest to claim that I’d murdered him. Because I definitely would have, had he shown me that shit.”

From the screen, it appeared Geoff, Mitchell, and Quinton felt similarly.

Which meant none of them knew about the recordings.

So maybe they’d just been for personal enjoyment. But I doubted it.

Especially given the ghostlike expression on Taylor’s face now.

He knew about those videos, something he’d already more or less admitted with his statement about keeping his eyes on Adalyn.

The organization would need more proof, of course. And they might be able to find it on the laptop. Especially if it turned out that Taylor had originally created the data repository. I didn’t know enough about technology to be certain of that possibility, but someone would.

And even if Taylor ended up not being involved—which I strongly doubted—Nathan was still guilty of videotaping sessions without consent, thus justifying his murder.

“So rather than punish Adalyn, I took the fall and kept her as a consolation prize.” I shrugged. “I happen to enjoy a little fight in the bedroom, and she obviously has fire in her.”

I reached down to pet her like one would a dog, the gesture purposeful for the room, but also my way of checking on her.

Because fuck, this was intense.

And if Taylor could prove I was lying… Adalyn and I would be royally fucked here.

“I… I didn’t realize you had a session with her,” he said slowly.

“I would show you proof of it, but I deleted the fucking video the moment I saw it,” I lied. “It was only on his phone and not in the data repository. But I haven’t touched anything else. I only removed the footage of his time on this isle, as it’s my property and therefore my responsibility to protect it.”

“What did you plan to do with the others?” Julian asked, still studying me.

“I believe you’ll have that answer if you call your security team,” I told him. “Bryant should have handed everything over to them by now. That was the plan, anyway.” That part wasn’t a lie—we had intended to give the computer and phone to Julian because we didn’t want them on the island.

And the phone had been completely wiped clean of all the footage from the villa, just like I’d already admitted.

However, we’d done that to protect Clive and Adalyn more than my isle.

Regardless of the reason, it was done.

And while it might be duplicitous on my account, I didn’t give a fuck.

I valued honesty. But there was nothing honest about any of this.

Julian pulled out his phone, his gaze holding mine as he put it to his ear. “Tobias. Has Bryant given you anything?” He paused while he listened, nodding along as the other man spoke. “I see. I’m going to put you on speakerphone. I need you to repeat that.” He set his phone down on the table. “Go ahead.”

Tobias cleared his throat. “He gave me Nathan Spencer’s effects, including his laptop and phone. There are some videos that I think you need to see. But, uh, we’re still reviewing. There’s a lot on here.”

“Videos of other Sin Cave members fucking Adalyn Rose?” Julian asked.

“Among other things,” Tobias replied. “Nathan has quite the repository.”

“I see.” Julian looked at Taylor. “Were you aware of this, Taylor?”

“No,” he replied, his voice hoarse. “No, I wasn’t aware.”

“And you, Charles? Did you know?” Julian demanded, looking at the screen.

Silence followed.

I glanced at their screen to see if they were trying to speak, but they both appeared too shocked to comment.

“Oh, right, you’re muted,” Julian murmured. “Apologies.” He didn’t sound contrite in the slightest, obviously having done this on purpose. “There, you can speak now. Did you know Nathan Spencer had all those videos on his hard drive?”

“No,” Charles said through his teeth. “I didn’t.”

“Larry?” Julian prompted.

He simply shook his head, seeming to be too tongue-tied to speak.

“I see.” Julian fell silent for a beat. “Tobias, can you verify who has access to that data repository, or put one of our techs on it?”

“Yeah, Fox is on it already,” Tobias replied.

“Good. Keep me updated.”

“Always.”

The call ended, and Julian looked at me and then at Taylor. “Well, this is an interesting development. You should have told me about the videos and Adalyn’s involvement in the murder,” he informed me flatly.

I nodded, agreeing to an extent.

“I had intended to discuss the videos in private during your stay, as I wasn’t sure what to do with them.” Not a lie, and something Tobias had proved for me with that call. “And while I may not have killed Nathan, I took responsibility for it. Because, as I said, I would have done it anyway. I value consent on this island, something he very clearly violated. His death is justified.”

“That’s a point I won’t argue,” Julian said. “I also admire you for not trying to use those videos for blackmail against our organization. I imagine releasing those to the media could have been detrimental to our reputations.”

“Indeed,” I agreed. “Which is why I deleted my own.” I continued brushing my fingers through Adalyn’s hair. She hadn’t moved an inch, making me wonder if she’d fallen into a trance or had disappeared into a safe space within her mind.

“I do wonder why Nathan chose to videotape those sessions,” Julian pressed. “You’re certain you have no idea, Taylor?”

The male in question had lost all signs of confidence, his face as white as a sheet. “N-no, I don’t.”

“Larry? Charles? Do either of you know?” Julian asked.

Both men shook their heads.

“Well, hopefully Fox will find out more for us.” Julian grabbed his phone and put it back in his pocket, then sighed as he relaxed into his chair.

No one else spoke, all waiting for the clear leader in the room to take this conversation forward.

“Well, I believe the matter of Asher Sinner’s membership is still in question. While I feel he should have shared this information with me sooner”—he cast me a pointed look—“he did prove integrity through intention. He’s also new to our ways, so I personally volunteer to help assist him with his induction into our society. Assuming everyone approves, I mean.”

“I don’t approve,” Taylor muttered. “He covered up Nate’s murder and lied to all of us.”

“The same could be said about you,” Trenton replied. “You had proof of his murder and chose not to disclose it until the middle of our call.”

“He’s right,” Quinton echoed. “You should have shared that information.”

“Yes,” Larry agreed, his tone holding a note of censure in it. “You absolutely should have shared that detail.”

Taylor clenched his jaw. “So I’m the bad guy now? Not the outsider who covered up Adalyn’s handiwork?”

“I think you’re just disappointed that you can’t punish your toy, Taylor,” Carver said from the screen. “But it seems Asher has that part under control already. And more, he wants to keep her for himself.”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “I do.”

“Then I say we let you tame the girl and marry her, if that’s your desire.” His lips curled, some of his easygoing nature seeming to appear again. “Perhaps it’s even a bit of a punishment, as it’s clear you’ll have a lot of work ahead of you.”

Julian grinned in response to that. “Enjoyable work?”

“Of course,” Carver replied. “Something I believe you know a thing or two about.”

“Why do you think I’m offering to mentor him?” Julian asked.

Carver chuckled. “Don’t worry, old friend. I caught that, too.”

Julian’s grin only widened in response, then he glanced at the other screens. “What about the rest of you? Are there any objections?”

He waited for a ten-second count.

I half expected Taylor or his father to explode, but they both remained silent.

Charles did as well.

“Mr. Rose?” Julian prompted. “Does the aspect of Asher covering up your daughter’s involvement in Nathan Spencer’s murder change your opinion regarding her nuptials?”

“No, if anything, I’m grateful to Asher for taking her on. She clearly needs a firmer hand than what Taylor and Nathan were giving her,” Albert replied.

It took conscious effort on my part not to react to that statement.

But it was very clear that my future father-in-law and I would not be friends.

Which would make working together interesting.

However, I’d do whatever I had to do to keep Adalyn. And I wasn’t opposed to expanding Sinners Isle either. So it wasn’t a terrible situation. Just an uncomfortable partnership.

“Excellent. Anyone else?” Julian asked again.

“You’ll be handling the removal of those videos personally, yes?” Geoff asked, his voice gruff.

“Of course,” Julian promised. “They’ll never leave this island. Assuming they’re not being shared, I mean. But we’ll get to the bottom of it, Geoff. You have my word.”

The other man nodded. “Then I’m good with this. I trust you to mentor the boy, Julian.”

Boy, I thought, nearly rolling my eyes.

“It’ll be a mutually beneficial partnership,” Julian confirmed.

More nods around the table followed, causing Julian to grin.

“Beautiful, then we’re all in agreement. Which brings us to our final matter: Nathan’s death. I personally feel Asher reacted in a way many of us would have, had our own integrity and character been tested by such deceit. Therefore, I move to accept his decision in regard to Nathan Spencer.”

Fuck, Julian was proving to be every bit as deadly as his nickname, just not in a violent sort of way.

No.

This man killed people with his knowledge and words.

Somehow, that made him even more lethal.

Because the man had just orchestrated my membership acceptance into Sin Cave. simply to use that as a way to put me on equal footing with the other members. Which thereby afforded me clemency for killing Nathan Spencer. Because now the argument that I wasn’t a member became null and void.

Brilliant, I thought. This man is brilliant.

“Any objections?” Julian asked.

Charles disappeared from the camera, obviously removing himself from the conversation.

I almost felt bad.

But his son was a fucking monster.

If Adalyn hadn’t killed him, I sure as fuck would have.

She seemed to be holding her breath on the ground beside me.

Soon, I told myself, my fingers itching to touch her, to reassure her, to ensure she was okay.

Marriage.

We’re going to be married.

Fuck. What does she think about that? Will she be okay with it?

This certainly wasn’t the way I had envisioned myself becoming engaged to a woman.

“Hearing no dissent, I feel this matter is now closed. Are there any other items we need to discuss?” Julian’s tone indicated false interest while his eyes cautioned everyone to stay silent.

He was clearly done with this meeting.

And given how well he’d played every card today, I couldn’t blame him for wanting to wrap it up.

“I’ll be in touch, Asher,” Carver said. “About a visit.”

“I look forward to it,” I told him.

“I’ll be reaching out as well,” Trenton informed me.

I nodded. “I’ll look for your message.”

Julian grinned. “And so it begins,” he said. “Welcome to Sin Cave, Asher.”