Page 32 of Fixation of the Mind

I shrugged. “A way for the rich kids to network?”

Rolling his eyes, he walked toward me. “That is one minor reason, but the main reason was to cultivate the management sector. Not all of the people who come here are of the six major families. We have future chiefs of police, CIA agents, politicians, presidents, and others with the general potential to have power. Power we plan to use. We give exclusive education and networking opportunities to the major players in the world, and they eat that shit up.”

He leaned down, his eyes flashing something sinister. “Those idiots all think they’re getting a leg up in this world, but really, shackles are being placed around their necks. They are nothing to the families but tools to be used and discarded at our leisure.”

My lips parted, my eyes caught in his dark web of a gaze, and my tongue swiped along my lower lip. I knew that what he’d said was wrong, but my insides clenched when his voice got deeper. His aura felt different, more wild, and it called to me.

Fiddling with the book in front of me, I turned to a page I’d had a question about. “In here, it says that the families are forbidden from killing each other. Is that for real? Because I got the feeling from the council heads that they had no problem getting rid of anyone.”

He pulled back, casually nodding like he hadn’t invaded my space a second prior. “It is true. We are not allowed to kill any of the members of any family, but there's always a loophole for every rule. It's more like, you can kill anyone you want as long as there is no evidence to tie you to it. Since all the families have extensive training and security, it's quite hard to kill each other. Also, running our territories keeps us all busy.”

His jaw clenched for a second, and I knew that he was keeping something in. I had already told them I was done with the secrets and lies, so I asked him. “What else? What did you want to say?”

Pausing for a second, he turned his head toward me. “It's much easier to kill within your own house than someone from another family.”

I gasped, realizing what he was saying. “Did your uncle…”

With his lips peeling back, making his smile look more like a snarl, he said, “We don’t have proof, but I’m working on it.”

There was some level of hell waiting for that man, and the small vicious side of me that had just started to awaken hoped he didn't go there too soon. I wanted him to pay for his crimes—killing their parents, hurting the boys, and being an overall garbage person.

I envisioned punching him in the dick as I said, “So the rules help out men like him, huh?”

Rion went back to his normal stoic self. “The rules help all of us. Men like him have no morals, no guiding star or true north, so they find a way around everything they can just because they think it's funny.” Glaring at the page in front of me, I knew his was right, but it still felt unfair.

“Layrin…” His sudden use of my name had me looking up at him. His ever-changing hazel eyes bored into mine. “If there's anything that you retain while with me, I want it to be this: no one is on your side just to be on it. Everyone wants something. Even the most pure-intentioned individual wants something. If you want to make it in this world, it's up to you to figure out what that is and if you're willing to pay the price.”

His eyes softened just for a second before he followed with, “The ones who are good at the game know everything is negotiable. It’s all about finding the right chip to tip the scales in your favor.”

Chapter 12

“Here is where you got this wrong.”

Closing my eyes for the barest of seconds, I soaked in his scent as Rion leaned forward from behind me. I was in fucking trouble.

It had been like this for the past week. We would come down here, and he would teach me something. I’d learned about the history and daily workings of Foedus, as well as the political climates they controlled around the world. Next week, we were going to work on some programs and systems.

Even with all that to occupy me, my mind kept drifting. Roux had awakened something inside of me. and I was finding it hard not to think about the boys. The tension between Rion and I was thick and heavy, making it distracting.

The looks across the room, the small touches along my spine, every movement of his body as he sat at his desk. It was getting worse with each day. The clean bergamot and lavender scent with just a pinch of citrus enveloped the space, capturing my full attention. I licked my lips and caught myself leaning toward him to get a stronger whiff.

I could hear Cin in the back of my head. Fuck him. Fuck his brains out and get him out of your system.

Shaking my head, I tried to ignore those thoughts, tried to remind myself why I was supposed to take it slow, keeping them at arm's length until I could work out my feeling, but my resolve was waning. I kept stealing glances at his ass every time I could. Something about those slacks he wore just made it look tight and tempting. Like I wanted to take a bite.

Today, I learned more about each of the families and studied pictures of them, including the children. They would all be at the gala, and that made me nervous. I was going to be hanging out with these people soon. These were the people that were going to be a part of my life for a very long time.

When I saw the Ricci family photos, I smiled. I already knew Cinzia, Elio, and Luca, but it was interesting to see their older siblings, Milo and Raz. Apparently, Raz had just graduated, while Milo had the year before. Rion grumbled about how the Ricci family had the most children out of the six major families and all of them were obnoxious.

I kept it to myself that I kind of liked the Riccis. They weren't as bad as the guys made them out to be. Sure, they had drugged me and kidnapped me, but… It was hard to be mad about all that when Cin had consistently helped me along the way. Also, I felt like they did a lot of things they didn't want to do because of their mother. Now, her, I had mixed feelings about.

“So, I’ll meet all of these people at the gala, right?” Looking over sheet after sheet of pictures and information, it all felt overwhelming.

“Yes, though it's more important that you know about the heads of each family. You can learn more about the rest of the families later if it's too hard.” His dismissive tone got on my nerves, and the pages crinkled in my hands as I gripped them tightly.

“I can get it.” My jaw was already sore from the strain, but I forced the words out through clenched teeth.

Like he was oblivious to my feelings, or maybe he just didn't care, he continued writing on the board. “Good. We need to move on.”

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