Page 3 of Brutal Kingdom

I pull out my phone to tell him I’ll call him later, and break out in a cold sweat.

“I’m sorry, son, this was the only way,” Dad says, clasping my shoulder as he walks away.

Emergency Alert: Your dad just submitted the first draft of a Prenup between you and Isabelle Lance

ONE

LOGAN

I’ve never worked as hard as I did this summer, interning for my dad, because he thought I needed more structure and supervision. In my off time, I kept my nose buried in the reports my PI provided. Bella’s takeover was so subtle and smooth, I never saw it coming, and I blame my distraction on Jordanna.

The investigator has nothing new to report. Jordanna went to work, spent time with friends, and right now, she’s on the island with Kassidy. Everything I’ve read so far leads to more questions. The one I try to ignore is the one flashing most often in my head. Was any of it real?

She blew me off on the ferry, refusing to explain herself. My life is in fucking shambles and my dad’s trying to marry me off toBella.The hurt mixes with rage and that makes me volatile. I’m doing a deeper dive into Jordanna’s background, to find the leverage I need to destroy her, the way she destroyed me.

Closing my laptop, I move to unpack another box. Senior year means a new dorm. I’ve snagged a room on the top floor. Another change from previous years is this residence hall is co-ed. Guys and girls on every other floor, except for the top two floors. They’re first come, first serve, apartment suites and you don’t get to choose your neighbors. No one’s moving into the one next to me, though. The fee is high as shit, and parents think the extra ten grand is a waste of money when there’s perfectly acceptable living quarters downstairs and a cafeteria where they can eat.

My dad is one of those people. He agreed, after I explained to him that I need tighter security measures if I’m going to go after Bella, on the condition that I prepare myself for what happens if I can’t regain control of things.

I still can’t believe he doesn’t have enough faith in me to think I can win against her. He’s giving me a chance, but he won’t undo the marriage contract he drafted with Johnathan Lance. I have until the end of this semester to knock Bella down, or he’ll be taking steps that lead to the inevitable announcement of our engagement.

I’d rather stick my dick in a charged light socket than to pretend to be in a relationship with her. I’m good at masking my emotions, but it’ll take a miracle for me to feign any type of attraction or attachment to Bella. My dad is stacking the deck against me, but I know I’ve got this. I just need to make Bella think I’m not a threat long enough to figure out the stress points in her new little army.

Hal, Frankie and Tabitha are still hanging in there. She has to keep them around or she’d lose credibility as a leader with the other families. She also added more followers, letting them sit in on meetings. But they’re just bodies warming seats. That’s how she won the vote. She convinced the divided factions at school that they mattered. Afterwards, she did what she always does; failed to follow through on her promise to let them help her lead.

That’s the first issue I’ll be trying to exploit. Their anger and mistrust of Bella, after finding out she lied to them. I didn’t give them more than a courtesy acknowledgement of their positions within their groups, when I was in charge either, but then again, I never told them I would.

I place my picture of my mom and the kiddos on the end table. Looking at it is a reminder of why I’m here, about to endure whatever Bella throws at me. All of our futures depend on it.

There’s a knock on my door just as I’m finishing up. An envelope slides under the door while I’m debating if I should answer. Picking it up, I remove the card. Bella’s summoning me to a planning session. I told her I’d support her like a good soldier, but was busy all summer. Now that I’m back on campus, it’ll be harder to avoid her. I’d hoped to have a few days to myself, but Bella’s itching to show everyone I’m under her thumb.

Swiping my keys off the table, I shove them and my wallet into my pocket, preparing to do what I was born to do. Rub elbows with people I couldn’t give a shit about and pretend they’re saying the most intelligent and interesting thing in the world. I’ll have to repeat this performance, over and over again, until I’m back on top.

* * *

Bella’s changed the place where she’s holding court, as if the coffee shop isn’t good enough anymore. I put in a lot of work to make that place the spot to be on campus and she’s discarded it like it meant nothing. She’s planning to obliterate all traces of me and my leadership model. She’s sitting at the head of the table in the middle of the cafeteria. A prime location for everyone to see she’s in charge. I watch her berate a freshman, sending her running for the exit, mascara running down her face. It’s also a prime location for an audience to watch her humiliating people.

Tabitha spots me and waves me over. She shifts to her right, showing me she saved me a seat. I sort of wish she hadn’t. Settling into the chair, I exchange stilted greetings with Frankie and Hal. They look like they’ve been burning the candle at both ends and school hasn’t even started yet. I guess there’s no rest when you’re Bella’s henchmen. I change my mind about being mad that my father kept me busy. Seeing the people at this table, and the looks of defeat on their faces, I’m glad I wasn’t around to do her bidding.

“What’s up?” I ask, accepting the drink Tabby passes me.

Bella smiles, and preens, before answering. “No, hello? How’s it going?”

“You said it was important. I figured you didn’t gather us all together for small talk.”

“You’re right, I didn’t.” She clears her throat and starts her speech. “The school year ended on a bit of a rough note. Between the power change and the way Logan’s side piece tried to blind-side us, we didn’t really have a chance to wrap things up. We were in a relaxed environment this summer, but I think a show of force is needed.”

Hal asks, “What did you have in mind?”

She looks over at me and I know she’s about to come at me with some bullshit. “Logan, you know how hard it is for people to accept a leadership change. Especially when the outgoing administration fights it. I need your support.”

“We covered this last year. You have it.”

“Saying it behind the scenes and showing it in public are two different things.” She drops her gaze and sighs. “I hate to be the one to say this but, I’m going to need to make an example of you.”

“For what?”

“You what?”

---