Page 21 of Brutal Kingdom

Getting into it already, huh? “Nah. I was just fucking with her, making her think that dry ass blowjob she was giving was working.”

He nods. “Makes sense. That’s why you could flip it off so quickly.”

It wasn’t as easy as he thinks. Yes, I turned it off and having the other girls come out after she left was enough for me to tune out, but when I got back to my room, I was drawn tighter than an archer’s bow. I’m still a little wired, as if the pressure I released wasn’t enough and I might boil over at any moment.

Changing the subject, I ask, “Anyone have any idea what this new business is that Bella wants to discuss?”

We just had a meeting the morning before Hell Night. Nothing new could’ve come up so soon. Unless… no. There’s no way she’s trying to make an announcement about us. Our parents haven’t signed off on the preliminary agreement yet. Saying anything before that happens would make her look like a fool when it blows up in her face. We all know the rules. We wait until there’s an iron-clad agreement in place. I roll my shoulders, and crack my neck, relieving tension, then prop my back against the pillar at the corner of our table. I still have time.

She’s late. Probably just to prove that she can keep us waiting for as long as she wants. I’ve done the same thing. It’s a display of power to show who’s really in control. Now that I’m on the other side of it, I think being disrespectful of people’s time is bullshit.

Bella breezes through the doors with a flurry of activity, talking loudly as she ends her call. She wants to be noticed. “Good. You’re all here.” She says when she reaches the table. “I won’t keep you long, I know you have classes.”

Classes? I had plans to sleep in, but she sent a group text last night to meet her here at seven-thirty, which means I had to get up earlier than usual and drive from the studio to make it on time.

Her voice is annoying this early in the morning. In my head I’m duct taping her mouth shut, and thinking about what I’m sculpting next.

“We need to discuss the dorm assignments.” My ears perk up. Dorm assignments? Now she has my attention. The residence halls are never an issue of concern unless we’re transitioning someone we like up from a shitty one. As far as I’m concerned, everyone can stay where they are. This must be about that guy she’s still trying to pull in. Tabitha didn’t have any more information to share about him. The bodyguard she recognized stopped working for De Luca six years ago.

We’re both making discreet inquiries. Neither of us wants her to end up on the FBI’s radar for interacting with known mobsters or their associates. The Bianchis went legit decades ago and spent a lot of time and money to distance themselves from that way of life. Asking questions or owing a favor to anyone in the organization is a surefire way to pull them back in.

“Somebody at this table didn’t get the room or roommate they want?” Frankie asks.

If that’s the case, it’s an easy fix and doesn’t require a group meeting to make it happen. A knock and go order is good enough. We play musical rooms all the time.

“We need to move someone.”

“Who?” Olivia asks, staring in my direction. As if my name will ever be uttered. I’m thankful once again, dad understood my reason for wanting a suite to myself on the top floor.

“Our very own slut invader. Jordanna.”

I stiffen and everyone notices.

Olivia pulls on her hair, twirling it around her index finger, while shaking her head. “I must say, seeing her in the crucible was… unexpected.” She flicks her eyes at me, then looks away.

I refuse to take the bait. The women are hand-picked by the person in charge and we all know the only reason Jordanna was in that room with me is because Bella ordered someone to put her in there.

Looking at Bella, I say, “I guess I gave her a taste of something she likes. Good thing The Rift is the great mediator, or else we’d be in trouble for what you did.”

“I did?”

“Snatching her off the street and making her play.”

She feigns innocence about as effectively as a hoe feigning virginity. “What kind of fool do you take me for? I didn’t snatch her off the street, and I certainly didn’t make her do anything. Hal and Frankie bumped into her at The Rift. Thechoice to step into the crucible with you was all hers. Right, boys?”

The croissant Tabitha was holding, slips from her hands. Yeah, friend. I caught that too. There are no choices where Bella is concerned. Just several variations of the same fucked up options in progressively worse order. She did something to force Jordanna’s agreement. Now we all need to be on guard.

Working the conversation back to the reason for this meeting, I ask, “So, these dorm assignments. Did Jordanna’s performance on her knees earn her an upgrade?”

“Of course not. She’s already staying in Carter Hall. There’s only one step up from there and that’s Kennedy Hall.”

“Or the top floor.” Frankie cuts his eyes at me, reminding everyone that my living quarters are even better than Bella’s. This is the one area where money makes the rules.

Tabitha asks the next question. “Where are you thinking of putting her?”

“In Dundee Hall where she belongs.”

I lose my appetite and I’m seconds away from losing my shit. Dundee Hall, or as it’s more commonly known,The Dungeon,is the oldest dorm on campus, skating the boundary line between the woods and The Rift. It’s practically abandoned, except for a few freshmen, who waited until the last minute to pick their housing assignments, and some trust fund kids on the outs with their fathers. That’s their equivalent of a timeout. The entitled lose their dorm, dad takes their jag, and lowers the limits on their credit cards. After a few weeks, they repent, do whatever mommy or daddy wanted them to do in the first place, and it’s back to their extravagant lives. I wouldn’t even put a homeless person up in that shitty dorm, and have the nerve to call it an upgrade.

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