Page 27 of Brutal Kingdom

“I don’t know, Charity. Did I agree to leave baby sis alone, or didyouforget what we talked about?”

My body vibrates with anger, my teeth clenched hard enough to shave enamel off my molars. Easy Jordanna. Don’t overplay your hand. “I remember. Do you remember what happens if you come after me or my family?” This is my offhanded way to find out what she knows about my deleted files.

“You’re poking your head into this situation has nothing to do with you or your family. So why are you interfering?”

“It’s called basic human decency, Bella. Everyone else might enjoy sitting around watching you berate people, but I don’t. Wendy didn’t deserve to be treated that way, and she certainly didn’t deserve to take the fall for the dishes you broke.”

“She dropped them.”

“You shoved them at her because your steak was garnished.” I retort, letting her know I heard the entire exchange.

Flipping my eyes in disgust over the rest of the table, I wonder how they can tolerate such bitchy behavior. Is it fear, or the contact high they get from the power trip? I got a taste of how empowering it can be to be in control when Logan let me. Does that feeling translate over to all power dynamics? Is that feeling why Bella and Logan do whatever they want to gain and maintain control of it?

On my way back to my dorm, I think about the situation I’ve found myself in. Two weeks into school, my files are gone and I’m going toe to toe with Bella, because there’s truly no way to ignore her or the havoc she wreaks. Then there’s my ex. Professionalism has gone completely out the window with him. The crappy assignment he gave me last week was the appetizer and shooting down my pitch was the desert.

Logan’s not even trying to hide his anger. I’m trying to give him some room, because I know how he feels, and I’m about thirty percent sorry for what I did. I’m trying to put aside my disdain for him. Holding on to vengeful thoughts is tiring and if I’m going to be better than the people I hate, I can’t be like them.

On this campus, I’m the outlier. Next year, when Bella graduates, she’ll be turning over control to someone else. If Pepper’s right, they’ll be devoid of compassion and empathy, and just like her, they’ll use fear and intimidation to get their way.

Logan has no siblings or relatives at the school, so who would he have picked? I heard a rumor over the summer about a group of students who defected from the power structure while I had him distracted. They’re upper tax bracket but newly minted rich. That means their families have less than five years of wealth under their belt as opposed to the generations worth the school likes to brag about. Somehow, Bella forced their allegiance, and that makes the older families happy. You can’t have new people with new ideas, doing new things. That’s how change starts. With those students under her thumb, she called a vote, and it was adios Logan.

I wanted him to fall. Wanted to take the thing that meant the most to him, from him, but Bella in charge is more than I bargained for. It’s my fault for not doing more research. But I thought for sure Frankie or Hal would take over. Logan must be pissed that he has to take orders from Bella.

Thinking about the rest of the group, I wonder how they truly see her. Are they happy with the way things are now? Would they support a new leader just as quickly as they supported her? They clearly don’t have a problem with women in control the way Pepper says the older generation did. Or maybe the years she spent as Logan’s second in command made her the obvious candidate.

When I get closer to my residence hall, there’s a crowd of people in front of the building. Wading through the bodies, my jaw hits the ground when I reach the middle of the crowd. “What the hell is my stuff doing out here? Who did this?”

Nobody answers. Walking to the front door, I swipe my keycard, but it won’t open. I bang on the door. I’m getting pissed because I know the students see me and are ignoring me. Finally, someone walks through the door and I slide through before it closes. Strolling up to the desk, I say, “I’d like to file an incident report.”

“For what?” The guy asks without looking up from his graphic novel.

“My key’s not working and someone put my stuff on the curb.”

Somebody behind me says, “Agh. So you’re Jordanna Felding?”

Turning to the second floor RA, I say, “That’s right.”

“Cute luggage. So listen, your key card is deactivated because you’ve been moved.”

“Moved? When was this decided?”

“Don’t know. Housing closes in fifteen. You might wanna go over there and check it out.”

I race to the housing office and get there, just as Mr. Atkins is turning off his desk lamp.

“Um. I know you’re probably leaving, but I have an issue with my dorm. My keycard isn’t working, and one of the RA says I’m moving. I didn’t get any notice about a new dorm assignment.”

“Jordanna, when you didn’t respond to my note last week, I assumed you’d made other living arrangements.”

“I didn’t get a note.”

“I had it delivered to your mailbox.”

“Mr. Atkins, if I had a note about a dorm room, I wouldn’t be here complaining about coming back from dinner to find my things on the curb. Now, can you reactivate my card so I can move back in?”

“No, I’m afraid not. Your room was reassigned.”

“Okay, so can I have the key to my new room?”

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