Page 65 of Power
He cups my face tenderly and smiles. “Because we need you, we want you, and you are ours. No secret is ever going to stay hidden, not even this.”
“Except your stupid Society,” I sulk. “That somehow remains a secret. Clue’s in the name, isn’t it?”
“Yourstupid Society now,” he points out.
“What is my supposed role here?”
He drops his hand to pick up my coffee to take a sip. Rude!
I snatch it off him and keep it in my hands, warming the ice-cold extremities, which seem to be constantly freezing now.
“You are on the Court. We deal with the running of the chapter. We decide on the initiates; we deal with the favors owed within our House. We take care of the outside pressures of keeping this hidden from the world. That kind of thing.”
“That kind of thing. How very vague of you.” I roll my eyes and take a sip.
“You will learn. Court is meeting tonight, and you can see how it all goes down.”
“Tonight?” I ask in dismay. “I’m exhausted. Can’t it be another night?”
“No.”
That one word fills me with dread. I don’t want to go anywhere except to bed after work. I don’t even want to go to work. Speaking of…
“Can I fire Trish?”
“From Jackson & Roberts or fired from Solitaire?” Owen asks with a small laugh.
“Both,” I reply mutinously.
“No,” Archer says again. I’m getting pissed off with that word. “I mean, if she commits a sackable offense, then yes, but she is in the Society until death…”
“Severs the link,” I murmur. “You were being serious about that.”
Again, they exchange a stare, but then Owen says, “Yes, deadly serious.”
“Funny. You’re fucking funny. Let’s go to work, assholes. I need to get my head out of this Secret Society crap for a few hours.”
I stand up while Owen removes his apron. He rolls down his sleeves over his tattoo, and I frown. I didn’t see one on Archer. That must be a personal thing. I wanted to examine Archer’s scars as well but didn’t really have the chance. Maybe later. I flex my shoulders, feeling the scabs of mine pulling on the soft fabric of my blouse.
“Why wasn’t my dad there last night?” I ask quietly.
“We know he tried to warn you away from us,” Owen says. “He made a grave error in judgment.”
He stalks off with Archer, leaving me to catch up, floundering in this darkness that seems to have dropped over us as he confirms that he read the note. But did they find the gun? I’m not asking outright. They will have to be the ones to bring it up.
I push my way out of the kitchen, noticing I still have my coffee. I turn back to place it on the counter, wondering who is going to tidy up this mess we’ve made. I’m not left wondering for long as Owen lets in a housekeeper from the huge double front doors. Archer leads me toward the private elevator, handing me my bag as we step in, with Owen close behind.
ChapterThirty-Eight
Bailey
Droppingmy bag off at my desk while Archer and Owen disappear into their offices, paying attention to my strict ‘let’s keep it professional’ stance, I rub my finger over the thin, shallow cut on my palm. It’s not bugging me as much as the ones on my back, which I still haven’t had the stomach to look at. Glaring at the cut, I sit and pull myself close up to the desk, switching the computer on and going straight to the emails.
I spend some time answering those before I move on to updating Archer’s diary. He has a meeting at eleven. My heart beats a bit faster as I remember his words this morning about wanting to fuck me during it. How would that even work? Not that I’m contemplating his offer. Public sex is on my list of things I don’t want to do.
Again.
Having been subjected to not only the finger-fuck while talking to Ethan Jackson on the phone and then the incident last night, no way, no how is anyone ever seeing or listening to me orgasm outside of the three men who seem to have pledged themselves to me. For reasons still slightly unknown. So I’mpureandelite. Sure doesn’t feel like it. I guess my father has everything to do with that, and maybe Idoneed to speak to him about this. There are…things. Before this morning, I was firmly in the camp of him getting fucked, but now, and strictly for the benefit ofme,not him, perhaps I should get in contact. This Secret Society business is concerning, to say the least. I’ve been railroaded by these three gorgeous men, who seem to have an influence over me that worries me. However, they have what I want, and thinking back to the penthouse I woke up in this morning, they have the money to back it up. Two things I’ve always craved. Therefore, I’m going into the rest of this with my eyes wide open. I will take what I want out of this arrangement, knowing that to get that power, I might have to do dubious things. It doesn’t come to the guileless. I might be basic Bailey, but this bitch has always had a plan. I’m on track with that plan way sooner than I ever expected. I will not, simplywill notallow anyone or anything to derail that plan. I knew I had it in me when the chips were down. And boy, are they down.
