Page 52 of Keep My Secrets
“Mr. Reeves, Aria.” She smiles. I am glad they get along. Aria deserves to have some people on her side, and Mia is good people. “Aria, I packed you several choices. I wasn't told what activities you would be dressing for, so there is a little bit of everything. I also grabbed you a few chocolates and a couple cans of Dr. Pepper for your flight. I hope that was alright. I assumed they were in the kitchen for you, since Theo never ordered these until you.”
“Thank you, Mia, you are amazing,” Aria says, giving her a hug. I take the garment bag and suitcase, and slide them to the stairway where the flight attendant puts them on board.
“Baby, we need to go,” Aria says goodbye and then ascends the stairs. I follow behind.
The cabin entry door is closed, and moments later, we are ready for take-off.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Theo
Garret had a car waiting for us when we landed. We were brought to the cathedral on campus. I assist Aria out of the car and place my hand on the small of her back, keeping her close while leading the way.
We enter the front doors into the atrium. The walls are lined with computers, most of which have someone working on them.
We walk to the front altar where Garret, Tatum, and Sara stand. As we approach, the entry doors open, and I look back to see Eddie, Parker, and Grayson all walking in. This has me starting to worry. Why would they bring in some of the newest Kings unless we were here to discuss a threat they would have to handle? My grip tightens on Aria. She looks at me, and I just nod. I want to comfort her and tell her it's all fine, but I can't lie to her.
Garret looks our way and smiles. That is a good sign; if he's smiling at Aria, he doesn't have plans to make her disappear.
“Welcome back to Acadia.” Aria smiles as he comes over to greet us.
“It’s good to see you again.” Tatum walks over to meet us and shakes my hand. Sara is just behind him.
“You must be Aria. I’m Sara, Garret’s fiancée.” Aria returns the smile and accepts the hug. So far, everything is good. Garret and Sara may enjoy their job more than they should, but they don’t play with their prey, at least not outside of the bunker. If they are being friendly, then it’s probably safe to assume that Aria is not considered a threat.
“It’s good to see you guys again, not at one a.m.” She smiles, and then men laugh.
“Unfortunately, Theo is a pretty important guy around here, and when he’s needed, he's needed immediately.” Garret smiles.
Parker and Grayson step up and introduce themselves. I don’t know much about Parker, but I have had a few run-ins with Grayson. He is a senior this year, and if all goes well, he will be getting his King status right before graduation. I’m surprised with the shit he pulled they are letting him stay.
Tatum interrupts the niceties and offers for us all to head to the conference room and begin the meeting. We all follow and file into the chairs around the table.
Garret addresses the group, “So we may have an issue.” He looks to Aria before continuing. “Aria, while we are glad Theo finally brought you into the loop, we are having an issue with Court security now that you're here.”
Wait, what has she done?
“It seems even though we knew you were endgame since you entered his penthouse, it took Theo a little longer.” She smiles with the slightest shift in redness. “Unfortunately, your mother doesn't seem to like the two of you together like we do.” Where is this going? She doesn't need her mother’s blessing.
“She has stumbled upon some sensitive information about The Court while spying on you. She is making a lot of noise, and it needs to stop.”
“The Court has extended Theos’s status to you, but unfortunately, we cannot extend the same courtesy to your mother. You either need to get her under control, or The Court will step in to handle the issue.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Her voice doesn't waver. “I have tried. We had dinner with her two weeks ago. Instead of apologizing or stopping, she threatened to blackmail us. I don't know what else I can do.” Aria recounts the attempted dinner we had planned.
“What exactly happened?” Sara asks. Aria turns to her and starts explaining how we invited her over, and she threw out some wild accusations, started throwing insults, and was awful towards her.
“Is this new behavior? Since Theo?” she asks.
“New behavior, no. Since Theo, yes.”
Sara’s entire body perks up, “So it's his fault, but not new? Do tell.”
“Since he dumped her.” Sara’s smile widens, and she looks at Garret, who mimesI didn't know.
“When did that happen?”
