Page 43 of Keep My Secrets
I never made a plan for telling someone about my life and career. I never thought I would get close enough to anyone that not only would I want to tell them my secrets, but close enough that they were in danger from them. She deserves to know, and now that I know she will be protected, I have no reason to hide anything from her.
“I know you say you don’t want secrets, but you have to understand these secrets will put your safety at risk. Are you sure you want to take that risk, to keep my secrets?”
Her gaze drops for a moment before looking straight into my eyes and nodding her head.
“Yes. I would rather know there's a risk and be told the truth, than things be hidden from me.” Her voice not as confident as I think she is trying to sound, but she has made her decision.
“Let's get some of the accusations out of the way that were completely false: I didn’t abandon Alana. I broke up with her, end of story.” Aria nods. I really hoped this wasn't one she held onto, but with the chaos of the argument and her anxiety attack, even if I feel like the answer is obvious, it needs to be addressed. No room for doubt.
“I am not using you in any way to get back at your mom. I don’t care about your past. I will not leave or abandon you, especially if you get pregnant.” I am still not sure where she stands on kids, but whatever she decides, I will support her. Aria nods in understanding. She still hasn’t spoken, and it's making me nervous.
“I am not intentionally trying to manipulate you in any way. It is a very real fear for me in our dynamic.” Aria tilts her head at this.
“What do you mean?”
“I am fully aware that there is a power imbalance between us. I am settled in my well-paying career, and you are a new graduate, so between age, wealth, and social status, I have much more power than you do at this time. Not to mention, we are in a dynamic where you willingly give me more control. I never want to abuse that. I don't want you to feel pressured into anything you don't want to do because you feel like you have to for whatever reason. I am very aware that men in positions like mine abuse their standing, and I never want to do that to you, even unintentionally.”
“But you like having control and power.” Her lips lift into a soft smirk. A small bit of tightness releases from my chest, realizing that was never one of her fears.
“I like it given to mewillingly, I don't like forcing it or taking it.”
“What about Acadia?” she asks.How could I forget her mother accused me of stalking her?
“Yes, I frequent Acadia often, for my job. We recruit from there, and it is the usual meeting ground when I have business meetings. I was there a lot while you were a student. But I don’t ever remember meeting you, and trust me, I would remember.”
“There was no stalking or manipulation. You coming to Texas was a coincidence?”
“An inevitability. No matter how much I tried to move my mom out here, she was stubborn and would not leave. I was going to have to go back to my hometown eventually, and that is what happened.”
“You said business meetings. You still haven’t explained to me what your job is.”
“Your mom was incorrect when she said I worked for the mafia.” A brief sigh of relief leaves Aria, and my heart shatters, knowing I have to finish that sentence. “Technically.”
Her body stiffens, but she doesn’t run. She doesn't fold in on herself; she is still here, with me, but barely.
“It’s technically not a mafia by definition. And I don't work for them, I run parts of the organization." While her body is still very reserved, her face displays more intrigue.
“While at Acadia, I was aware of the fraternity that everyone seemed to have a story about. How it was a cult, and that's why there were so many successful alumni or people, saying that they kidnapped and murdered people for fun.”
“Gamma Theta Kappa,” she whispers. It seems like even after twenty years, they still haven't fixed their reputation.
“Well, those rumors weren’t far off. The Court uses that fraternity as an initiation ground for the children of Kings to earn their status.”
“The Court?”
“Basically an underground society of the country’s elite.” She nods like I just said we were having eggs for breakfast.
“For the longest time, only those born into the society were allowed in, but when they started branching out, they needed help and created Knights, a group of men who have a skill or talent that can be used by The Court. We are people who have been recruited, not related by blood. We work alongside them, and even though we do a similar job, they are always above us in the hierarchy.”
Her brows furrow.
“I had a few friends get initiated while in school. They tried to pull me in, but I wanted to go home and start my life with someone I thought I loved. So when everything went down, I made the call to Sebastian, who then got me in. They used my degree in finance to have me poised to take over this frontcompany. I threw myself into work for them, and it paid off when they put me in charge of all the Knights.”
“Why did you join?”
“Part of it was that I needed somewhere to go. I can try and say part of it was out of fear, knowing what I did about them. I could claim I was scared they would come after me. But it was more that I needed someone on my side. My fiancée had just cheated on me with my best friend, and my other best friend had known about it for years and never told me. My college friends were willing to have my back, and now the entire Court does.”
“And I’m sure the money wasn't a negative, either.” Aria starts to joke. That's a good sign. She is still with me and letting herself be comfortable.
