by Leia Thorne
It’s like the first time we met in the bell tower, only now, this time, instead of retaining my dignity, I sacrificed a huge part of myself on a gamble.
And I lost.
Gage holds all the cards.
“Yeah, well, maybe that’s not such a bad thing,” I say, pulling my bag strap higher on my shoulder. “Do you really think Gage and his society is going to look after us forever? This was never about unity, or a group. It was always about his gain, Palm. Can’t you see that?”
I wish I could tell her what happened in the tower, how I caved. How I finally—after so many tiring years—gave in to him. And look at the damage that has caused already. One moment of weakness, where I convinced myself I could gain the upper hand, and everything around me is unraveling.
I need to take back control.
Palmer parts her mouth to respond, but her gaze darts over my shoulder.
I sense them before they round the hallway corner. As Gage and the Saints pass us in the hall, Gage meets my eyes—those devilish blues flashing with smug satisfaction. Only he could feel superior in the face of condemnation.
Remi walks beside him, her hand linked with his. She looks fresh and focused and in charge. Like that night in the tower didn’t nearly break the both of us. I attempt to meet her eyes, but she turns her attention on Palmer as the rest of the Saints head toward the courtyard.
They walk past me like I don’t exist, and every student lining this hallway notices. So this is my punishment: ousted. Exiled. I wonder how long this chastisement is supposed to last.
Remi links her arm through Palmer’s. “Palm,” she says, sounding like she and Palmer have been friends for years instead of just months. “Emry’s waiting for you on the wall.” She raises her hand and swipes a loose wisp of hair from Palmer’s eyes and tucks it behind her ear. “I’d like to talk to Sawyer for a minute.”
Palmer gives me a helpless glance, like she’s torn. But to my shock, she does as Remi asks. “I hope this passes soon, Saw. See you later.” Then she takes off.
A bitter taste burns at the back of my throat. It smacks of betrayal. A soundless laugh passes my lips as I shake my head. “I had no idea it was in you,” I say to Remi.
She raises a dark eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
I step closer to her and look directly in her eyes. “Ruthlessness,” I say. “You never struck me as the power-hungry type. Or is it just the pursuit of Gage that has you acting this way?”
She glances around the hallway. There are too many students paying attention. “I thought grinding on your boyfriend, naked, would’ve proved to you just how serious I am.”
Her words are meant to wound. And I won’t lie, they do. An immediate image of Remi and Roland together…coming so close… I squeeze my eyes closed for a moment. “My being with Gage isn’t what you think,” I say, trying to console her in some small way.
She laughs. “Of course. How silly of me. You only told me over and over how you didn’t want him. So, of course I believe everything you say to me now.” She holds up a hand, gaining composure. “Not here, Sawyer. I just wanted to wish you and Roland the best. I think you made the right choice the other night, and I hope it works out.”
Unbelievable. That she can say this shit with a straight face. Who is this girl now? “I’d wish you luck,” I say, “but there’s no chance of that. Not with Gage. You know, I was trying to protect you.”
She smiles brightly. “Really? So, all the mind games and manipulative tactics…that was all for my benefit.” She tilts her head in an exaggerated pose. “You know what that saying is, with friends like you, who needs enemies?”
I exhale an achy breath. Then I tug her arm and lead her down the hallway toward the supply closet. Once I have her in a private area, I get real. “Yes, Remi. I did those things to you. I’m not a good person. I’m not a saint. I don’t pretend to be. But whether you believe me or not, I wouldn’t have let anyone harm you.”
She shakes her head. “Except for you,” she fires back. “I don’t need your protection, Sawyer. Not anymore. I can take care of myself.” She turns to go, and I step in front of the door to block her.
“Do you really care about him?” I ask her. “Or even love him? Is Gage worth losing yourself over?”
She blinks a few times, not meeting my eyes. And I swear I glimpse something there…some form of hesitancy or doubt. No…she’s lying. “I need to go,” is all she says.
Oh, my god. Why didn’t I see it that night? Her display with Roland was more than just to try to hurt me; she was proving something to Gage. That she can be just as vindictive, more so, than me. But that’s not who she is at all.
“Gage hurt you,” I say.
She rolls her eyes and tucks her hair behind her ear. Her old nervous habit breaking through. “I knew what I signed up for with him, Sawyer.”
“But still. He made you believe you were special,” I say, stepping toward her. “I know what it’s like to be adored by Gage. To be made to feel like you’re the focal point of his world. It’s addictive. And when he suddenly and ruthlessly severs that connection, it’s like a knife to the gut. Or rather, the heart.”
She licks her lips. “You both are pretty good at that.”
I nod in agreement. “So what’s your plan?” I cross my arms as I search her face. “You think you’re going to what…play him? Be smarter, slyer than Gage Astor? It won’t work, Remi. Whatever you’re scheming will backfire. You’re going to wind up—”
“What?” she demands. “What could possibly happen to me to embarrass me even more than I already have been?”
Oh Remi…it can always get so much worse. She has no idea what she’s about to go up against. “You need to trust me,” I say.
She rolls her eyes again. “That would be utterly stupid of me. Just…” She walks around me and opens the door. She pauses, saying over her shoulder, “Just leave me alone.”
As I watch her head down the hallway, hips swaying and head held high, I wonder if Remi just might be the thing Gage doesn’t see coming. As I ponder this angle, I spot Roland strolling this way. My chest squeezes at the sight of his messy dark hair, those slate-gray eyes that sear.
He stops at his locker and pretends to spin the lock, his attention diverted to the two officers in uniform standing post in front of the spiraling staircase. Shit. What are they doing here? Is the investigation into Lesley’s death really reopened?
As the day progresses, the officers’ presence takes the front seat of the rumor mill. Whispers about Gage and my involvement with Lesley the night of her death dwindles to background noise as the academy sinks its teeth into even more juicy conspiracy gossip.
At least the video cleared Gage and I of any criminal actions, such as pushing Lesley off the balcony. There is that one small saving grace. But now there are theories circling the school, Sadie conspiring the loudest to point a finger.
Rush has become public enemy number one.
Following closely behind him in this madness is Roland.
It was well known that Rush and Roland both had near obsessive feelings for Lesley. But either one of them being able to take that obsession to a grave level is all just conjecture. The only thing that will prove anything at all is the rest of that video footage…if it exists. Who has it? Who spliced it just perfectly to implicate the Broken Saints?
And to do this, I know who I need…
Before the end of the day, I swallow my pride and stride toward Roland. He’s loading his backpack at his locker. I walk slowly as I wait for Sadie’s cheerleading crew to pass by before I approach him.
I can tell when he senses me; his shoulders tense, and he slams his locker door closed.
“We need to talk,” I say.
“Nothing to talk about.” He straps his pack over one shoulder and pushes between me and the bank of lockers.
I trail after him. “You need my help, Roland.”
His laugh is smug. He waits until we’re outside of the
academy walls to respond. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Haven’t you heard what’s been going around the academy?” I ask. “Your reputation is on the line.”
He glances back at me with a sardonic expression. “I hardly think my pristine reputation will take much a of hit. But thanks.”
Shit. That wasn’t the best approach. I rush to step in front of his path, making myself vulnerable. I feel every bit of it. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That was weak.” I bite my lip. “I need your help. It’s for Remi. I think she’s in danger.”
A flush creeps over his face at the mention of her name, and he looks at the sidewalk. I know he’s mortified about what transpired in the bell tower. Roland isn’t like us…the damaged, the perversely broken. He actually feels shame at his actions.
He at least stops long enough to hear me out, though, so I push forward. “That night…” I try again. “I was trying to garner information from Gage.”
“With his cock in your cunt?” he spits at me.
“Touché.” I flip my bangs from my forehead, undeterred. I suppose my mother’s philosophy on queens staying alive by their ability to control their kings would be difficult to explain to Roland, so I try for honesty.
“It’s the only language Gage understands,” I say. “And honestly, as much as this pains me to admit, Gage and I had unfinished business. I don’t expect you to understand. But I do think you’re a good person, Roland.” I chance a measured step closer to him. “You’ve been looking for who hurt Lesley for a year. A person who doesn’t care, who doesn’t want justice, doesn’t do that.”
He shakes his head quickly. “You’re wrong about me. It was just my own pathetic guilt, Sawyer. Lesley asked me for help, and I ignored her out of my own wounded pride.”
I swallow hard. “Well… I’m asking you for help now.”
A dry laugh slips free. “You’re so good at what you do. Master of manipulation.”
He’s right. “You’re right,” I echo my thoughts. “I’ve been groomed to be the best. It’s what Van Doren women do—how we survive.” I take a breath. “But despite all that, here’s the truth. Had I never chased after you the other night, I feel confident that Gage would’ve revealed his plan to me. He wants me in the know. I’m a part of it somehow, and ultimately, he’ll never give me up.”
Roland nods weightily. “You two belong together,” he says. “I get that now.”
I take his insults, absorbing his harsh words. I’ve earned them. “That may be, but it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to see him hurt anyone. I never wanted Lesley hurt, and I don’t want Remi hurt now. I need to find out what Gage’s endgame is. Why he selected her. Why she’s even at Brighton Saints in the first place. What her connection to Lesley is.”
His brows draw together. This captures his attention. “And just how do you plan to do that?”
My shoulders sag. “I don’t know,” I admit. “That’s why I need you.”
He pulls out his phone and checks something, then says, “If I do this, it’s for Remi. He’s got her head twisted pretty badly.” He blinks up at the bright sky in thought.
I nod my understanding. Roland is the only one I can trust with this—and I know I don’t deserve that trust. But if I don’t find out the truth, and Remi suffers the way Lesley did… It won’t stop there. A power-high Gage will take me down before the merger ever takes place.
Roland turns a searching gaze on me. “I need you to answer me one thing,” he says.
“Okay.”
“Why?”
I shake my head. “Why what?”
“Why do you want to help Remi?”
Right. Because I’m selfish and spiteful and—not too long ago—I was every bit just as cruel as Gage. Why would a self-centered girl like me want to do anything at all for someone else? He’s not wrong for questioning my intentions. I do have my own selfish reasons. Now that my attempt to gain back control over Gage has failed, my only option is to take him down first.
I lift my chin. “Because she’s my friend,” I say. “And because I’m terrified of Gage and what he may have planned for me.”
Roland stares at me a moment, those gray eyes penetrating. Then: “All right,” he says.
I nearly crumple, but I force myself to feign the same strength I just invoked in my speech. “All right,” I say in agreement.
“So, what do you know?” he asks. “Where do we start?”
I toss my hair from my shoulder. Old money rules this town, so it only makes sense to start there. “The family tree,” I say.
Chapter 8
Gage
“You were not invited here, Gage.”
I lean against the doorjamb of the study and tug the cuff of my suit blazer down my wrist. Marvin wasn’t easily swayed to let me enter, but he does have a weakness for handsome young, cocky men. I use what I can when needed.
“You stood me up yesterday,” I say in way of response. I waited in the parking garage for well over an hour for Marvin to arrive before I realized Tabatha’s driver and manservant was a no-show.
“There was a change of plans,” she says, not meeting my gaze. “I no longer need your services.”
Is this my punishment, her putting me—the underling—in my place? “You know, you never once mentioned the surveillance footage,” I continue. “All this time, all these torturous little hoops to jump through…and you knew that I was the one who told Lesley the truth of her adoption.”
Tabatha sighs dramatically. “Is that a confession?”
“It’s a question,” I say. “I can assume you’ve watched your own surveillance of that night. I can assume you deduced from the conversation that I was blackmailing your daughter to relinquish her legacy to me. What I can’t figure out is why your retribution wasn’t more…severe.”
She finally looks up at me from the desk. “Having you stripped of your birthright wasn’t a severe enough punishment to you?” she asks, her tone sarcastic. “Good to know. I’ll remedy that.”
I waggle a finger in the air in my own sarcastic display. “See, when that video footage was aired—it wasn’t me who released it, by the way, just to clear the air—I’ll admit, I was starting to sweat.”
She arches one thin eyebrow. “You? The infamous Gage Astor? I highly doubt that.”
“No, it’s true. I feared the wrath of the great and powerful Tabatha de Pont. Then, my mind started to churn.” I push off the door and approach her desk, planting my hands on the edge. “You couldn’t just kick me out of the club permanently, because you needed me.”
Instead of exiling me from the society, which the chairwoman could’ve done easily after my actions against her and her family, she chose to give me a slap on the wrist and task me with a mission.
Seduce Remi St. James. Seduce her with money and a lavish lifestyle. Tempt her with society intrigue and the desire to obtain elite status.
“I need another Astor man in my life like I need a hole in my head,” she says, rising from her chair.
“And yet, there I was. Your puppet. You pulled my strings, Tabatha. You orchestrated Remi coming to this town. Attending Brighton. I know you did, because I followed the money trail.” It’s a bluff; I’ve found nothing concrete yet. But I have to take the chance she’ll slip up and admit to something.
She sniffs hard and tosses her silky dark hair in a quick head jerk. “Now you’re just insulting me. Leave my office, Gage, or I will—”
“What?” I stand upright. “Remove me from the society? I think you’ve already played that card. But what if I told the council about your little obsession with Remi. What would happen if the council knew that you were bringing in an outsider?”
“Remi is not an outsider,” she says, her voice becoming strained.
“Tabatha, let’s get real. Remi is no more your royal bloodline than Lesley was. She has no real claim to your position of power. And your actions have nothing to do with looking out for the society, or your precious title.
This has nothing to do with the society at all. Remi is Lesley’s biological sister. Remi is your replacement daughter.”
The chairwoman flies around the desk, her palm connecting with my cheek lightning fast. “You spoiled, insolent bastard.”
Head tilted to the side, I smile. “I’m not a bastard,” I correct her. “I have more right to that throne of yours than Remi.”
She huffs a breath and crosses her arms. “That will never happen, I assure you.”
I meet her black gaze. “I wonder what Remi would do if she were to discover who her sister was? That everyone around her, including you, has been lying to her for her entire life?”
It’s a longshot, I know. Truthfully, I’m not sure my threat holds weight. For all I know, Remi might jump at the chance to reject her neglectful father and be groomed by Tabatha de Pont. I am very good at what I do, after all. I’ve been grooming the girl myself, introducing her to a very addictive lifestyle.
Tabatha studies me closely, then smiles. “Same old threat.” She moves around the desk to take her seat again. “Astors really are so very unoriginal. Go ahead, my dear boy. Tell Remi about her sister. You’ll be doing me a favor by being the one to break it to her.” She picks up a pen, effectively dismissing me.
My mouth thins into a line. “Is this some kind of reverse psychology?”
“Not at all. It’s time that Remi discover the truth of her past and who she is.” She signs a document. “Marvin,” she calls out. When he appears in the doorway, she looks up. “Please show Mr. Astor out. We’re done here.”
He takes hold of my arm, and I pull away. “You’ve made many enemies, chairwoman,” I say. “Are you sure you want to make one more?”
She pins me with a stern glare. “Is that another threat?”
“I think you’re discounting the fact that someone did release that video. Whoever this person is obviously has a plan, and it’s probably not going to paint any of us in the best light.”
She leans back in the chair and laces her fingers together over her lap. “It’s been a year since my dear Lesley was taken from me,” she says. “Whoever this person is, they’re cruel, but they’re weak. If that prank was indeed meant to intimidate, then it was wasted effort. Besides, it seemed to me that this person was more interested in making you look bad, Gage. Maybe you should be concerned about the enemies you’ve made.”