by Hart, Stella
I sighed. “Willow, I get what you’re saying, but this shit is not your fault or your job to fix. Even if you never made that confession to the Order where you said you thought there was a chance your mom might’ve done something to Rutherford, this shit would’ve blown up anyway, because someone filmed her and Jamie having that shady-as-fuck conversation near the pool. The other recording of you was just the icing on the cake for all the asshole speculators.”
She twisted her fingers in her lap. “I know, but I still feel horrible. I really want to try to fix things. I can’t just sit around and do nothing while my mother gets blasted for something she probably didn’t even do.”
I reached over and patted her arm. “If she’s innocent, she’ll be fine. The truth will come out eventually. Besides, it’s 2018. She and Jamie aren’t going to go through some medieval witch trial where they get thrown in a lake with weights attached to their legs to prove whether they’re innocent or guilty. They’ll get a fair trial.” I held up a hand. “That’s if they even get indicted, which probably won’t happen.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Willow murmured.
“Why?”
The tip of her tongue darted out to lick at her dry lips. “I think she’s being set up. Whoever’s behind it knows exactly what they’re doing, and I think they’re going to keep doing it. They’ll find more and more ways to make Mom and Jamie look guilty, and then they might actually end up in prison.”
“Who would do that?” I asked. “Who would want to set her up?”
“I’ve been thinking about it for ages, and I keep coming back to the Order. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.”
I frowned. I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind that the Order might be involved with all this Rutherford shit, purely because of the way Willow’s secret was leaked.
Q and the high council claimed it was the work of a hacker, but I wasn’t so sure. Something about that excuse didn’t add up, especially with the strange way my father behaved when I asked him about the whole thing a few weeks ago. Given that, it seemed obvious that the high council members were hiding something. I just had no idea what it was, or why.
“I don’t know,” I said, slowly shaking my head. “There’s definitely something off about the Order lately, but I don’t think they’d frame someone for a crime they didn’t commit.”
Willow’s eyes widened. “You’ve been a member for longer than me. You’ve never heard of them doing anything like that?”
“Nope.”
“But you think there’s something weird going on with them,” she said, tilting her face to the side.
I nodded. “Yeah. Definitely. The way your secret got ‘hacked’ while no one else’s did… it reeks of a set-up. It also seems like an inside job.”
“The council admitted it could’ve been that, but even then, they made it sound like it was just a rogue member.”
“Well, that’s probably true,” I said, scratching my chin. “The rogue member theory makes the most sense.”
“How?”
I lifted one shoulder. “Well, why would the Order frame your mom for Rutherford’s murder and then make it look like they had nothing to do with it? We’re all members, and we’re all meant to be privy to major operations. Ousting not one but two presidents in a row would definitely count as a major operation. So if that’s what the Order has been up to, surely we’d have some idea. The council wouldn’t keep denying all involvement.”
Willow leaned forward. “I get that, but this is what I’ve been going over in my mind. What if some of the members are secretly doing a whole bunch of shady stuff behind everyone’s backs, and the rest of us are just pawns to be used whenever and however it suits them? Like… they might need us all for favors, influence, or money, but they don’t want us to know the truth of what’s going on behind the scenes, in case they’re up to something terrible that the majority of members wouldn’t support.”
I frowned and rubbed my jaw. “You’re talking about a secret society within a secret society.”
“Exactly.”
I shrugged. “I guess that could be happening, but I don’t know. You have to admit it sounds kinda crazy. Like something your friend Rowan would come up with.”
“Yes, but it would explain why they’re always so vague about the society’s overall cause, right? I joined months ago, and I still have no idea what it’s really about. They’ve alluded to making the world a better place, but that’s about it. We aren’t told how they’re trying to make that happen, aside from the odd nebulous statement here and there.”
“Well, you’re still very new. They tell you more and more as you go along.”
She folded her arms. “So what do you know, then?”
“From what I‘ve seen, the society does seem to be focused on helping the world. I’ve been asked to do tasks before that involved me giving the Order council intelligence from Caldwell servers about known terrorist groups here in America. Ones that the government refused to do anything about for some reason. A few weeks later, every member of those groups was in prison, and the country was slightly safer. That wouldn’t have happened without the Order’s influence.”
Willow’s shoulders sagged. “So you think they really are good? You don’t think there’s a secret faction within the ranks who might do horrible things?”
“I’m not saying that,” I said, shaking my head. “Like I said before, it’s possible, and I think the council is definitely hiding something. But I don’t know what it is, and honestly, I don’t know what I can do about any of it to help your mom and Jamie.”
“You can look into it for me,” she said in a low voice. “Use your connections and work resources.”
“You mean you want me to investigate the Order?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why?”
“Do you know what happens to people who betray the society?” I said, raising my brows.
“Not really, but I’ve heard rumors. I know it’s not good.”
“Exactly. If I start investigating them and someone finds out, I’m fucked. I might be okay with that, except you’d be fucked too, for instigating the whole thing. And I’m not okay with that.” I slowly shook my head. “Besides, I wouldn’t even know where the hell to begin.”
“I might have an idea,” Willow said, cheeks flushing pink.
“What?”
“I think I know who Q is,” she said. “If I’m right, it could be a good jumping-off point for an investigation, because it’s someone close to us.”
My brows shot up. “Who do you think it is?”
She averted her eyes. “Do you promise not to laugh at me?”
“Do I really seem like I’m in a laughing mood today?”
She took a deep breath and raised her eyes to meet mine again. “I think it might be your dad.”
I couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle at that. “Seriously?”
Her face turned even redder. “You said you wouldn’t laugh.”
“Sorry.” I cleared my throat and straightened my face. “Why would you think it’s him?”
“Think about it. Whoever Q is, it has to be someone with a ton of money and power. Your dad fits that profile. Also, the Order parties are very similar to Wonderland parties. You said yourself that they share the same staff and escorts.”
“Yes, but my dad is a council member. He might coordinate and organize all the entertainment for the society, but that’s probably because he owns Wonderland and therefore has the necessary resources. It doesn’t mean he’s actually Q. It just means he’s a high-ranking member who does his part to help the society function.”
“Maybe, but that’s not the only reason I think it could be him,” she said, stubbornly crossing her arms. “Remember that Order meeting we had? The one where Q Skyped in to address us?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Your dad was missing that night.”
“But we never actually saw them, did we? We saw Q in his mask and robe and a few others standing in the shadows. How do we know your dad was one of the members in the shadows? For all we know, he was the one sitting on the throne. He could be Q.”
“Going by that logic, Q could also be any one of the other four council members who were there. It isn’t necessarily my dad,” I said. “For all we know, Q might not even be a council member at all.”
“But if he is a council member, your dad is the most likely candidate,” she insisted. “I figured out who the other four missing members were that night, and they don’t fit the profile. They’re nowhere near as rich and well-connected as your father.”
I rubbed the back of my head and sighed. “Willow, you’re starting to sound like one of those crazy conspiracy theorists everyone laughs at.”
She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “For god’s sake, Logan, we’re talking about a secret society that operates out of hidden tunnels beneath the city. I know how it sounds, but we both know this stuff is real, because we’re members.”
“That’s true,” I admitted. I held up both palms. “Look… I’ll do what I can to help out your mom, okay? I don’t know how yet, but I’ll try to think of something.”
She gave me a watery smile. “Thank you. What about the Order?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t investigate them. Even if you’re right and Q is actually my father, it’s still too dangerous. Like I said, if it was just me, that would be fine, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
She sighed. “Because you don’t hate me anymore.”
“Yeah. Believe it or not, I actually want to keep you safe,” I said, scrubbing a hand across my face.
“Well, that’s inconvenient.” She blew out a frustrated breath.
“Yes, it is,” I muttered.
“What if I try to escape again? Would you hate me enough to look into the Order then?”
“I know you’re kidding, but I’ll answer anyway,” I said. “I meant what I said earlier. I can’t hate you. Trust me, I’ve fucking tried.”
“Right,” she said. She picked up the loose thread again, nervously twisting it in her fingers. “Well, thanks again for saying you’ll try to help my mom. That’s the main thing I was asking for, and I know it can’t be easy for you to help her after the way she covered up what I did to Chloe.”
I clenched my jaw. “If she’s actually innocent in this whole Rutherford thing, then she doesn’t deserve to go down for it,” I said. “But once we know exactly what happened that night with Chloe, all bets are off. If we can prove she definitely covered stuff up, she’ll need to pay for that.”
“I know,” Willow murmured. She sighed and lowered her eyes again.
“Imagine if it turns out that she’s actually Q,” I said. I wasn’t being serious; I just wanted to wipe that morose look off her face. It reminded me of the tearful, wide-eyed, stare she aimed at me when I pretended to call Frank, and I couldn’t stand it.
She rolled her eyes. “Very funny,” she said. She wasn’t smiling, but she no longer looked completely depressed. My stupid comment had been somewhat of a success.
I patted the bed and stood up. “I’m going to hunt down some breakfast,” I said. “Do you want me to have something sent up for you?”
“Maybe a coffee,” she said. “I didn’t really sleep last night, so I feel like a zombie.”
“How does a triple shot latte sound?”
“Perfect.”
“Okay. I’ll have a maid bring it up to you.” I smoothed down my jacket and turned away.
“Uh… Logan?”
I glanced back at Willow. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for doing this.”
“It’s just coffee.”
“No, I meant for all of this,” she said. “For actually apologizing and trying to find some way to work this out, even though it’s probably impossible.”
“It was your idea. I just needed some time to come around to it.”
“Well… thanks anyway,” she said softly. “You have no idea how happy I am that Jared is okay.”
I nodded curtly and headed over to the suite entrance.
When I threw the door open, I almost hit my father right in the face. He jumped back, eyes wide with shock. “Jesus, Logan. You almost gave me a fucking concussion!”
He wasn’t alone in the hall. Mom was standing off to the left, holding a cardboard cup holder with four tall coffees in it.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “And where’s Mal and Adam?”
“We told them they could have a break,” Dad said, casually waving a hand.
My jaw dropped. “You know Willow’s in there, right?” I said. “She needs a security presence at all times.”
“It’s the top floor of Wonderland, Logan. She’ll be fine without a guard for half an hour.”
I folded my arms. “Why are you two even here?”
Dad jerked a thumb toward Mom. “I ran into your mother, and she mentioned that you had a rough night and barely slept,” he replied. “We thought it would be a nice idea to bring you and Willow some coffee.”
Mom smiled at me and held up the cup holder.
“Right. Thanks. Could you take one of them to Willow?” I asked.
Mom dipped her head in an acquiescent nod and quietly went into the suite with the drinks. Once she was out of hearing range, I turned to Dad, eyes narrowing. “Were you listening to our conversation?” I asked.
His face immediately reddened. “Excuse me?”
“You basically had one ear pressed up against the door.”
He snorted. “Christ, you’re paranoid. I was only standing so close because I was just about to knock. I had no idea you were going to come charging out of the room at that exact second.”
I crossed my arms. “So you didn’t hear anything?”
He scrubbed a hand across his forehead. “For fuck’s sake,” he muttered, eyes flashing with scorn. “This is what I get for trying to do something nice for my son… accusations of eavesdropping.”
He turned and marched down the hall, muttering under his breath.
“Dad, wait,” I said.
He turned around. “What?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“What question?”
“Whether you heard our conversation or not.”
He regarded me with a stony expression and didn’t respond for several seconds. “I already told you,” he finally said. “Your mother and I were simply bringing you coffee. I didn’t hear a damn word.”
I held up one palm. “Okay. That’s all you needed to say.”
“I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you at all,” he replied, curling his upper lip in a sneer. “Anyway, you can tell your mother I got a call and had to go. Unless you’d rather explain to her that you drove me off by making wild, baseless accusations.”
“It wasn’t baseless. From where I was standing, it looked like you were lingering outside trying to listen in on a private conversation.”
“If you say so,” he spat. With that, he turned on his heel and strode away.
I watched him go with narrowed eyes, picturing the look on his face when I asked him if he overheard anything Willow and I said in the bedroom.
The tight jaw, the ugly twist to his mouth, the flushed skin… it was the exact same expression I’d seen on him in his study at Thorne House a few weeks ago, when I questioned him about the Order leak.
He was lying then, and he was lying now.
11
Willow
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Jamie?”
I stared at my mother’s Chief of Staff with wide eyes as he ran a lint roller over my thick cream-colored coat. Across the room, my father was helping Jared with his blue and red tie, and my mother was pacing around with an aide, practicing her upcoming speech.
<
br /> Jamie smiled gently. “It’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry.”
“So I’m the only one who thinks this whole thing could go horribly wrong?” I said, tilting my head to the side.
It seemed like the whole world had gone insane. With all of the Rutherford-related accusations being thrown around lately, my mother’s administration had decided the perfect response was to put on an elaborate presidential parade between the Capitol building and the Ellipse.
The event was being staged under the guise of festive celebrations, seeing as Christmas was fast approaching, but the truth was that it was a political rally to bolster support for my mother. She wanted to prove to the world that she still had lots of loyal fans and friends, despite all the recent media mud-flinging and looming threats of Justice Department investigations, and so her minions had done everything they could to ensure that today’s crowds were bigger than the ones at any other rally she’d held so far.
I thought the whole concept was outrageous, and I couldn’t believe my mother was actually making us go through with it. She had millions of angry detractors these days, so it seemed like an obviously-terrible idea to make our family stand on a slow-moving parade float while we smiled and waved all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue.
To put it bluntly, it seemed like she was asking for an assassination attempt.
“Are you being dramatic again, Willow?”
I turned my head to see Mom stepping over to me and Jamie, holding out an American flag pin in one palm.
I shook my head. “I’m just worried something bad is going to happen.”
She gave me a withering look as she affixed the pin to my coat. “Don’t be so morbid,” she said. “This event is necessary for the sake of the country. You need to buck up.”
“It’s just a parade and a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in the Ellipse,” I said, brows puckering. “Do you really want to risk getting shot over that?”
Mom rolled her eyes. “This is exactly what I mean about all the drama,” she said. “You’re being completely ridiculous. Nothing is going to happen, and no one is going to shoot me.” She snatched the lint roller from Jamie and finished off the left side of my coat. “Besides, I’m wearing a bulletproof vest under my jacket just in case.”