Page 66 of Novice Girlfriend

“That’s still not your business,” Jean bit out. “She is not your pet. I wanted her as a chess piece to use and I still didn’t treat her like she was my pet.”

“Most of us here think you’re doing it just to make sure she can still become a chess piece for you though,” Mrs. Oliveria said firmly, her tone cold.

Jean met her gaze unflinchingly. “I’m paying a debt. Bevin and Tracey think I could have handled her abuse with Alex better—made it so it never happened. I don’t. I cannot see a way that—Bevin and I have discussed it more. I was a child trying to survive too. I’m not now, and this I can protect her from. Clare asked me to and I will.”

“But you still want her under you and taking orders from you,” Mrs. Reid accused, raising an eyebrow when Jean didn’t answer. “Interesting.”

People were silent for several moments, but then Taylor snorted. “You realized you cannot handle what comes with that. Also, it’s smarter to have an ally so there are two places to attack. The top-tier families have divided focus on both of you instead of one larger target if you were combined..”

Jean studied him. “That’s three. Tracey is a lucky woman.” She glanced at me. “We can talk later, but do not answer them. They won’t call you into a hearing for this—they can’t. They’ve had enough access to your abilities—way over what they get from anyone else. Way past what they would even tell each other. It’s grotesque. I suggest you now cut it off completely.”

“I made promises,” I sighed.

She turned to me. “This is the first time I’ve thought you stupid since I’ve seen behind the mask you wore. Truly.” She nodded when I flinched. “They’re not honoring the agreement, Bevin. That terminates it. Standard contract and business practices. You are smarter than feeding their delusions and obsession with you. Cut them off.”

“Now wait just a damn minute,” Perry seethed.

“I agree,” Mr. Reid said firmly, shocking everyone there. His eyes were full of pain as he met my gaze. “Six of thirteen were ready to force Conrad on you to get you under our control. Several threw a fit you wouldn’t name the woman from the top-tier family you rescued. We couldn’t protect our own people and we probably have another leak.

“We’re corrupted. We’ve become part of the problem, and until we fix that, truly fix ourselves, you have to cut us off. The council. Not the ones who support you after hours. Not Owen Reid or Mark Oliveria, but Councilman Reid, Cook, Moon, and Oliveria. Don’t even tell us something this important. Don’t tell… We’re failing the test. We’ve failed too much already.”

He turned and walked away, stunning people into silence.

“We need a minute,” Link said as he took my hand, making me flinch given what just happened.

“Left staircase, third door on the right,” Taylor called over.

Link nodded and pulled me along. I shot Taylor a worried look.

“Let them go,” Clare told Jean, something going on there.

“He’s their nephew,” Jean hissed.

“Yes, but they’re—they’re closer than I am with her. He’d cut off an arm before he’d hurt her,” Clare said firmly. “She could have died going to save him.”

“Twice then I’ve thought she was stupid,” she grumbled.

I was distracted by that rolling around in my brain that I wasn’t paying attention to being in a new part of the Reids’ house. I’d never been upstairs by the family’s rooms or the more personal area. I wasn’t paying attention to the fact that Taylor had basically told Link to take me to his old bedroom.

Or that Link then brought me into the attached bathroom until he lifted me up and set me on the counter.

I had a moment to think I was going to be in trouble for this probably and it might be valid.

Probably.

Swallowing a yelp when he picked me back up, Link apparently thought better of me sitting on the counter by the sink. He put me on the closed toilet and then flipped on the water, scrubbing his hands and then drenching his face.

So yeah, I would have been soaked sitting next to that.

Winter would have had a field day if his friends told him that I not only went off with Link, but came back with both of us wet.

Yikes.

“Did you do it?” he asked so quietly I barely heard him over the running water. “Tell me you didn’t really fucking do it and the familiar is just in a bubble.”

Pain stabbed me in the chest. I blinked back tears but realized they were angry ones. “Are you seriously judging me when you went there to kill him?”

His eyes met mine in the mirror and I couldn’t read what was in his gaze. He looked away, saw more blood on his arms, quickly scrubbing them and then trying to get a spot off his face, almost manically.