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The next morning, exactly as we agreed with Q, we all got in our cars and headed to college. But if Phillip thinks for one second that I’m going to act like Mia is nothing to me, then he’s sorely fucking mistaken.
We’ve missed two weeks worth of classes, so we know the rumors will be rife. The good thing about who we are, though, is that no fucker will be brave enough to say anything to our faces.
It might have only been a few weeks, but I now fully understand how it looked when I first stood up to Cade. No one ever does that. Maybe if I knew then what I know now, I might have stayed well clear of the lot of them. Not that I ever stood a chance of that being an option, seeing as I was brought here for a very good reason.
Anger swirls around me as I sit in the parking lot with Alex beside me. I think about Marcus and everything he had planned for me, all the lies and secrets he kept—isstillkeeping.
I've done my part. I've taken my place. Hell, I've taken fucking control.
I scrub my hand down my face as I remember how that went down yesterday. Obviously, we all wondered who would take over now Cade has fucked off, but I'd just assumed like everyone else that Tim would take the job. The last thing I expected was for him to turn it down. And not just turn down—I mean point-blank refuse.
Do I want to be the leader of the younger division of this fucked-up secret society I've found myself a member of? No, not really. But what's the alternative? If I'm going to make the best of this screwed-up situation, then taking charge surely is the way to do it. If I want to make changes, move Q into the fucking twenty-first century with their archaic traditions, rituals, and ceremonies, if I want to protect Mia, then I need to put myself in a position to have a say. So that’s what I've done. Fuck knows I'm not getting out of this life anytime soon, so I may as well attempt to make the best of it, and if that means ensuring that Cade fucking Kingsley is no more and has zero influence over Q, the Electi and our lives, then I'm all fucking in.
"Ready to do this then,boss?" Alex asks with a smirk.
Relief floods me as I look over at him. Since Mia's… Since that night, I haven’t seen or heard of him taking anything. I actually haven’t even seen him with a drink in his hand. Maybe, just maybe, there could be a couple of good things to come out of this whole nightmare.
"Please, don’t call me that," I beg.
"I still can't fucking believe you did that."
"Well, you weren't going to. Tim didn't want it, and Brandon looked like he was about to shit his pants at the prospect."
"I guess."
"It's time for change, Alex. Time to change all the bullshit and stupid rules."
"And you think you're the one to do it?"
"No, not a chance.We'rethe ones to do it. All of us."
He nods, a smile playing on his lips. "Maybe there is hope."
"Hasn't there got to be?"
There have been so many times in my life where I would never have believed that. But right now, it's the only thing I've got to hold on to. I've got to hope that Mia will get through this and come out on the other side stronger, even more incredible than she is now. I have to believe that we can put our own stamp on his town and change the things that need to be changed to make people's lives better.
My question goes unanswered as Mia and Sasha walk past us on their way toward the building for their first classes of the day.
"I'm worried about her," Alex whispers as if she'll be able to hear him.
"You're not the only one."
I watch her move, her arm linked through Sasha's for support. We might be able to lie about Cade's whereabouts, but the house explosion, the loss of her parents… that's harder to cover up when it's all the town has been talking about.
"We need to find him. She's terrified he'll get hold of her again."
"He won't," Alex says with a confidence that I really don't feel.
I want to believe Q have it under control, that the security in place watching the house and us all at any given time is enough, but I'm not sure anything will be enough against Cade. He clearly has a game plan, and he's not opposed to biding his time in order to get what he wants.
And there’s something about Lincoln Kingsley’s sudden appearance that doesn’t sit right with me. He’d barely said a word after I returned to the meeting yesterday following Mia’s outburst. I tried to ask questions, to get a better picture of how he fits into all this, but Phillip redirected the conversation every damn time. He’s hiding something—I get the feeling they both are.
But right now, I’ve got bigger issues to deal with. Like attending classes and pretending everything is fine.
Nervously, I look around the parking lot at the students that are both loitering around and heading for class. Is he here? Watching us right now?
I shake the crazy thought from my head. Of course he's not. He's in hiding, waiting for us to forget the threat and lower our guard, and then he'll strike, right when we least expect it. He's going to want the element of surprise.
