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The elevator stopped on the third floor.
Gavin was on the first, taking the stairs to where we parked.
Oh, no.
The doors slid open to reveal two girls that looked our age.
“Shit,” Luca muttered under his breath.
“Luca Castello? What are you doing here?” The ridiculously stunning blonde in a tight navy dress that stopped at her knees cocked her head with a knowing smile.
The brunette next to her, with a sharp bob that dusted her shoulders, eyed me. Her dark brown skin was contrasted by a sleek, white dress that clung to her curves.
Even though I was wearing an evening gown that cost more than I’d like to think about, I felt out of place, like I was playing dress-up and just ran into the real thing.
“Who do we have here?” The brunette never took her attention off me.
“This is my date, and we’re running late. If you’ll excuse us.” Luca tried to press the button to make the doors close, but the blonde was too fast. Her arm shot out, and they stepped in together.
“Bringing a date to headquarters?” The blonde asked with a false smile. “I don’t think even the Chancellor’s son is that stupid.”
The brunette grinned wickedly. “So who are you really?”
Luca gripped my hand and I tried to think of a way out of this. I’d been warned about these two, but seeing them now only made me more curious. Part of me wanted to tell them exactly who and what I was, but Luca was keeping it a secret for a reason. Like when Vince lied to the Society guys about who I was at the movie theater. How long would things go on?
What if they got together and combined notes about the strange girl they kept seeing with the Arlington Park boys? At some point, they would figure out I wasn’t just a normal female friend.
The doors opened behind them to the parking garage, and I marched past them with as much confidence as I could muster. “None of your business.”
I strutted to Luca’s car without a backward glance and slid inside. Luca followed a few seconds later holding the door open longer than necessary before climbing in, but I didn’t breathe again until we were driving away, and the two girls were glaring at us in the rearview mirror.
“What happened?” Gavin’s voice made me jump. I’d forgotten he slipped in before Luca. He revealed himself as he leaned forward between our seats.
“CeeCee and Gwyneth,” Luca groaned. He slapped his palm on the steering wheel. “What were they doing there? Why didn’t you see them?”
Gavin’s jaw slackened. “I’m not sure.”
“What are their abilities?” I asked.
“Gwyneth, the monstrous blonde, is a bit like a siren. She can use her allure to manipulate people into believing what she says.” Luca spoke each word as if it made him sick.
I peered over my shoulder and Gavin just shook his head once.
“CeeCee can see people’s emotions, almost like auras,” Luca continued. “Which means she could easily see how nervous and anxious we were.”
I bit my lip. This wasn’t good. I’d been given mixed reports about them. There was a chance the girls would hate me, but Vince said it had been a while since they’d all spent time together. Maybe things have changed. Either way, it didn’t seem likely we could convince them to keep tonight to themselves.
“What do we do?” I asked quietly.
“We go home and review the files, and wait to see what move they make,” Gavin said before slumping back.
“Maybe they won’t say anything. Maybe they weren’t supposed to be there either. If they admit to seeing us, they could be incriminating themselves.” I glanced around the car to see if either of them agreed. Luca just shrugged one shoulder.
“That’s not completely impossible.” Gavin sounded a bit more hopeful than before. “I doubt they had legit business there. They might be just as nervous about what we’ll do or say as we are.”
“Then we should talk to them.” I offered. Part of me, that would never admit it to them, wanted to reach out. I wanted to get to know them on my own. If they were truly as terrible as everyone warned, then I would know and it would be done. But what if they weren’t? What if I was missing a chance to have more friends within the Society? People who understood what I was going through, more than the guys or any of the parents. They understood the relationship side of things. They might be jealous that I’m with five of their potential men, but once they got to know me and saw us all together, they would have to understand. Right?
I wanted to at least try.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Luca said after a long silence.
“Why not?”
“Because right now, there aren’t that many people who know about you. The longer we can keep it that way, the longer we can optimize on that,” he explained.
I’d heard this before, but at what point would they let me really be a part of their world? A year? Two? Ten?
“Let’s talk about it later,” Gavin offered.
I stared out the window fighting the anger boiling up inside. A few minutes later, I felt Gavin’s fingers stroke the back of my arm close to the door and out of Luca’s sight. I ducked my chin into my shoulder and sighed, hoping he knew I appreciated the thought.
