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“Are you okay to go? We can stay another minute if you want,” he told her.
Sienna smiled and shook her head. “The sooner we put out the fires, the sooner we can start our life.”
She walked to the waiting car and winked at Xavier when he held open the door for her. She climbed in, followed by the Carrington heirs. It was the safest she felt in a long time.
Jensen drove them home, and Sienna had a moment to admire the familiar road that she followed her whole life. What was now the Carrington house used to be the home of the Ryders. That was before The Ryder Massacre where the Carringtons slaughtered them and took over the reins of the south part of the city. The north still belonged to the Remingtons, but their time was running out.
After they killed her family and friends, Sienna had a rocky start with the Carrington heirs, but now she couldn’t imagine her life without them. She rolled her eyes at the memory of her trying to convince the Remingtons to take her in and shuddered at the image of Kyle. He wanted to marry her to get her name and the inheritance it came with.
Jensen stopped the car in front of the house and handed the keys to one of the employees. They were in too much of a hurry to bother with parking. Mr. Carrington didn’t like to be kept waiting, and the heirs knew that better than anyone.
Sienna followed them down the hallway toward what they called the war room. It was a room with various maps of the city on the wall and a round table in the middle where they discussed their strategies. In that room, for appearance’s sake at least, they were all equal, and everyone’s opinion counted for something.
When they entered, Mr. Carrington was already seated at the table, his advisors standing behind him at a respectful distance.
“Father,” Jensen greeted and took a seat on his right as the true heir that he was.
“Father,” the others echoed in greeting.
“Mr. Carrington,” Sienna said with a respectful bow of her head.
“Sit down. We have no time to lose,” Mr. Carrington ordered, his face serious but not unkind.
Sienna took what was now her place between Jensen and Aiden on Mr. Carrington’s right, while Jaxon and Carrington sat on his left. Xavier caught her attention because he was sending off the complete opposite vibes to what was his usual disengaged demeanor. His eyes were looking at his father with a certain spark of interest.
“What’s going on, Father?” Jensen asked.
His back was straight, and his expression stoic. He looked as dashing as ever in his immaculate suit. There wasn’t a hair out of place. His presence radiated confidence, and his dark-blue eyes didn’t seem as cold as they were when they first met.
“We ran the numbers, and the press conference didn’t yield the results we hoped for,” Mr. Carrington told them.
The heavy meaning of his words settled in the room, and the mood turned somber.
“What now?” Aiden asked. “There has to be something else we can do.”
To everyone’s surprise, it was Xavier who replied. “My team and I did some research and came up with a list of families whose support would turn the winds of war to our side.”
Jaxon chuckled. “Why do you always have to talk in such a weird way?”
Xavier ignored his brother’s remark, and if Sienna wasn’t watching him, she would have missed the flash of hurt in his eyes. He was different than his brothers, and most of the time he didn’t care, but when he did try to fit in and help, he was mocked and ridiculed.
“Silence,” Mr. Carrington growled. “When you come up with a plan that could save our family you can speak, but until then, keep your mouth shut.”
Jaxon’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say a word. He tilted his head in deference, the movement respectful enough for Mr. Carrington to let his comment go.
“Xavier,” Mr. Carrington said and nodded at his son in encouragement to continue.
Xavier cleared his throat and looked like he was trying not to squirm in the chair. His face turned red at the weight of the attention.
“As I was saying,” Xavier said, his voice growing with confidence with every word, “We came up with a list of families whose support we need to get if we want to get rid of the Remingtons. It’s not enough for us to count only on ourselves and the Lockwoods.”
His head turned to Sienna for a moment as he continued. “The press conference got us some allies, and Sienna’s tactful maneuvering at the dance got the Berti sisters and the Aghayan widow on our side, which is undoubtedly valuable, but sadly not enough.”
Jaxon exhaled, the sound loud enough to get Xavier’s attention, and he hurried on before his brother’s impatience would get the better of him.
“Our plan is to meet with these families outside the city because we don’t want to draw too much attention. Sienna, you will be going on all the trips, and you’ll always be accompanied by one Carrington heir and one bodyguard,” Xavier concluded.
“Why me?” Sienna asked.
