70. Finn
Chapter 70
Finn
T he energy on campus is crazy. I haven’t seen this level of suspicion between fraternity and sorority members since that time we dismantled Tyler Stuart’s car. I love it. I was skeptical about this whole fight for bloodline status challenge that the league has implemented, but it’s turned into a point of amusement in an otherwise boring school year.
The challenges are happening more often for second-year prospects and above, but there’s also some kind of drama happening amongst the first years. The scoreboard shuffle is coming up and they’re all scrambling to maintain their rankings. I don’t know what it feels like to worry about scores. I’m tempted to see what it feels like to fall out of the top spots. Just once. Just to see what happens.
I take my seat next to Thea, ignoring the way she rolls her eyes at me. “Morning. Did you sleep well?”
It’s an honest question. The dark circles under her eyes haven’t faded. She’s put on a little more weight, but she’s still thinner than she was. I really wish she’d open up to me and tell me what happened to her when she was gone. Deacon Wolfe probably knows and he won’t betray her secrets without the proper motivation. How mad would she be if I tortured it out of him?
Thea is serious about her studies. She stopped telling me to find a new seat after our night on the beach, but she threatens to slit my throat if I talk to her during class. I don’t want to talk today. I’m actually pretty tired too.
An hour long nap sounds good. I scoot my desk closer to hers and grab her left hand with my right, linking our fingers together in my lap. “Take good notes, Pet. I’ll get them from you later.”
She makes a feeble attempt to pull her hand away. I just bring our clasped hands to my mouth, placing a kiss against the back of her hand and return it to my lap as I scoot down in my chair to get more comfortable, then close my eyes, drifting off to sleep.
I went to Thea’s dorm to get a copy of the class notes yesterday, since I’ll need them for a quiz we’re having at the end of the week, but I left empty-handed because she wasn’t in her room. When I asked about them today, she said she’d email them to me.
Ordinarily, I’d be fine with that, but Thea agreed to share her notes too easily. Nothing with Thea is ever this easy. The constant push and pull is what I love about her. So the quick compliance means she was trying to get rid of me.
She left the library an hour ago, and is now sneaking around Canyon Falls. It’s not in the, I’m in the middle of a challenge kind of way, either. There is absolutely nothing at the Pidgeon Bank that should interest her. She walks around the building, staring up at the windows from different angles, then walks down the block to the museum, and does the same thing. Her last stop is Ventiman Jewelers. She goes to the back of the building and is there for so long that I move in to get a closer look.
I watch as Thea picks up a rock and tosses it at the streetlight, shattering the lightbulb, then does the same for the next light, blanketing the back of the building in complete darkness. This business is owned by Isaac Ventiman, a mid-level councilman. Is she casing the place?
This is the type of behavior we’re encouraged to report. Well, fuck that rule. If she’s fucking shit up, I’m gonna give her a sledge hammer.
I quietly slip back around the side of the building and down the street to where I parked my car. A mosquito bites my neck a few feet away from the rear bumper, then everything goes black.
Holden
The door to my father’s office is open. I hear him pacing back and forth as he talks on the phone. He’s frustrated about whatever’s being discussed. “I’m telling you that shouldn’t have been possible, not that it wasn’t possible.”
He passes in front of the door again. “I’m not a computer technician. I wouldn’t even know where to start on tracking down what happened. Now, do you want to file a cyber crime report?” He moves back towards his desk. “I know it’s not ideal to have to explain what you were recording and why, but if you’re suggesting this wasn’t just a computer failure, then that’s your only recourse.”
Back to the door. “Then find another way to record and store the data from the social club.” He stops in front of his desk. “Okay, Arlo. You do that.”
Arlo Kimble is a member of the league security council. Judging by the one-sided conversation, it sounds like there’s a problem with the blackmail videos they collected at the social club. I wasn’t forced to participate in the last mixer, but others chose to do so. Dad stops pacing and turns towards the door, spotting me. “How much of that did you hear?”
I step into the room and admit, “Enough to guess what happened. Not enough to offer any ideas about how or why.” I’m glad it happened though, because Thea was there, and I hate the idea of anyone having anything they could use against her.
My father lets out a weary sigh as he sits in his chair. “Things used to be so much easier when I was a prospect. Hell, even when I was a field agent playing a game of Russian Roulette with a serial killer, I didn’t flinch as much as I do now, when the phone rings.”
“You flinch when the phone rings because you’re a worried father.”
“That’s a lot of it. But some of it can be blamed on my position on the security council.”
“You’re not happy with your position?”
“I am, but sometimes I wonder if I joined the correct committee.”
“What else would you have done?”
“Door greeter? Cloak checker?” He smiles. “Anything but be the guy they bring their suspicions to about every single anomaly on the planet.”
I nod in understanding. “Your job makes you a sounding board for their paranoia.”
He hums. “Everything seems like a security issue when you have a lot of enemies. The trick is managing the paranoia, so it doesn’t make you do stupid things which lead to actual security risks and threats.” He smiles again, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “That phone call was me making sure that didn’t happen.”
We’ve never really talked about his job with the council before. I think I assumed it was easier than it is. “How often do you do that?”
“Lately, it’s been more times than I care to admit.”
“Is our security that vulnerable?”
“Not at all, but after the incident at the social club, there are some who think it might be. I’ve submitted a vote to contract Wolfe Security for additional security personnel. Maybe this time I’ll get enough votes to make it happen.”
“I’m sorry.” I say, meaning I’m sorry he’s being bothered with this stuff.
This time, my dad’s smile is more genuine. “Don’t be. I chose a complicated life.”
My father is one of those look on the bright side types. I guess given his job he has to find the good, or he’d be like me, constantly weighed down by the bad. “How do you deal with the complications?” I ask.
“The same way I hope I’ve taught you and your sister to deal with them. By honoring your word, and doing what’s right, and knowing that sometimes those aren’t the same thing, and accepting responsibility for what comes after you make either of those decisions.”
He comes over to me, jingling his keys in his hand. “Hayden’s at a friend’s, and I promised your mother a date, so I need to go get ready, unless you need me for something.”
“I’m actually gonna head back to campus soon.”
Squeezing my shoulder he says, “I’m here if you need me.”
I know he’ll never ask me for help, but I reply, “Me too, dad.”