Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
Theo
“I just need a guarantee she will be safe from us and because of us.”
“If you are sure, you have it. But if she becomes a threat to The Court, we will have to take action.”
“She won't."
“Then she is an extension of you and will be treated as such.”
I end the call and take a deep breath before re-entering the bedroom. Aria is still sitting on the bed, TV paused, and just staring down at her hands in her lap.
“You’re right.”
Her face snaps up in my direction and waits for more information.
“There were things your mom said that I could not deny, and still be able to tell you I have never lied to you.” Her gaze remains focused on me as I walk back into the room and onto my side of the bed.
“You’re also right that you deserve the truth.
I have asked so much blind trust from you and given none in return. ”
I sit down on the foot of the bed, giving us space to talk. This is going to be a difficult conversation, and I want her to know I am here for her, but also give her space to process everything.
“I need you to know I wasn’t hiding things from you because I don’t trust you.” I swallow hard. “I hid them because I am trying to protect you. But seeing how hurt you are because of the secrets, I can’t keep them from you anymore.”
I never made a plan for telling someone about my life and career.
I never thought I would get close enough to anyone that not only would I want to tell them my secrets, but close enough that they were in danger from them.
She deserves to know, and now that I know she will be protected, I have no reason to hide anything from her.
“I know you say you don’t want secrets, but you have to understand these secrets will put your safety at risk. Are you sure you want to take that risk, to keep my secrets?”
Her gaze drops for a moment before looking straight into my eyes and nodding her head.
“Yes. I would rather know there's a risk and be told the truth, than things be hidden from me.” Her voice not as confident as I think she is trying to sound, but she has made her decision.
“Let's get some of the accusations out of the way that were completely false: I didn’t abandon Alana. I broke up with her, end of story.” Aria nods.
I really hoped this wasn't one she held onto, but with the chaos of the argument and her anxiety attack, even if I feel like the answer is obvious, it needs to be addressed. No room for doubt.
“I am not using you in any way to get back at your mom. I don’t care about your past. I will not leave or abandon you, especially if you get pregnant.
” I am still not sure where she stands on kids, but whatever she decides, I will support her.
Aria nods in understanding. She still hasn’t spoken, and it's making me nervous.
“I am not intentionally trying to manipulate you in any way. It is a very real fear for me in our dynamic.” Aria tilts her head at this.
“What do you mean?”
“I am fully aware that there is a power imbalance between us.
I am settled in my well-paying career, and you are a new graduate, so between age, wealth, and social status, I have much more power than you do at this time.
Not to mention, we are in a dynamic where you willingly give me more control.
I never want to abuse that. I don't want you to feel pressured into anything you don't want to do because you feel like you have to for whatever reason. I am very aware that men in positions like mine abuse their standing, and I never want to do that to you, even unintentionally.”
“But you like having control and power.” Her lips lift into a soft smirk. A small bit of tightness releases from my chest, realizing that was never one of her fears.
“I like it given to me willingly , I don't like forcing it or taking it.”
“What about Acadia?” she asks. How could I forget her mother accused me of stalking her?
“Yes, I frequent Acadia often, for my job. We recruit from there, and it is the usual meeting ground when I have business meetings. I was there a lot while you were a student. But I don’t ever remember meeting you, and trust me, I would remember.”
“There was no stalking or manipulation. You coming to Texas was a coincidence?”
“An inevitability. No matter how much I tried to move my mom out here, she was stubborn and would not leave. I was going to have to go back to my hometown eventually, and that is what happened.”
“You said business meetings. You still haven’t explained to me what your job is.”
“Your mom was incorrect when she said I worked for the mafia.” A brief sigh of relief leaves Aria, and my heart shatters, knowing I have to finish that sentence. “Technically.”
Her body stiffens, but she doesn’t run. She doesn't fold in on herself; she is still here, with me, but barely.
“It’s technically not a mafia by definition. And I don't work for them, I run parts of the organization." While her body is still very reserved, her face displays more intrigue.
“While at Acadia, I was aware of the fraternity that everyone seemed to have a story about. How it was a cult, and that's why there were so many successful alumni or people, saying that they kidnapped and murdered people for fun.”
“Gamma Theta Kappa,” she whispers. It seems like even after twenty years, they still haven't fixed their reputation.
“Well, those rumors weren’t far off. The Court uses that fraternity as an initiation ground for the children of Kings to earn their status.”
“The Court?”
“Basically an underground society of the country’s elite.” She nods like I just said we were having eggs for breakfast.
“For the longest time, only those born into the society were allowed in, but when they started branching out, they needed help and created Knights, a group of men who have a skill or talent that can be used by The Court. We are people who have been recruited, not related by blood. We work alongside them, and even though we do a similar job, they are always above us in the hierarchy.”
Her brows furrow.
“I had a few friends get initiated while in school. They tried to pull me in, but I wanted to go home and start my life with someone I thought I loved. So when everything went down, I made the call to Sebastian, who then got me in. They used my degree in finance to have me poised to take over this front company. I threw myself into work for them, and it paid off when they put me in charge of all the Knights.”
“Why did you join?”
“Part of it was that I needed somewhere to go. I can try and say part of it was out of fear, knowing what I did about them. I could claim I was scared they would come after me. But it was more that I needed someone on my side. My fiancée had just cheated on me with my best friend, and my other best friend had known about it for years and never told me. My college friends were willing to have my back, and now the entire Court does.”
“And I’m sure the money wasn't a negative, either.” Aria starts to joke. That's a good sign. She is still with me and letting herself be comfortable.
“Yeah, that was also very enticing.” I smile.
“So you’re not the mafia, but are like the mafia? Does that mean you kill people?”
“Me personally, not usually. The Court? Yes.”
“Not usually? So yes, just not often?”
“It has happened before. Everyone in The Court has it; it's a way for The Court to hold something over you, so you feel like you can’t turn on them.”
“Everyone?” She's not scared. She’s curious. This is the point where I thought I would have lost her.
“Everyone.”
“Wives?” That is not where I thought this was going.
“Most. Queens, yes. But the wives of Knights aren’t as integrated into The Court. The ones who do become part of society do, but others don't, and aren’t extended the same trust and privileges.”
“Who?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like just random people? Like gang initiation?”
“No, we have standards.” I laugh. “We don’t just kidnap random people off the street.”
“Sorry for wanting to clarify that the criminals had morals.” Her sass is returning. This is the best-case scenario.
“What work did you have at Acadia?”
“When?”
“Right after you moved me here, that first weekend. You had said some of the young associates were proposing a project?”
“Right.” I pause. How do I explain what happened? “A few of the guys who are in the process of becoming Knights got caught up in a human trafficking ring. “
“I’m sorry, what?”
“So we have these brothers in the process of becoming part of The Court. Their younger twin brothers’ girlfriend ended up trafficked. They were able to locate her working a glory hole behind a laundry mat near campus. They wanted us to step in to retrieve her.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to the glory hole now?”
“We run it now.” Her eyes go wide. She’s pissed.
“So now you’re a human trafficking organization? Fuck all of this.” She starts to get up. “Fuck you!”
“No, baby.” I grab her arm. She tries to pull away, but I tighten my grip. I will not let her leave thinking I am exploiting women. “Listen to me.”
Her eyes meet mine, full of anger, rightfully so. If she were ok with me actively hurting other women, she would not be the girl I am falling for.
“We own the laundry mat now, and still run the glory hole, but not with the women and girls they did. We took the girls out, set them up with housing and resources. The glory hole is now being serviced by the men who had kidnapped and trafficked all those victims.”
I wait for her to fully process everything. Her eyes soften.
“You don’t have any of the victims still working?”
“No.”
“The ones working are the criminals?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Killing an entire organization would be too much of a hassle. We can’t let these guys back into the public, they will just start over somewhere else. So now we can keep tabs on them, make some extra cash, and it is a kind of poetic justice.”
“Killing them would be a mercy.”
“A mercy we will not afford them.”
Aria’s body relaxes and lets me pull her back into me.
“Still trust me?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She smiles up at me. I lean down and kiss her gently. This conversation could have gone so poorly, and it almost did. For a conversation with little to no preparation, I say it went well.
“Would you like to watch your show now?”
“Nope, you had said the twin brother’s girlfriend.” I nod. “Like the younger twin’s girlfriend or the younger twins’ girlfriend? Like are both twins dating this girl?”
Out of everything we discussed, this is what she wants to revisit?
“Both of the twins are dating the same girl.”
“Interesting. How much information do you have on that?”
“How much information do I have on the love life of two nineteen-year-olds? None. They are literal children.”
“I am only three years older than them,” she says with the biggest smile.
Fuck , she’s right.
“Ok, I’m turning your show on. I’m done with this conversation.” I laugh as I press play on the remote. Let's focus on someone else’s relationship drama.