Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Theo
Garret had a car waiting for us when we landed. We were brought to the cathedral on campus. I assist Aria out of the car and place my hand on the small of her back, keeping her close while leading the way.
We enter the front doors into the atrium. The walls are lined with computers, most of which have someone working on them.
We walk to the front altar where Garret, Tatum, and Sara stand.
As we approach, the entry doors open, and I look back to see Eddie, Parker, and Grayson all walking in.
This has me starting to worry. Why would they bring in some of the newest Kings unless we were here to discuss a threat they would have to handle?
My grip tightens on Aria. She looks at me, and I just nod.
I want to comfort her and tell her it's all fine, but I can't lie to her.
Garret looks our way and smiles. That is a good sign; if he's smiling at Aria, he doesn't have plans to make her disappear.
“Welcome back to Acadia.” Aria smiles as he comes over to greet us.
“It’s good to see you again.” Tatum walks over to meet us and shakes my hand. Sara is just behind him.
“You must be Aria. I’m Sara, Garret’s fiancée.
” Aria returns the smile and accepts the hug.
So far, everything is good. Garret and Sara may enjoy their job more than they should, but they don’t play with their prey, at least not outside of the bunker.
If they are being friendly, then it’s probably safe to assume that Aria is not considered a threat.
“It’s good to see you guys again, not at one a.m.” She smiles, and then men laugh.
“Unfortunately, Theo is a pretty important guy around here, and when he’s needed, he's needed immediately.” Garret smiles.
Parker and Grayson step up and introduce themselves.
I don’t know much about Parker, but I have had a few run-ins with Grayson.
He is a senior this year, and if all goes well, he will be getting his King status right before graduation.
I’m surprised with the shit he pulled they are letting him stay.
Tatum interrupts the niceties and offers for us all to head to the conference room and begin the meeting. We all follow and file into the chairs around the table.
Garret addresses the group, “So we may have an issue.” He looks to Aria before continuing. “Aria, while we are glad Theo finally brought you into the loop, we are having an issue with Court security now that you're here.”
Wait, what has she done?
“It seems even though we knew you were endgame since you entered his penthouse, it took Theo a little longer.” She smiles with the slightest shift in redness.
“Unfortunately, your mother doesn't seem to like the two of you together like we do.” Where is this going? She doesn't need her mother’s blessing.
“She has stumbled upon some sensitive information about The Court while spying on you. She is making a lot of noise, and it needs to stop.”
“The Court has extended Theos’s status to you, but unfortunately, we cannot extend the same courtesy to your mother. You either need to get her under control, or The Court will step in to handle the issue.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Her voice doesn't waver. “I have tried. We had dinner with her two weeks ago. Instead of apologizing or stopping, she threatened to blackmail us. I don't know what else I can do.” Aria recounts the attempted dinner we had planned.
“What exactly happened?” Sara asks. Aria turns to her and starts explaining how we invited her over, and she threw out some wild accusations, started throwing insults, and was awful towards her.
“Is this new behavior? Since Theo?” she asks.
“New behavior, no. Since Theo, yes.”
Sara’s entire body perks up, “So it's his fault, but not new? Do tell.”
“Since he dumped her.” Sara’s smile widens, and she looks at Garret, who mimes I didn't know .
“When did that happen?”
“Twenty-two years ago.” Aria smiles. These girls really do like talking about relationship drama; no wonder those reality dating shows are so popular.
“Garret?”
“I did not know, promise.” He smiles. “This is all news to me, too.”
“And how old are you?” Parker asks from beside us. Not him, too.
“Twenty-two. I graduated last year.”
“I thought you looked familiar. Great speech, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Her smile widens.
“Hey, can we get back to why we are having an emergency meeting?” I try to change the topic.
“Sure,” Sara says before returning her attention to Aria. “We will have to chat later.” Aria smiles as she nods.
Everyone refocuses on Garret.
“Your mom is making a lot of noise; we don't want to deal with it. If you have already tried to get her to stop and it hasn't worked, it really only leaves us with a few options. We can try an intimidation tactic, scare her a little.”
“That won't work,” Aria interrupts. “She spins everything so she is the victim, so actually making her a victim will just lend her credibility, and she will just talk more.”
“With that, we are down to one option. We need to eliminate the threat.” No one reacts, not even Aria. She either has already figured this out and has come to terms with it, or she is hiding her true feelings about it.
“Aria, if you would like to be excused from the next part of the conversation, I can have an initiate take you somewhere else. You don't have to be here for the details,” Tatum offers.
I am ready to walk her out of the room, but she replies, “No, it's fine.”
“Are you sure, baby?” I whisper. “She is your mom.”
“Like I said to her, I have no mom.” She either has fully detached or she is hiding behind a mask. I won't make her leave; she gets to decide how involved she is in this.
“At any point if it becomes too much, you can leave,” I reassure her.
“Parker, Grayson, you will be on acquisition." They nod. “We have been tracking her location, and she still seems to be in the city, which should make it easy.”
Aris raises her hand slightly, and Garret nods at her. “How are you going to spin this for the people back home? They talk, and they know she is out here looking for me. This would be prime gossip; people are paying attention.”
“And this is why you're here.” Garret smiles. “Tatum, do you think you can hack her social media?”
“Easily.”
“May I suggest getting one of the daughters of The Court on this job? You guys are great at the technical side of this, but having Tatum post as a forty-year-old woman will not be believable,” Sara interjects. She is exactly what The Court needed.
“Do you have someone in mind?” Sara, Tatum, and Aria immediately look at Parker.
They obviously know something I don't. Aria being in the know already has my chest flutter.
I do not need to worry about her fitting into my life.
There is no forcing; she has slid right in perfectly. My missing puzzle piece.
Parker smiles. “Addie isn't a daughter of The Court, but will be a Queen after graduation, and is pretty good with social media.” The way he is discussing his girl just shows how proud of her he is.
“I mean, considering what her first video did, she is better than “pretty good”.” Aria and Sara laugh and share a glance. She is definitely going to need to explain what is happening to me later.
“Perfect. Have her come in tonight after class, and we will get her up to date.”
“Once Alana is at The Court, I will take over,” Sara states, and no one questions it. “I have a soft spot for shitty parents.”
“Will you need assistance?" Garret asks with a sly smile. He may be asking if she needs help, but knowing him, this is just foreplay. He will be in the room where it happens.
The two begin discussing supplies they would need, and Aria squeezes my hand.
“Are we still needed?” I cough, interrupting Sara and Garret. Whatever this planning session is, it should probably be done behind closed doors before clothes start coming off.
While I'm sure Eddie wouldn't mind, everyone else at the table doesn't have the same proclivities.
“No, if you need to head out, please do,” Garret says, not taking his eyes off Sara.
I stand and assist Aria out of her chair. We walk out of the room and back through the atrium.