Chapter 33
OCTOBER 08 – WEDNESDAY 12:50 PM
N ash
The sound of clicking keys and ringing phones was non-stop. I’d been staring at the framed photo of Wayward’s construction for the last twenty minutes while waiting to speak to Dean Henry. My mind filled with questions as I sat idle. How much did the people who work here know? Were they privy to all the dirty secrets or completely oblivious?
The door to the dean’s office opened, and a girl stepped out. I recognized her but couldn’t have told you her name to save my soul. Tears ran down her cheeks as she left.
“Nash,” Dean Henry said, leaving his door open in invitation.
Two years of never being in this office and then Ren arrived. Now, it felt like a second home. Pushing myself up, I wandered in and shut the door behind me.
“Coffee,” he asked. I nodded.
“Are you going to make me cry, too?”
“I doubt there is anything that I can say to make you cry,” he said, filling two mugs from the pot in the corner.
“That is probably true.”
Dean Henry was a methodical man. Sitting down, I couldn’t help noticing that he always did everything in a specific order. Every time I was called into his office, he offered me coffee. Cream first, then the coffee, followed by one cube of sugar and twenty stirs per cup.
“So, I understand that you had a productive summer,” he said.
“Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I found a business arrangement that I believe will work out quite well,” I said, watching him.
Dean Henry intrigued me. Who he worked for…well, that intrigued me even more, what I wouldn’t give to find out more about the Curators.
“I’m still not sure why you are helping me.”
He looked at me from the corner of his eye before tapping the spoon on the second mug and setting it aside.
“Life is full of mysteries. Some are worth understanding, and others are never answered.”
“Is that your way of saying you’re never going to tell me, so stop asking,” I said, and the corner of his mouth tugged up.
“Yes, precisely.”
The dean sat down and placed the mug of coffee in front of me. I sniffed it before taking a sip, and Dean Henry stared at me over the top of his glasses.
“What kind of coffee is this? It’s very good.”
“For a second there, I thought you were checking for poison,” he said. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t use a poison detectable by sniffing.”
My eyebrows shot up before I stared down into my mug. “Should I be checking for poison,” I asked, eyeing the liquid suspiciously.
“Trust me, Nash, if I want you dead, it won’t happen in my office. The paperwork would be a nightmare.”
He reminded me of Mr. Genovese. Under the calm demeanor was a man far darker than I ever imagined.
“The coffee is from Peru. A special roast brought in just for me.” He sipped his coffee and set it aside. “So tell me, to what do I owe the visit? And please refrain from anything to do with your genitalia.” I closed my eyes, and he chuckled. “I couldn’t resist.”
“Funny, that was actually very funny.” I sat back with my coffee. “I need to talk to you about two things. The first is that Owen McCoy snuck onto the property early Sunday morning. He made it to mine and Myles’s room, but only Myles was there. He was held at knife point.” Dean Henry’s eyes remained unreadable.
“Why didn’t you come to me right away?”
“Why didn’t you already know? I thought you had eyes everywhere, at all times?”
Dean Henry eyed me as he smirked. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
“You did, and you also promised to make sure we were all safe. I personally don’t care if my father sneaks on the property. If he comes to hurt me, I’ll make sure he never leaves, and you can do whatever the hell you want with me. But this is Myles. I’m not sure if you know the abuse he has suffered, but he is really shaken.”
“Myles asked me to ban his father from the property, which is why Mr. McCoy didn’t use the front gates. He’d already tried and was turned away. Myles didn’t tell me why he wanted his father barred. We normally stay out of family business. But, if Mr. McCoy snuck on and say hurt Myles, we now have recourse to make it our business.”
I nodded and then narrowed my eyes at him as a thought occurred to me. “You purposely allowed him to sneak on so you could set this in motion? You’re hunting him aren’t you?”
“Do I seem that devious to you?”
“Honestly, yes.” He laughed, and I wasn’t sure what was eerier, the smirk or his laugh. “And is this moment just another test to see if I’ll come to you with information?”
“I can see why they like you, Nash. You’re smart.”
“Who are they?”
He smiled again and didn’t answer. It was official, he set my teeth on edge. I kept expecting a trap door to open, and I’d end up in some room with a real secret society, unlike the games my father played.
“I will ensure that Mr. McCoy doesn’t get on the property again.” He leaned a little closer. “What was the second issue you needed to discuss?”
“Next week, the swim team is in California for a meet,” I said.
“I’m aware. What of it?”
“I want Ren to come with the team.”
“Absolutely not. I let her leave with Mr. Hicks for the weekend. But I won’t allow her to venture further than the immediate area around the school.”
“If you were aware that Ren left, then you most certainly knew when Owen snuck on the property.” Dean Henry’s lip twitched. “Unbelievable. He could’ve killed Myles.”
“That wouldn’t have happened. Mr. McCoy was under surveillance the moment he touched school grounds. Nash, you have your chess pieces and reasons for doing what you do, and I have mine. But unlike you, I have rules that must adhere to and protocols that Wayward and the Curators hold sacred. Getting involved in Mr. Collier’s or Mr. McCoy’s issues is out of my scope unless they make it my scope. Do you understand me?”
“I do, but that’s a hell of a dangerous game to be playing with our lives. You don’t know what Owen is capable of,” I said.
“Nash, this is a dangerous world. I’m very aware of what Mr. McCoy and Devin are capable of just as I’m aware of what your father is capable of, but personal vendettas outside of these walls is not Curator business. Whether I want to interfere or not it is not. Curators do not interfere in any family drama unless it touches this school. We are not your personal bodyguards. So as much as I would love to simply write an order to have Mr. McCoy wiped away, that is not in my scope of duties, or choices.”
“Is there ever an exception to these rules?”
Henry was quiet as he sat back in his chair, his finger tapping on the top of the coffee mug he was holding.
“There has been a few exceptions made over the generations, but they are exceedingly rare. It is a whole process to have an exception made, we do not simply point and say that one is an asshole and has done terrible things therefore he must die. By that premise almost all the families in this school would be dead already.”
I shook my head and sucked in a deep breath.
“Fair enough, I guess. Seems ridiculous to me to have so much power to stop evil and just sit on it.”
“I know it must seem that way to you.”
Henry took a sip of his coffee while I thought about what he’d said. It really did feel like a tightrope walk of when to get involved, and even if I didn’t like it, that didn’t mean I didn’t understand it.
“Now as far as Owen is concerned. The rules were explained to Owen by the guards when he showed up the first time. He has now violated them by sneaking in and speaking to Myles on Wayward property.”
“I get it. I don’t like it, but I understand what you’re saying. Is there someone actively hunting for him right now?”
“I’m glad that we understand one another, Nash, but that is not a question I can answer. As for Ms. Davies, I cannot let her leave.”
“But we can’t leave her here. If you know everything, then you know that her life is at risk. Even inside these walls, she isn’t safe.”
“And what makes you think she will be with you? My understanding is that you are not on speaking terms, or did I hear that wrong?” I ground my teeth and wished I had his moles. They seemed to be endless. Maybe checking under the bed wasn’t a bad idea.
“We are working through some things,” I said, and he smirked.
“I see. Nothing more than a lovers quarrel,” he said, his lip lifted, calling me out.
“Look, make fun of me all you want. I want her with the team. I can’t focus on the meet if I am worried about her safety. Besides, I think it’s time she met her family. The Mikhailovs have expressed a desire to reconnect, and Ren is wanting to meet them. She is just a big enough pain in my ass that she will try to go on her own.”
Dean Henry removed his glasses and pulled out a handkerchief. He stood and walked to the window, cleaning them while staring outside. “This is a very difficult situation, Nash. You’re putting me in a terrible position. I accept your argument, but the truth is, Ren is still far safer behind these walls.”
“I thought you might say that. There is only so much risk you can take before your rules or keeping students safe are broken. But…what if the responsibility was no longer your issue?”
“Meaning?”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a sealed envelope and placed it on his desk. Walking over, he picked it up and turned on his desk lamp and shined it through the envelope.
“Now who’s looking for poison?”
The dean didn’t respond as he opened what I’d given him and pulled out the paperwork. He took his time reading it over before sitting down and stamping each page. When finished, he filed it in the bottom drawer of his desk.
“Well, you’ve backed me into a corner. How do you see this playing out? Only members of the team are allowed to travel.” He folded his hands and leaned back in his chair. I’d stepped on his toes and, in a way, gone above his head, but it needed to be done. Leaving Ren here was too risky.
“Team manager. We don’t have one currently. Ren is smart, always on time, and great at organizing. Coach can utilize her, and we can keep her safe.”
He stared at me unblinking for so long that I wondered if he’d fallen asleep with his eyes open. “I want to make this clear, Nash. I don’t like this. You’re removing my ability to pull authority over anyone who attacks you, so if something happens, you can’t look to me for help. You’ve nullified my power.”
“I haven’t for the rest of the team, just Ren, so by your measure if the bus was attacked, then you’d still have authority to go after those individuals. And, are you talking just for this trip or ever again?”
“You do love to split hairs,” he said, but didn’t deny my claim. “And, no. On Wayward property, Ren is still our responsibility, and that will never change. But from here on out, unless you remove this order you’ve given me, the moment you take her off the property, you can’t return and ask for help if “shit goes sideways”,” he said, making little air quotes with his fingers. “Do you understand?”
Fuck, I hated this so much. “Yes, I understand.”
He stood and buttoned up his suit jacket. “Then I will make it happen with Coach. You can show yourself out.”
I stopped at the door and turned. “I didn’t do this to undermine you. I do respect you and appreciate what you’ve done for me. I’m also not trying to pull one over on you or the Curators, and want you to know that. I’m doing what is necessary.”
“I understand that you needed to make a move, but be careful that you don’t have so many pieces in play that you unknowingly put yourself in checkmate with pieces you didn’t see coming. The board is always in flux. Good day, Nash.”
Once outside of the office, I stood there for a minute, breathing deeply. What was he trying to tell me? Everything with Dean Henry was a riddle. What pieces did I have in play that worried him? What pieces didn’t I see that I should be scared of? I hated that he made me question my every decision. Fuck.