Chapter 27 Xave
XAVE
“Well, this is highly unusual,” Jordan says in a flat voice as he strides into the second-floor library.
“What is?” I ask from where I’m sprawled out on one of the many chairs in the room, my feet up on a stool.
He gives me an unimpressed look and crosses his arms over his chest. “You summoning me for a meeting.”
“Not just you,” I tell him and drop my feet off the footstool.
His brow furrows in confusion. “Huh?”
Putting my hands on my thighs, I push myself up so I’m standing. “The meeting isn’t just with you.”
He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, but the door to the library swings open, effectively cutting him off.
“What the fuck is this shit about?” Nico asks as he strides into the library with Axel on his heels.
“Close the door,” I tell them.
Nico gives me a hard look and kicks the door shut behind him. “What the fuck, Hawthorne?” he asks again.
“I need to talk to you guys about something.”
They all exchange a look.
“What?” Axel asks when I don’t continue.
“I’m seeing someone.”
“That’s why you called us into a meeting?” Jordan asks incredulously. “Why the fuck would we give a shit that you’re dating someone?”
“Because it’s Damon Cosgrove.”
All three men freeze, their expressions varying masks of confusion and shock. I don’t bother hiding my smile at their reactions. I was hoping to get a good one, and this is better than I expected.
“Explain,” Jordan says as he snaps out of his daze and glares at me.
“Explain what?” I ask innocently.
To anyone else, Jordan would look intimidating as fuck right now. His glare has been known to make pretty much anyone who finds themselves on the business end of it squirm, but I’ve known him, Nico, and Axel for too long for that shit to work on me.
“What the fuck kind of brain damage do you have that you think you can date a fucking Keeper?” Nico cuts in, his voice shaking with anger. “Is the dick that good that you’re willing to be a fucking security risk for some emo bitch—”
I cut the distance between us in a few long strides and grab Nico by the front of his shirt. He’s so surprised by the move he doesn’t fight as I walk him backward and slam him into the drywall.
“Do not talk about him like that,” I practically snarl, using my body weight to push him against the wall hard enough to force the breath from his lungs.
“Fucking hell,” Axel mutters as powerful hands close around my shoulders.
I let Axel pull me away from Nico, but it takes more effort to let go of him than it should.
“What the actual fuck, Hawthorne?” Axel demands as he shoves me back a few paces.
“Say whatever you want about me,” I tell them, my anger still so close to the surface I can practically taste it. “But I will end anyone who talks shit about him.”
“Jesus fuck.” Nico flips his hair back from his face with a quick flick of his head. “Is it possible that Xavier Hawthorne is in love?”
I shoot him a flat look. “You have something to say about it?”
“Just that I never in a million years woulda thought you’d ever catch feelings for someone.” He smirks and steps away from the wall so he can stand next to Axel. “Your boy must have a magic mouth.”
“Easy, Tiger.” Axel steps between us as I lunge for Nico again. “Put the claws away and chill the fuck out.”
“Tell him to watch his fucking mouth,” I tell Axel.
“Dude,” Axel glances back at Nico. “Can you shut the fuck up for five minutes so we can settle this?”
“Fine,” Nico grumbles. “But I’m not saying anything you two aren’t thinking.”
“How long has this been going on?” Jordan asks, his voice even and deadly calm.
“A few weeks.”
The corner of his mouth ticks up in a barely there smirk-smile. “Liar.”
“Since you told me to keep an eye on him,” I say, even though that’s not the truth, either. They don’t need to know about what happened at the rave, or how long this has been going on under their noses.
“You realize that this is unheard of, right?” Axel asks. “No Rebel has ever fucked around with a member of a rival frat. Not in over a century of the frat existing.”
“Not that we know of,” I say with a casual shrug. “But there’s a first time for everything.”
“Since when are you into dick?” Nico asks, but his tone is more curious than belligerent.
“I’m not,” I tell them. “But I’m into him.”
A sardonic grin breaks out on his face. “He must be one hell of a lay if he could make you switch teams.”
“Watch it,” I warn him as Axel steps between us again, preemptively keeping us apart.
Nico raises his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just saying that more than his mouth must be magical if you’re going against the frat for him.”
“Bro.” Axel looks up at the ceiling in exasperation. “Can you stop antagonizing him for five seconds?”
“I could,” Nico says, still grinning like the Joker. “But where’s the fun in that?”
“Is your issue that he’s a Keeper? Or that he’s a he?” I level a glare at Nico.
He snort-laughs. “I don’t give a fuck if you have a newfound love for dick. Whatever, bro, you do you.” The grin drops from his face. “But I have a problem with who that dick belongs to. And so should you.”
“Who else knows about this?” Jordan asks, still as calm as can be.
“My family.”
“Any of the Keepers?” Jordan’s stare is intense.
I nod. “One of his friends caught us, but that’s it.”
“Your dad or uncles?”
I shake my head.
“Really?” Jordan raises one eyebrow in surprise. “You’re telling us before them?”
“Figured I’d get shit settled here first.”
“Your family has power and influence, but not more than our families.” Jordan gives me another intense look. “You need our support, and you know it.”
I nod again.
He’s not wrong. My dad and uncles have a fuck ton of pull and power in the alumni, but Jordan, Nico, and Axel’s dads are just as powerful, and I know for a fact that the rest of the alumni will be pissed as hell with me.
Their support could be the difference between Damon and me being accepted or me being ostracized and my family getting destroyed because I betrayed my oath.
“You’re willing to lose everything for him?” Jordan asks.
“Yes.”
Jordan studies me. “Give me one reason I should trust that he’s not a threat to us.”
“Carter.”
His brow furrows.
“You had Carter look into him when you told me to watch him. Do you really think Carter would have missed it if there was any indication that he was a threat or that he’s up to anything nefarious?”
Jordan purses his lips and keeps quiet, which is the same as him admitting I’m right.
“Did he find anything?” I press.
Jordan shakes his head.
“So, is this going to be a problem?” I look between the three men.
Axel and Nico both look at Jordan, silently deferring to him.
The three of them might work like a single unit, and they’ve been as close as brothers since they were babies, but Jordan is, and has always been, the ringleader of the group, and what he says goes.
“I will kill both of you if this blows up in my face,” he says, his voice as dark as his look. “And I will make it my life’s mission to destroy not just you, but your cousins and their partners, and your entire family legacy.” He pauses for a beat. “Understood?”
“Understood.” I glance at Nico and Axel. “Are we going to have a problem?”
“Nope,” Nico says. “Not unless you make it a problem.”
“No chances,” Axel adds. “You fuck up once or he steps over the line one time, and it’s game over for both of you.”
“Deal.”
“There’s one more thing,” I say as Jordan turns toward the door.
He pauses.
“We need a place where we can meet since our rooms aren’t an option.”
The corners of his lips tip up in a sardonic smile as he glances back at me. “Do you now?”
“Yes.”
“And why should we help you with that?” Nico asks bluntly. “You having a place to fuck your boy isn’t exactly our concern.”
“True,” I say lightly. “But let’s just say it’s in everyone’s best interest if it is your concern.”
“And why is that?” Axel asks.
“Because I get cranky when I can’t see him, and that’s when my lips get loose.”
Jordan’s eyes narrow. “Are you threatening us?”
“Nope. Just telling you how it is.”
“That sounds an awful lot like you stepping out of line, and it’s been what, two minutes?” Axel says flatly.
“Not me stepping anywhere,” I say, injecting as much fake innocence into my voice as I can. “Just reminding you that I have leverage here, and I’m asking nicely for your assistance.”
Jordan is glaring at me so hard it looks like he’s trying to use telekinesis to give me a stroke or something, but I just hold his gaze and keep my expression impassive.
“You can use the auxiliary room,” he says through clenched teeth. “Get the code from Carter so you can shut down the cameras when you’re in there, but the swipe logs stay online.”
The auxiliary room is a small shed-like building between the main house and Hamilton House that was built back in the early eighties and was originally used to house the massive amounts of computer and electrical equipment that were needed for our house security back when the tech was new.
Now that our systems are self-contained and don’t need to be kept off-site, the building is obsolete, and as far as I know, no one has been inside it for years.
“Thanks,” I say.
He gives me a piercing look. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do.”
He stares at me for a few more beats, then nods.
I watch as the three of them leave the library, then I lock the door behind them and pull out my phone.
I already had Carter turn off the cameras and recording devices in here while we had our conversation; I might as well get the next thing checked off my to-do list while I’m in here.
Flopping back down on the chair, I pull up my mom’s number and send her a quick text.
Xave: are you free? I have something I need to talk to you about
I don’t expect her to answer right away, but she reads my text before my screen goes dark.
Mom: do you want me to call you or is this a text conversation?
Xave: call me
Mom: give me a minute to get to a different room