Chapter 41
forty-one
It’s been a hurried few days, stacking everything in place that we need.
“What lies in darkness will be brought into the light,” I murmur.
Despite dictating everything that needs to happen, delegating to everyone what their roles are, I hate relying on others to do their jobs. I like being in control.
Scout’s hand brushes the back of mine as we stare at the solid wooden doors on the second floor of the administration building.
“You got this,” she whispers, and I smile.
Without her? I think I wouldn’t care enough to go through all this trouble. But for my wife? For us? Yeah. It’s a must.
Before Scout, I performed everything in my life like a role I wasn’t meant to play. Terrified that any day someone would see straight through me. But not right now. Not with her beside me.
Following the rules and trying to impress those people did nothing for me. They don’t matter to me at all. Everything I care about is standing next to me. She’s my focus now. She and I and our future together.
Something locks into place inside my chest. Settles in like it always belonged there.
I’m not a fraud anymore. I’m not the guy trying to keep up anymore.
I’m the one stepping forward.
I clear my throat and whisper, “We got this.”
And for the first time, I believe it.
With a sidelong glance, I try to keep the emotion out of my voice. “You were appointed to me. But Scout? I’d fucking choose you every time. There’s no one else I’d want standing here with me.”
She bites her bottom lip. “Don’t say that. It sounds like you’re going to die.”
I reach for her cheek and brush it gently with a thumb. Her fear is reflected in my chest. We both know this is dangerous. But it must be done.
I grip the handles and throw open the doors, letting the light in.
Entering the space, it’s lined with a few robed elders hidden by their hoods.
Scout shuts the door behind me as I stroll up to the only empty chair.
But I don’t sit. I stop behind it, hands settling on the back like I already own the seat.
Lay my eyes on every dean, every administrator sitting with eyebrows raised as they study me. Stunned looks on their faces.
“Sorry, son. That chair was Dean Dutta’s. You can watch us from over there.” One of the men with frazzled white hair clinging to the sides of his scalp points to a wooden hard back in the far corner.
My pulse rises into my neck. Not just from the anxiety of what I’m about to do, but also righteous and visceral wrath.
“No. This is for the POT’s other Student Leader Representative.”
“I’m sorry?” Dean Chauncery, head of the College of Business, speaks up. It’s not a question of fact. It’s one of challenge. As if someone dare question these men’s decisions.
“Yes. The student body voted. Student Council enacted the change under section 101.9. Unanimous. And binding. Therefore, not only is the Pairing Oversight Tribunal required to accept one fraternity Student Leader Representative for all pairing votes. But they now have to accept one from a sorority. And I, as SLR, have chosen her.”
The door clicks as all the heads in the room turn to see my wife enter. Black suit cut as sharp as a diamond across her taut figure. Face stern with a heavy warning. Hair slicked into a tight bun. And her glasses.
I cannot get hard right now.
I cannot…
“This isn’t. This... Your appointed is not— This woman was in the Wellness Center—”
“Oh, yes. That slight misunderstanding.” Scout smiles ferociously as she takes a seat in front of me. I lean over the table and reach for the remote control to the projector screen.
Hopefully, Valen got this all to work on cue.
“Yes. The Wellness Center… I have some news about that,” I say, pressing the power button and pulling up the broadcast. My heart thuds harder as Elle Joseph, Northview News’ premiere anchor, comes into full view.
Let them hear it from someone they can’t silence.
“…false medical imprisonment of a student from Northview University. From our investigation, it appears that President Damon herself requested the student to be admitted. Was attempting to dictate treatment and pushed for a longer stay than was medically indicated per physician’s report.”
Collectively, the deans and elders shift in their chairs uncomfortably. One gets red in the face. Another coughs as if choking and reaches for a glass of water. The hood of an elder practically flies off his head as the old man scurries from the room toward the door. Likely to alert someone.
But the reporting continues.
“We at Northview News were able to obtain a copy of the conversation between the victim’s husband and the president. Under duress, the victim’s husband was forced to sign paperwork that he couldn’t understand, due to his disability.”
Scout reaches up and squeezes my hand in solidarity. I know she thinks I’m embarrassed. And perhaps I am a little to let others figure out my issue. But it’s for the best. I’m willing to take the hit to my ego to save her.
To save us all.
“Further investigation is necessary, but in response, the Dean of Student Affairs agreed with Northview News that the internal executive board, as well as the elders, would take the matter seriously. We’ll keep you updated on any developments.”
The silence in the room is stifling. Pressing in on my ears. All the fears that had flooded my guts have evaporated, replaced with cold determination.
For years, these men ruled in the shadows. Today, the light finally reached them.
“So…shall we get started on some student pairings, or what?”
One of the elders waves his hand beneath the robe, and Dean Chauncery finds his voice. “Uh… Yes, but I think… Perhaps, we need a recess. Recess? Adjourn next week? Same time?”
Without a word, I let my sharp gaze do my talking. He finally meets it with a look of acquiescence. “And, of course. Welcome, Mrs. Griffin. And greetings to our new co-student leader representatives. Your opinions will help us shape the next level of pairings.”
I smile and nod. “Meeting adjourned.”
Taking Scout’s hand, I lead her from the room, arm-in-arm.
Strolling like we just blew up the building and walked away from the smoke.
“Now what?” she asks as we enter into the daylight just outside the glass doors.
“Head to our new place? Wait for the next news break?” I suggest.
Her phone dings with several notifications. She glances down at the screen. “They regraded my exam! One hundred perfect percent!”
And with that, we know we’ve claimed a small victory. A battle, not the war.
She and I can’t help the grins that spread between us. The wider hers gets, the broader mine is. Until she jumps into my arms, and I squeeze her tight. “We won, baby.”
“We won.”
And it feels too easy. That’s what worries me.
“Check the rest,” I say, encouraging her to open her phone as I wander toward a stone bench. We sit as she pulls up her texts.
“Mom was appointed Dean of Northview University Medical College. Dad is replacing Ayan’s father as Dean of Arts and Sciences.”
We release deep sighs of relief. I close my eyes, then open them, staring at the winter’s pink sky. “Two down…”
“More to go,” she agrees. “Closer to the root.”
“We’ll fill the positions one by one with the right people. The board is almost fully allies now. We have the POT under control.”
She nods. “Just the president and elders to face now.”
“The elders…” I sigh, unsure how to deal with them. Supposedly, the most powerful on campus, doling out orders to the president herself. Or is it the other way around now?
That afternoon, President Damon releases a statement. In true form, the words are filled with syllables but lack meaning.
“We must do more to protect our students” and “The new Dean of Health Sciences will implement rules to ensure something like this can’t happen again. We are actively working to replace this role.”
“She’s using the excuse that she was led to believe she was doing the right thing?” Scout paces in our house, holding up an accusatory finger at the evening news. “By whom?”
“Previous Dean Townsend. She’s placing the blame on him. And no one can ask if he came up with the plans because, well, he’s already dead.”
“Convenient.”
I cut into my lamb and stuff a bite into my mouth. Mom and Dad visited for dinner and brought over a week’s worth of food.
“I don’t understand what’s going on, but I’m just so glad that you’re out of there,” Mom tells Scout.
Dad claps me on the back. “Sounds like you did the right thing.”
The evening stretches on where my mom gets to know Scout more as the two discuss the recipe she made tonight. Though I don’t know why. I’ll make it for us.
But when Scout turns around to see if I’m watching, she gives me a wink.
Oh…she’s doing this because she wants to know more about me. And share things I like, too.
“You’re drooling.” Dad taps my thigh as we stretch back on the sofa Atlas hauled over for us.
“Am I?”
Dad smirks. “Welcome to being intoxicated by your wife.” He stares at Mom for a long moment, and I smile. I’ve been happily blessed with great parents. “Oh!” He groans as he shifts up to sit. “These deep cushions are killer on my back. Help your old man up.”
I stand and grab his hand, aiding him off the couch. Dad’s in amazing shape. Goes to the gym every day. But he is getting on in years. Quite a bit older than Mom. Plus, Leo, Atlas, Nico, and I were not easy on him.
“Sunshine? You ready?” He wanders behind Mom and gives her a squeeze.
“Yeah, just let me put the rest of these away.”
“Oh no, Essa. I’ve got them,” Scout says, hurrying to gather the leftovers. “I can’t thank you enough for coming over. We needed this.”
Mom hugs her goodbye, then gives me a tiny kiss on my cheek. “You’re welcome to crash in our basement, too, if you ever need—”
“No, you’re not.” Dad lowers his voice and grits out, “We’re getting them out of the house, sunshine.”
She giggles as they leave, muttering something about Dad being the one to want all the babies in the first place.
As soon as the door shuts, Scout’s there by my side. “Your parents are awesome.”
I shrug. “So are yours.”
“Are you ready?”
“Ready for what?”
She smiles. “To fix our next problem? My ex?”
I chuckle. “I’ve been ready. What’s the play here?”
We cozy up the couch and try to formulate a plan.
Settling in, we go over the autopsy reports that Kinsley and Scout read through. The clues, the lollipops, the cloaked man, and the car incident. Ellis.
When a tear forms in Scout’s eye, I give her the space to tell me stories. Sad ones. Angry ones. Happy ones. All about her friend and how she misses her.
It’s a hole in her heart that I can’t mend, and I hate that. But maybe I can be there. A silent witness to the pain, and maybe that will be enough. She’s not alone in it now.
I clear my throat, looking at the computer screen over Scout’s shoulder as she sits on my lap at the dining table. “If Ayan is the one hunting girls for their organs, he deserves to be taken care of. Permanently. Like his father.”
“Right. And I want to help.” Her face sets like flint as she says, “I want to be the last face he sees.”
Something tenses inside me, but I have to agree. “Just so long as you’re safe, you can be there. I get wanting your revenge. You should take it. But I don’t know how to handle this without subjecting you to danger.”
Scout’s eyes narrow, and I can see a vision cross her mind. “The second Red Night event of the year is coming up at Theta Manor. Lakshmi Patel will have an invite to that since she’s the Iota president. And she’ll bring Ayan…”
“Masked event. Orgy. Lots of opportunities to strike, but you’re forgetting one thing…”
“What’s that?”
“I’m the Delta president. No way Aiden Cardell would have me attend. It’s unheard of for other Greek presidents to attend.”
She scoffs. “I have connections.”
“Hmm?”
“Ashlyn and I are friends.”
“Ahh…yes. Okay.”
“And Aiden’s sister is appointed to your best friend.”
I purse my lips. I’m impressed. “Yes. Yes, this can work. I see. Good, good. So we get invited. We stay in costume.”
“We avoid my brothers, please. I really don’t want to see them naked.”
“I wholeheartedly concur.”
She gnaws on her bottom lip.
“No brothers, but we could do a quick snatch, grab, then shoot.”
Scout shakes her head. “Do you have a silencer?”
I chuckle and ruffle her hair. “Of course, tulip.”
“I bet some Thetas would be eager to help if we need it.”
Slapping my thighs, the feeling of resolve sets in. “This is it. This is the plan.”
Scout smiles with relief loosening her shoulders. “I like it.”
“Tomorrow night? We end Ayan.”