“This is where you’re wrong. I don’t see any benefit to any of this. You always get what you want. I bet there hasn’t been a single day you haven’t won.”
I smiled. “You see, that’s right. We get what we want because we don’t give up. By belonging to us, Sian, think about what you desire. What do you want most in this world? If you think long and hard, I can imagine there are things you wish for more than anything. Your needs so deep that you’ve found yourself hoping, if not praying to get them.” I was so close, but I didn’t touch her.
“You can’t give me anything.”
“Sian, we’re four of the most powerful families in the world. What we want, we take.”
“And you don’t care who you hurt?”
“We don’t think about that.”
“No. You just pretend everything belongs to you and that it’s supposed to be okay. It’s not. People get hurt, Dante.”
“What are you willing to do to make sure it doesn’t happen?” I asked.
“There’s nothing I can do.”
“You’ve just become a selected. The most powerful girl in this school. Believe me, Sian, there’s nothing you can’t have.”
She took a step away from me and I hated it. Her hand was clenched into a fist. Was she afraid? I didn’t like the thought of her being scared of us. This wasn’t about terrifying her.
“Powerful? Since the selection, Chloe has been on my case. Do you have any idea what she could have done to me if I’d fallen wrong?”
“Chloe is being taken care of.”
“Is this another porn video?”
“No. Her stepping out of line like that calls for a bigger punishment.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Good. You’re not supposed to.” I turned back to helping her unpack, taking my time. She had very few belongings, and when I got to two photographs, I couldn’t help but linger. One was of her and Heather. The two were so close. I had to wonder if Sian was aware of Heather’s feelings. Something told me she didn’t have a clue.
Her aversion to being touched … I had to wonder why. Was she used to touch? What made her always take that step back? She was always telling us to stop touching her. Why?
There was so much I didn’t know about her, and I wanted to delve deep, to figure her out.
Putting the picture beside her bed, I stared intently at the other one. This had Sian with an older woman. The woman stood behind Sian, and it looked like a really badly taken selfie. Was this Drew?
We were in the process of finding out as much information about Sian Roberts as possible without alerting anyone else to our search. Everything we knew so far had been given to us by our fathers, and other than date of birth, general likes and interests, it told us fuck all about the girl who was meant to be ours.
I hated doing homework, but when it came to Sian, nothing seemed too difficult.
When there were only her clothes to finish putting away, I decided to give her some privacy and head back into the main room. William played on his cell phone. Mateo sat at the table, working from a book. He’d gotten a low grade in math and was having to do the necessary homework to catch up. Gideon wasn’t anywhere to be found.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“The gym,” William answered.
“Now?”
“Yep. What better time to work off his blue balls than when a beautiful girl is living with us?” He didn’t look up from his cell phone.
“Make sure to order some pizza,” I said.
“Already done it.”
“Don’t do anything fucking stupid.”
“Like she is going to let us do something stupid,” William said.
“Will you two shut up? I’ve got to do this.”
I left the dorm and headed across campus, taking a slow jog to get to the building with the gym.
Coach Bilson was lifting some weights as I entered, and he nodded at me. I didn’t like him, and there was something about him I didn’t gel with. Like there was a piece of a puzzle I missed.
I found Gideon at the punching bag. He’d changed into his workout clothes, and his naked fists were pummeling the bag.
I walked over and grabbed either side to stop it from moving. “You think this is the answer?”
“I think it’s the only thing I can do right now,” Gideon said.
“You could have helped her move in.”
“I carried her shit, didn’t I?” Three consecutive punches landed. I braced for the impact, holding the bag firm.
“You’re pissed off. This is a win for us.”
Gideon lowered his hands and laughed. “A win. You think this is a win for us?”
“You don’t?”
“Hell, no. Sian hasn’t caved. She was manipulated. Her parents did this.”
“And you’re pissed.”
“You know this is strike one, don’t you?” Gideon asked.