A Rose to Keep (The Society 1)

“Anything is possible.”

“I can pay,” I said. “For you to find anything out about this school. The kind of information they would kill to keep hidden.”

Fred folded his arms. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please,” I said. “Look, I’m not going to say this isn’t going to be dangerous and please don’t do it if you really can’t, but … I’m desperate.” I was desperate enough to ask a perfect stranger about the complications happening in my life.

“Sian, you talking to me could get my ass whipped. You’re a selected. You’re the Saintly Devils’ property.”

I groaned. “And if anyone asked, I’d say we were talking about computers or something. Maybe I had a virus. I don’t know and to be honest right now, I don’t care. I need to understand a whole lot of stuff that is going on.”

He still didn’t look convinced.

I was running out of options. “Haven’t you ever felt like the world is against you? That no matter what you do, you’re running to catch up with everything going on around you.”

He nodded.

“That’s my life right now. I just need someone willing to help me find out the truth.”

He pressed his lips together with a nod. “Fine. I’ll do it for free, but no one is to know we’re meeting up. Got it.”

I smiled and went to hug him, but he pulled away. “Right, sorry.” I wasn’t the hugging kind of person, but I felt the need to hug him. He was the first person to be willing to help me out.

“Good. Right, I’m going to go. Nice talking to you, Sian.”

“Wait? How am I going to know you want to see me?” I asked.

“You’ll know.”

He continued to walk away, and I was none the wiser. Time to head back to the dorm and to the four men who were a giant pain in my ass. Cute though, but that didn’t mean anything.

Chapter Thirteen

Gideon

The guys and I were talking, and we’d come to an agreement. In order to make this go smoothly, we needed to attack Sian from all different angles. Not to hurt her, but to make her more comfortable with us close to her. To date her.

All four of us, one on one.

I got the first date, which was why, two days after our argument, we sat opposite each other at a cute little Italian place not far from campus.

Sian had refused at first, but after we all talked about it, she agreed.

For the past twenty minutes, we’d been sitting here in silence.

I was used to girls doing anything and everything to get to me. They would talk a mile a minute, or tell me how hot I was. They’d even go into graphic detail of everything they wanted to do to me.

Sian sat silently. Her arms folded across her middle, looking everywhere else but at me.

This wasn’t a good date.

I wasn’t like this. I could be a fun guy. All the crap going on with my dad and my duty was making it harder for me to be able to relax.

Every topic I tried to think about bringing up brought me round to another argument. With Sian, it was like dating a civilian. She didn’t know what was expected of her. Mateo still hadn’t found out any information yet as to why she disappeared.

Her life sounded like a dream.

Part of me was jealous. She got to live a normal life, away from expectation. At the same time, I didn’t want normal. There was nothing amazing about a normal life. I wanted the power, the money, the influence. My father had shown me what some of The Society could do, and I wanted in. He knew what to do and say to draw me in, to make me willing to do anything. The Society was a mystery. They worked behind the scenes in every single part of life. For those who were members, when you followed the rules, you were rewarded handsomely. You were taken care of on every single level. The Society opened doors for you. They were not just there for the wealthy either. Rumor had it that they helped those less fortunate. The shining stars of the future, helping them to reap the benefits of their lives. Where there was good, there was bad, and The Society crossed the boundaries of it all.

“Do you really want to keep doing this?” Sian asked, unfolding her arms.

“Yes.”

“Look, I get what you guys are doing, but this is not the way.”

“Why not?”

“Gideon, we’re not talking. The silence doesn’t help make a person hungry.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

She sighed. “Why do we even have to do this? It’s not going to change anything.”

“Would you prefer not to get to know the four men you’ve got to live with?” The guys had told me to choose my words wisely. She didn’t know how life-altering our connections were going to be.