Deviant (Boys of Winter 3)

“Plausible deniability,” Carver mutters. “If we don’t admit to anything, they won’t have anything.”

King leans forward, and I watch as the thoughts circle his mind. “Are you sure?” he asks me. “So much could go wrong.”

“I’m not giving up my home,” I insist. “If it gets too much, everyone else is welcome to take their families and vacate as you were before I arrived in Ravenwood Heights. We have the best technology in the world. We can run this organization no matter where everyone is in the world. We can regroup once the speculation dies down. All I’m saying is that I’m not running. This is my home and this is where I’ll stay.”

King nods, watching me carefully to make sure that I’m making the right decision for me. Hell, he couldn’t give a shit what everyone else does as long as I am safe.

“Alright,” I say, quickly scanning around the table again. “So what now? Is this one of those things we all need to vote on?”

Earnest clears his throat beside me. “No, I believe not,” he says. “This is more of a personal matter for each of us to decide with our own families in private. You’ve stated that you do not wish to abandon Ravenwood Heights and we will respect that. Can I suggest another meeting in a few days where we can all share our plans moving forward?”

Sebastian Whitman scoffs from across the table. “Oh, please,” he says. “If our leader wishes to stay in Ravenwood Heights and fight for our organization, then we all should. Now is the time to stand as one, not run away scared.”

Carver nods. “I agree. If Elodie is putting her neck on the line to save Dynasty, to ensure that it continues to flourish, then we should all follow her lead. I vote that all families stay and fight for what we’ve built.”

“I second this,” King says, raising his hand.

One by one, hands begin to rise around the table, and before I know it, all seventeen hands are held proudly. “Good, I guess that’s sorted out,” I grumble, realizing that the last half an hour was more than a waste of time. What did we really discuss? That we’re all staying in Ravenwood Heights and keeping Dynasty on the low just as we were before? Fuck me. And to think that I could have been curled up in bed with Grayson’s head lost between my legs. “Is that it for the night? Can I actually go home?”

“There’s just one more issue to deal with,” Harding says, quickly flicking his gaze toward King. “There’s the matter of Tobias King and his role within Dynasty.”

My brows furrow as I watch King straightening in his seat. “How do you mean?” I ask Harding.

“He was your father’s right-hand man, and that role continued after your father’s untimely death. Because of this, he was more involved in the day-to-day business of Dynasty than the rest of us. So, we need to know that those duties are still being taken care of.”

I lean back in my chair, meeting Harding’s stare. “So, you’re telling me that after burying the man today, your most important question is who is going to file his paperwork?”

Harding slices his gaze around the room, unsure of where I’m going with this. “I uhh … well, yes. He had an important role which ensured the day-to-day business ran smoothly.”

“Oh, of course,” I say with a breathy laugh, having to pause for a second as the pain in my abdomen gets too uncomfortable. “And here I thought the most important question was who’s responsible for killing him.”

Harding’s eyes bug out of his head, but only for a second before he composes himself. As he goes to respond, I hold up my hand, having more than enough of this conversation. “Earnest came to me three days ago and we discussed Tobias’s role in detail, and if you had bothered to check your emails, you would have seen that the matter was already resolved. His son, Hunter King, will step into his father’s shoes, just as Tobias had always planned and trained him to do. So, thank you for again wasting my night. Now, if that is everything, you may all be excused to finish your night with your families.”

Not wanting tonight to drag on any longer, the men around me stand and exit the council chamber, probably feeling that tonight’s meeting was just as much of a colossal waste of their time as it was for me. The room quickly clears out and as the last man walks out of the council chamber, leaving just me, King, and Carver behind, my whole world crumbles, and I finally allow the pain to consume me.

I fall off the side of my chair, hitting the ground with a hard thud, and within moments, King and Carver are by my sides. King scoops me into his warm, capable arms and holds me tight as I desperately will myself to hold it together for just a little while longer.