Sian had tried to kill Chloe.
We’d all taken it in turns to watch Chloe, but for some reason, Gideon hadn’t left a single shift. He also didn’t talk while any of us was there, and I knew because I asked Dante and William.
Now as I watched Sian, saw the woman work, I couldn’t say I blamed her at all.
Chloe was a fucking bitch, always had been for as long as I could remember. Even before Sian joined us all at school, Chloe had been a first-class slut and to be quite frank, evil. She could turn it on and off. One moment, she could be the devil incarnate, the next, this sweet person who you doubted you knew. I saw her game straight away and stayed as far away from that kind of crazy as I could.
Running my fingers through my hair, I watched people as they milled around. My dad had already taken me to the side and said The Society wanted us to go to college, to get back to our lives, sooner rather than later. We had a week.
That was it.
A week.
Sian had to make a final decision by then.
I didn’t know if she was even aware of the life-changing decision she had to make.
Gideon and William had now told us that they’d expressed their feelings toward her. I didn’t know what to do. I had no doubt our parents already knew they’d broken the rules, but what could I do or say to make it right?
Bouncing my knee up and down, I wondered if I could tell Sian how I felt. I wanted to more than anything. I wanted her to know that I loved her, that I saw this working in its own messed-up glory. I didn’t care what the world thought. They could go and suck my dick for all I cared.
Sian was the only person who mattered. I loved her and I loved my friends. I’d die for all of them, willingly.
Checking the time, I saw Sian has been in the salon for close to two hours. She finally stood up, went to the payment desk, paid, and then left the shop.
Her hair was cut at shoulder level but got shorter as it curved around her face. She looked beautiful.
She came toward me. “How do I look?”
I cupped her face and kissed her. “Beautiful.”
She smiled and tucked a couple of strands behind her ear. “Do we have to go straight back?” she asked.
“No. We can stay here for as long as you want,” I said.
There was nothing waiting for us when we got home—other than a whole load of decisions that, to be honest, could wait. I didn’t want to make them and the longer we took, the less I had to think about them.
It sounded crazy, but it made sense to me.
“I’m thinking lunch?” she asked.
I offered her my arm as we walked through the mall, heading toward the food court. We didn’t say anything to each other, and I couldn’t help but glance at her. There was a smile on her lips.
Did she know the deadline?
We arrived at the food court, and Sian went for a vegan veggie burger. I decided on the same and this made her laugh, but she wouldn’t tell me why.
We found a private table. The mall wasn’t so busy, so the noise wasn’t too bad. The moment I took a bite out of my burger, I knew why she laughed.
“Do you like it?” Sian asked.
“They go a little overkill on the garlic, but no problem.” I didn’t mind garlic.
This made me smile as she chuckled.
Eating our burgers and fries, neither of us spoke. People came and went. I had so much I wanted to say to her and yet, I said nothing. Licking my lips, I glanced around the food court.
“I have feelings for all four of you,” Sian said.
This drew my attention back to her.
“I … I know that I don’t have a lot of time left. Lucas told me I had until the end of the week to make a decision as to if I leave or if I stay.”
My heart raced.
What should I say?
How did I let her know how I felt?
“I know we’ve always been a little distant,” I said. “My mind has been focused on other things and I haven’t been able to devote the kind of time to us that others have.”
Sian reached across the table and put her hand on mine. “I have feelings for you as well, Mateo. I love—” She stopped, tears in her eyes. “I love you all in a way and it scares me. Everyone I have ever loved has ended up dead and this … I don’t want any of you to die. Not at all.” She glanced around the food court and then swiped at her cheeks to stop the tears from falling.
No one had ever told me they loved me with actual meaning.
Looking at Sian, I totally got it. Drew, Heather, her mother, even her father, two had died, one had been drugged most of her life, and the other had hurt her in so many ways. Love, to Sian, equaled pain.
Locking our fingers together, I held Sian’s hand. “I’m not going to die,” I said. “I’m not going to go anywhere but where you want me to go. If you need me to, I will turn my back on The Society for you.”
She shook her head. “No. You cannot do that. If what they say is true, they will punish you.”
“I can’t ask you to stay with us and be part of The Society. You didn’t want it and your mother didn’t want it for you.”
Sian sighed. “Let’s not talk about this here. I feel like we’re going to be taken or something.” She laughed. “Er, I’m just going to go to the bathroom. You won’t leave, will you?”
“Leave without you? Hell, no.”
She gave my hand a squeeze and I watched her leave.
Damn it. This was why I steered clear of all emotion. The pain and the feelings were all just too much. They consumed me in a way that was nowhere near healthy. I felt sick and happy and sad all at the same time. There was no way this was the kind of life I wanted and yet, with Sian, I knew I could handle it.
Running my fingers through my hair, I tried to compose myself.
Someone slid into Sian’s chair and I glared, and then froze when I noticed who it was.
“Alexander Roberts,” I said.
He smiled at me.
There was a bandage across his cheek, and he looked … haggard. This wasn’t the carefully controlled mastermind of the pictures I’d seen. This was a man who looked close to the edge.
“Hello, Mateo Robinson. How is life treating you?” he asked.
“Your daughter just went into the bathroom. You must be getting desperate to be out and about. Nearly a year without a single appearance and you arrive at the mall of all places.”
He smiled. “I have my ways. The Society has a lot of enemies. It’s so easy to exploit them.”
I had no idea why this man was here or why now, why me, but I stayed perfectly still.
“If you’re thinking of alerting your fathers to my presence, I advise against it. I have a gun trained on you and I can kill you within a few seconds. If you want to live, I suggest you listen to me closely.”
I tensed up as he reached into his jacket.
“Your media empire is of great value to me.” He pulled out a USB key and slid it across the table. “You need to air this tomorrow night at ten.”
“What makes you think I’m going to do anything to help you?” I asked.
All I wanted to do was tackle him. To end this. Gun be damned.
I stared at him across the table, assessing my options. He must have followed us to the mall. I had no doubt he was dangerous, and I had to be careful.
Glancing around the mall, I smirked. “Do you think this is a smart move?”