Has anyone seen Dane?
We need to talk to him.
Something doesn’t feel right to me.
“Come to think of it, no. You said he was here when we got home, but then I was tied up with Elliot. Maybe his parents needed him at home for some reason. I’ll text him.” Confusion washes over Archer’s features. “Cannon, you were right. I regret that we didn’t talk to him. He might have insight as to why Elliot went home early—I’m having trouble buying that she had a headache come on that fast. She was fine only an hour before. And whether this was connected to Nick or not, I don’t know, but it’d be a crazy coincidence if it wasn’t.”
“I’d hate to think she lied.” Kingston grits his teeth. “I don’t know. But it’s obvious Nick’s been fuckin’ watching our girl.Ours.Not fucking his.” Finally, he lets out a deep sigh and slaps his thighs before standing up. “Let’s get her up and see if she wants to go to class—her choice. I know we have a fuck ton of shit to discuss with her, but for now, I think she needs to breathe. The most important thing to me is that she’s okay. Whatever the fuck else is happening is all secondary. Agreed?”
Archer gives a solemn nod.
There’s so much happening, I don’t doubt he’s at capacity for what he can effectively handle. I honestly don’t know how he’s managing. And because the situation calls for it, I rasp, “Agreed.”
TEN
KINGSTON
I’ve been dreading—andputting off—doing anything that would rock our proverbial boat for close to two full days now. This phone call I have to make is for sure one of those things that will do it, though. Unfortunately, the alumni expect to be advised when “incidents” occur, and the situation is made more miserable for me because my father is on the alumni advisory committee.
I drag in a breath, propping my ass on top of the desk in the library as I hit the call button so I can alert the great Jared Hawthorne of the potential disaster we’ve found ourselves in the middle of. My mind rolls backward several weeks to when we had Elliot here, questioning her presence at our pledge night. And fast-forwarding to now, we’ve become so protective of her that we beat the shit out of her ex. There could definitely be repercussions, unless the hapless fucker decided he’d get himself into too much trouble by outing us. He was alive when we left. Breathing. I would have preferred to end him, but then we’d be in a bigger mess.
And the glaring issue is that if I tell my dad why we fucked Nick up, he’ll find out about Elliot being female—and perhaps worse, that I allowed her to stay.
The call rolls to voice mail, and whether that’s Jared Hawthorne ignoring me like he has most of my life or because he’s truly not there, I don’t give a fuck. It’ll buy me some time to figure out what to do.
I allow a gust of relieved air to billow from my lungs as I listen to the recording that prompts me to leave a message. Staring off into space and searching for the right words, I clear my throat. “Hey, it’s me. Give me a call back when you get a chance.” I leave it at that and tap the button to end the call.
I close my eyes, trying to shake off the feeling of inferiority I get anytime I speak to my father. I fuckin’ hate the idea that he’s eventually going to find out what’s been going on around here and point out everything I’ve done wrong as head of Hawthorne Hall and how he’d have managed these issues flawlessly if it were him. And it’s exactly what I need, to have him stroll in here and make me look like an idiot who doesn’t know my head from my ass. I huff out a perturbed breath. What he won’t see are the things I’ve done right because none of that ever matters. But this is Jared Hawthorne 101. If he can make his progeny feel like shit, he will. He would never have let Elle stay, but that’s the one thing I know I’ve doneright.
“Everything okay?” Archer stands at the threshold of the room, one hand resting on the doorframe. His steely eyes flick from me to the phone I’ve set on the desk beside me.
I scrub my hand over my face. “Yeah. I just figured—” I grit my teeth, meeting his alert gaze. “Come in and shut the door, would you?”
His brows raise on his forehead, but his head bobs as he takes a step into the room and turns around, securing the heavy wooden door behind him.
“Where’s Cannon?”
“Campus. Working out, I presume.” Archer glances at his watch. “He’s usually there this time of day.”
I nod. “Right. Sorry. If I was thinking straight, I wouldn’t have asked. Elliot?”
“She said she’d be upstairs writing some paper for her lit class. She’s still playing catch-up, I think.” He pauses to wet his lips. “I don’t know how she’s managed it with missing a full week for the concussion, but she says other than that, she’s mostly back on track.”
“She’s smart. We already knew that. I figured she’d be able to handle it, no problem at all,” I mumble, looking down at the floor, scuffing the toe of my shoe into the wood.
A good thirty seconds goes by, and I have no idea what else to say. The pressure I feel to make sure everything that happens within these walls is fitting of a brotherhood of our stature is tremendous. Already, we’ve had an initiate concussed during a game, snatched from the auction, and kidnapped from our fuckin’ front porch—and all under my watch. That’s pretty bad. If the alumni knew what’s been going on here, we’d be so fucked.
“What’s got you messed up in the head, K?” Archer comes to a stop in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest. I’m so lost in thought I hadn’t seen him move.
I take in a breath. “I know when we talked yesterday we said we’d let things settle. I’m anxious to talk to Elliot about everything.” My voice is raspy and low as I grit out, “I don’t want to push her. I’m worried about her, how she’s mentally handling everything. Like, is she okay? Or is she about to tip right over the edge?”
Archer nods, those gray eyes staring at me from under the fringe of his lashes, but all the while, I know he’s thinking through things in his head. “Right. Her well-being is important. I get everything you’re saying, though.” He grits his teeth. “I can’t believe she hasn’t asked me about taking all that shit outta her bathroom.”
I let out a disturbed breath. “Maybe she’s noticed but has chosen not to bring it up. She could be embarrassed. I dunno. At least she’s safe.” I throw out a hand in frustration. “But Nick’s still out there, no doubt pissed off about how things went down. I’m certain she’s beside herself wondering if he’ll return for her.” I drop my head back. “He could cause so much fuckin’ trouble for us. Speaking of”—I gesture to my phone—“we got off track. I left a voice mail for my father.”
The corner of Archer’s mouth twitches into a smirk, and he huffs out a sarcastic laugh. “You mean the mighty Jared Hawthorne didn’t pick up when his only son called? Why am I not fucking surprised?”
“I don’t know what you heard of the message I left, but I didn’t say much of anything. Just asked him to call. We’ll see how fast that happens.”
