Resisting the urge to squirm, I instead joke, “Aw, my very own football, pretty boy stalker. Lucky me.”
The corners of his lips quirk. “I wasn’t stalking you.”
“Liar,” I smirk at him.
He traces his tongue along his teeth, trying not to smile.
“I did have my own stalker, though,” I point out as I set my empty plate over on the nightstand.
He frowns. “Right. You were getting those messages from that unknown number.”
“Which was probably from the society.” I momentarily pause. “Why is the society helping your father?”
“Because he’s on the head committee of the society,” he explains, picking up the book again. “And when you join the society, you make a vow to protect all members, but the headcommittee is the one in charge. They get the final say on everything.”
My lips tug downward. “And all of the members just obey, no matter what these committee members tell them to do?”
He nods with a sigh as he flips a page in the book. “It’s basically like a cult.”
“You’re in it, though,” I point out tensely.
While the thought has crossed my mind, I don’t really believe it. But being who I am, I need to hear him say that he didn’t know.
His eyes widen as he notes my expression. “I didn’t know they were going to do this.”
I believe him quicker than I expected, but… “If they had told you about their plan, would you have done it?”
“Fuck no,” he says, his gaze boring into me. “That’s why they didn’t tell me. I was already problematic with some of the demands they were making, and if it weren’t for my father, I’d probably have been kicked out a long time ago. River was the same way. Many members didn’t want him to join. This puzzled me, but now it makes sense. They didn’t want him finding out about my father’s plan.”
“Do you think your father was worried about you guys joining and then finding out?”
“No. He wanted us to join because if we didn’t, our family would look bad.”
“Still… He had to be worried one of the members would let their plan slip.”
“He’s a cocky bastard who thinks he can get away with anything, so I’m sure he thought that, but I’m sure he also thought he could control the situation just like he’s been controlling us for most of our lives. And my mom too.” His tone wobbles a bit at the mention of his mom.
I recline back against the headboard. “Are you worried about her?”
He turns the page of the book, glancing at me. “My mom?”
I nod. “Do you really think she’s helping my real mother?”
He glances at the cover of the book. “I do. The way my dad said it… He was too annoyed for it not to be true.”
We fall silent as he begins reading through the book again.
I can’t stop thinking about my real mother, though. Ellie, the only person in this world who ever took care of me. Except she lied to me, but she did it for a reason. To protect me. It still hurts, though, and I wish she’d have told me sooner. I mean, I understand why she didn’t when I was younger, but I’m an adult now.
I think about the last message she sent me, which, I guess, could be kind of viewed as a warning. She was clearly in trouble when she sent it, perhaps even in danger.
“Do you think they’re okay?” I utter softly as I glance at Finn. “My mom and yours?”
Worry fills his eyes as he whispers, “I sure hope so, but at this point, I really don’t know what to think about anything.”
CHAPTER 18
MADDISON
