“Hamilton thinks so. The same people who put him in prison are responsible for driving Denton underground.” Denton hasn’t gone underground—he’s dead. Hamilton confirmed it, even if there is no body. He also told me my brother Kaiden and his friends were behind it, but I’m not revealing that to Roman. The less he knows, the better.
In the eyes of the law, Denton is still our guardian, and they have no clue he isn’t living with us because I’m leaving a digital footprint and his family hasn’t reported him as missing, for reasons I don’t know or really care. I’ll be eighteen next year, and I can apply to be Roman’s official guardian then, so I just need to cover our tracks until then.
“So, Hamilton is an elite too?” Roman surmises.
“He was their new president until his arrest.” Hamilton reached out to me after Denton went AWOL. It seems Denton told him about us and how I was helping him to seek revenge on my brother and his friends.
Hamilton thinks the work I’m doing will help to free him, but I have my own agenda. I’m only letting him think he’s in the driver’s seat because he is still a powerful man with loyalfollowers within the elite who are willing to do his bidding on the outside. If he knew I was the one who framed him last year, he’d send someone to kill me. Of that, I’m sure. But he’ll never discover the truth because I have considered every angle and covered my tracks.
Thank fuck, Dad shared his passion for IT with me at a young age and I took to it like a duck to water. I could never have secured my internship with Techxet without my considerable skill set. I’m not sure he’d be proud of what I’m doing, but he’s not here to chastise me anymore.
“What’s my real name? I know you would’ve asked Denton,” Roman asks in a quiet tone, his eyes pleading with me.
I don’t see there is any harm in giving him that much. There is nothing online about us, and no official record of our births exists under our real names. Plus, Anderson is a popular last name, and even if he tried to find our other brothers, it would be impossible without their first names. I eyeball my brother, and my heart is full of love for him. Roman is all I have in this world, and he means everything to me. Everything I have done, and everything I have planned, is all for him. “Spencer. Your real name is Spencer Anderson.”
His Adam’s apple jumps in his throat. “And yours?” he croaks.
“My name is Rogan Anderson.”
Chapter Five
Emery
“Incoming,” Uma says, as we sit side by side in the cafeteria on Monday after our morning classes. I lift my head just as Zayn thrusts a bunch of flowers in my face. Delicate floral scents tickle my nostrils as I stare at him with wide eyes.
He drops into the seat beside me, uninvited, placing the flowers down on the table. “I owe you an apology.” He clears his throat, piercing me with those gorgeous brown eyes, and I’m instantly lost, trapped under his hypnotic gaze.
“Go on,” I encourage, forcing words out of my mouth and attempting to focus so I don’t come across like an idiot fangirl.
“I was rude to you on Friday night. I didn’t mean to be. I was just worried about my brother. Thank you for helping Roman.”
“Is he okay?”
Zayn nods, and a muscle clenches in his jaw.
“Why did he say that at the end? He acted like he knew me.”
“He was trashed. He got you confused with someone else.” He holds my gaze, and I’m at risk of going under again.
“Apology accepted. Thank you for the flowers.” My smile is genuine as I grab the bouquet, bringing the blooms to my nose.
“Let me make it up to you properly. Go out with me tonight.”
Uma snorts. “Did you wake up and bang your head this morning or something?”
Zayn shoots her some serious stink-eye, but my friend isn’t mistaken. To date, Zayn has been rude and obnoxious, so this turnaround is as suspicious as it is unexpected.
“My brother is important to me,” he says, ignoring Uma and staring straight at me. “You were nice to him, and that means a lot. I know I’ve been a jerk, but you intrigue me.” He flashes me a panty-melting smile. “It’s a classic case of being mean to the girl you like.”
“That’s what we’re calling it now,” Uma harrumphs, shaking her head, but there’s a glint of amusement in her eyes.
“I call bullshit,” I say. “We’re not in middle school anymore. That excuse doesn’t fly with me, and you know what?” I sit up straighter, pulling my shoulders back. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t owe me anything except it would be nice if you stopped acting like a douche around me.”
Pushing his chair in closer to mine, he puts his face all up in my business. “I promise to be on my best behavior if you promise to go out with me tonight.”
“I’m guessing no one has ever told you no.”
“I’m not who you think I am,” he coolly adds, his gaze lowering to my mouth. “I’ll prove it to you on our date.”
