“Primary sign-off from the security lead, in consultation with your family.”
“And escorts?” I press gently.
“Rotations are standardized—coordination with approved oversight.”
“Like Omega Chi Kappa?” I slip it in casually, as if it’s no big deal.
She nods without hesitation. “Yes. Currently all of your escorts listed are active Omega Chi Kappa members. I have a Dredyn Steele, Jasper Thorn, Talon Reed, Beck?—”
“That’s perfect. Thank you.” I cut her off with a grateful smile before she can list every brother on the roster.
When she finally leaves, I dive back into the packet with fresh eyes. OCK is not optional, but mandatory, which means someone upstairs pulled rank on my parents.
One of the boys must know their father is a Syndicate leader and pulled strings. But why now? Why not sooner, when I was still locked in that penthouse, drowning in forced “treatment”?
I just need to find the OCK officer with daddy issues. Should be easy to snuff out.
But why not just tell me last night?
Why are we keeping secrets, boys?
If Mom and Dad aren’t calling the shots anymore, then the game is bigger than I thought—Syndicate-level bigger. And bigger games have more pieces, more blind spots, more cracks to slip through.
The office door creaks open down the hall and the three boys shuffle into the room with me.
“So? How’d it go with the White House robot?” Talon asks.
“Normal bullshit,” I say, tossing the packet onto the coffee table.
Dredyn doesn’t smile. He pushes off the doorframe and stalks closer. “Everything … handled okay? No weird pushback on the escort list?”
I narrow my eyes at him, suspicion prickling. He’s fishing, but not smoothly.
“No pushback. In fact, OCK is listed as mandatory.”
Talon straightens a fraction. Jasper’s gaze darts to Dredyn.
Dredyn rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, well... that’s exactly what we wanted. Right?”
Right.
Except his jaw is tight, and he’s not meeting my eyes.
I tilt my head, voice deceptively light. “Funny how that happened so suddenly. Almost like someone with real pull made a call.”
The room stills. Talon clears his throat and Jasper watches Dredyn like he’s waiting for him to crack.
Dredyn finally looks at me, something stormy flashing behind his eyes—guilt, maybe, or resentment. “Hellcat...”
He stops himself, but it’s too late.
We have our target.
NINETEEN
DREDYN
FLASHBACK – SIX YEARS AGO
