Gotcha fucker.
He won’t live long enough to make it to the first primary, much less become president.
Taking a chance, I peek again, hoping to glimpse something, and I fucking do.
“Holy fucking shit,” I mumble.
I can’t snap a picture without being caught, but my word will be enough for Liam to start digging. That plus this recording. I need to get the fuck out of here before I’m caught.
Turning, I squat, creeping back to my car. Only periodically looking to ensure no one’s seen me.
Once I’m inside. I start my jeep and drive back to Calloway- my trip to Lincolnville a success.
Check-fucking-mate.
ROWAN
Thoughts of last night with Emma- the way she was with all of us makes my dick lengthen in my pants.
Fuck. I need to get myself in control, or I’m going to bust right in my acid-washed jeans.
“Having a flashback of our girl?” August asks. A knowing grin stretches across his face, making his freckles more pronounced.
Sighing, I nod, “She’s everything I stupidly took too long to appreciate.”
“I should make you eat crow for all the shit you put her through trying to sort out your bullshit. You’re lucky she likes your pretty face, or I’d deck you in it for taking so damn long,” he jokes, punching my arm.
We’re sitting in the Tombs shooting the shit, waiting for Karl to get here so we can make our final choice. Though, there isn’t much discussion that needs to happen. Emma is our girl. She’s exactly who we’ve always needed- she completes, strengthens, and owns us. A fucking queen.
“What the fuck is taking Karl so long?” Liam shouts, groaning from his space by the bar. He’s much more carefree partly because the Filiae Bellonae is no longer a threat and primarily because of her- Emma. She’s done so much to bring out the friend I remember growing up with.
After the death of Elise and Madeline, it’s been quiet. Graduation is next week, and the party where we announce our Chosen happens that weekend.
“Yeah, where the fuck is that shithead? I figured he’d be beating down the door to make sure we all choose Emma,” Sebastian states. He’s still fighting his feelings for Emma, but it’s all over his face- he’s a fucking goner, just like the rest of us.
Laughing, I reply, “So you’re prepared for the beat down he’s going to give you for still fighting your obvious feelings for his angel?”
A blond brow arches in my direction as his lips twist.
Oh, a direct hit.
“What, you don’t like being called on your bullshit? You’re always dishing it- take it for once,” I quip.
The asshole is constantly giving directives about what we should be doing or how we should be honest with ourselves, and here he is.
Continuing to poke fun, I jest, “Don’t you think you should take your own advice, Yoda?”
The guys break out in laughter, and even he chuckles before replying. “Emma is amazing, and I’ll treat her like the queen she is, but what you all have with her,” Sebastian pauses, leaning his head back to stare up at the ceiling. His wheat hair, uncharacteristically not styled, falls away from his eyes before he speaks, “But love isn’t in the cards for me ever again.”
I go to rebuff his asinine statement when there’s a buzz in my pocket, indicating I have a notification. Pulling the device from my pocket, I see it’s a text message.
Opening it, I see a video file attachment with a message. Reading the message, my jaw clenches, and I squeeze my phone, nearly cracking it before I hit play. When I see what’s playing, I immediately hit stop before any noise can be heard.
Schooling my features, I announce, “Emergency meeting. We have to make our choice now.”
“What do you mean, we’re making our selection now? I thought we were waiting on Karl?” August’s puzzled gaze probes mine.
“His choice is Emma. So are ours. Let’s go make it happen so we can be done with this bullshit Selection process,” I state, rising from my seat and heading for the door, ignoring their questions as I send word to our fathers to alert the girls we’ve made our decision.
* * *
She’s here- Emma.
Damn, she’s so fucking beautiful. Her blue-black hair hangs in waves loosely down her back. Blush pink lips pull up in a smile as she takes us in.
“What’s going on? Why are we meeting here?” she inquires.
Before I can answer her, my dad interjects, “The boys have made their decision.”
Varying looks line the faces of each girl- the three that remain. Four girls have been murdered since the start of the Selection. If our fathers hadn’t been able to end Elise and Madeline, I’m sure more would’ve met the same fate.
I take in the room.
Brittany’s face is lined with a mixture of apprehension and resignation because she knows she’s not even in the running. She’s ready to be done with this farce. Samantha has her usual overly confident smug grin plastered on like she knows the outcome before it happens, while Emma is confused.
“Why are we doing this now instead of next weekend?” Emma asks.
They’ve all put so much work into the culminating event, the engagement announcement party, the societal event of the year.
“We know who we want, and it doesn’t make sense to prolong the process another week. The event will just be a formality. We want to stop having to go out and string girls along who’ll never be Fraternitas wife material,” I reply. Then, looking directly in Sam’s direction, I continue, “Why should we pretend when the person we want has been right here all along? The rest of you are worthless, and only one of you was ever worthy of becoming our Chosen.”
My glare makes her confident posture stiffen for a fraction of a second, her polished demeanor cracking before her plastic air of confidence cements itself into her filler-injected face.
I’m surprised it was able to move at all.
“Oh, okay. That makes sense,” she hesitates, then takes her place in line with the rest of the girls.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.