“I’m so pleased you came,” Coach Bilson said.
“Thank you. You told me that if I ever needed to talk to anyone, I was to come to you, and here I am.” Sian sighed. “It has been a really … crazy week.”
“Are you still with the Saintly Devils?” he asked.
“Yeah. My parents are still missing. I have no idea what’s going on. I can’t go home. I’m not allowed to, you know.” She sighed again. “I just wish I could speak to my mother.”
“I’m sure whatever Alexander is doing, it’s for her own good.”
“Well, I never, do you know my dad?”
“Of course I know your dad. He asked me to keep an eye on you.”
“Oh.”
Gideon moved first, entering Coach Bilson’s office. We all joined him, seeing him perched on the edge of the desk, holding Sian’s hand.
She pulled away, stepping back as I shut the door.
“Hello, Bilson,” Gideon said.
“What are you boys doing here?”
“Funny you should ask that. You know we were talking with our friend Fred Arson, you remember him?” Gideon asked.
I saw Mateo’s hands clench as he looked at Coach. I wanted to pound that fucking face so damn bad. Coach Bilson had this coming.
“You boys shouldn’t be here.” He went to get up, but Gideon stopped him, shoving him down.
“We shouldn’t be here? I want to know how you’re still in this school,” Gideon said. “Why did you attack Fred? Why did you burn down the library with Heather inside?”
“Look, I got my orders like everyone else,” Coach Bilson said. “I was told to make sure that kid wouldn’t talk.”
“You failed there,” I said.
He glared at me. “I had nothing to do with Heather.”
“What about this?” Sian asked, holding up a length of her hair.
“Nor that. Why would I cut your beautiful hair when I had so many plans for it?”
“What plans?” Mateo asked.
Coach Bilson laughed. “You all think you’re playing in the big leagues, don’t you? You’re not even close. It was just such a shame she caved to you. I know what I would have done with that tight cherry.”
Gideon grabbed Coach’s shirt. “You better not even fucking look at her.”
“Not only am I going to look at her, but I’m going to own her. You boys don’t deserve her. You were all bark, no bite. Fucking useless, if my memory serves me well.” He laughed. “None of you have what it takes to be a leader.”
“But you do?” I asked, stepping close.
“Arrangements are always made, boys. Backup plans. Your dads should have warned you about that.”
“What are you talking about?” Sian asked.
“It’s simple, isn’t it?” Coach asked. “Alexander was the backup plan with your mom, and well, I’m yours, princess.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I threw the first punch just to shut him up. No one complained as he landed in a heap on the floor.
Just then, our dads came into the room. One by one, making it a tight fit.
“You kids need to go home,” Lucas said.
“Dad, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“Business.”
He meant The Society business, it had to be.
Gritting my teeth, I glanced at my friends and knew they were just as pissed off as I was.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Mateo said.
“Now isn’t the time, son.” His dad, Justin, spoke up. “We’ve got it from here.”
“He hurt Fred. Put him in the hospital. He’s still in therapy, and now he’s spouting bullshit about being the backup plan. What the fuck does that even mean?”
“It means you boys need to go back home so we can deal with what’s going on,” Lucas said. “I won’t tell you again.”
Sian was the first to move, grabbing Gideon’s arm. “Let’s go. Come on. There’s nothing we can do here.”
I wanted to argue with her.
None of us spoke as we left the office.
All of us clenched and filled with rage.
We’d been stopped from finding out the truth. Just how far would The Society go?
****
Sian
The guys weren’t in the best of moods. Not that I blamed them, but come on, I was the one being bartered around like a piece of flesh. Before arriving at Gideon’s house, we made a pit stop at a coffee house, and now as we sat drinking our freshly brewed coffee, no one spoke.
They all looked … angry.
The heat was a welcome relief. Something to numb the pain.
It wasn’t long before my cup was empty, and I leaned forward, placing it on a coaster. We were in Gideon’s library. He’d been pacing for the last ten minutes.
“Are we going to talk about it?” Dante asked.
“What’s there to talk about? Clearly The Society put a hit out on Fred, and Coach Bilson was the person to receive that message.”
“No. There are spies, but Coach wasn’t one of them, remember? Connors was. The emotion teacher. He was the one who spied for them, not Bilson,” Mateo said. “None of this makes any sense.”
“I was promised to him,” I said. “That’s what he said. If we didn’t fulfill that deal, I was his?”
“I don’t know what the hell that’s all about,” Gideon said.
“Now’s not the time to lie.” I folded my arms across my chest and looked at him, waiting.
He didn’t respond.
“You must know there would have been consequences for us not completing Halloween night.”
“It was never an option.”
“You promised not to keep me in the dark,” I said.
“We’re not.”
“But Coach Bilson is okay. You can’t pick and choose when you feel it’s the right time or the right stuff to tell me. This is my life as much as it is yours.”
“He didn’t know.” We all turned to find Lucas in the doorway.
He looked … old.
“What?” I asked.
“I always made sure that you all only ever knew what you needed to.” Lucas walked toward the drinks cabinet and poured himself a large drink of whiskey. “Coach Bilson wasn’t working for The Society. He never was.”
“My dad?” I asked.
Lucas nodded. “But your father made him believe it was them. I don’t know how Alexander got all the information he has, but we also don’t know the full extent of what he can expose.”
“What?” Gideon asked.
“You heard me. There was a hack within the walls of The Society. Certain files were taken,” Lucas said. “What I tell you cannot leave this room.”
We all nodded.
“In order to become initiated, there are certain tasks that need to be done. You started the process by breaking in a virgin. It’s a very archaic, and to be honest, an irritating pastime, but they enjoy their rules.”
“How does that even help?” Sian asked.
“The whole thing is filmed. There is a file on everyone who has participated. It’s the start. If you try to back out or run, the file gets leaked.”