“She’s become aggressive and greedy since running her father’s business,” Soren observes. “Like she wants to fuck all the time, but only on her terms.”
I nod. “Like when she’s feeling powerful.”
“Or when she wants something,” Tomas points out softly.
The three of us exchange a look.
I grunt with frustration. “So, I was right—she’s been manipulating us with sex.”
“I hate being used,” Tomas says through gritted teeth while crumbling the cigarette in his palm. He unwinds his fingers, peering into the tobacco mess he’s made in his hand. “She pulled some sick shit on me at a party a little while back.”
“What do you mean?”
Heat blossoms on his cheeks and then he drops the cigarette mess to the ground, choosing to swing his hood over his head. After shoving his hands into his pockets, he exhales, “Nothing.”
“Fine,” I spit. “But we have to come up with a plan to knock her down.”
“She’s going to hurt herself,” Soren says. “And we can’t save her if she’s dead.”
My heart skips a beat at the thought of Alex’s lifeless body turning up somewhere around Macedon. I shake my head and clear my throat, saying, “None of us can control her. She’s too fucking wild.”
Tomas frowns thoughtfully, raising one finger to wave as he says, “What if we share the responsibility?”
“You mean we discipline her together?” Soren asks. He purses his lips. “I mean, that’s not a terrible idea.”
“If she won’t listen to one of us,” I reason, “then maybe she’ll listen to all of us.”
Tomas nods. “We’ll have to corner her and catch her off-guard.”
“And where do you propose we do that?” Soren inquires. “I’m having a hard time just keeping track of her here at school.”
Our phones buzz simultaneously, inspiring us each to take a peek. A smile crosses my lips when I read the digital invitation that Alex has sent us to her party this weekend. With a decisive hum, I tuck my phone away and fold my hands together.
“Seems like a sign,” I suggest. “We get her at her party.”
Soren flashes his Hollywood smile. “She’ll never see it coming.”
“It’s the best way to control her,” Tomas states. “And the empire she’s attempting to lead.”
“She can’t do it without us,” I say logically. “She can try, but she’ll just end up dead.”
Soren sighs. “The last fucking thing I want to see is all that good pussy gone to waste at the bottom of a lake.”
“Or a damn gutter,” Tomas adds. He shakes his hair into his face. “Fuck, can we stop talking about her ending up dead? It’s making me sick.”
While I want to show solidarity with that feeling, I don’t, standing firm in the fact that I need to keep my facade intact. Nobody can get to me like Alex can. And letting anyone know about that would absolutely ruin me.
I rub my hands on my jeans. “All right, so it’s settled. We attend the party and discipline her for being such a bold brat.”
“We’ll need to stand united against the Persian, too,” Soren suggests.
I nod. “And how do you think we’ll fund that?”
“The Moretti empire, of course.”
“Then, it’s settled.”
Tomas steps forward while holding out his palm. “We should make a pact.”