Page 23 of The Honor Society

I bark out a laugh. “One Horseman throws a tantrum and I’m staging a coup?”

Rhodes gaze locks in on mine. “You’ve marked Hale.”

My smile drops. “Tread carefully, Rhodes.”

“You attacked Calloway.”

“He had my man!” I roar. I rarely break. But he had one of my men, one of my most trusted men. Was I playing a dangerous game? Yes. Would I have ever shoved him onto the board by choice? Never. But now that he was in play it was the only option.

“And Sterling? I wonder about…Sterling.”

Fuck! He knows then. Of course he does. He doesn’t let things slide. And there’s a reason she’s alive even after shooting me. And only one reason, not just the fact that before she shot me I put her under my protection, but that nobody kills the bloodline of a Horseman without permission from The Proctor. “Leave her out of this.” For now. Shit. At least give me more time to think!

“There it fucking is.” Rhodes shakes his head.

“What the hell do you mean there it fucking is!”

“The one piece you can’t touch without admitting why.” He tilts his head. “Care to explain now, out loud, the why? Hmmm, Proctor? Why the one woman who should be laying next to Axel is home baking you cookies?” He touches my jacket and adjusts my collar.

I slap his hands away. “Son of a bitch!”

“Yeah, well I needed Gideon Calloway alive.” Rhodes says. “We don’t always get what we want do we?”

“Well,” I tilt my head. “Should have mentioned that before he kidnapped Jenner. What? Did you need to know who he was talking to? It was Hale.”

He frowns. “You believe Hale was after you and using Gideon?

“Maybe.”

He nods his head. “You’ve decided a bad man equals a guilty man, maybe we’ve found your weakness Proctor, you’re so used to judging based on deeds that you forget to ask the question behind them. What if he was doing the same thing you were? Hunting Gideon, figuring him out, hmm?” He shrugs. “There are many terrible men, on the right side of war.”

The words haunt me. Not because I’m angry he said them, but because I know it’s true. You can be a bad person and still fight for the right thing. Fuck. Did I mess this up? Did I let my own judgement of Edward cloud everything else in this scenario?

Rhodes slaps a hand down on my shoulder. “Try not to be so hard on yourself, you’re still young for a Proctor.”

“Does that make you ancient?”

“Mention my age again…”

“You really should at least get a cat.” I push further to diffuse the tension.

Jenner snorts into his fist.

Rhodes cranks his head towards him. “You like staying alive, right?”

“Sorry.” Jenner straightens.

“Hale.” I think it through, really think it through. “Is trying to figure out who’s coming for me, for The Proctor.”

“Bingo.” Rhodes says. “The only question, was it to join sides, or fight?”

“He’s dead so...” Jenner says helpfully.

I flip him off then wince at the movement. “Fuck.”

“You should really get that looked at.” Rhodes sighs and shakes his head. “Again.”

And that’s it. He walks off out into the darkness like fucking Batman. I exhale a long breath, even that hurts, and unlock the doors to the SUV and immediately see the time.