Page 172 of Ruthless Chaos

I’m so stupid for believing him.

For loving him.

I let him in, gave him every piece of me, told him my secrets, when I was nothing more than a conquest to him. He couldn’t even bother to fuck me somewhere else. He told me the same story, he bragged that I was a virgin.

This is my worst nightmare come to life.

I puke all over the floor.

FORTY-TWO

ALEXANDER

“Now for thefinal order of business,” I say, sifting through the papers in front of me. “Who gets admittance to Kingmaker House after the Rush Week Trials.”

I find the stack of files I’m looking for—a list of all the guys who survived the shit we put them through the past week. There’s a copy for each member of the Council.

Taking one, I pass the stack to Ezra on my left, who does the same until everyone has the same set of papers in front of them.

We’re in a modern conference room that’s all glass with chrome accents. The five of us are seated around a huge, glossy wooden desk in comfy leather seats. There are three pots of coffee, a basket filled with desserts and a platter of fruits in the center of the table.

I glance at the clock on the wall. We’ve been here for forty-five minutes.

Fortunately, as chair of the meeting I’ve been doing everything I can to keep everyone on task and speed it up. This last part should pass quickly.

I could have Alize’s cunt gripping my cock within the hour.

“None of them deserve it,” I say to kick off the discussions. Since I’ve been Head Kingmaker, we have admitted no one from these Trials. In fact, we’ve only used them to remind the Associates and Kingmakers how good they have it. “If they didn’t become an Associate when they got admitted, they don’t deserve a spot after the fact.”

Ezra and Vance nod. This is something we’ve talked about at length as a group before. The family you come from is just as important as your character. The fuckers from Hell House and Chaos House are savages.

If the Admissions Committee didn’t think they were worthy of a shot at being a Kingmaker, neither do I.

“I agree,” Cesare says, thumbing through the files with a grimace on his face. “None of them stood out to me.”

That only leaves one more person.

I’ve been doing a great job of ignoring Keller’s presence in the room. He’s also done me the favor of not talking too much. Despite his error in judgment by bringing Cassidy with him, I’m thinking that I’ve finally gotten through to him.

That is, until he opens his fucking mouth.

“Vico Strinati.” He’s opened his set of files to a page in the middle. “I want him admitted.”

I narrow my eyes at him, choosing my words as carefully as I can.

As much as I would love to sit here and argue with him, I don’t want to keep Alize waiting. It’s only for her sake that I’m trying to be civil.

“What qualities has Mr. Strinati displayed that deem him worthy of the honor of becoming a Kingmaker?” I ask, pressing my lips into a hard line.

Keller shrugs nonchalantly. “I don’t care. I said that I want him admitted, not that he should be.” He grins. “Think of it as a favor to my family.”

I grind my teeth, his words skating over my nerves. He isn’t even trying to act like he respects me anymore, and that’s my issue.

I’m his superior.

“Why would the Kingmaker Council do your family a favor, Keller?” I pin him with a glare I hope conveys every bit of my displeasure.

I’ve already done them enough favors—not killing him, for one.