Page 15 of G.O.D.S Omnibus

“Jolie should be gone already and in training if she was accepted,” Marlow points out, and he’s right. Anyone who passes the test goes straight to a meeting with Mr Z himself. He replaces the members of teams when he needs to, or even trains up new handlers. We never question his motives, but something about this irregularity has me wanting answers.

“I was wondering how long it would take one of you to ask.” Brennan’s smile falters.

I was right to suspect he has been keeping something from us.

“Mr Z has not spoken with her yet. He just has a few more tests for her,” he continues, tiptoeing around the question.

“Just tell us the fucking truth. Who is she and why is she here at the Myers?” Case snaps.

“She will be your Sixth,” Brennan almost whispers. He knows our stance. Mr Z has tried to replace her before, so we killed the replacement. Or she killed herself. No one will replace her.

“No fucking way.”

“Fuck no.”

“You’re not fucking serious right now.”

“Over my dead body,” I roar.

A chair goes flying across the room. Davis tries to run at Brennan, but my older brother, even if he looks scrawny, will throw you on your ass—which is exactly what happens.

Brennan won’t make eye contact with me; he is still leaving out details.

“None of you get a choice, so suck it up and deal with it. You are trained to become a team of six. We have been looking for your new Sixth for a while now, and Jolie could be the one. You can’t go through the fucking trials without her.”

He has to be kidding himself if he thinks we will let him replace Zircon. We are and always will be a team of five now. I thought we had made that clear.

We need a game plan on how we get rid of her. She is a stray, so how hard can it be? All we need is a little incentive. Money won’t work; she doesn’t seem like the type.

I just need to get her to agree to leave.

Chapter Six

Jolie

I know I’m batshit crazy. I’ve never denied it. However, I try to be the bigger person when it comes to mean girls, like in my confrontation with the redhead, a.k.a. Chelsea. Turns out she is in my maths class. Yay for me. Her and her little posse are getting on my nerves, giggling and gossiping loud enough I can hear them. Sinclair insists the girls are threatened by my presence, and Jimmie agrees, yet besides the one public display with Laughn, I have kept my distance.

Boston snarls every time he looks my way, and Davis and Case ignore I exist. Marlow seems impartial to me, but in contrast, Laughn talks to me in bio and chemistry—the two classes we are in together alone. It makes me suspicious. Something has changed and they’re all acting weird. I don’t care enough to ask though, as the house has been quiet, so it suits me just fine. It will make the next few months fly by.

Jimmie and I join Sinclair and her friends at lunch. Her friend Joshua seems cool. He keeps the conversation going, even if he is a bit of a dork.

“So, word on the street is that there is a pool party at Boston’s house this weekend,” Danika says. The poor girl has no sense of style, but she doesn’t seem to care—the “just rolled out of bed” look suits her.

Sinclair looks at me and smiles in sympathy.

“What? You don’t need me to hold your hand. If you want to go, then just go,” I say, pulling the label from my water bottle.

Danika laughs, and even Joshua snorts.

“You don’t just go to a Gods party. You need to be invited,” Jimmie adds.

“I can get you an invite,” I say. This gives me an excuse to see if I can get a vibe from the guys. I catch Davis looking at me all the time, but he looks away as soon as I notice.

“Don’t fuck with a girl’s head. I will cut a bitch.” Danika doesn’t seem convinced, which makes me laugh.

“Watch this.” The screech from my chair echoes through the room. No one pays me any attention, except the Gods—yes, even I am now calling them Gods.

With my shoulders pulled back, a tempting sway to my hips, and a devious smile, I saunter across the room. Five sets of eyes watch as I approach. They all sit at one table, although sometimes they let others sit with them. Today it is only them and Laughn’s pet—a poor girl sitting on the floor beside him, playing with her phone. I hate how degrading this looks, but it’s her choice. It’s not like he has her tied up or anything.

---