Page 3 of For the Night

He sidled up next to me and showed me the book he was reading. Environmental rezoning. All right.

“So from one engineer to another—in the same field, technically—I wanna pretend to discuss this book for two reasons,” he said. “For one, I’m still struggling to find the motivation to go back and get my master’s, but it means a lot to River and Reese that I try. And two…it’s possible I’m up to no good.”

I side-eyed him. “And you thought it was a good idea to casually mention that to one of the toppy Sadists around?”

“A genius idea, actually, which I won’t take full credit for,” he answered. “Two things can happen here. You rat me out, and I take my punishment. No biggie. It won’t make any headlines. But the chance of you actually teaming up with me…? No one will suspect that.”

He had my attention.

I motioned for the book, and he extended it. If this was going to continue, we’d need to keep up the charade.

“I’m listening,” I said. I flipped to a random page somewhere in the middle, and then a few more pages. At the same time, we slowed down because we’d reached my cabin. “What’s your plan?”

“We fuck with both the Sadists and the brats,” he told me bluntly. “We pit them against each other.”

A spark of giddiness buzzed through me—I couldn’t deny it.

Shay truly was a smart opportunist. In the last year, a heated debate over our community’s name had sparked more than one attack from either side; we had the brats claiming House Mclean sounded way better, whereas most of us Tops, and particularly those of us who’d actually founded the community, remained firm on Mclean House.

I’d never observed Shay taking a stand on the issue, and no wonder. He waited for the right cards to play. And right now, we had the perfect storm brewing because of that dumb debate. The Sadists were on high alert, and the brats were scheming.

I dropped my gaze to the book, and Shay casually traced two fingers along a paragraph.

“Who else is with you?” I asked.

“Nobody.”

I quirked a brow at him. “You said the idea wasn’t entirely yours.”

“True,” he conceded. “But once this person sort of threw out the idea, I made no mention or showed any sign that I might run with it.”

I hummed. “I want to know who it is, just so that I have all the facts.”

Shay had several friends at Mclean, though he was particularly close with Tate, Lane, Ivy, and Gretchen.

“Does that mean you’re in?” he asked hopefully.

He was cute. A bad-boy-looking young man with tons of tattoos, one with a tough exterior, but River and Reese—probably mostly Reese—had drawn out a sweet Middle who wasn’t afraid to show his emotions.

“Unless the unknowing coconspirator raises red flags,” I answered.

First and foremost, however, Shay was a primal bottom who paid attention to how his behavior might look to others. Like his Owners. As he considered my demand, he didn’t fidget or glance over at River and Reese; he kept up with the act and flipped to another chapter in the book.

“Okay, fair,” he decided. “It was Nora.” Goddammit. “We were talking about pranks and mindfucks, and she mentioned the ultimate one would be to find a Top to team up with since the sides are so divided. We never hear about Sadists suspecting Sadists, and so on.”

“And you just breezed right by that?” To be honest, I wished Nora had never joined us. She’d only been here roughly a month, maybe two, and she was already turning heads. She was making me react, and I didn’t fucking do that. Not to a virtual stranger. Far as I knew, we’d never actually spoken beyond introductions, so I had no reason to have her occupy space in my mind.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Shay replied firmly. “At most, she will suspect me once we get started—definitely not you. Not a founding member. Given she’s close with Lane, maybe she’ll suspect Ty or Master McKenna.”

That sounded logical. Lane was also one of Macklin’s partners, because apparently all my closest friends out here had to create poly-houses and harems. Walker, or Master McKenna, and Ty were the co-Tops of both Macklin and Lane, and their cabin was right next to mine. It would do me good to observe the brat aspects in their dynamic some more. Macklin was a wild card. As a switch, he was an opportunist, much like Shay. Lane was 100% primal prey. A ballsy, funny, and sweet addition to our community. Ty…? Pure hedonist. And Walker certainly had a devil on his shoulder too.

“Okay. I’m in.”

He smiled, his blue eyes lighting up. “This is gonna be fucking epic.”

I chuckled and closed the book. “I wouldn’t join for anything less. Let’s meet up over lunch in town after the weekend. Out here, your Owners are always watching.”

He nodded. “It’s a plan. I’m supposed to help my youngest brother with a school project on Monday anyway, so anything before three would be great.”

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