Page 16 of In Prey We Trust

Aubrey is the one who snorts at me. “Rennie may be the only one who saw it, but I don’t think you guys realize how dangerous our girl is on her own. She tore Abel limb from limb—al.she left were blobs of flesh, blood, and gore. And his head, of course.”

“But… she was infused with that blue stuff and terrified. I mean, do you think—”

My question isn’t even finished before the gargoyle smirks at me knowingly. “Trust us, Chester. Ma petite is learning to take care of herself and when she develops fully, she’ll give all of us a run for our money. I could not work out how a prey animal got imbued with magic and the spirit of a predator, but she is. It is both beautiful and terrifying in the best ways, mon ami.”

“So we just sit here and hope for a phone call?” Felix shakes his head, looking like he needs a gallon of scotch. “That can’t be the answer.”

He can’t stand not being in control and this is straining his ability to stay calm.

“Anyone else want a drink?” I stand, heading over to the bar to refill my glass. Felix grunts and the other two follow, so I pour my G&T first, then three generous single malts. Handing the rocks glasses out, I poke my brother’s arm. “Perhaps we should see if Fitz has more surveillance than he told me? If you’re logged into his system, you can access his shit. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was doing more than watching Dolly in person.”

The tiger blinks, then nods. “He was going crazy this summer, but not as much as I would have expected. He has to be hiding something.”

“It might only be in her home,” Ren says. “That might have been enough for him.”

I shake my head. “No way. Last year, he was in town watching her and his access only increased at Apex. There’s more than a pinhole cam in her room, for sure.”

“You think she knows?” the dragon says curiously. “I mean, it didn’t bother her when he trailed her like a puppy at Apex.”

Felix looks up briefly and chuckles. “Whatever is there, I’m sure she expects, even if he didn’t tell her directly. Princess knows my brother craves her like air. They have an interesting dynamic with that.”

“I’ll say.” Aubrey shifts in his seat, then points at the screen. “There, Raj. Click that one. I don’t know why, but it looks important.”

Fitz’s desktop is filled with icons, none of them labeled, and multiple screens running code that had to be minimized. Even I don’t know why Aubrey picked the particular one he did, but when it opens, a full screen view of the school from satellite level. I blink, staring at it as Felix maneuvers the mouse to zoom in close enough to see people’s faces outside the admin building.

“Holy shit, he hacked a Council satellite,” I mutter. “He’ll get in so much fucking trouble if anyone finds out.”

Renard shrugs, his lips curved up wickedly. “I highly doubt anyone will catch our hyper friend. Look at the way he has things situated. We wouldn’t even have known if there wasn’t an emergency, Chess.”

“Type coordinates in that tiny box,” Aubrey interrupts, pointing a thick finger at a small window. “I think he can fucking move this thing. It won’t be quick unless he’s got the entire network.”

The view inches a bit, then flips to another picture immediately and I groan. “Which he does. Ares above, Fitzy, you’re completely insane.”

“It’s treason for certain, but our name provides more forgiveness than most realize,” Felix sighs. “Our father would cover it up in a red hot second, then ask him to do it again to keep tabs on our enemies.”

He’s got us there. The current Raj would dance in glee if he knew.

“Pan the view,” I murmur as I squint. “Then zoom in.”

Felix does as I ask and we wait, knowing this isn’t like turning a security camera. It won’t move quickly and the view we had showed nothing of interest. But it’s near where they stopped and a voice in my head is telling me we’re on the right track. I don’t know if it’s intuition or my bond with Fitz, but we’re close to figuring this shit out. My fingers tap on my leg rhythmically as we sit there, holding our breath as the view slowly moves. I started teaching myself piano this summer because I thought it would be fun to accompany Dolly and I’m nervous playing scales out of habit.

“Very nice, mon ami. You’re getting better,” Ren says as he nods at my right hand.

Of course, the Frenchman knew how to play well.

“Why haven’t you told my angel you’re classically trained, by the way?” I ask curiously. “She’d love it.”

The sing-song voice of a snarky dragon is my answer. “He wants to surprise her with his musical gift. It’s so adorable.”

Felix and I chuckle, and the tension in the room lifts slightly. We’re all staring at the computer, but a weight has lifted. Normally Fitz and Ren are the comedians, but since my angel came into our lives, even Felix and Aubrey have loosened up. It amazes me every time I see it.

“I think I see something,” Felix rumbles as he leans forward. He flicks the wheel of the mouse, pushing in closer, and the growls that fill the room come from every single one of us.

From a bird's-eye view, we can see a dozen hooded people engaged in a battle Royale with one tiger, two raccoons, and a seriously pissed off bunny.

This isn’t good at all.

Fight Back

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