Page 47 of In Prey We Trust

I turn to look at the opposite side of the room, snorting when I see it’s filled with science books, lab coats, hefty texts and plain furnishings. The pred who lives here is obviously majoring in one of the many science or tech programs the Ericksons sponsor. Nothing personal is lying around, only materials for classes like beakers and pipettes, plus vials of various liquids strewn across the desk. There’s a weird chemical equation on the desk and a bunch of scribbled notes with molecules.

My brows furrow as a zing of energy races through my veins. It’s like my instincts are telling me this is important, so I pull my phone out to snap pictures of everything I can. I’ve never felt a buzz like that before, but I know in my gut I’ve found something the guys should see. Who the hell is my roommate, anyway? Listening for a moment to make certain no one’s going to surprise me, I rifle through the papers until I find a name on one.

Kinsley P. Crandall

Frowning as I rack my brain for why I recognize that name, I put everything back in its place. I don’t have much time before Piano, so I have to get moving. I take the time to rumple my spread like I’ve been here to nap, leave the wrapper from my bar on the desk, and move around some shoes. I squint for a moment, then put a book by the pillow, hoping it looks like I was reading.

With a final distrustful gaze at the space, I turn on my heel, exiting to the hallway. The elevator is creakier on the way down and the students in front of the fireplace haven’t moved. This is the fucking dorm where time stands still, I swear.

“At least you got in and out without having to deal with anyone,” I tell myself reassuringly. “You can run this weird shit by the guys tonight.”

As long as nothing else happens before then, of course.

Spellbound

Aubrey

Having control of the staff accounts at Capital Prep was a boon I did not expect. At Apex, I was able to reset things and if needed, start new accounts, but this school has a much more intrusive system. To prevent leaks about student mishaps to paparazzi, the network admin can get into any account and check activity—from DMs to email to browser history. Fitz figured it out within minutes of inspecting my system when we arrived and I’ve done my best to avoid intruding on people’s privacy ever since.

However, the conversation about this creepy counselor made me wonder if this is her typical MO or if she’s chosen our girl as her first experiment. Rennie is reading through her skimpy backlist to find specific keywords I should look for in her digital footprint, but once I had a break today, I couldn’t help taking a look at her most recent behavior.

Despite how invasive it felt, I feel justified now.

‘Coach’ Rockland’s internet searches reflect a desperate need to gather information not only on Dolly, but all of us as well. She’s done multiple searches on the tigers, Bloodstone, Chess, and his parents’ disappearance. There are articles about my family and Renard’s, plus a wealth of shit on the Drews. She’s messaging with a contact that I’d bet my scaly ass is one of those bimbette girls who keep coming for the lunchable and another who seems like they might be on the Council. Both are feeding her tons of info via cloud storage on all of us and the happenings at Apex. That points a finger at displaced staff making a quick buck off of the things they witnessed.

I’d be troubled by this by itself, but emails to Dolly’s mom, the head of Cappie, an agent, and yet another mysterious source give me pause. This woman clearly has no moral code and she’ll do anything to get ahead, including damaging someone who is supposed to be under her ‘care.’ My evidence agrees with the snack size; her mother is being snowed by another master manipulator. But her ex-friends are in this ass-deep, as are others I will need Fitz to help me locate.

Pulling my glasses off, I rub my hand over my face. There’s so much going on all at once that I believe it’s being orchestrated to keep us constantly reacting. Attacking Dolly on her way to school was reminiscent of the disappearing students, but it was too coordinated. The team prevailed—but should they have? I’m not certain because eyewitness accounts are mostly inaccurate and colored by bias. Perhaps the real goal was to put us on high alert so we’re distracted from seeing others things.

“But what?” I whisper to myself as I stare at the trash in the counselor’s recent history. “Was it to keep us from focusing on staff and student deep dives before school began?”

If so, it worked. The attack and our decision to create a second home base for our girl took time. The extra jobs we were forced to take on here at Cappie take extra work. Even Dolly’s heavy course load and piles of work are eating up more free time than they did at Apex. Maybe all of this is to prevent us from doing more sleuthing into the hooded freaks and the Council. One or both of those factions could influence enough people to make this shit happen.

This is something we have to examine as a group—I’ll bring it up at dinner.

I flick the mouse, scanning through a few more emails before I call it a day and head back to our new nest. Suddenly, a few words catch my eyes and the fire in my belly starts to burn. Squeezing my sparkly bunny in my left hand, I try to breathe slowly as she’s been teaching me. It’s hard, though, because this load of bullshit just became the number one topic I’m going to address when everyone is back. We can’t let this happen; it’ll draw attention from much farther away than these silly elite schools.

Pondering for a moment, I pick up my phone and call my companion. He’s been grumpy since he drew the short claw, but I don’t call for no reason. He won’t ignore me.

“Bonjour, mon amour. You’re interrupting a perfectly enjoyable funk.”

“Apologies, but I believe we need to bring the bear and badger into the fold. I’ve discovered some troubling correspondence on the carrion eater’s system.” I wait for him to think about, squeezing the bunny reflexively as I grit my teeth.

He lets out a slow breath. “If you are suggesting it, I don’t doubt it. I will contact them. They can join us for dinner and, perhaps, offer a fresh perspective on some of the enormous amount of shit we’re juggling. It’s only been two days, mon ami. None of us will be able to keep up with the deluge if it continues to accumulate like this.”

“Exactly. From the minute Fitz went to get her, it multiplied exponentially. This isn’t normal.”

“I’ll take care of my part. You have all your ducks in a row for the presentation. Oh, and make sure to let Chester know we will have guests? He hates to be unprepared.”

I snort. “I know. He’s turning into a clone of you.”

“If only, mon amour. If only.”

Right.

When I finally finish printing all my documents for the meeting, I head through the corridor to our quarters. The smell wafting from the kitchen is delicious and I inhale deeply. Though Rennie and I get sustenance from other sources, I’ve always enjoyed eating. When I discovered he’d trained as a chef, he spent months making all sorts of delights, but since we were always alone, it eventually waned. I thought he might start again when the Khans stormed our fortress of solitude, but he seemed content to let them go home most nights.

Dolly’s changed everything, especially since Thanksgiving last year.

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