Page 81 of Secret Submission

At least Sam and Morgan had had their eyes opened. It sounded like Amy had, too, though whether she’d do anything about it was up in the air. Connor had called himself a people pleaser, but Amy’s people-pleasing ways put him to shame. Julie would love to get her in for an appointment, but it wasn’t like she could go recruiting like that.

A hand slid around the back of her chair, Connor’s lips coming to her ear.

“You’re looking a little murderous,” he murmured.

Oops. Julie took a deep breath, rearranging her expression to something less… angry. People like Noelle just ticked her off.

“Sorry. Sometimes, my face has subtitles,” she murmured, making him laugh.

Connor’s laughter broke some of the tension as everyone turned their attention to them.

“What’s so funny?” Asad asked, looking at them suspiciously.

“Nothing.” Connor smiled, still chuckling as he looked down at his cards. “Come on, let’s get back to playing.”

“Fine, be that way.”

“I will.”

Good grief, it was like playing with children. But it was also fun, so she really couldn’t complain too much.

Connor

Board game night was either the best or worst idea he’d ever had. Law had always been the most competitive during board game night in the past, but Julie was giving him a run for his money. On the other hand, their trash-talk banter was a lot better than the awkward tiptoeing around each other that they’d been doing at the beginning of the night. They’d settled into trying to beat each other and had forgotten about being careful with each other’s feelings.

He also hadn’t known that the Quacks of Quedlinburg could be so competitive. It definitely hadn’t been in the past.

“Maybe we should play some cooperative games next time,” he suggested as Law scowled while they put the game away. Julie was beaming because she’d won. Or maybe next time, he’d make sure that when they split into two groups to play games that Law and Julie were in different groups.

Because wow.

“Oh, that sounds fun. How does that work?” Julie had taken to board game night like a fish to water. He’d been able to tell that she hadn’t been super enthusiastic about it before, then a little dubious when she’d realized she’d never even heard of the games they were playing, but she’d clearly ended up loving it.

“Basically, we all work together, and it’s us against the game. Pandemic is a good one to play for that.” He grinned when Law made a face.

Law didn’t like Pandemic because, as he said, he liked to beat people, not a board. Julie’s eyes lit up with interest, though.

“I’d like to try that one,” she said with obvious enthusiasm. Connor grinned, feeling incredibly happy that she’d had such a good time tonight.

In the long run, would it have really meant anything bad if she hadn’t liked board game night? Of course not. He’d still feel the same way about her that he did. But he felt as though tonight, he’d fallen a little more in love, seeing another side to her.

And he really liked how well she got along with his friends. He’d enjoyed watching her beat Law. Law cared enough about winning that it was rare for someone else to beat him, and it had been fun to watch.

Both Law and Julie’s phones alerted simultaneously. Different sounds, but they’d gotten a text message at the exact same time, which was either a colossal coincidence or…

Julie glanced at Law as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at her screen. She was so much shorter than Connor when she was right next to him, and looking at her phone, he couldn’t see her expression, but he could see Law’s.

The scowl Law had worn when losing had been real but without any real driving emotion behind it. It had now morphed into something much more intense, with real fury blazing in his eyes as he looked up and over at Julie.

“What is it? What’s going on?” Iris asked, jumping up to try to look at Law’s phone. Rather than keep her away, he tilted the screen toward her so she could see, and she gasped as Julie told the rest of them.

“The upcoming introduction classes are on hold. Cassidy’s ex has been seen around Marquis, and Olivia’s tires were slashed today.”

“Was it him?” Asad asked, getting automatically to his feet, his fists clenching at his side. The others were upon their feet as well, only a moment behind him, looking just as ready to throw down as he was. “Was it her ex?”

“They can’t prove it because there are no cameras where Olivia was parked, but…” Julie’s voice trailed off.

Sure, it could have been someone randomly targeting Olivia’s car while Cassidy’s ex was in the neighborhood. It could have been.

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