Page 27 of Wicked Games

“Who is it?”

“A certain someone my dear brother had a talk with earlier today.”

“William?” I half ask, half hiss.

“The very same.”

“Motherfucker,” I mutter. “Does he want us to kill him?”

“It’s looking like it.” I hear the snap of a chewing gum bubble bursting. “Want me to record what goes down?”

“Yeah,” I say. “We’ll figure out how to deal with all of this once we know what’s going on.”

“Roger that.” He snaps his gum again. “Want me to corrupt his ID so he can’t get back into the house without needing Axel to reset it?”

“Fuck yeah.” I feel a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Do it.”

Each of our leaders has something they’re known for being absolute nightmares about, and Axel’s is anything to do with security. We’ve all seen him tear a stripe up and down whatever unfortunate soul is dumb enough to let his card get demagnetized or corrupted, and it’s never pretty. He also doesn’t just lecture or make guys ask for forgiveness. Instead they have to earn the right to have their cards restored by doing whatever the fuck will entertain Axel and humiliate them. If I can’t strangle William, then at least I can imagine some possible scenarios that Axel will put him through later.

“Done.” Jace snaps his gum again. “Want me to keep eyes on you?”

“Yeah.” I glance at my watch again. Two minutes to four.

We fall silent, and I lean back against the wall behind me as we wait.

Exactly one minute and twelve seconds later, the main door opens again, and this time I hear the click of heels as someone else enters the space.

Natalie is one of those girls who insists on wearing heels no matter what—even her slippers have a heel on them—but a lot of girls at school like that, so there’s a chance it isn’t her.

Instead of making a beeline for where the mystery lady is clicking her way through the stacks, the lights following her the same as they did William, I ask my eyes in the sky what he sees.

“Jay?”

“It’s her.”

The unadulterated anger that tightens my chest makes it hard to breathe, but I push it aside and focus on the plan.

Losing my shit and ripping them apart for sneaking around behind my back would help ease my rage, but it’s so much more satisfying to play the long game and gather as much information as possible about a situation, then use that info to destroy every aspect of their lives that I can.

You fuck with me or mine, and you’re going to discover what it truly means to find out.

Natalie stops walking, and the lone light in the stacks flicks off.

“Huh,” Jace says in my ear. “I guess he’s not as brain-dead as I thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t record them. They moved into the only blind spot in the room.”

“Roger that.” I stand up straight. “Can you clear a path for me?”

“Already sent it to your phone.”

I check the message, then make my way down the rows he’s turned the sensors off in, moving slowly so I don’t alert them to my presence.

I can hear hushed voices the closer I get, but it isn’t until I’m standing next to them, separated by a single shelf, that I can make out what they’re saying.

“How much longer are we going to keep meeting down here?” Natalie’s voice is breathy and low, but her words are crystal clear.

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