Page 73 of Fight or Flight
He told me he had been ordered to delete all traces of the file from his computer when he handed it over to the leaders. I’m not at all surprised he kept a copy for himself, but giving this to me is a way bigger deal than it looks on the surface.
He’s given me proof he broke the rules, and knowing how sensitive this situation is, he could get in a fuck ton of trouble if I told anyone about this.
My cursor hovers over the first photo, and I click to open it. It’s a grainy snapshot of me taking a rip off a bong. Not exactly the type of photo that could ruin my life, but not one that my family would want to get out. Quickly, I scroll through the rest of the files.
Like he said, it’s mostly a collection of me being a dumbass and doing shit that I shouldn’t, but there’s really nothing that terrible in here. I’m twenty-one and away at school. Hooking up with people I shouldn’t and experimenting with drugs and alcohol are rites of passage at Silvercrest. They’re bad, but they could be so much worse considering some of the stuff I’ve gotten up to since I’ve been here.
Some of my anxiety over the file settles, and I exit out of the folder and eject the drive from my computer.
Now I just have to forget about all the fucked-up stuff I let Jace do to me.
My phone pings with a text as I put the flash drive in my drawer and close my laptop.
Paxton: pregaming in 10?
Shane: be there in 15
I need to take a shower so I can wash the scent of sex off me before I meet up with the guys. Then I can get fucked up and forget all about my newfound kinks and the chokehold Jace has on me.
12
SHANE
“You look like crap,”Jace says as I walk up to where he, Jax, and Killian are standing together in the lobby of the main house.
“Thanks,” I deadpan.
He beams a big smile at me, which only puts me in an even worse mood.
I barely remember coming home and crawling into bed last night, and the first thing I saw when I woke up was a text from Jordan saying there was a house leadership meeting, and I had less than twenty minutes until it started.
That meant I had enough time to get up, drink some water, take a couple of painkillers for my headache, get dressed, brush my teeth, and haul ass over to the main house so I wouldn’t be late. I didn’t even have time to grab a coffee, and I don’t function well without my morning coffee on a good day.
At least I don’t have to worry about acting weird around Jace after what happened last night since he’s being his usual annoying self, but that’s pretty much the only good thing going for me today.
“Are you hungover?” he asks. “You look hungover.”
“I thought I looked like crap?”
“You do, but you look like crapbecauseyou look hungover,” he says, like he’s explaining something to a toddler.
“I’m a little hungover,” I admit, since it’s not like I can hide it.
“Did you have a fun night?” he asks innocently, but there’s a gleam in his eyes that’s unmistakable.
My cheeks and neck flush hot. So much for not acting weird around him. “It was fine.”
The corner of his mouth lifts in a too-sexy smirk. “I bet it was.”
“Do you have any idea why we were summoned?” Jax asks.
“No. Did you hear anything?”
Both Jax and Killian shake their heads.
The door leading to the western wing of the house opens, and Axel pokes his head into the lobby. “Follow me.”
Dutifully, we do as we’re told as he leads us through a maze of hallways and doors, but instead of taking us to the panic room, he leads us to a different room where Jordan and Nico are already waiting for us.
